Stereo Club membership

[P3D Bill C Walton <bill3dbw3d@xxxxxxxx>]

Jamie Drouin asked the question about how many 
members it takes to form a stereo club.  
George Themelis suggested a minimum of 20,
but 40 was better.
My limited experience shows that it is the 
ENTHUSIASM OF THE MEMBERS and not 
the length of the membership roster that is 
the important thing
Case in point:  I am a member of the Atlanta
Stereographic Association (ASA).  There are not 
many stereographers in this part of the US and we 
draw members from several states.  I drive 116 miles, one way,
to attend meetings.  Which is not bad except when the 
stereographic "chit-chat' is especially good and the meeting
doesn't break up until 11:00 pm, which put me back home at 
about 1:00am.  
H.Lee Pratt has a 5 hour drive from Huntsville AL to attend 
meetings (no, he doesn't attend all of them) and we have three
people from Knoxville TN who come to the Atlanta meetings.
But we are still a very small group.  At our May meeting we 
had maybe 20 attend, but that included wives, husbands 
and friends of members, a television crew from an Atlanta 
TV station and two dogs.  Cynthia Morton always brings 
her dog into the church auditorium where we meet, I usually leave 
my dog in the car as he is a independent little cuss and tries to 
"eat up" Cynthia's big dog.
But the ENTHUSIASM LEVEL of this small group of folks is 
very high.  We have all of the normal events of a club of this 
nature, stereo presentations (when only 5 or 6 attend the 
presenter gets to deal with each of us on a one to one basis)
quarterly competitions which include slides, stereo cards, over 
and under and lenticular.  (Several of our long distance members
participate in these competitions by mail.  We also have a big 
Christmas party and usually have a picnic during the summer 
when no  meetings are scheduled. And we have a monthly
newsletter of course.
But I think the best display of ENTHUSIASM by this group was 
demonstrated during the Atlanta NSA Convention.  The ASA
was the convention committee and I think, even by the most 
conservative estimate, that the Atlanta convention was a success.
Anyway Jamie, you don;t need a room full of folks to start 
or enjoy a stereo club. Good luck with your club!!!


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