Would there be any interest in once-per-month general meetings?

At one time, Queen City Yacht Club general meetings were weekly affairs. The current, twice-a-month schedule was adopted in September of 1993.

In the ten years we have been members of the club, we have noticed the attendence at general meetings decline precipitously. This despite that fact that the Wednesday night dinners prior to the meeting are close to SRO.

The declining interest in the general meetings is a long term trend. It has nothing, really, to do with whether Commodre So-and-so specifically runs a "good meeting". Some Commodores run great meetings, but participation lags. Some people almost never come to a meeting unless they, personally, have something to announce. We have more than once seen new members walk out of the very same general meeting at which they were initiated.

Personally, I suspect it has a lot to do with the way we share information these days. You don't really need to attend the general meeting in order to know what's going on in the club. Officer and committee reports too often rehash old news, or cover aspects and events in the club that may be of interest to only a handful of members. Forums, like this one, as well as posters around the club, the general web site, and the readerboard in the entryway adequately announce most club events. Items of specific urgency are transmitted by email.

Clearly, as a group we enjoy getting together for dinner and drinks a lot more than we enjoy sitting through a general meeting. Willie and Peg are enormous assets for QCYC, and they count on the revenue from two meetings a month.

Should we continue to get together for dinner and drinks two Wednesdays per month (I'd be in favor) and go upstairs for the business meeting only one Wednesday per month?  I think the business meetings would be better attended if they were only once per month.

Any adjustment in the schedule would require a by-laws change.

Is it worth exploring?