It has been said that almost every problem we face can be traced back to one core cause…. lack of good communication. This might be especially true when dealing with groups of any size over one. The MSTA is no stranger to this and over the years we have developed many ways that we communicate between members, between the leaders and the members, between areas of the country, and even from the club to non-members.
SNAIL-MAIL COMMUNICATION
Let’s start with…The STAReview.
The STAReview started out many years ago as a simple 3–4-page newsletter that was written by Dana Sawyer, the founder of the club. He put it together and mailed it out to all the members. As the club grew in numbers someone took this task over for him. Eventually a committee was formed to produce the SR and it grew in size and scope to what we have today. 6 Issues a year, 3 printed and mailed, 3 digital and emailed out. There are two major downfalls to something like this. First, there is usually a 2-month delay between the time something is written and when you get to read it. Second, these can get really expensive to produce and distribute. These things are especially true for the printed and mailed version. The STAReview is by far our club’s biggest expense every year.
Next, we have Club Mailings.
The most common mailings are the renewal reminder postcards that are sent out monthly to people whose memberships are expiring. But we also have such things as the new member packets, the bike raffle ticket order forms, and very occasional communications from the EC. As postage costs continue to rise, this becomes a more and more expensive way to communicate. A rise of 25 cents in the cost of a stamp doesn’t sound like much, until you have to buy 1000 of them!
ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
By far, the way that we communicate most often from afar within the club is through some kind of electronic means. Facebook, forums, emails, text messaging, or just plain old phone calls. The MSTA uses various platforms for these purposes.
The Website.
The website has become the one central place to find most of the information that one needs to access to stay informed of what is happening in the club. It is also a great reference tool when you need to find someone to ask a question to, get Rally information, get benefits information, or check on your membership status and profile. If you need to contact other club members, you can find their contact information there. Want to renew your membership? You can do it through the website. There are also great articles from many of the state newsletters reprinted on the website. The club’s photo archives can be found there. EC minutes? Yep, on the website. The Rally calendar? There. Information can be kept up-to-the-minute correct too. In addition, you can access this information on a computer, a tablet, a smart phone, and from anywhere you have an internet connection. So, it travels with you. While it’s not free, the cost is still quite reasonable.
The Forum.
The forum has been around now for 15 or so years. If you are like many of us it has served you well. It used to be the place to go to find out club information and to communicate with other club members. However, the MSTA forum like almost every other forum out there has really fallen into disuse. It has been replaced by newer and easier to use platforms. The information that it once was relied upon to store is now more readily available on the website. The person-to-person communication function has been mostly replaced by Facebook and emails.
FaceBook
We have a HUGE presence on Facebook. It has become the most popular way that we can expose non-members to the MSTA and has replaced forums and email lists as the most common way that members communicate with other members across the country. We now have over 14,000 members in our Facebook Group. For most younger people (40 and under) joining a Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter “club” has replaced joining a dues-paying club like the MSTA. There are many reasons for this, and I won’t get into them here at this time. But I will also tell you that over the last few years around ½ of our new dues-paying members have come to us through an initial contact via Facebook. It has allowed us to reach out into many areas of the country that otherwise we would have no contact with. Many of our state groups also maintain individual Facebook Group pages. And it is FREE TO USE!
Newsletters
Many of our state chapters also use emails to send out newsletters from state directors and the EC. State newsletters keep you informed about what is happening in your own area. Since they are usually produced monthly, they are also a great resource for finding events happening now. The information is often much more timely than a national news magazine that has to be collected, laid out, printed, and mailed.
Email Blasts
EC Blast emails are a very quick and easy way to communicate with the membership on a variety of subjects. Emailed surveys are sent out to all STAR attendees after the event is over. Newsletters, the STAR review, announcements, requests, questions and answers to various problems and ideas, reminders, and many various other things are communicated on a regular basis through emails.
BUT DON’T FORGET…
The BEST form of communication I know of is when we actually talk to each other at our local, regional, and national level events and rallies. Kicking tires in the parking lots of our rallies should always be a major part of our club. Getting together to share some food and fellowship is just as important. Aren’t those things really what being a club member is all about? And doing so is FREE!
by Patrick Mogavero