Challenging problems are always solved with challenging solutions. For example, winning the War on Terror, fixing our nation’s healthcare system, and navigating out of the Great Recession, each are complex and multifaceted and broad-based issues that will eventually be solved by the accumulation of numerous small or large “fixes” or actions, each of which may be controversial in whole or in part. There are no silver bullets here. There are no fantastic “one size fits all” or one hit-wonders that will solve these major problems of our time. These challenges will at best be solved by an iterative and interactive process that converges on the eventual resolution. The road has been, and is paved with good old fashioned hard work. Yes we will at times be uncomfortable, but in the end we will be stronger and happy to have solved these challenges of high calling.
What does my soapbox ranting have to do with the NSC? Well we too are challenged as an organization with a complex issue: increasing our membership numbers and growing the NSC after the decline of most of the past decade. All of us members know that our way of running ski bus trips and our style of running activities is unique and attractive to many people. Just look at the rich history of our 52 years of existence. We have many good and experienced and energized persons who work hard in the here and now to make each one of our events as successful as possible. We also can call upon resources that have been built up over the years that can serve to catalyze and invigorate the NSC during tough times when we need to breathe new life into the NSC. Yes indeed, our NSC challenge of growing our numbers and making a positive presence onto the world is a direct microcosm of what is happening in our larger world context, right now. How we rise to this challenge and how we address this challenge will define what stuff we and the NSC are made of. The good news is that your Board has identified this challenge and has begun to act!
In order to keep holding Tahoe area bus trips we need to attract new members. If we do not increase our numbers, we will not be able to sustain the fixed costs of chartering a bus. We also cannot afford to cancel bus trips as the Board has found that the mere threat of cancelled trips is an obstacle to many would-be signees committing to those trips. Hence, after Trip 1 with its rather dismal number of signees, the Board decided to chart an aggressive course of action where we would implement attractive pricing initiatives aimed at attracting persons not familiar with NSC bus trips. In short, the Board implemented the age old sales tactic of a sample. NSC needs to market itself aggressively in these times with modern tools and communication methods to new people who will fill the bus and hopefully join us as active members. We cannot afford to continue with “business as usual” as we will not survive for long where people have many choices and instant information on ski resorts and how to get to those resorts. The Board unanimously decided on this course of action because we felt that it is in the best long term interests of all NSC members to grow our membership numbers and fill the bus trips.
So with these initiatives, we saw an immediate increase in signees on trip 2 and another on trip 3. What is very satisfying is that trip 4 is the first NSC bus trip that was completely filled in over 5 years. Many of the persons that joined us were impressed with our style and level of value even if they had to pay full price. In fact, a good number of those new people on trip 2 joined us on trip 3 or 4 or both! A few have even signed up to help out at our Nikkei Matsuri Chicken Salad sell-Off on April 24-25, 2010 (please mark these dates on your calendars and help the NSC out). The bottom line is that the bus trip initiatives succeeded in the goal of filling up the bus trips and most likely in attracting new members.
Now that we have been able to catalyze the bus trips, we need to keep the momentum up. The Board will now focus on adding value to a NSC membership. We want to increase the number of member perks and ensure that members and would-be members can perceive value in joining the NSC. As the NSC ski season is winding down, we need to enhance the value of membership in the Bay Area during the off-season. So look for new events and new ideas in the coming months. In fact, if you feel enthused and inspired, you can step up and join the Board. We need new blood and new ideas to keep our recovery going. Coming up in April, you will see a ballot for the 2010-11 NSC Board elections. We have been able to get members to run for most positions but we do have room for more help. Please email me at 
In closing, we are now starting to roll. The NSC is attracting new people again. And while we are encouraged, this new-found momentum is merely a start. We need to push forward and aggressively seek out new members by providing an added-value for those who are NSC members. The Board is aggressively working hard to achieve the long term goal of increasing our membership numbers. Once are at healthy numbers again, we will be able to do many other great and fun activities, Please help us out and work hard for the NSC!
