astronomy club

[galixyhunter]

I would like help from fellow star hunters. I am going to start a astronomy club and I need help comming up with a hand-out to give to people that may show up explaining what my vision is for this club to continue. Can any of you all give me a sentence or two what I start with cause I've tried typing up one for 4 hours now with different idea's but I always get stuck after the second or third line and I get "writers block". thanks yall

[Vinnie]

Hi GH give me something to work with here.

How formal would this group be? Regular meetings like a full on club with an elected committee etc or more like regular observing sessions with less formalities or a combination of both?

What will you call this group?

Do you have a venue for meetings and or observing?

Any Fees involved or proposed?

I take it that you will advertise a first meeting and you want to give everyone who attends this preliminary or foundation meeting a sort of mission statement?

[RussL]

GH, those are good questions from Vin. Have you considered any of those ideas? One approach may also be to advertise the first meeting and then discuss such ideas with those who attend to see what the general consensus is. You may even find that someone else has a great site to offer. I believe your handout should be worded in accordance with what kind of image you have in your mind of the type of club you want to have.

I once formed a club with my cousin and two of my friends. We called it the Lancaster Astronomical Society, but it turned out to be just us four guys doing observing with my cousin's 12" Newtonian and my Criterion RV-6. The other two didn't even have scopes, but were interested. Others could've joined, but we didn't advertise, so it fell apart eventually. But, we didn't have any plans on dues or anything complicated, unless, of course, we had gotten a large membership and needed to provide literature or anything else. We also had no good sites except for our own back yards. It's just that the nearest real club was in Rock Hill, about 25 miles away, nothing in our area. Oh well, we had fun anyway for a while. Nowadays, I just get with a friend or two once in a while.

Wish I could be of more help.

[galixyhunter]

You have hit the nail on the mark. I want to realy sit down and organize my thoughts I just don't know where to start. I have permission to have the meetings at a school cafiteria, it is realy dark there, I want the club to pick the name once we get started, have a board of directors voting rights to members, fee's should be decided by memebers. I know I am rambling on and on but I just am looking for ideas to get this started and putting a good invitation is key to getting this started. That is what I need the most help with. Thanks for your time

[roverich]

Hi john ...That sounds like a good idea you have there ...Are there any other astronomers out there where you live that you know of ? Around here we have "novac" which from what i understand has around 1200 members ...The fees for novac are 30 dollars a year ...They do have a news letter but i dont know how often it is distributed ..

[galixyhunter]

Thanks buddy I am just trying to do this the right way and the more info the better

[sxinias]

I would like help from fellow star hunters. I am going to start a astronomy club and I need help comming up with a hand-out to give to people that may show up explaining what my vision is for this club to continue. Can any of you all give me a sentence or two what I start with cause I've tried typing up one for 4 hours now with different idea's but I always get stuck after the second or third line and I get "writers block". thanks yall

Having written quite a bit during my life I have learned a few tricks of the trade. There are basic two methods to the madness; ordered and disordered. The folks who like the orderly approach will tell you to make an outline then go back and fill in the spaces. There is a lot of common sense with that approach but it simply does not work for everyone.

Some folks, like me, die in order and thrive in disorder. For us, the computer is heaven sent. Just put down your thoughts as they come to you and don’t worry about grammar, spelling, order, or any of those kind of things. Just get your thoughts down in electrons and keep everything no matter what. After you’ve done that, go back, read what you’ve written, and move stuff around until things fall into their proper place. When you finish doing that, you will see places where you need flesh out and places where you are a little wordy.

Also remember in your hand-out … your objective is to communicate, not to get a 10 from an English teacher. You can emphasize stuff by using colored fonts, underlining , bold print, graphics, sentence fragments ….. and if you wish, end a sentence with a preposition.

Joe
Sxinias Greece

[RussL]

GH, I think Joe has hit the nail for you. I, too, have done plenty of writing and I have found that there is only one cure for writer's block, and that is--TO BEGIN. Your last post is a good example. You said everything that is in your mind about the club idea, each thought coming out through your fingers just as it came to your mind. Just start, and everything will follow. Then, as Joe said, you can go back and fine tune it.

One question, concerning dues. What will the dues be used for? Do you have ideas for that? Or would you want to discuss that with the group? Thinking about it, I'd say that any star party is a "temporary" club, but no dues are needed (well, unless everyone wants to throw in for refreshments or something). But with an ongoing organization, you have a choice whether to include things like a news letter, refreshments, speakers, literature of various sorts, and any number of things that cost money. Of course, the club can also be totally informal without any of that. But it will probably prosper better with some sort of something going on. That way the members have more to gain by membership. Most anyone will be willing to pay a little for something that they benefit from.

I feel that the gist of your invitation could even say that this first meeting is for the very purpose of establishing a club and discussing what kind of club it is to be, and what the particulars will be on all accounts. That is, "A meeting to discuss the establishment of an astronomy club in this area, open to the public, and for all ages and levels of interest." You might even mention that no one has to even have any equipment, in order to encourage all who have an interest to attend this first important meeting. People will feel welcome that way, especially those who, although they can't afford equipment, have a deep enough interest to want to join a club. (In other words, you don't have to be a seasoned astronomer to join).

Just some thoughts, pal. (Gosh, I'm getting excited myself now, lol. Let's see, it ain't far from SC to VA). So, just start writing--and be yourself at it. It will come to you.

[blackchihuahua]

If you do undertake the starting of such a club, be prepared to be a MAJOR player in the organization for some time to come. You may be lucky and find others with , not only an interest in astronomy, but a desire to get involved and the willingness to make a commitment. However, the odds are, the running of the club (chairing meetings, finding speakers, organizing events, publishing a newsletter, maintaining the treasury, etc) may well fall heavily (or entirely) on your shoulders for some time, perhaps for a few years.

My experience indicates that while the pool of members may be of reasonable size, the number of folks willing to take on an office for a year or two time commitment tends to be depressingly small.

[galixyhunter]

I personally like to thank everyone for there ideas I have page one fust about finished except for the editing which I will after its all said and done. Keep up the wonderfull work that everyone does for this forum. I have learned so much in a short time moire than I would by myself. Talk to you all later and if you need more help Just ask and I will be glad to when needed. GH