Originally posted by scottrc
SNIP
Where I see the AMA come into play is to teach clubs that are struggling with organizational skills to become more efficient. This is why your statements are important. The AMA needs strong leaders to teach others how to win their battles. The AMA should not have to go in a fight for them, but advise them, and if the club still cannot conform, then I guess it would have to be lost.
Scott
This is my point and you are exactly correct. It is necessary that the AMA have a national 'presence', but that is not the solution. All is lost if there is not FIRST some guidance in teaching local clubs how to use the tools the media provides.
Another way to view it is to consider what decision makers look for in solving problems. Most local movers and shakers have little or no interest in small subdivisions of larger groups that get 15 or 90 seconds of national T.V. time once or twice a year. No, most local politicians would rather be involved with something local that gets local media attention because the voters can get involved or at lest go visit!
How many voters in your city would go to the Nationals based on a few seconds of national television coverage? Compare that number with the number that might go to a local event the next day after having seen a blurb on it in the evening news.
The hard part is not developing the programs, locally or nationally. If you have a good plan that works, the difficult part becomes motivating people to continue doing what works! They get complacent, tired, bored, and lazy. That is the reason there is a continuing need for good strong club leadership. That cannot be gotten from the AMA, but the environment for it can be created at the national level.