Honest Ahab's Thought's on Club Promotion

Honest Ahab
as related to Rich Matt

I came in and was climbing a barstool just as bartenderess and Ahab were discussing the finer points of Winch & Rudders' policy regarding credit terms: There is this House Rule that any outstanding bar tabs get covered before any new bar tabs get started. Evidently, Ahab was lobbying bartenderess to start another tab or at least do an extension on his existing tab. Whatever. My arrival was recognized as salvation to Ahab's thirst and a chance for bartenderess to go back to her reading the Help Wanted ads.

So, with money on the bar, all of a sudden we find ourselves starring at fresh and frosty beers. To get Ahab's mind off his financial matters and switched over to R/C sailing, I decide for the heck of it to ask him what he thinks is the best way for a club to grow its membership.

"That's easy.", he said. "There's nothing more likely to get new folks interested in R/C sailing than for them to see the boats going for the starting line, going around the marks and going for the finish line. Even though there might only be a few boats on the water, it's fun to watch boats racing instead of watching boats that are just casually sailing about." Then he said, "What really helps is for the club to make itself look organized. Set up things like a table, a canopy over the table, a tape-player for running the starting tape, a clipboard for writing down the finishes and have marks on the water that look like marks."

The outstanding bar tab matter is forgotten. Ahab's rolling. He's just getting started. How to find new club members is something he has evidently spent some time thinking about.

Ahab then tells me that sailing in a location where there is some people traffic makes a big difference. Actually, he phrased it with rare eloquence: "No point in trying for new club members if you sail where no one can see you. Do bears sail in the woods? If so who sees 'em doing it? Nobody, that's who. Sail where folks can see you!" Rather than encourage him to elaborate on an interpretation of that analogy, I quick ordered up another round.

Also, according to Ahab, it's essential to have a supply of printed one-page flyers that have information about the club. The flyer should show the club meeting and race schedule. The flyer should tell about the class of boats being sailed by the club. The flyer will need to show a phone number or two that a prospect might call in order to get further info. And, the club flyer should also have a big mention of the AMYA and tell how to join up.

Ahab claims that he knows many AMYA clubs have these already. These clubs have a supply of club flyers in some kind of stand-up holder over on the table; or they have a stick-in-the-grass sign having a mailbox-like holder full of flyers. The holder or sign needs to have a message on it something like: R/C Sailing-Lake Stumpyswamp Stevedores -- Free info -- Please take one. The sign will help make an interested spectator feel invited. He will have a hunch that the flyer will answer his basic questions. And, he being spotted taking a flyer usually means one of the club members is likely to come over and introduce himself.

Ahab decides it's time for the two of us to write up a sample club flyer. He signals for more beer. Bartenderess looks at me for the Okay -- After all, he's referring to my money that's up on the bar. Ahab slides me the pencil and paper. It's like I've been appointed to be the buyer and the stenographer while he makes himself some elbow room. "Oh well! Why not?", I'm thinking to myself.

So, for the next hour or so, Ahab and I were busy designing a sample club flyer. It was to be something that could be used by any club that has not yet put together one of their own. All that would need be done is to substitute obvious words in obvious places and it would then be appropriately customized to the particular club. Ahab claims that since he had enough influence to have his Frequency Chart published in the previous issue of Model Yachting, it's likely the editors will find space in this next issue to reproduce his sample club flyer. It's also likely that the Web Master, will fit in in as a page on the www.ModelYacht.org website under the "How to form an AMYA club" section.

Here's a link to that Sample flyer, remember there are also other AMYA / local club type trifold brochure's available on the club resources page.