<VV> Fwd: Director`s Comments in Communique

[Ray Rodriguez III]

Jamie,

I am one of those 30 and under folks.  The internet and my computer do play 
a crucial role in my life, and I do communicate far more by text and email 
than I do in person or on the phone.

I was able to attend part of the National Convention a couple of years ago, 
and that sort of thing is what I want to see from CORSA.

Web based clubs are a dime a dozen....  any marque you can imagine has a 
plethora of online clubs, facebook pages and wiki's dedicated to it..... 
how many marques can boast a REAL club as substantial as CORSA?  How many 
have national conventions and dozen's of smaller events each year?

Another thing to consider is the cause of the "dot com" crash.  The internet 
is a place of fierce competitiveness.....    If CORSA becomes an internet 
entity it will lose most of what sets it apart from a Corvair club some 
teenager might create on facebook because he has a passing fascination with 
them....    the only advantage you would have is that you already have a 
decent member base... some part of which would follow you through the 
transformation and give you a healthy head-start.  I for one would not pay 
dues to an internet club, and if you don't collect dues than how can you 
afford to maintain your position as the premier Corvair club?

I say take small steps... yes we should have an ACTIVE facebook and myspace 
page... and find some way to encourage members to use them....  branch out 
onto the internet...

But primarily focus on the RL (real life) club.  Think like a business... if 
revenue is down spend less and spend it more carefully... focusing on things 
that will retain current members and encourage new members to join.  Cut 
back on expenses that are behind the scenes, and focus on things that 
directly reward members.  Don't function like a government run agency, 
function like a competitive business entity.

What are the main benefits of membership to the average member?

1) The magazine
2) The national convention (its something to fantasize about even for those 
who can't afford to attend, trust me I know!)
3) The published list of members you can contact if you need help when you 
are in the middle of nowhere... which doesn't benefit anyone who doesnt 
travel by car.... something most young people don't do on a regular basis.

You can write up a huge list of other benefits.. but how many directly 
benefit some young lad with a Corvair directly.... benefits he/she would NOT 
get if he/she didnt pay the dues?  The books would still be available.... 
local clubs would still exist though certain events (racing mostly) would 
likely be less affordable and therefore likely disappear.....  Corvair parts 
would still remain commercially available.... the list goes on and on..... 
Most of the CORSA benefits on the long list don't give a direct and 
immediately enjoyable benefit of paying your dues.

Focus on things that the typical busy American (and typically broke!) 
Corvair enthusiast will give up some of their hard earned money for.

This is where we find out how much bureaucracy there is in CORSA.   How many 
CORSA leaders and contributors will give up their "job" in the organization 
because it is draining funds but not contributing significantly to DIRECT 
and IMMEDIATE benefit to typical paying members?  Such projects will have to 
be volunteer ONLY and expenses will have to be nil or very very low.

I don't have time to put a lot of thought into this at the moment but here 
are the things (in order of importance) CORSA should spend it's money on:

1) The magazine:  Costs should be primarily spent on printing, mailing, and 
content (projects and other costs associated with producing content). 
Writers should be mostly or all volunteer (don't know if they all currently 
are).   Advertisements will continue to provide income to help with costs. 
Run the magazine as much like a commerical magazine as possible.. to make it 
as self-sustaining as possible.

2) The convention:  The convention is the biggest benefit of membership for 
those who can attend, and even for those who dream of attending and drool 
over the magazine articles about it.  Focus convention expenses on things 
that result in direct attendee enjoyment, and things that will increase 
attendance such as advertising and publicity.  Cut back spending on 
conventions that are unneccesary and don't directly benefit a large 
percentage of attendee's.

3)  CORSA merchandise etc:  Again run it like an independent business..... 
selling CORSA merchandise helps with revenue....  profit from merchandise 
MUST exceed costs.   Expand the line of products if you are fairly certain 
you will correspondingly increase income as a result.  CORSA merchandise 
(including publications such as the tech guide and Corvair Basics) MUST be 
sold at a profit even to club members, because they are unavoidably going to 
become available even to non-members through ebay, amazon, etc.  If members 
are buying these items below cost and reselling them to non-members they are 
draining revenue from the club...   if every item is sold at a profit (to 
members) then club members who sell CORSA items are still increasing club 
revenue.   Consider marketing most or all club merchandise (apparel, books, 
etc.) to non-members.  This may increase income as people who won't pay dues 
can still buy products and contribute to revenue....  also I'm certain many 
members would be thrilled to receive club merchandise as gifts from friends 
and family who are NOT Corvair enthusiasts (and therefore not members).

4)  Publicity/Advertising:  Consider what type of spending might increase 
membership significantly...   I'm thinking prominent ad's in periodicals 
such as Super Chevy if economically feasible....   ad's that really get 
through to people on the strengths of the Corvair....   AFFORDABILITY, parts 
availability, club benefits, and the ease of working on them yourself.  I'm 
sure there are a LOT of classic auto magazine readers who love the cars but 
can't afford to buy or build classic Camaro's, Chevelle's, Corvettes, etc. 
but read the magazines religiously... I was one myself for many years before 
I bought my first classic car.  CORSA might be able to draw some of this 
crowd to the Corvair with some pictures that would appeal to this crowd 
(custom Corvairs in particular) and the idea that they might be able to 
afford them....  as well as the idea that they might be able to fix them 
themselves even if their mechanical skills are a little lacking.



This was typed hastily,  I'm sure there are mistakes and that some of my 
points could be made clearer with more time....  and expanded upon.  I hope 
this helps.


Thanks,

Ray Rodriguez III
click here for a pic of me and my car 
http://s45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/Swiftblade13/?action=view&current=sigphoto3.jpg
Lake Ariel, PA
CORSA member
66' Corsa 140/4 hot rodded coupe
65' Corsa 140/4 coupe (under construction)


> Here is a question for you. How far is too far. Do we try to do small 
> things
> one at a time to see if it helps, or do we go completely radical? Keep the
> Chapters system as it is, completely scrap CORSA as it is today and 
> rebuild
> it as a totally web based club. Possibly with no dues or minimal dues. 
> Maybe
> patterned after a Wikipedia type format. These are just things for you to
> think about in depth.
>

> Jamie Reinhart
> CORSA Central Director
>
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