Hi Rob and all,
I know I've been in hiding for awhile, but I've had some
changes.
I've moved cross-country, away from my club but they still
want to let me be a member. The problem is we do not have
procedures to deal with long distance members. We all use
email and are on-line in various levels, so technology is
not a problem for us.
Do any clubs have procedures and policies to have long
distance members? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks
Loretta Lombard
Playground Investment Club
Woodinville, WA
remoted to
Orange Park, Florida

Dear All,

In addition to Loretta's question, I would like to know of a
way to conduct meetings so that out of town members could
attend. Is anyone using Netmeeting or something of the
sort?

Thanks,
Tony Turner - prosperity Uplift Investment Club

Loretta Lombard wrote:
> Hi Rob and all,
> I know I've been in hiding for awhile, but I've had some
> changes.
> I've moved cross-country, away from my club but they still
> want to let me be a member. The problem is we do not have
> procedures to deal with long distance members. We all use
> email and are on-line in various levels, so technology is
> not a problem for us.
> Do any clubs have procedures and policies to have long
> distance members? Any help would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks
> Loretta Lombard
> Playground Investment Club
> Woodinville, WA
> remoted to
> Orange Park, Florida

Our club is a long distance club. We have members in
several states and in Europe. We all knew each other before
we started the club, but we are just seperated by distance.

We have tried using chat rooms, and IRC to hold monthly
meetings. Unfortunately, our club members have various
levels of computer expertise, and over a period of time,
interest in holding on line meetings diminished. (Maybe we
would have experienced the same thing, even if we could have
met in person.)

Some of our members do not have a computer or access to the
internet, so we always had to involve them in other ways.

Recently, we have implemented a monthly newsletter that
contains news, information on our portfolio, stock analysis,
and a voting ballot.

We send the newsletter out with a stamped return envelope
for the voting. Members are also encouraged to send back
their vote along with their dues.

Since we started this activity participation increased
dramatically, voting response is high, and people have begun
to pay their dues on time.

We lose the interactivity of a meeting, but encourage
feedback on the ballots for analysis, and discussion. Then
we include those topics in the next newsletter.

It lets people participate at their own level. It is non
intrusive in a person's schedule and it works for us.

On the downside, creating the newsletter takes more work,
but the result is worth it.

Mark


Tony Turner wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> In addition to Loretta's question, I would like to know of a
> way to conduct meetings so that out of town members could
> attend. Is anyone using Netmeeting or something of the
> sort?
>
> Thanks,
> Tony Turner - prosperity Uplift Investment Club
>