[Atmob-club] [Atmob-announce] president's letter

Wed Jul 9 20:54:50 EDT 2008

As someone more in Julie's boat than not, I also liked her suggestions. Some
similar ideas to think about:

1.       Some of the monthly talks could be geared toward newbies. Like,
buying a scope, getting started with astrophotography, and so on.

2.       I really liked the star party at a member's house idea. I live in
Cambridge and have no backyard, so that wouldn't work for people like me.
However, a star party at the clubhouse or similar location geared toward the
less experienced would be great. To be honest, every time I've been at the
clubhouse, I've been able to ask just about anyone hanging around for advice
and gotten good advice. But maybe not everyone knows that, and by making a
"party" out of it, that might encourage people.

I want to say that I'm not a diehard and recognize that many club members
are, and are also engineers and scientists who bring those skills to the
hobby. But I actually enjoy that. Nice to know there are such smart people
to get help from!

Regards,

Mark Schlack

From: atmob-club-bounces at atmob.org [mailto:atmob-club-bounces at atmob.org] On
Behalf Of Steve Beckwith
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 4:28 PM
To: atmob-club at atmob.org; Atmob-discuss at atmob.org
Subject: Re: [Atmob-club] [Atmob-announce] president's letter

Julie, these are outstanding suggestions you made and it's great to see
someone realize they don't have to be a long-time member to raise new ideas!

Earlier in the month, Virginia Renehan and I discussed having home star
parties in which a member in one area hosts other members.  I did this last
May at my house and had a few club members and I invited the local
neighborhood children.  The kids didn't see much due to clouds. However,
those clouds moved out after their bedtimes (about 11:30pm) and we were all
up observing until 4:00am.    I'm sure something like this would be great
idea for members new to the club to not only get over the new person feeling
but also to develop some astronomy skills (or crabbing about the clouds
skills).

- Steve

P.S. I dropped the Atmob-announce mail list (it's just to be used for
announcement type messages that usually wouldn't generate discussions) and
replaced it with the Atmob-discuss distribution list.

-----Original Message-----
From: atmob-announce-bounces at atmob.org
[mailto:atmob-announce-bounces at atmob.org] On Behalf Of Julie Kaufmann
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2008 2:31 PM
To: atmob-announce at atmob.org
Subject: [Atmob-announce] president's letter

Speaking as one of the "newbies," I wanted to respond to the President's
letter in the July newsletter. I am also speaking as a former professional
volunteer coordinator, and as a very busy person who works with a number of
non-profit organizations on events. I write this with examples specific to
my experience, but I know they are valid for many.

First, it is very unsettling to join a club/come to a group event where
"everyone knows each other except for me!" (even though that is not true, it
feels that way).  On an intellectual level, it is comforting to know that
long-term friendships develop and the group has a history, but on a personal
level, it is sometimes hard to break in. It is not that people are
unfriendly, but they naturally want to visit with their friends and compare
notes.

Further, when everyone seems to be an expert on the subject and I am a
beginner, I don't feel I have much to contribute to a conversation, and it
is very intimidating. Again, I know that people don't look down on those who
have smaller, cheaper, "inferior" equipment, but it feels hard to admit you
only have a 5" store-bought.. 

I am not a numbers person, and don't have a scientific/engineering/math
background, so many lectures and conversations go right over my head and my
eyes start to glaze. But I still learn something from most of them. Just
don't expect me to remember the f-stop or eyepiece mm.

Also, astronomy is not my primary consuming passion/hobby, but one of them,
and I sometimes feel somehow less worthy or welcome when I admit to doing
something else on a clear Saturday evening. 

Having said all that, when I make the time to go out and look, I am awed by
what I see; I am an eclipse chaser; I attend as many of the monthly lectures
at the observatory and ATMoB meetings as fit my schedule; I go to the
Conjunction (and other smaller Star Parties) when I can; I've travelled to
Brazil to see Comet Halley and Egypt to watch the transit of Venus. I kick
myself for not observing more often. And overall, I have found those whom I
interact with in the club to be friendly and helpful.

So what do I recommend? 

1)     Every new member should be assigned a "buddy" when they join. This
person will make a point of calling/e-mailing the newbie before each meeting
for a few months-to invite them to the dinner and/or meeting. They will meet
them at the door, introduce them to a few people, sit with them, giving them
the feeling that they are not alone.  The buddy should take the time to
learn enough about the newbie that with these few key bits of information
(oh, you live in Medford, so does so and so, let me introduce you so you
could carpool to the clubhouse;  that guy also has a similar telescope to
yours, you should talk to him; that woman also went to Turkey for the
eclipse, you should compare your experience, come meet her; hey, that member
is also a swing dancer, you two should chat) the newbie would become part of
the group, not an outside observer. 

2)     Offer a mentor to those who want one. If you are newer to astronomy
and want to buy a scope, it is overwhelming. But a one-to-one session with
someone to help you weed through the options, go shopping, set it up, etc.
would be helpful, to say the least. Maybe you are just starting in
astrophotography, and want some pointers from someone who has been doing it
a while. Or in my case, I have the scope but I only get so far and I don't
understand what the manual says, so I put it away. Or I can't get the
finderscope to work properly, so all I can find is the moon. Personally, I
would love to have someone who can give me 100% of their attention for a few
hours to help me get to the next level. I would gladly travel to someone's
home for an afternoon or two of training.

I know that people would very helpful when you are all set up on an
observing evening and have a question, but they are not there to help you;
they are there to use their telescope, do their astrophotography, etc. That
is not the time to get a lesson. And it is hard to ask, no less know who to
ask.

3)     Finally, we all know that one of the best ways to get involved with
an organization and meet the people is to actively volunteer. But general
appeals (we need help next weekend pruning the bushes; can someone offer to
buy the snacks) work on the small pool of converts who always help. The best
way to get someone to volunteer is to ask them directly about a specific
task: Julie, can you buy the cookies for next month's meeting (or better
yet, I hear you are a great baker, can you make some cookies?).  Or offer an
exchange: If you come to the work party-I'll be there at 10 am, I can help
you afterwards with your collimation. 

Some people are naturally networkers, schmoozers, connectors; many others
are wallflowers. All are there for a reason, and the group needs to make the
extra effort to welcome and retain the newbies, particularly the beginners.
Otherwise, you'll end up with a room where everyone knows your name, but
everyone has already been president, secretary, and treasurer.  

I would be happy to discuss these ideas further after I return from Mongolia
for the eclipse.

Julie Kaufmann

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