What makes a club successful?

[nhusa]

I believe that success comes thru relationships - the common thread is the car but it is relationships that make a club a success or a failure.

Almost everything we do is for some type of personal gain or satisfaction and a club is no different Some folks are there to learn, others to talk with their friends, some to stroke their egos, some to promote their business, some to get out of the house, some to feel as if they belong to something, and some because they can be on a power trip. If the club has too much of any of these things it will destroy itself. Finding and maintaining a balance is the key and if I know how I would be a genius

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by nhusa

I believe that success comes thru relationships - the common thread is the car but it is relationships that make a club a success or a failure.

Almost everything we do is for some type of personal gain or satisfaction and a club is no different Some folks are there to learn, others to talk with their friends, some to stroke their egos, some to promote their business, some to get out of the house, some to feel as if they belong to something, and some because they can be on a power trip. If the club has too much of any of these things it will destroy itself. Finding and maintaining a balance is the key and if I know how I would be a genius

Nhusa,
Our club has ALL of the above. It IS what it IS. Some only attend the MEETINGS, some only attend the TOURS/EVENTS, some never attend ANYTHING & just toodle with their cars & have GREAT FUN, driving them a LOT!-----"SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE"
Our club recently celebrated it's 50th ANNIVERSARY!!! How's that for SUCCESS?
Bill W.

[modelAsteve]

A great news letter! Even one that is on the internet.
When the majority of the club wants to check if my cotter pins are installed correctly they will see my rear end leaving. (choose mine or the differential)
Not getting young people involved.

[Duffy1]

I think this was addressed on another post . But I will go ahead and reiterate that every year a survey should be taken as to what the members expect to give to the club and in return what they expect to get from being in the club. I am a fairly new member two clubs with expectations of sharing model A technical information. Both clubs ,for all practical purposes, no longer have technical show and tell on the agenda. Both clubs are starting to look like a social club.

[John Duden]

I'm 17, joined when I was 14, I would have to say the best thing I thought was my first meeting every one welcomed me and all offered to help me if I needed anything. being the shy kid I am in front of a group of people, they made me introduce myself
I really have enjoyed being apart of the Lady Slippers A's for the past few years
John

[nhusa]

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Originally Posted by Duffy1

I am a fairly new member two clubs with expectations of sharing model A technical information. Both clubs ,for all practical purposes, no longer have technical show and tell on the agenda. Both clubs are starting to look like a social club.

Duff - you make a good point. "Experienced folks" sometimes forget that the newbees tend to be looking for technical info because they have been thru it before.

The same thing happens in forums where we see the same subject come up over and over again, but a little personal attention can go far in getting someone involved in the sport. And maybe the poor guy has a problem we haven't addressed before.

[Chris in WNC]

when I lived in Jacksonville FL, I was twice president of the original club there and edited/published the newsletter for 5 years.

it devolved into a club that was not doing what many of us wanted to do- touring and shop sessions.

so a group of us departed and formed another club. we intentionally set it up so there were NO officers, elections or monthly business meetings after dark at bad restaurants. we strove to have at least one tour and one shop session every month.

after a period of cooling off, both clubs continued to peacefully co-exist and serve their member's desires.

three years after moving to the mountains, I have heard rumblings of discontent that the newer club members are loosing their desire for touring. is it because the members are continuing to age? don't know.

bottom line: there's no one-size-fits-all for car clubs. muddle around and find out what works best for YOUR group.........

[Ken Ehrenhofer]

I think you can sum it up in one word....FUN if it is a fun club it will be successful. One activity per month and a meeting. Tech talks, cake and coffee at the meetings annual picnic, parades, parts swaps and great tours..... ladies night out etc. great times great memories. Illinois Region in our 59th year still going strong but getting older and some new younger members coming in......Active members are the key

[RockHillWill]

In an earlier post there was a reference to no club "show and tell". As this might refer to a National Club, the MARC group has a minimum of two scheduled technical seminars at each of the Membership Meets and the National Meets. Additionally, the host club of these events has often presented a seminar of their own. The scheduled seminars are presented by members of the Judging Standards Committee (the folks who are responsible for writing the Restoration Guidelines). Also, both National Clubs have capable technical advisors that write a column in each National Club magazine, some of which include drawings and or diagrams. I do not know the MAFCA gentleman first hand, but can vouch for the very knowledgeable gentleman that writes for the MARC magazine, The Model A News.

