Fellow Spridgeteers:
I tried to carefully read through everyones 2 cents worth up to now before
chiming in. I am a member of two very different car clubs that behave in
very different ways. Back in the early 80's, the Chico British Car Club
actually began as a Sports Car Time and Distance Rally club, with a large
event called "The Dam Thing". It was a poker & TD ralley, and peaked at
over 150 cars participating. The major sponsor donated a free ($1000 value)
paint job to the winning poker hand, and the meet ran from Lake Oroville Dam
to Lake Tahoe. Over the years, as less and less daily drivers were on the
road, and attendance dropped to somewhere around 35 cars, the club had to
metamorphos, and became the British Car Club. This summer, the major event
sponsored by the club was the All British Car Meet, and attendance was about
150 cars. So I guess what I am saying is that things change, and club
events have to change to attract new members. There are far less drivers
than there were 10 years ago, but more clunkers, and more pristine cars.
Because of that, even though driving events are probably the most fun, they
are the least practical for both of the remaining large group of cars. The
owners of pristine cars generally thrive on recognition, so to exclude
awards, voting and judging is to exclude those members. Owners of dream
cars, (thats how I prefer to look at works in progress, as "I dream of the
day when my car is gonna be sooo nice") don't want to shell out the big
bucks to enter the gates. So why not have a true meet, where all condition
of cars are welcome, but two entry fees. $5 gets the average car in that
says I'm not here to win anything. Give him a vote and a free banger. $20
gets the guy who wants to win a trophy in, but hey, lets not let him vote!
Have hands-on tech sessions. Great way for the "we tight" crowd to get some
free labor. Encourage Vender and swap meet participation by not charging
them for space! I know I sure don't want to bring down my .50 parts if I
gotta pay $20 for a space, plus $20 for my car. And mix things up. If I
have parts to sell, I don't want to be 1 mile away from my car. So why not
have swap spaces and show spaces and works in progress spaces all
intermingled?
The other car club I am (was) envolved in is the Falcon Club. The first
meet I went to of theirs was one of the most memorable. It was held in a
park, there were games for kids and families, and at the end, there was a
big pot-luck put on by the host club. Again, over the years that changed,
and began being held in parking lots and at hotels with expensive catered
dinners at the end. Infighting over where to hold the meet ended up
splitting the chapter into two different clubs. All because the "show car"
crowd kept pushing the price of the event out of the reach of the "we tight"
crowd. Now neither chapter really has enough members to put on any events
at all. Quite a shame.
The last thing about events I have observed, is that some people get made to
feel guilty if they don't help out and do their part, by working the gate,
parking cars, planning, etc. etc. As one of those people who at this point
in my life and career is too busy to pull my fair weight in the club, I
sometimes have second thoughts about attending my clubs events for fear of
being roped into something that I just can't do. So, another way to
increase participation is to realize that yes, most of the time it will just
be the core group planning and working the different functions. But don't
rub it in the noses of those who can't help, or they will stop coming to the
events.
Bottom line, the events have to be fun, or whats the point?
David Riker
74 Midget
78 Midget
63 Falcon
----- Original Message -----
From: Curtis Carlson <carlson@navtech.com>
To: <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 1999 8:18 AM
Subject: Club Apathy (relatively long)
> Friends:
> Lately, our local AH Club has been suffering from some apathy which is
> showing itself in diminishing participation in club activities. Our end
of
> the year drive resulted in only 6 cars out of a possible 150 members.
This
> last weekend, we held our last Gymkhana and only 4 cars showed up and two
of
> them were over an hour late!
>
>
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