<VV> Director`s Comments in Communique

Fri Dec 4 09:07:55 EST 2009

Just to clarify Chucks comment on Corvair Atlanta (CAI), as you can see
his Proposal was not agreed with by 5 other members and agreed with by
just 2, him being 1 of them. His proposal was that ALL new members
must join Corsa and continue membership as long as they were CAI
members. Current  CAI members who were NOT members of Corsa
would not be required to join Corsa. Current members who were also
Corsa Members would be REQUIRED to be Corsa members as 
long as they stayed CAI members. They would be required to drop
out of CAI if they failed to maintain Corsa membership. 

I'm an officer of CAI,  Corsa member and 1 of the 5 that voted against it.
If this would have passed, I think I would have canceled my Corsa membership
before the first of the year. I have my own idea's about why Americans 
should not Require people to join a club. My vote on Chucks proposal and
CAI's position on the proposal was, Corvair people are for the most part
on fixed incomes, DO Not see Corsa as an asset, and don't wish to join. WE
need to change that concept with them and the declining Corsa membership.

Chuck feels we don't understand or support Corsa. Nothing is further from the
truth. CAI and Heart of GA. just sent (or soon will send) a sizable donation to
Corsa to help out. But as you both say in different ways, Corsa must "Reinvent
it's self", change, what ever you want to call it before it's to late. Look at how
many members are NOT rejoining Corsa each year. WHY????

Chuck, You spoke your piece and I mine. I will not play Email Wars but I
feel you are wrong. Corvair Atlanta is very supportive of Corsa and many of
us are Corsa members. 

RESPECTFULLY,
Al Hilderbrand, 
Corvair Atlanta Treasurer 
Heart of GA Member
66 Monza Convt
61 El Cormeno

________________________________
From: Louis Armer <carmerjr at mindspring.com>
To: Kent Sullivan <kentsu at corvairkid.com>
Cc: virtualvairs at corvair.org
Sent: Thu, December 3, 2009 2:55:59 PM
Subject: Re: <VV> Director`s Comments in Communique

Well said Kent. My Corvair Atlanta club just recently voted down ( 5 to 2, one abstain ) my motion to make us a 100% Corsa club
and that was with provisions/exemptions for existing non Corsa members and Corvair Atlanta life time members. Many current Corsa members still don't understand the gravity of the situation and even worse they see Corsa as an adversary when Corsa is 
all of us including them. We need change and support of change and we need it very soon. I am an older member who sees very clearly why 30 +- year olds see this necessary change as the future of our International club.

Chuck Armer
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At 12:56 PM 12/3/2009, you wrote:

Let me start by saying that I am a friend of Jackson. He restored his '65
>Corsa coupe in my shop. So of course my comments are going to be somewhat
>biased--unavoidable.
>
>Jackson and I did not talk about his column before he wrote it but I have to
>say that I agree with a lot of what he wrote. CORSA is in serious trouble,
>folks, and there is no magic way to right this ship. Membership is declining
>overall, and it's unclear how to reverse this trend. We have to have a plan
>that deals with this very likely reality.
>
>Jackson's language may be a bit tart, but I certainly prefer it to another
>round of "well, things aren't that bad--we only need people to get out there
>and recruit a few new members". Articles like that are not telling the real
>truth about what's happening and do a disservice to the CORSA membership.
>
>The hardest thing for an organization to do is to have the courage and the
>foresight to reinvent itself before the landscape changes so much that it
>has become irrelevant. That's what I see is happening to CORSA. The
>"business model" is one that has been around for 100 years or more for a
>non-profit club--but I believe it's clear that this model is going by the
>wayside, and fast. We can either choose to take the risk of changing before
>it's too late or essentially do nothing, and accept the risk that the
>organization will continue to lose members until it can't survive.
>
>So, specifically--I think CORSA has to take a hard look at the wisdom of a
>yearly rotating national convention. I don't think events like this make
>sense in a world where gasoline is $4 a gallon (which will be back--we are
>just having a temporary reprieve) and where there are far more efficient
>ways of having smaller, regional get-togethers that use the power of the new
>networking tools to connect people. A yearly face-to-face convention made
>the most sense when the ways of people staying in touch when they weren't
>face-to-face were primitive. That's not the case any longer and the
>sophistication of social networking tools is increasing. And, an additional
>factor is the spread-out-ness of clubs in the Western Division. The clubs
>are overall smaller and are very far apart compared to the Eastern Division.
>Just getting a club to take on the task of holding a national convention in
>the West is a challenge now--we almost didn't get a bid for 2011. Denver
>took it on, and I don't consider them a Western club geographically. They
>are certainly in the Western Division so their bid is valid. I just mean
>that the fact that they are doing the convention is illuminating--no clubs
>west of the Rockies submitted a bid, from what I can tell.
>
>Jackson and I both work in the tech industry and we are all too familiar
>with how rapidly-changing demographics are affecting what people expect an
>organization to be. Mike says "lead, follow, or get out of the way" and I
>see Jackson trying to lead. It might just be that the direction he is
>proposing is one that is pretty radical and therefore shocking to some or
>many current members. I can tell you that it's not at all shocking to people
>under the age of 30; in fact, it's becoming the expected way of doing
>business.
>
>--Kent
>
>P.S. For those of you who don't know me, I served 7 years on the CORSA BoD
>and am a past president of the CPF.
>
>P.P.S. If you send Jackson private email, please be respectful. He is only
>trying to help CORSA and if people fly off the handle at him, it's not going
>to help.
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-----Original Message-----
>From: virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org
>[mailto:virtualvairs-bounces at corvair.org] On Behalf Of Michael Kovacs
>Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 7:28 AM
>To: John Howell
>Cc: VV
>Subject: Re: <VV> Director`s Comments in Communique
>
>I was of the same opinion after reading his "comments" last night. All
>negative, not positive. 
>
>"LEAD, FOLLOW OR GET OUT OF THE WAY"
>
> I'll contact his email and make my thoughts clear to him too. 
> MIKE KOVACS 
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----- Original Message ----
>From: John Howell <32chevy at 0306.org>
>To: VV <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
>Sent: Thu, December 3, 2009 12:44:50 AM
>Subject: <VV> Director`s Comments in Communique
>
>I hope the Western Director Jackson Dell Weaver is one that is being
>replaced in the next election. After reading his comments in the December
>issue of the CORSA Communique I would like to see him replaced, we don`t
>need officers with that attitude. So I say Jackson you are part of the
>problem not part of the answer, if you don`t like CORSA just LEAVE !
>
>John Howell
>
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CORSA Member
Corvanatics Member
Corvair Atlanta Director
1965 Corsa Coupe
1964 Greenbrier
http://darthvair.com
SECC Member
1965 Corsa Autocross car 1/2 owner 
http://www.wtbrt.com/