June 23rd 2026 meeting info:

We have been talking about something for years now and it has come up again in discussion. We have had dwindling attendance at our Tuesday night monthly meetings. Our membership goes through ups and downs considering some members who have passed or moved away. For some it is driving at night, especially those who come from

longer distances. Thus, we are trying to get a sense of what the majority of our members want. Especially those active (or formerly active) at meetings.

1. Would you consider exploring the option of having our meetings during the day? Maybe a Saturday at 10:00 or 11:00 a.m.? We would need to see if the Town of Cheshire and Senior Center have this availability, of course, and assess if members are even interested in this change. The meetings would then be more of a Breakfast Meeting and refreshments would cater to that time.

2. If the majority want to keep the Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m., there are some things to consider. Night meetings have been an issue for some speakers due to work schedules or their age, as many do not want to drive at night unless nearby.

3. Membership Drive: The AAFRC has always been able to increase our membership when it goes through a downward trajectory. Thus, we ask all active members to please start asking guests to join them at meetings as that is the best way to increase membership again. We used to have up to 40 attendees at meetings, which made the AAFRC attractive for speakers to make time to come and present. If we start falling to 15 or less, it becomes hard to justify their time commitment.

We can continue to play videos, as we know a lot of members like this format, but it is not easy to find ones that are an hour or less in length. Are you willing to start inviting guests to add to our membership again?

Please consider the comments above and we will start a vote at this meeting, along with an email going out, to gauge interest in whether to make a change or not.