I have been made aware that a comment formulated in my last column has upset some of our club members.
The offending remark is as follows:
“Our club is an old-fashion, fuddy-duddy club stagnating in the past and La Pétanque Marinière is literally marinating in a stale broth.”
I stand by what I said but will elaborate on that subject.
There is no denying that for the last twenty years our club has been in a rut.
We have been repeating ad nauseam (especially in the culinary domain) what has been done since the club was founded.
For some members, the existing state of affairs is as familiar and comfortable as an old shoe, but in an ever-changing world we cannot settle for a status quo.
As a member of La Pétanque Marinière, I am partial to our club, but I must admit that when it comes to special events we have been totally outclassed by other clubs.
To thrive our club must innovate. And we can start innovating by offering more original picnic menus.
Frankly, many people are tired of the Lentils and Sausages, the Leg of Lamb or the steak menus.
“We need to make changes in something established, by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.”
We should not forget that we are not only catering to our club. We are also catering to the world at large.
I know that we have the talents to bring about those changes. They just need motivation and incentive.
The volunteers that we have relied on for the last decades are tired of being unappreciated cheap labor.
I suggest that we invest in a regular culinary crew and remunerate them (as some others do) to the best of our ability.
Let’s give them a budget and allow them to unleash their creativity.
Nothing stirs more the imagination than concrete recognition for a job well done, and you might be pleasantly surprised by the results.
The question is: are we mature enough to accept criticism and recognize that our Modus Operandi is obsolete and in need of remedial action?
I fervently hope so.
Alain