It has come to my attention that the question of whether to continue to sanction the Sierra Club Singles (SCS) of the Palo Verde Group will again be brought up to the Palo Verde ExCom at their next meeting, Jan. 8, 2013.

The small group of individuals who volunteered to work on bylaws and getting representation to the PV ExCom has reported lack of communication and support from their membership. A quick survey of the SCS Meetup site shows only the automatic repeat of the PV monthly meeting which I set up and references to trips by the Saguaro Group. The newly circulated Canyon Echo which should list all outings in the state lists no outings by leaders that I can identify as having an affiliation with the SCS. Of the 31 outings that are listed, many originate in the Phoenix area and could (should?) be listed on the SCS Meetup site.

Given the lack of activity and interest shown by any SCS members or active participants, there does not seem to be any way that the traditional SCS supporters including past and present members can justify continued support of the Singles as a sub-group of the Palo Verde Group. The loss of this official support would bring up the fate of the Meetup site. I, personally, think that the loss of the Meetup site and its 981 members would would be a tragic mistake, for not just the Singles community, but also the PV Group as a whole. The PV Group currently has no effective way of communicating with its members. It seems to rely on an under-used ListServ (38 members) and informal/ unregulated/ unknown email lists maintained by committee people or staff members. This is in addition to communication aimed at the whole chapter. To say that throwing away a list of nearly 1,000 people who have opted in for information about Sierra Club type outings and activities is short-sighted at the least and could well be seen as a failure of the duties we all assume as members of an organization that professes to reach out to a diverse segment of the general public.

I would be happy to collect and pass on any comments, observations and/or suggestion that people on the Meetup site might have.

Jon Findley

NRGArizona@gmail.com

 

Hi Jon, Thanks for posting this. I agree it would be a loss to the Sierra Club to disband this site, though the Singles community has plenty of other places to go. My suggestion is to simply change the name to something really snappy such as "Sierra Club Palo Verde Meetup" and maybe throw in some key words such as "Hiking, Backpacking, Kayaking, and Canyoneering" so that people doing a search could come here. As it is, most folks doing these types of things are single. It's just that the focus becomes more the activities themselves with the explicit understanding that people in relationships are welcome to join in. Thus: "Sierra Club Palo Verde Meetup: Hiking, Backpacking, Kayaking, and Canyoneering." I could continue as an organizer, but don't have time to develop bylaws. Someone else would need to do that, but I'm not sure that's even needed if the thing is under direct supervision of the Palo Verde Group. Thanks, Steve

Hi Jon I understand your concerns for the SCS section of the Palo Verde group. Our group did attempt to revitalize the singles group but it was basically lack of broad support from former or new members of the Sierra Club community. A completely worth while effort as far as I am concerned. I would suggest that the figure of over 900 members is highly misleading i.e. we never heard from them except in the occasional social or hiking encounter. It is typical of the new electronic age of joining anything for even a one time investigation and may not be anything more. At this time I would not pursue an attempt to recreate SCS but will certainly continue my membership in the Sierra Club. Morgan Wirta