This is what we came up with so far ??? Come on, there must be more suggestions on this subject besides calling me a "CLOWN and a JACKASS". We all knew that already !!! This is the subject, could we stick to it !!! What does the future hold for our clubs and events ???
While running a club is sometimes tiresome and running an event is a lot of work, I don't regret for one minute spending the last 15 years as treasurer of the Northeast GS/GN Club. When I first went to Englishtown in 1987 for the Musclecar Show and Go at Engie Bauza's suggestion, it not only put me on a dragstrip for the first time, it introduced me to several Northeast members like the late Gary "Whitey" Urbanik, Rick Martinez, Mike Gianfrancesco, and Rob Chilenski....guys I've been friends with since that day almost 30 years ago. I joined the club a year or two later and became friends with John and Nancy Csordas, Greg Gessler, Fred Weisse, Bob Christo, Carl Rychlik, and a bunch more guys and girls over the next couple of decades. Deep down, I guess I continue to put in my time and efforts to the Buick community, within different organizations and at different events, because of the relationships I've developed over the years. Even with Moon (god help me). I can't imagine what I'd have missed out on if I'd never made contact with these people. Throw in the terrific people I only get to hang out with in Ohio and Kentucky two or three times a year and it goes way beyond the thrill I get out of doing wheels-up launches. I can do that at Englishtown, on any given Sunday, 45 minutes from home. Some of you are only able to keep contact with the Buick community on V8 Buick, and while I feel for you, that just makes me appreciate all the more the relationships I've made that started as "Buick friendships" and now are simply "friendships". Vacation time, money, and family responsibilities are no joke...but if you can possibly get to an event, reward yourself and do it. You never know what might happen.
hear, hear! I do the same, try my best to attend a national show or two each year, even though I am coming from the NW corner. I always have a good time and enjoy seeing old friends (all of which I meant here on v8buick) and making new ones. And Don is right, some of these WA guys don't take their cars out in the rain, but some of us do. Heck, I think Don was driving my convertible the last time he was here for the show in the rain. :grin:
I think an E-Mail to any member of a club would be an incentive to re-join when their membership is about to expire. I would appreciate that as I never remember when my membership expires. That wouldn't be to difficult to do in the Inter/Web day and age. :Smarty: :Smarty: :Smarty:
Moon, are you aloud to legally be in Ohio yet? I know it's been a couple years with you Yardley and the goat? hope to see you in Norwalk My friend!
you have to break the "clique" groups up and have everyone come together as a club at events. [ by everyone I mean, 10 year member and 1 week member are treated no different ] Not break up into tiny groups doing their own things but find way to keep them united. We are having that exact problem right now in a side job I have doing game testing, we didn't force folks to join any one test group, some want to solo. But it has start to hinder testing as everyone hides in a private room with just the few folks they like to have fun with. But its messing up testing as the real game has 30 players in one room at a time. You can never test right when you can't get more then 5 in room. And its starting to divide things as everyone forms their own "clique" of players and then butts heads. On a personal note sometimes the wrong people are involved and need a buffer. We have 2 friends that are great on their own, but mix them both into the same social situation and it always turned into bad time, as they feed off each other into stupid ville. And sure they are having a great time but people get turned off, leave, don't want to come.
This is just my .02 cents. The people running these events need to realize that the people coming through the gate are their customers, and should be made to feel welcome. The attitude of the GSCA has steadily gone down hill. The BPG has always made me feel welcome. I have spoken with a couple of racers who will never go back to the BPG show due to track rules and things that were promised. Personally my time is very valuable and I can only attend every few years. I would like to see the event moved around so that people in other parts of the county would be more inclined to attend. The logistics of moving are difficult, but the BCA seems to have success. The Buicks at Bristol event was a success until the track took over promotions. The local clubs 2 hours away were not even made aware of the event. As far as a way to boost attendance I do not have the answers.
I have never encountered not feeling welcome at any event or club I ever attended or belonged to. Example: The events I have attended have people who come from all around the world (yes, the world). Granted the Ohio people hang with their friends from Ohio, the Michigan people hang with the Michigan people, the NY Mafia hang with the NY Mafia people. That is only because they are all friends and know each other, it's only natural. BUT and this is the "BIG BUT".........any one of those people could pull up a chair (for the day) at any one of those so called cliques and feel more than welcome and not feel like those people don't want them there. We've had numerous people come into our fold (the NE Chapter) who we never met before and they have become our best friends. Lot's of people thought we were NUTS, UNAPPROACHABLE, STUCK UP or whatever, but once they got to meet us they never left. Granted there are lots of people in this world that have personality quirks that you refer to, but I have never met any in all the years I've been a Buick guy. (except maybe Yardley, but we all love him for who he is) :laugh: The Buick people are the least cliquey group I have ever met in my life.........to me I consider them all family !!!
Dave, I'd like to correct that statement. Buicks at Bristol was a terrific "racers race" and I went every year, but it never drew spectators. What I've learned from 20 years of running the East Coast Buick Regionals at Cecil County is that spectators = success. They pay to get in but require nothing financial in return while racers need payouts. We've been fortunate to have grown every year while other Buick events have gotten smaller, and we take NOTHING for granted. We try to give every attendee what they want, even when they're complaining (loudly) about minutia. Everyone's problem is important to them. Knowing that is a big key to running a successful event, something Jim Haas did well with, being a racer himself.