[Del in NE Ohio]

what keeps a club going changes with the age and demographics of the members. I am a 20 year member of the penn ohio model “a” club. This club started out as a marc region and left marc because the membership wanted to hold more frequent meets with judging. Individual car judging was the lifeblood of the club for years, averaging between 400-500 annual members. Over time, the club changed and interest in judging began to decline. More and more members wanted to drive and tour in their a’s. Now the club is smaller (approx 400 members) and the focus is on driving and touring. Of the 400 members, i would guess that less than half are active in penn ohio events, but many more are very active within their chapter and are content to drive their “a” to the local cruise-in at the dairy queen and seldom attend a penn ohio meet. While these members are less visible to the parent club, they are still there, paying their dues and participating at the level that suits them.

[Del in NE Ohio]

Another thing!
Something my local Penn Ohio Chapter did to help out “newbies” or any other member was to organize a chapter S.W.A.T. team (Special Workers And Tools). If someone needs help with their “A”, a single phone call scrambles the team. Simple tune ups to body removal/installation. I think we probably saved some members from frustration levels that can cause someone to walk away from their “A”.

[28ACoupe]

This is a great idea. The Medford and Grants Pass Oregon do something very similar to this. They may not be able to mobilize a "team" at a moment's notice, but, typically, when I was building my dad's car, I could get help on a problem within an hour or two.

Originally Posted by Del in NE Ohio

Another thing!
Something my local Penn Ohio Chapter did to help out “newbies” or any other member was to organize a chapter S.W.A.T. team (Special Workers And Tools). If someone needs help with their “A”, a single phone call scrambles the team. Simple tune ups to body removal/installation. I think we probably saved some members from frustration levels that can cause someone to walk away from their “A”.

[pooch]

Age of members and stagnation of minds..

Getting a little tired of the old group of members in the classic historic club scene doing nothing but going to clubs for lunch mostly in their modern cars on a day out and me having to swap tables when the inevitable chat gets to their last hip replacement or their pending by-pass, or who is in hospital...etc etc.

The bodies are old and so are the minds.

The rod scene is about the same overall age, but a lot of sons and even a few daughters are involved and the chat never gets to operations and surgery, it is always on who is building what, or their current or next project.

A much more refreshing experience.

And it is very interesting to see how each model A is built differently and some of the ingenuity that goes into some of them.

I find even tho most are in their 60/s, they are actually living their youth again, as the rods they build are 60/70/s .

I have no desire to ever be in a one make club again, all the nit pickers do all day is walk around and point out any defects with others cars.

So many know it all book read cheque book restorers who some even pay to have their cars washed and the oil checked and the tyres inflated.

Not for me anymore.

But, to my answer of the OP/s question, it is all about keeping the minds young (you can't keep the bodies young) ...

[Gil Sissons]

I am pretty new to the Model A fun having bought a pretty well restored Vicky this past year. I joined the local Model A group and that was when my real fun started. Someone there took me under their wing and have showed me the tricks their Father taught them 50 years ago regarding the Model A.

For this club...and possibly other clubs...We need new blood. The members...like our cars...are getting pretty old. I think if the membership can help the members who cannot keep their cars by finding someone that might be interested and match them up with a car within the club that is for sale. When that happens find someone in the club willing to take that new person under thier wing...bring them along....spend the time so they can drive and enjoy the car. You have helped a member sell their car as well as kept the club membership up.

