Michael; I'm probably going to receive some heat ... again ... ("and I'm not afraid to stand up" ) but another member of the room posted the following;

"I still continue to question why show and convention attendance is down, and membership falling off. I’ve heard all the excuses and the positive spins, but the bottom line is, this hobby is not growing like it should, and in fact, on a downhill slide."

Also offered by the same author, was this following sage advice to Dennis; ... "and you get a response, don’t take it as a complaint. Take it as an answer to the question."

So, I wonder why ... in spite of receiving answers to HIS questions ... he dismisses them NOT as answers, but as "excuses" and "spins" ... yet he fails to provide any solution(s) of his own but relys on "excuses" and "positive spins" like dismissive buzzwords.

Other critics like to overuse the word "clicks" (cliques) ... when they are in fact part of their own "clique" of like-thinking people.

"Not growing like it should?" Would someone please tell me (and others) how "should" the hobby grow that will please them ... and more importantly, how to accomplish that growth?

Sure, every club member would like to see the club grow also ... who could be against that?? However, it takes more than message board rhetoric during an election campaign on the part of some to get things done.
It's not like the club has not tried to find out the answers to these important questions. Polls have been taken in the past, questionairres have been sent in the past to those who have not renewed their dues, with very little response. These are not "new ideas", but courses of action that have already undertaken with very limited success and hardly not worth the effort on the part of the club officer. I've suggested on more than one occassion that if each club member signed up just one new member over the next year, our ranks would double by 2008! Of course, that's just "Spin".

One candidate for office has suggested that each member be provided with a complimentary free pass to the convention to give away to a non-club member as a way to stimulate interest in the club. That thought may have merit and might be worth a try. I'm not sure about the logistics of such a program. Most club members don't even attend their own convention for various reasons. If we could convince these current members that they are missing out on something terrific, perhaps that will bring up convention attendance. But to be realistic; many club members can't afford a Las Vegas trip every year, or can't take the time off from work or their businesses to attend. The Palms show offered free admission to anyone who presented a Palms slot card ... yet attendance was down, according to Gene Trimble.

I think that Glenn may have answered his own question when he said ... "The internet is the prime example of explosive growth, eBay, Yahoo, Google. They are the new kids on the block. And they will continue to grow!" THAT my friends, may be why many folks are content to sit at their laptops and PC's and bid on items as they come up for auction on the internet rather than spend large sums of money to fly to and stay in Las Vegas to attend chip shows and conventions ... or is that simply more of Archie's "spin"?

Of course, the final comment posed by the author perhaps sums it up best; "However, the best part of my posts, I could care less what anyone thinks of my opinions,..." Not hardly a statement (in my opinion) that would foster constructive suggestions or responses to reasonable questions.

Just my two nickle chips worth ....