A Problem that We Need Work
In my February letter, I looked for reasons for the steady decline in HGS membership since 1991 when our membership then numbered 5,500. I asked for your thoughts on this problematic decline and was pleasantly surprised to receive two responses. One response gave a list of suggestions for increasing the membership and we are currently taking these into consideration.
The other suggestion dealt with a problem of seeming unfriendliness within our membership. This individual moved to Houston in the late 1970’s and became active in the HGS as a member of the HGS Board of Directors. He moved away from the area in the late 1980’s and upon moving back to Houston recently, he attended several of our technical meetings. His comment was that the mood at the meetings had changed, becoming “cliquish”. Could this explain some of our problems? Probably. However, it depends on a person’s point of view. One person’s view of cliquishness could be another person’s view of visiting with friends that they haven’t seen recently. Regardless of how you look at it, this is still a problem that we need to work on at our meetings. How many times have you gone to a meeting and not known all of the people at your table? Did you make an effort to introduce yourself to everyone? How many times have you seen a person standing alone with no one to talk to? Our Treasurer-elect told me that a person came to one of the meetings as a walk-up, went inside, came out later and told her “I don’t know anyone in there. No one talked to me. Please give me back my money,” and he left. We can do better than this!
I know this perceived unwelcoming attitude toward those we don’t know is only one of our membership problems. Working to correct this problem will help both potential new members and regular members alike.
On a pleasant note, the HGS Legends Night was a huge success. I would like to thank Ashley Harris, Gaby Henriquez, and Sandra Babcock for all of their work to make the night a success. Profits from the gala were split between the two HGS scholarship funds. The total profit for the event was $11,694.36. As a result, each scholarship fund received $5,847.18. With receipt of these profits, both the Calvert Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Foundation Fund met their $10,000 matching goals. As a result, the HGS scholarship funds will receive $10,000 from both the HGS and the GCAGS! As scholarship fundraising is a year-round effort, your donation to HGS’ funds is always welcome at http://www.hgs.org/en/donations/add.asp.
Ashley Harris has agreed to work part time as a consultant for the HGS. She will be using her marketing experience to work on marketing and advertising projects. Ashley will be an excellent addition to our staff.
The Mudstone Conference held in February had a sellout crowd of 480 attendees. Congratulations go to Frank Walles and his hard working committee.
Hope to see everyone at the AAPG Convention in Houston later this month.
Laissez les bon temps rouler!