Massachusetts Rifle Association - Woburn, MA

milktree said:
Because a safety class is open to anyone who signs up for it, not just special people.

Because a ladies day or open house bring new members into the club, and are good for the entire club.

Because any of those league matches are open to anyone who is in the league, and anyone can be in the league.

The Board can hold a match open open to only the board, but it's not OK to close the range while they're doing it.

Just like I can hold a match at MRA anytime I want, open only to people I choose, so long as I obey all the club rules.

Board members are not our betters, they're not special people.
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Didn’t say the board or the volunteers are our betterers. Just said they deserve the opportunity to do it everyone once in a while. If they did it every month than I’d agree with the frustration. It’s clear you don’t appreciate them. I do and that’s the difference.
 
NRAGOA said:
Didn’t say the board or the volunteers are our betterers. Just said they deserve the opportunity to do it everyone once in a while. If they did it every month than I’d agree with the frustration. It’s clear you don’t appreciate them. I do and that’s the difference.
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If you think it's reasonable or desirable for some members to be more equal than others, that's pretty much the same as thinking of them as "our betters".


Also, don't put words in my mouth. I never said anything about "not appreciating" them. The volunteers, including the BoD, do a lot of work that is incredibly important and sometimes essential to the club. That's not the same thing as thinking they're not bound by the same rules as the rest of us.

To close a range for an event that's not open to anyone else and not even put it on the calendar is pretty bogus.
 
milktree said:
If you think it's reasonable or desirable for some members to be more equal than others, that's pretty much the same as thinking of them as "our betters".


Also, don't put words in my mouth. I never said anything about "not appreciating" them. The volunteers, including the BoD, do a lot of work that is incredibly important and sometimes essential to the club. That's not the same thing as thinking they're not bound by the same rules as the rest of us.

To close a range for an event that's not open to anyone else and not even put it on the calendar is pretty bogus.
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Why don’t you call them and ask them how often they do it. I believe you’re upset about once a year for a hour or two.
If they did it all the time I’d be next you complaining.
 
NRAGOA said:
Why don’t you call them and ask them how often they do it. I believe you’re upset about once a year for a hour or two.
If they did it all the time I’d be next you complaining.
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OK, so you're saying that at some level that behavior becomes "bad", and below that it's "fine", do I read you correctly?

My take on it is that there really isn't an acceptable amount. I say that because there aren't levels of membership, we're all members. The BoD are also members. They're not more equal than other members.
 
milktree said:
OK, so you're saying that at some level that behavior becomes "bad", and below that it's "fine", do I read you correctly?

My take on it is that there really isn't an acceptable amount. I say that because there aren't levels of membership, we're all members. The BoD are also members. They're not more equal than other members.
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If they did it once a month, I'd be disappointed. If they did once a year, for 1-2 hours, to celebrate a year of service than Id be supportive. Some of them put in a lot of hours a week. Its a thankless job and yet they do it. Some for well over 10 years.
You may acknowledge how important the volunteers are but, to me, it still sounds like you dont appreciate them much or at all.
It has nothing to do with anyone or any group being betterer or more equal. Its almost a token of appreciation to not complain about 1-2 hours per year at best.
agree to disagree milktree.
 
NRAGOA said:
If they did it once a month, I'd be disappointed. If they did once a year, for 1-2 hours, to celebrate a year of service than Id be supportive. Some of them put in a lot of hours a week. Its a thankless job and yet they do it. Some for well over 10 years.
You may acknowledge how important the volunteers are but, to me, it still sounds like you dont appreciate them much or at all.
It has nothing to do with anyone or any group being betterer or more equal. Its almost a token of appreciation to not complain about 1-2 hours per year at best.
agree to disagree milktree.
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Why do you keep asserting "don't appreciate"? It's nothing like what I said and not even remotely true.

Yea, it's a ton of work. But it's *VOLUNTARY* work. If volunteers don't feel appreciated enough, they're free to quit. As soon as I resent doing the work I do, I'll find someone else to take over.

Anyone who keeps doing it and hates doing it is a fool to keep doing it. If they don't feel appreciated enough, they can literally just quit. This isn't like being drafted or becoming a parent or taking care of your own aging parents where you can't just quit, it's a job that people do because they like it and the reward of keeping things working well has value to them.

If the bylaws say there's special perks for being on the board or an activity chair, then I have absolutely no problem with that. I don't think that's the case though. Certainly blocking off a range from member use without putting it on the calendar is not OK.