For us new the the hoby the idea of tech sessions sounds great. Remember...many of you have 50 years jump on some of us!
Gil
NoCal

[Richard Wilson]

A touring club went down hill when several members installed overdrives and would run off and leave the "stockers" on tours. Club tours became two groups instead of one. Nothing wrong with overdrives, etc. but if it is a club activity then everyone should stick together as a group.

Money will cause problems. Another club with a fairly large bank account was always in a fight over club money.

All officers in the club must be involved and excited about the club and club activities. The club will be as good or as bad as the officers. One club went from a very active, 3 to 4 events per month, touring club to a once monthly "supper club". Membership quickly dropped by 50%.

Club members need to support their club! There are a lot of "takers" but not a lot of "givers" in most clubs.

[slackcat]

Originally Posted by pete

interview all people applying for membership or have them fill out a questionnaire.
You need to attract people that are interested in stock or reasonably stock model a's only and have a history of staying with clubs they join for long periods of time.

You do not want social climbers. Eventually they will attract their friends and when they are in the majority, it will become a social club only.

You do not want prestige seekers. Ie,people that have a history of joining clubs with the goal of eventually becoming president for the sake of the prestige.

You do not want people interested in high performance and modified model a's or racing. They will attract others of their kind and eventually you will have the people you want bitching at the racers and much internal strife develops.

People in these 3 groups are usually easy to identify in an interview or questionnaire by the fact they usually haven't stayed in any club or group after they have achieved their personal level of incompetence. In other words, "been there done that got a drawer full of t shirts".

While these types are usually welcomed while they are there, they quite often only last a few years and move on, not doing the club any long term good.

lol!

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by 700rpm

So, please help me out: What can you suggest we can do (or avoid doing) to improve our club?

Have a variety of events such as going to car shows together, breakfasts or lunches, tours, picnics, garage tours, etc.

With a wide variety of things to do you should hit on one or two that each member will participate.

Ask questions, review events to see what went right and what went wrong. Most important is listen to what you are being told by the members.

[CarlG]

Originally Posted by Del in NE Ohio

Another thing!
Something my local Penn Ohio Chapter did to help out “newbies” or any other member was to organize a chapter S.W.A.T. team (Special Workers And Tools). If someone needs help with their “A”, a single phone call scrambles the team. Simple tune ups to body removal/installation. I think we probably saved some members from frustration levels that can cause someone to walk away from their “A”.

Here's my introduction to the local MAFCA chapter: (looks like I got long winded!)

4 years ago I purchased the Pickup in my avitar. It was in Southern California and I had it shipped to Alaska. While it was in transit, I contacted MAFCA, who in turn put me in contact with the Alaskan A's. Met a personable guy who actually lives within walking distance of my house. Fast forward to the day it arrived. It was a cold day in March, probably around 10 degrees or so. The ingition switch had been left on during it's ocean voyage from Seattle, so the battery was dead. Really dead. Due to the cold, it didn't want to take a charge, so the decision was made to tow it home -- less than 5 miles. I called my new friend and asked if he could help. I was not prepared for what came next. Within 20 minutes, there were 6 guys with 3 vehicles capable of towing showed up at the terminal, just to help out a newby that wasn't even a member of the club at the time. Needless to say, I've been a part of that group ever since. That kind of comradery will keep me there for a long time!

[colin1928]

I belong to a few different clubs
The best of these club uses the buddy system
When a new person joins they are buddy with a old member who lives closest to the new guy and calls the new guy before every meeting or event to arrange to travel together
This encourages the new guy and seems to renew the efforts of the older member who may have dropped off to just the odd meeting It last for 2 years but seems to go on much longer
We have not had a new member drop off since this was started
The other clubs seem to have 50% drop off of new guys

[Terry,NJ]

Don't get bogged down in a lot of "administrative BS" The club is about Model As, keep that the main focus. If you have a copy of "Robert's Rules of Order" put it away some where where you can't see it. I like Henry's suggestion that you increase the birth rate and the lowering of the age of club members. Also, discourage Cliques! Old Farts tend to "Clique up" and exclude new guys and the new guys say "what am I doing here?"
Terry