Hey jw - where's Magic Valley? I'll be up around the Post Falls/Coeur D'Alene area in about a week and a half - are you anywhere near there?

 

The Magic Valley is the Twin Falls area.

I am a little aways away, like several hours from Post Falls, but it is beautiful country. Lots of things to do if your into the outdoors.

I hope you enjoy your trip and bring a along a good camera.

 

Depends on your route up there, you won't go too far away from there fro Cali... cut across Utah, and you will be even closer...

 

Yeah - it's almost a toss-up to go up thru Oregon or around thru Salt Lake and Missoula, in which case we would go thru Pocatello. We usually go up thru California and Oregon and visit relatives along the way.

 

If I recall, Magic Valley is only a couple hours from Boise

 

It take's energy and spunk..
If you do decide to do the job..
Other leaders would be glad to help you out..

 

Hi, my name is Joe...and I'm a CL...wasn't that supposed to be the first step?

LOL, Ok guys, I guess I'm supposed to be serious about this. The job in my case has been fun and interesting. I've met a bunch of great guys and learned a lot. Now nothing ever comes easy. In my case I have a state that has population in regions which means I have to work to get folks to drive to a location for a meet. Soooo many things to consider when setting up a meet.

BUT, that's where the rest of the CLs come in. Need ideas for a meet...post the question in our forum and you get ideas from the rest of us.

Your success is also dependent on your time availability. In my case, I'm 53 and still work full time. I'm also active in multiple organizations (Red Cross, political work, community facilitator) and have grandkids that live nearby so my time on the forums comes in spurts which is ok. You just need to checkin daily for a couple of minutes minimum.

The bottom line is....you will be as successful as the time you invest in the task.

Give us a try...you won't regret the time!

Joe

 

Oregon CL here. As a new CL I say jump right in! All the CL's are a great bunch of guys, and will help get things started. One thing I've found frustrating is trying to get people to post.......Most people have a tech forum where they hang out (my favorite is the Bio forum), and getting them to post in a chapter forum is like pulling teeth..........It just takes time.

 

It doesn't help that there's only about 20 regular members from ID-
I'll have to try and mix things up a bit, I'm moving to the Twin Falls area in a month or so.

 

just go for it.... if you post it they will come ..you will get your regulars and some help from other chapters ...I have learned it just takes a little time and patience!!!!!

 

One of the things for you to do, on becoming a CL, is to hit the FTE members list, and search for members in your state. There are a lot of people on FTE that don't realize that there are state chapters. Keeping the chapter active is also very important. I also try and send out a chapter wide pm, about once every month or two, which kind of helps to bring some of the guys by, who normally spend all their time in the tech forums. It can be frustrating at times, but you just have to be patient. You wiill get a TON of support from all of the rest of us, so you should give it a shot!

 

As a relatively new CL, I am also learning the ropes. As several have mentioned, if you have any questions or concerns, other CL's or a special mod that we all love, are more than willing to step in and give some encouragement and suggestions as to what has worked for them and what has not.

You have to remember that it is your chapter, and all of you can shape it the way that you want to. As stated, you will need to make yourself visable to your fellow chapter members by posting and encouraging other to do the same. To your chapter members, if they see that you are interested, then they will be interested. Once you get the interest level up, then you can start planning meets (G2G) within your state. Another suggestion is to delegate some of the CL's duties to active members of the chapter. This will also get more people intersted and active.

As Pat stated up above, it will be frustrating at times. There will be many high points, but there will also be many low points. All in all, being a CL has been very rewarding to me and I encourage anyone that is considering the position to give it a shot. All of the other CL's have been in the same spot and we are here for each other.

 

If things work out, I'll be just down the road from you in Hazelton. Going to be there on Friday anyways.

 

Welcome to the area then. Once you get settled in you'll have to go check out some of the area attractions.

 

Thanks to all that have posted their experiences. I volunteered to be chapter leader for Idaho.

Thank you once again.