GMRwhat?

[WRUU653]

36 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

I think that this feels like a top down rather than groundswell movement, although I don’t think that’s what @SeaScholar intended.  “We have formed a club for all of you who are interested,” doesn’t feel quite as inviting as starting a topic that says “Would there be any value to starting a national organization?  If so, what would we hope to achieve?  What benefits would you like to receive.” and then following the topic to its logical conclusion.

I think the idea of a national organization might have value if there’s a common interest, but since GMRS is basically more of a communication utility while engaging in other activities, rather than the activity itself, I’m not sure there’s enough common interest.  The MyGMRS site might be the closest thing to a national organization that many of us wish to devote time to, but I’ll watch and see how the GMRSUS goes. I wish you success and depending of how it evolves I might even join.

Well said as always Steve. 

[SeaScholar]

38 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

I think that this feels like a top down rather than groundswell movement, although I don’t think that’s what @SeaScholar intended.

It did not start as a top down, and I don't see it that way still. I pretty much left it open. However, I did intentionally include the thought of "hey here is some national level ideas" for the GOTA program idea. Perhaps the club and the GOTA program should have been posted separately some how. I'll have to consider it. 

38 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

“We have formed a club for all of you who are interested,” doesn’t feel quite as inviting as starting a topic that says “Would there be any value to starting a national organization?  If so, what would we hope to achieve?  What benefits would you like to receive.” and then following the topic to its logical conclusion.

As I said to UncleYoda, I didn't see anywhere that said I had to ask permission to start a club or what it's purpose would be for. and I do say that with all due respect. Please don't take that as me being dismissive or come off as rude.

38 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

I think the idea of a national organization might have value if there’s a common interest, but since GMRS is basically more of a communication utility while engaging in other activities, rather than the activity itself, I’m not sure there’s enough common interest. 

There was enough interest in the group of people I spoke too long before I posted it on here. We shall see if anyone is interested. If not, then perhaps we'll all get lucky and it will fade away like a bad dream. haha.

39 minutes ago, SteveShannon said:

The MyGMRS site might be the closest thing to a national organization that many of us wish to devote time to, but I’ll watch and see how the GMRSUS goes. I wish you success and depending of how it evolves I might even join.

I agree, and thats unfortunate that this site is the only one. GMRS needs much more representation from the dedicated GMRS users. I have respect for HAM operators, but that is a WHOLE different purpose and use cases. 

Thank you for all of your thoughts, opinions, and considerations.   We shall see how it goes.

[SeaScholar]

39 minutes ago, GreggInFL said:

GMRS is local, not national. There are no operating synergies.

Absolutely correct. So that means there is room for ideas from other places. That is probably also why there is such lack of support for GMRS outside of a scattering of HAM operators who casually play around with GMRS.

[GreggInFL]

26 minutes ago, SeaScholar said:

Absolutely correct. So that means there is room for ideas from other places.

Fine, so bring those ideas here.

[marcspaz]

3 hours ago, SeaScholar said:

Is this a "pay-to-play" scheme? The discussion of a modest membership fee is about sustainability for a non-profit organization. Any funds collected would go directly toward operational costs like hosting a website, developing training materials, and covering insurance for events. The goal is to provide tangible value to members, not to create a barrier. We are still working on the details, but the focus is on keeping it accessible for everyone.

 

Eh... I do all of this for free for 3 different groups... we have people who volunteer time and I pay for all of our digital footprint. Unlimited storage, unlimited throughput, unlimited email accounts and email storage for $150 per year. Few bucks per registered URL / Domain. I spend more for dinner for my family one night out at a restaurant than for our internet footprint for a year.  Having donation options would be one thing, but there is zero chance you're convincing me that you need to collect a membership fee to cover costs, imho

[marcspaz]

2 hours ago, SeaScholar said:

But, my guess that doesn't mean much to a simple "Guy doesn’t even have a repeater, only had his license for a month" consideration.

 

Again, just my personal opinion, what you used to do for a living has nothing to do with membership value. With the exception of the privilege of saying they are a member, what does the organization bring to the table, that we cannot otherwise get for free somewhere else? 

[WRYZ926]

Right or wrong, here is my take on national organizations. It is easy for them to lose their way once they get to a certain size/membership level. Two prime examples are: the NRA and the ARRL.

I know my local amateur club is a non profit and they ask for a yearly $20 membership fee. The paid membership gives one voting rights in what the group does. Outside of voting rights, one can still use the repeaters and participate in meetings and other activities without paying any dues.

Could GMRS benefit from a national group that lobbies Washington for us? Yes we could. But it has to be done right with plenty of checks and balances so it doesn't end up like the NRA or ARRL.

[Davichko5650]

8 hours ago, WRTC928 said:

 I just don't envision 100,000 GMRS licensees voluntarily yielding that sort of authority to some upstart organization.

Much less coughing up $$$ a year for a magazine, assuming they'll have one. I mean no self-respecting Nation Organization for GMRS Radio (subtle dig at Arrrrl) would not have a glossy, advert filled Magazine, would they?

I can count on 1 hand for the most part, the number of people I talk to on GMRS, and we're all local to each other, no need for a nationwide group for us.

[AdmiralCochrane]

5 hours ago, GreggInFL said:

GMRS is local, not national. There are no operating synergies.

I agree. Don't confuse GMRS with DMR