No Participation in Parades This Weekend

Due to the lack in proper time to prepare for this year’s events, and with the agreement of Jim. We are canceling both parades (Groton and Montville).

This has been an odd year, with a deep felt loss due to the passing of dear members. Moments of club unity in that loss, and also times of unenthusiastic participation. I don't know the reason, maybe the economy or maybe we just expect too much from ourselves, and when we have a normal year we think the sky is falling.

I could point to the cancelling of the Brooklyn skill event but that is likely too simple. Truth is I have been just “Mailing It In” this year. Leaders lead from the front and I have been poor at that this year. As we say in racing...”There is always next season.”

We will do better next season.

T

Tom

Well said. I have been in the same funk this year on and off. You're right, when the leadership doesn't ask for performance you don't get it. And, I made a few leadership mistakes this year which doesn't unite. Better next year. Jim

I know this must have been a very difficult decision to make. It is difficult for anyone to continually take the lead and responsibility for club events. This is a volunteer organization that will only be as good or as bad as the membership makes it. Every one of us has our part to play.

Many of us avoid the “limelight”, preferring to simply be a part of something that is greater than our individual selves. You take a risk when putting your time, effort and heart into a project and then face the opinions of the membership as to how well you did, but the rewards for taking those risks usually heavily outweigh the losses.

You will gain the respect and admiration of your fellow members regardless of how well you do. No project or event comes off without a hitch. Some things you have no control over. (Just look at the previous posts regarding a ride this past Sunday) At the least, everyone will appreciate that you tried. At the best, most members will participate and benefit from your efforts. Either way, it’s a win for you.

You will only get out of the club, what you put into it. There are members who possess the knowledge, skills and abilities to play a greater part but may be reluctant to step up.

It can be intimidating when the people in charge have done such a good job. “How can I stand up to their past performance?”  I know I felt that way when taking on the blog. But that is missing the point. Any effort you make will help the whole. Very few people can just jump into a position. But you can take small steps to assist those already in the position to make events successful. All the while learning from what they have done right and what not to repeat. Kind of like an apprenticeship.

We have that situation for some of our positions such as the Road Captain and Road Sergeants. This process enables the Road Sergeants step up to lead rides whenever the Road Captain is prevented from doing so.

But this support system doesn’t exist for many positions. So when the leader for an event is prevented from rallying the troops in preparation for the event, no one is ready to fill in for them. Perhaps this is something we can work on.