Ed, K3DNE, is President of the SFCG and has been very interested in boosting activity of that group. Know it wasn't my place to do it, and hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of forwarding this to him for his consideration even before the SECC group spoke up. Give him some time to think up some options too. We've talked about activity and I know he is open to and actively seeking ideas. I copied him in on this email too so you two have each other's email address.
As to SECC activity, that's why I now belong to both the SECC and SFCG -- and the unmentioned DDCC. If the SECC had been an active organization I wouldn't now be posting scores for the SFCG. John, K4BAI, and I talked about this years ago. I was very active in the club and post all the time. Not because I'm a know-it-all as some seem to think, but because I'm enthusiastic about contesting and love to share what I've learned and discovered about it with others. Usually it is stuff others taught me and experienced ops already know. But I digress... In my opinion, the SECC has been fading away for a long time. Hardly anyone seemed interested and anything other than a post of your score was a rarity. You couldn't drum up a conversation no matter how hard you tried. I asked myself what the point of a contest club is if there isn't any sharing of ideas. The spinoff and other regional groups you describe tell me I wasn't the only one that felt that way. Haven't told you, but I've been very happy you have started to rekindle things a bit Jeff. However, from my perspective it will be hard to put the "Jumping Ship" Genie back in the bottle and bring back those of us who have strayed. The new blood coming in might be the best focus for rejuvenation efforts. Just my opinion though and I've certainly been wrong many times in my life.
The DDCC is drawing talent from this region too. Their location diversity makes it harder for them to compete in an ARRL circle event though.
So, I guess to sum up I'd say targeted regional competitions are a great idea. Ed, K3DNE, has kicked around that thought too. Change needs cooperation and membership effort. Hope people step up. I did tell Ed that I thought maybe the SECC was a bit of a giant compared to the SECC. Not sure how competitive the SFCG would be. But we're getting (and growing) some good contesters and folks are beginning to improve their stations, so maybe something can be worked out. Regardless of how things go with the SFCG it is good to hear the SECC looking to shake things up for themselves. It's needed.
Kevan N4XL