Club Meeting

I went to a local bike club meeting again last night and was really encouraged to find a number of bikes parked outside.  It seems that there are more than 2 or 3 who ride for mundane purposes like I do.  The club is very active and has full agenda every meeting, but one piece of  new business which came up caught my attention.
One of our most elder members (he who speaks of downtube shifters) brought up the notion of a membership committee.   The club has 275 members and has continually grown, so the suggestion took me by surprise.  I kind of assumed there was some sort of committee or ongoing recruitment program.  While his suggestion was not dismissed out of hand, it was not supported as I would have expected.  Both the current and past president supported him by saying he was free to go out and proselitize as much as he'd like,  but in the opinion of the club, those who are interested will find them.  To put it in the words of one, the club had nothing to offer except group rides and those interested in riding in a group will find them.
Does anybody else find this kind of opinion in local clubs?
It seems to me that a club this active and well funded has the potential to be (and probably is already considered) a primary advocacy group in the community.  The club does more than sponsor weekly rides, it sponsors an annual "tour" for the general public, a race team, a criterium, and a beginners bike camp.  I think the opportunity for more advocacy in the community exists and the scope of such a club could be expanded, but is this common among bike clubs?