While we may take issue with the attitude of some of the event planners and/or other event personnel, are they the real reason we attend these Buick events? I think we should gauge our enjoyment or lack thereof, on the activities, the great Buicks we get to see all in one place, and the camaraderie of our fellow Buick enthusiasts that are there. I personally have been unhappy with certain GSCA event people in the past but that, in no way kept me from enjoying a week of seeing some of the best Buicks in the country and mixing it up with others that share my passion. It's all a matter of priorities with me and I encourage others who have been absent for a spell to come back to the GSCA and the BPG, or any other club that you "used to belong to" and participate with a different eye. We aren't getting any younger, guys so burying the hatchet might be something to think about. :beer
I'll give you guys an outsider perspective. I'm not a member of a club. I don't want to be. I never wanted to pay to have friends. I take some issue with the statement I should join the club so your car is worth more money. I don't think paying to be in a club makes me any less or any more of a Buick guy than the rest of you. What does the club have to offer? Oddly enough, 95% of the Buick people I know aren't even on this board and certainly don't care to be in a club. Maybe in the days before the internet the club would be a good network for obtaining parts and cars. Obviously boards like these haven taken over that. So, other than making your car more valuable, why would I join a club? That's a sincere question.
If you are into Buicks or cars of any kind to make them more valuable, you have hit a dead end. Way better ways to make money than goofing with cars. I would encourage you to join a local club for the camaraderie and fellowship of others who share your interest in the Buick Marque. I love Buick and really all cars, but Buick most. Some of my longest friendships stem from the local club. It isn't about what my vehicles are worth but the fun and excitement we have attending events with our friends. If that doesn't interest you I can see why you don't want to join a group of like minded enthusiasts.
Agreed with a slight exception, the "groups" thing. I hang out with more out of state people than Ohio folks (except for taulb, but that's different). Its the only time I get to see all my outta state pals so I end up hanging with them more than anyone. I dont really feel it's "paying for friends", it's about helping to fund the events IMHO. I've not joined the GSCA (yet anyway), but I am a BPG member and I enjoy doing so just to help fund the events. I'm not paying for friends, im paying for an organized event at a cool venue that just so happens to bring in my friends and I get to see a concentrated gathering of the automotive marquee I'm in to. And as far as car values go, I'm not entirely sure how being a member of a club would boost your cars value, but I'm admittedly no economist or appraiser. I guess if you have no intentions of going, then helping to fund the event probably isn't important to you. But I think in general the events help out our hobby far more than hurt it. I know I sure look forward to it every year.
When I belonged to a car club, it definitely did not drive up the value of my cars. In fact it was a detriment. I had idiots talking smack behind mine and my car's back, in fact, one guy killed a deal for me by claiming that my car had been in a serious accident when it hadn't. Seems he was trying to sell a car himself and saw mine as competition. Fellowship? Buying friends? Hardly on both counts. Sure, there's fellowship, but then there's always the inevitable pissing contest too. There's always a "so-and-so" who has a better car than everyone else, or some "in" with whatever particular group, whatever. And then there's the flat out BS; guys love to tell stories. I used to do car shows with Buicks out of pride to the marque; - and then I got tired of the ridicule, the same questions about "why I didn't throw that money into something worthwhile, like a Chevy, etc." You name it, I've heard it. So that's why I fly solo now and devote my efforts to a coin club. I didn't want to initially either, I just kind of got dragged into it. And don't worry, it's the same dynamic and same sort of thing going on, just a different topic. Does the club thing work for people? Sure, for some it does work, inevitably it's the "elite" who get the most out of the experience, the guys just starting out or who don't have quite the funding or the car as the others generally are tolerated but politely shoved aside. Cliques? oh yeah...most just don't realize it. A basic tribal unit is about 35 people; - that's usually what one person will have as a circle of friends and acquaintances, and that's about the population of most locals in a car club. The top elite are the ruling clique, and even if they aren't in "power" (day-to-day running of the club) their influence is very felt and their needs are put before others. It's a good elite that tries to knock the barriers down by bringing young blood and new people into it all the time, if they don't the membership gets alienated, apathetic and goes away. Ask me how I know; we do this as a coin club and it's working. We have a vibrant executive and a club. But damn , is it ever a lot of hard work kowtowing and pandering to everyone's ego and needs; - most groups get tired of that and let things slide. Only when it is too late do they try and fix it. So there you have it: I've been in clubs and running volunteer non-profits for over 20 years now, so I think I might have seen a thing or two. Where the Buick clubs I read about are heading is nothing new, other groups have hit those lows already. How do you keep the enthusiasm up? Diversify and get modern; embrace the latest trends, realize that cars from the 90s are hitting "collectible" status, and encourage the youngsters either by sponsoring a school shop program with your advertising all over it or by hosting shows that allow tuners and drifters in. Write a newsletter that has modern articles in it, no one under the age of 30 even cares what the difference between a GSX and a Skylark are, if they really want to know they'll look it up on line. Publish local articles on stuff that's relevant to them; the latest trends in whatever they're doing. Rehashing old crap and revisiting old news and stats is just that; it's for old people. There you go; - I'll probably get flamed and slagged for this because it's not what people want to hear, but it has to be said.
As others have said, our hobby is aging. This is not only a Buick problem. I entered a city sponsored car show this last weekend. I am 43 and was on the younger end of the audience. Just not attracting younger folks, and the older ones are bailing or dying out. My wife and I were commenting on it.....not sure there will be much of a hobby left in 20 years or so. Looking around the show, where there were a ton of very nice cars, we were one of the last generations represented in any numbers worthy of notice. Makes me think there are going to be a lot of very nice cars for sale in thirty years or so.....that nobody wants..... That said, I don't have any great solutions to energize the teen and twenty something's.......
