Not everyone is welcome !

[Bdshull@AOL.COM]

All,

Actually, maybe we are really all pretending a little bit here.  When it gets 
down to it, the writer of the original post is right, not everyone can get 
in, and there is a "ritual formality."  Having met some of you guys on this 
thread, I think you would make anyone feel at home in your local chapter, and 
that is valuable.  But the little "ritual  formality" says a lot about of our 
collective sense of ourselves, and specifically, the collective participation 
of the local chapter in its responsibility for inducting a new applicant.  
The existing members, for a moment, have to assume that responsibility;  and 
the applicant, for a moment, learns that it isn't completely easy to be a PTG 
member.  Actually the applicant had to attend 4 functions, and then the 
applicant had to fill out an application and hand it in, with recommendations 
(which someone might actually follow up on and check out!), and the 
possibility exists that when they send you out of the room so that they can 
vote, they might be talking about how your the guy in the area who changes 
name brands on your "rebuilt" pianos in order to make a few thousand more 
bucks, and maybe they SHOULD deny your application - but probably they are 
just getting a kick out of their own memories of when they had to do the same 
thing when they applied;  they're telling a few nice stories about what they 
already know about you, which is probably pretty respectful, whatever your 
level of skill is, and every attendee gets to learn something good about just 
YOU, for the moment.

This little formality does what rituals are meant to do:  symbolize something 
about the organization, and our own sense of self in the organization.  No, 
not everyone is welcome - not exactly.  You have to fill out a form, get some 
recommendations, and maybe have avoided doing anything to attract the local 
DA's robust department for piano business investigations.  My guess is that 
as the PTG continues to grow into more of a professional organization we will 
have less difficulty with this issue.  In the meantime, I vote for keeping 
the ritual, and keeping members like Terry, Ron, and Conrad too (I'm really a 
nice guy, you see) - from month to month and day to day, it is great to have 
someone around who knows more than you do, and doesn't have to extract a 
little something out of you to share what they know.

Bill Shull, RPT
University of Redlands, La Sierra University
Loma Linda, CA

(Conrad, what are you doing up so early in the morning?)

 >Maybe PTG should consider doing away with the "ritual formality".
 
 
 I suppose what chapter you go to does matter, though it shouldn't.  As far 
 as I've noticed, my chapter has the "Olive Garden" philosophy - "When 
 you're here, you're family."  ...or maybe it's another example of 
 "Minnesota nice".  They even took in an ex-patriot Pennsylvanian living in 
 Iowa (me).
 
 
 Conrad Hoffsommer - Decorah, Ia.  mailto:hoffsoco@luther.edu >>