I joined in 2016 during a membership drive having never met anyone at the club and having never been on a sailboat. I had seen the boats on the lake and it looked like fun, but other than that I had nothing other than a few friendly faces (mainly Jay Smith) and a low entry fee of $250 to encourage me to join. If the entry fee hadn't been "Half Off" I wouldn't have joined, because I had no idea if I was going to like the place or the people so I wasn't going to gamble $500 on it. So if we break down my experience, there were 3 things that lead me to join.

1) It looked fun.
2) Someone was nice to me.
3) It wasn't expensive

To me, those are the 3 keys to getting new members. There's a whole other conversation needed about how to keep members, but we'll table that for later.

1) How do we make it look fun? Fortunately, this one isn't terribly hard. Sailing is fun, hanging out with friends is fun, and having a community where you're known is fun. Just tell people about how fun it is, invite them to come have fun with you, and for those of us with access to the social media accounts, try to share content that shows how much fun it is.

2) This one is a little harder than #1. Most everyone at the club is super nice in general and doubly so to strangers; however, people in the sailing community are not always nice to each other. There are few things more off-putting then walking into a place (or going to a website) and seeing people be crappy to one another. Granted, much of the crappy-ness is actually people who know each other well bantering and having a good time, but a visitor does not know that. When you see a new face, or when posting publicly on the internet, it is good to put a positive face on things. After people join, they will inevitably discover that the community is not perfect, but by that time they'll have seen the good and the bad and can make an educated judgment call instead of being scared away by people being jerks to each other in public. In short, we need to smile, say hello, welcome people, take them sailing, and actually try to make friends. If you're not looking for new friends, that's fine, but don't let your actions stop people who are.

3) For some reason this is a hot button topic and I cannot see why. For an adult membership the normal joining cost is $500. I understand that this is in part to cover the clubs expenses if someone joins, runs up a bar tab and then never pays another dime, and part try and make sure that someone is serious about joining and willing to contribute to the club. I get it and I think there is some merit to that; however, we need to make sure to think about it from the eyes of a prospective member. They're worried about spending the money and then all the smiling faces turning into jerks, or the promise of boat usage and fun turning to dust as soon as the money is paid. Them joining, is a much bigger risk for them than it is for the club. Some people don't consider $500 a big risk, and some do. Those that don't can join any time of the year. The point of the reduced rate membership drive is for a month or two a year, to reduce that risk for people who are on the fence and give them a chance to join. I see this as a solely positive thing that had no real downside for the club. If they decided being a member isn't for them, and they don't stick around, then we're not out anything, but if they decide to stick around, then we both have won.

Additionally, in response to some folks who are involved in the community that won't join or who have rescinded their membership because they don't think the club is what it should be... NOYC is a member owned and run club. That means that the membership has made it into what it is today, and that the membership will make it into whatever it becomes in the future. As with any large community of people, not everyone agrees on everything, and the majority rules. If you aren't a fan of what the majority does, then you have two options, one easy and one hard. You can give up, quit/not join/whatever and have no influence over the future of the club or you can get involved and be the change you want to see in the club. If you want the club to be more welcoming, come make people feel welcome. If you want the club to put more emphasis on racing, then come organize a regatta and volunteer to do Race Committee. If you want the club to have parties that are more your kind of fun, then come plan a party. This club means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Everyone has a say and influence over the direction and future of the club and by extension the future and direction of sailing in the New Orleans & Gulf Coast area. I'm all for the criticism as long as there is action to follow it up. Come help.