The problem with "it's just this once" and "it's not very often" is that it can lead to a culture of "we're more equal than the other members". I've seen this happen. It grows like a cancer until everyone gets pissed off and angry.
 
PappyM3 said:
I’ll have to keep an eye on the calendar to find out when every single weekday is no longer closed.
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dcmdon said:
I arrived at MRA this morning to find the outdoor ranges closed.

Shame on me. It was clearly conveyed in the email blast. I should have checked.

Instead I practiced some offhand .22 rifle on the 2nd floor. Good fun anyway.
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They’re still closed every single weekday and will be at least through the end of January.

They don’t show it for February, but hell, back in November they only had it posted a few weeks out too.

This is getting extremely frustrating. Close to a quarter of the year I can’t use the club.

And their “e-blast” still doesn’t work. I get emails from the board of directors about apparel to buy, but nothing regarding range closures. Nothing in my spam either.
 
milktree said:
If you think it's reasonable or desirable for some members to be more equal than others, that's pretty much the same as thinking of them as "our betters".


Also, don't put words in my mouth. I never said anything about "not appreciating" them. The volunteers, including the BoD, do a lot of work that is incredibly important and sometimes essential to the club. That's not the same thing as thinking they're not bound by the same rules as the rest of us.

To close a range for an event that's not open to anyone else and not even put it on the calendar is pretty bogus.
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For loop clubs unfortunately this stuff is par for the course. Basically to not go completely insane as a loop club member, you have to accept or tolerate the gruel one is dispensed. If the flow doesn't work well there, moving on is best for one's sanity.

ETA: It's the ole - convenience vs usability vs gonads and strife problem.
 
PappyM3 said:
Still going through at least 16 February. No completion date anticipated as far as I can tell. They keep extending the weekday range closures out by a couple weeks at a time.
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Still going. I was able to squeak out for an hour of range time today, but was yet again disappointed.

The outdoor ranges are supposed to open at 4pm each weekday. I was finally able to make it here after 4pm. Yet, it’s still closed at 4:30pm.

I’m not waiting around to see when it will open. With early sunsets this time of year, every little bit that it’s closed after 4pm is significant.
 
VigilantesLiberi said:
I've been trying to call to ask about turning in a membership application. Is wed and sun the only 2 days that someone is at the office?
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Yeah those are the only business hours unfortunately, Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, but that is because the place is run entirely on volunteers and most all patricipating members are self sufficient requiring little oversight. I've found them to be more responsive via email vs. Phone. If you have the time, you can always swing by when it's "open".

You could probably either just mail your app or drop it off in person
 
aphextwin11 said:
Yeah those are the only business hours unfortunately, Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, but that is because the place is run entirely on volunteers and most all patricipating members are self sufficient requiring little oversight. I've found them to be more responsive via email vs. Phone. If you have the time, you can always swing by when it's "open".

You could probably either just mail your app or drop it off in person
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Looks perfect for what I want from their website. I foolishly showed up in person today, only to speak with the snack machine guy. Do you get to come in anytime as a member 24/7? Do you always have a range open where you can shoot a 5.56 AR?
 
VigilantesLiberi said:
Looks perfect for what I want from their website. I foolishly showed up in person today, only to speak with the snack machine guy. Do you get to come in anytime as a member 24/7? Do you always have a range open where you can shoot a 5.56 AR?
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Yes indeed. It’s a great club. You could even shoot full auto 24x7, if you were so inclined.
 
VigilantesLiberi said:
Looks perfect for what I want from their website. I foolishly showed up in person today, only to speak with the snack machine guy. Do you get to come in anytime as a member 24/7? Do you always have a range open where you can shoot a 5.56 AR?
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Yup - the indoor range is open 24hrs, 25yds, and you can do just about anything except 50bmg, tracer rounds, or plink nonpaper targets. The outdoor ranges you can also come and go as you please, but shooting is subject to daylight hours.

I will acknowledge that while offering a good selection, the vending machine sucks and probably works like 30% of the time 🤣
 
aphextwin11 said:
Yup - the indoor range is open 24hrs, 25yds, and you can do just about anything except 50bmg, tracer rounds, or plink nonpaper targets. The outdoor ranges you can also come and go as you please, but shooting is subject to daylight hours.

I will acknowledge that while offering a good selection, the vending machine sucks and probably works like 30% of the time 🤣
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I'll pass it on to the snacks guy this Sunday.
 

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