I had the same experience at my first local beekeeping meeting, but things have changed. One of the long-established and respected members has got her hands on a Flow hive and is leading our next meeting with a talk and demonstration!
http://forum.honeyflow.com/t/san-diego-california-maybe-trailblazing-for-flow-hives-feb-meeting/4802?u=dawn_sd
Hopefully your club will come around to the idea, but meanwhile I think you are wise not to alienate yourself as a new beekeeper. They will still have useful things to share with you, even if they don’t share our Flow hive enthusiasm.
Dawn