<VV> Fw: Convention & Membership

[Mel Francis]

> Clubs are really about bringing people together, not membership rosters or 
> collecting dues or all the rules that go with that stuff. In the previous 
> century, the only way to get together was to collect at a building, 
> exchange greetings and then hang out together, eventually deciding what 
> the next activity would be, etc.
>
> That sort of stuff never really appealed to me and I was never much of a 
> 'clubby' guy. I became a member of CORSA in '72, then quit in '77 and 
> rejoined in '07, but let my membership lapse again last year, from lack of 
> club interest, even though you all know how deep my interest in Corvairs 
> goes. These days, we can all keep in touch online, over much greater 
> distances than ever before, so the need to congregate at a clubhouse has 
> become almost redundant.
>
> The two sites that have filled my need to interact quite well are the 
> Corvair Center Forum and Facebook. And ever since late last year, thanks 
> to Allen Amrine, the addition of the two new groups on Facebook, 'Corvair 
> Owners Group' and 'Corvair Racers', actually accomplish the job so well 
> that we can all now interact without the more rigid CORSA framework. most 
> of the guys from FastVairs are starting to meet on Corvair Racers, because 
> of the more appealing photo-based replies that occur between members of 
> that group. Yes, we're all members, but there are no dues, no elections 
> for positions of power and I think most of us like it that way.
>
> If we want to attract new blood to Corvairing, it will be through these 
> newer interactive online sites, where the younger auto enthusiasts already 
> are. They want to gain knowledge and share their own experiences, not 
> bound by an ancient set of rules from a previous century. I lurk at the VV 
> site, but have much more interaction at the CCF and Facebook sites because 
> of the photos
> that are right there on a thread. A photo always bears much more 
> information than a line of text.
>
> In order to survive along with Corvairs, CORSA itself, has to adapt by 
> radically changing its overall format, to match the expectations of 
> today's enthusiasts, rather than those of a half century ago. I'm 
> completely in favor of CORSA conventions allowing anyone to attend, have 
> their cars judged and compete for awards, even if they aren't a member. 
> But when they purchase an entry ticket at the door or online, all this 
> other contact information should be provided, so that the new prospect, 
> non-member is encouraged to become more involved, rather than discouraged.
>
> Mel Francis
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Dave Keillor" <dkeillor at tconcepts.com>
> To: "Ned Madsen" <aeroned at aol.com>
> Cc: "Virtual Vairs" <virtualvairs at corvair.org>
> Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2014 11:16 AM
> Subject: Re: <VV> Convention & Membership
>
>
>> Increase membership instead of driving it away?  You betcha!  I believe
>> that with the right changes, membership could be increased 50-100%.
>>
>>
>> Dave Keillor
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Mar 1, 2014 at 9:34 PM, <aeroned at aol.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Yup, I'm no longer a CORSA member. I dropped my membership after serving
>>> on the CORSA board. I saw lots of ugly stuff. What do they say? If you 
>>> like
>>> sausage, you should watch how it's made.
>>>
>>> So James, I guess I can't have an opinion on what would make CORSA 
>>> better?
>>> If CORSA was willing to make some changes maybe it could increase
>>> membership instead of driving it away. How many other former BoD members
>>> are no longer CORSA members? I can think of a few besides me.
>>>
>>> Ned
>>>
>>>
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