So many great comments!
I would like to compliment the team who have been attracting speakers from around the world and running our top quality Zoom meetings. I appreciate the opportunity to be home, especially on dark rainy nights, and yet be able to keep up with the business side of the club, and learn and connect with fellow kayakers.
The Zoom breakout rooms I’ve found to be just like chatting in person. I encourage anyone who hasn’t tried it to give it a go. The random draw for break-out rooms is delightful as you can find yourself speaking with people you’ve never spoken with before. I do feel like this meets some of my desire for a little socializing with club members quite well.
My opinion to continue with the monthly Zoom meetings. But this is just one facet of our club. I agree that the social side of our club is really important. I have a couple of thoughts around increasing our opportunities to socialize…
We can tack on lunch or dinner meetups following any day paddle or training event and open these up to anyone, not just the attendees of the event. The benefit is we’d significantly increase our social gatherings and they would be decentralized – not always in Vancouver or the North Shore. For example, the Strokes & Rescues course was at Sasamat Lake. We could have organized a gathering afterwards at one of the breweries or restaurants in Port Moody and attracted people who live in the Tri-Cities area to attend.
I also like the idea of a social event to discuss and plan trips. Anyone willing to book their gathering space in their condo could host the event. And why not make it a potluck?
In my opinion, we have a great club and we can add more social fun without making changes to our monthly Zoom meetings. We are only limited by the number of people who choose to volunteer. We cannot implement new ideas unless we have help.
So here’s my plug… In my experience, the way to meet more people in a group is to volunteer. It’s fun and many hands make light work.