<VV> Membership

[hank kaczmarek]

James I appreciate both your on-list and off list messages.
I also had back-channel access to the goings on of the BoD for many years. 
I actually ran once. Got beat by Bill Hubbell.  Probably the greatest 
service that Bill and CORSA both ever did for me.  Bill didn't run for 
another term as I remember.

Most of the Veteran's organizations that I belong to don't require you to 
join immediately.  We let them visit a few times, kick the tires if you 
will.  We do provide them with old copies of the magazine, and in the Marine 
Corps League, our mission statement, so they can see for themselves if we 
are accomplishing the mission by what we are doing at the local level.

I've owned a Corvair, actually many, for 28 years now.  I've enjoyed most 
all of the people I've met.  I have some very good friends I wouldn't have 
any other way.

There's a lot of "not listening to reason" within the Board, regardless of 
who's been on it---and since 1988 that's been a healthy sized bunch of 
people.

A lot of us here on VV, and some who aren't anymore, worked hard on the 
Corvair Basics Manual.  I took the idea by the horns, but without the people 
who wrote the chapters, along with the core group of  Bob Marlow, Larry 
Claypool, and "Who the Hell is" Bob Helt,  it would never have gotten to the 
point where it could have been printed.   The largest stumbling block was 
getting financing from the Board.  One Director, who had Championed the 
"CORSA Kiosk" as the best way for the club to get more members, was 
completely against it, told me so, and said his "fiduciary responsibility to 
CORSA" kept him from voting for it, and intended to influence others to vote 
no as well. At the Convention in 2000, I tried to catch up to him for a chat 
after the General membership Meeting, but he ran out like a scalded dog.

  There was a time when parts of that Kiosk were strewn from the mid-west to 
Oregon. I did hear all the parts did end up in one place.   I wonder where 
it is now, and how many members CORSA actually gained for the expense of it. 
As far as profit, as Monty Python said "not a sausage---Bugger All!"

OTOH, the Corvair Basics Manual went into the black within 30 days of it's 
publication, and is very likely still making money for CORSA today.  It 
wasn't designed to gain members, but to help new owners and keep them from 
filling the bandwidth  on VV with questions that had been asked dozens of 
times, ad infinitum, and driving the members koo-koo in the process.  I 
wonder how many people who bought the book actually did join the club.

As James has said, it appears the ship of letting non-members attend or 
visit the convention without joining on the spot has sailed.  Another 
penny-wise, pound extremely foolish decision.

I am working with our Marine Corps League Unit  to have a "Marine 
Stand-down" in our area offering free food and beer just to get Marines off 
their butts and out to the Veteran's center to see what we do.  If a Marine 
goes for anything, it's free beer and free chow.  We're going to have fun 
with it, and hope to get a dozen or so new members.  As a Knight of 
Columbus, I'm going to get a minute at the end of Mass next week and get up 
with a check for 24.00 and an application and offer anyone who's considering 
being a Knight a "Free Ride" for the first year.  It may end up being a 
brother who doesn't have the extra bread, maybe not.  Either way we'll get 
one new member.

I don't know but a few of the current directors, and don't want to deride 
them a bunch. One thing that all members and potential members must do is 
get older.  And we all have to end up at that grease pit in the sky.  To 
keep the club viable, the Board should be willing to pee on a spark plug, 
then grab the wire to bring up the numbers.  Sadly, that doesn't seem to be 
the idea.

For now, I know who I need to know, know where to get what I'm looking for 
(other than the occasional e-mail address), surprised to find out the number 
of issues of the magazine shrunk from 12 to 9, and to find out that during 
the Labor Day 2011 flame war about dues increases when I quit CORSA, a 
Director who sent me an off list e-mail telling me to "F-Off", has quit 
CORSA as well.  The things that make you say HMMMMMMMM.

For now, I have to pay for parts and some labor to rebuild a 110 engine, a 
Saginaw 4-Spd, and a Posi diff to complete my Rampside, and add some goodies 
to my Monza.  45 or 37 dollars is a drop in the bucket to what I need to 
spend.  But unless CORSA can give me some signs of upward and onward 
movement, and require 100% membership in all chapters, I'll hang on to my 
jack.

BTW, I remember the days when VV members sent money to Bryan for web 
hosting, and when he needed hardware replacements, etc.  I gladly did so to 
keep this particular forum going, as I thought it worthwhile. And I didn't 
exactly have it to spare in those days.....

Hank






Please reup.  You too, Bob and Hank.  CORSA is worth being a part of, no 
matter how ugly it seems  - or is - at times, no matter how non-responsive 
it seems at times.  It is not a perfect organization, because, as I recently 
noted, it is made up of imperfect people.  Including me.