Well we are in New England so 200 days of flying is rare at best. ON average we get 30- 40 members at each meeting, with a natural spike at the annual meeting.
As for getting youths in the air, we have a formal program with the schools that pairs each youth up with a mentor to build over the winter and fly in the spring and solo by summer. This is an involved process. our dues are much more than yours, because we have higher costs associated with our club, these assets need to be managed and our events require monthly meetings to prepare. A smaller club is not UNWORTHY as your snotty remark intimates, but Robert's rules are needed in a formal setting, to aid in the meeting and democratic process as is its intent. Ignorance of such a process is fine right up until that day you have an issue. If you have not yet had an issue GOD BLESS YOU!!!! I cannot say the same for us and there fore we are lucky that the intellect of the general membership is as such to see that Robert's rules is warranted and is a good thing.
Further, I would say that running a club is the only way to get from a small group of like minded individuals enjoying a hobby to a large club with a multifacited group that works all year on new projects and public relations and donation reclamation and asset management. Remember we are in the Northeast. It is very different up here. Big business donates big money to Non-profits and typically owns the only open spaces around that are constantly threatened by Urban sprawl. The average cost of an acre of land out here is $300,00.00. If you owed land you gonna rent it to us for $1,200.00 a year or sell to a developer and make a few million? Look Roberts rules is an intelligent BOOk to have instituted in case you need it....If you don't thats great, you are an exception. We need it we have it and we are glad we do. I can also say that in the coming months in our club we are REAL>LY going to need it as we move forward on asset procurement and allocation.
I think I said earlier you may like opurt meetings and we may like yours, different does not mean right or wrong it just means different and there is nothing wrong with that.