I followed the recent threads on WBCCI and the timing is interesting because a group of us in the DFW area have made some decisions to take action recently and start a new WBCCI unit of like minded members. For almost the past two years several of us locally have belonged to WBCCI and attended many of the local rallies. A group of us have also on our own had many "non-official" rallies or campouts of which many attendees are not WBCCI members and several are forum friends that have joined us. We have had many discussions about working for change within the existing WBCCI unit but have decided that the best course if we want to give WBCCI a chance is to start a new unit. I have developed many friends in the existing unit and frankly, I can not conclude that the structure they have for rallies or events is wrong or broken because it seems to work for them, so for me or a group of "younger" folks to ask them to change how they approach things may be a bit much. It’s like asking some older friends to redecorate their house because it doesn’t suit me….I guess I expect a generational difference in that regard. I guess one could argue that generally speaking the WBCCI is broke and that’s why there’s little if any growth even with the resurgence of old and new AS purchasers. However, in our local unit, this group of good people has established a routine that works for them, they find comfort in, and they seem to be happy to maintain.
That left several of us with a choice, to either not renew and keep camping like we have been with the informal group or give WBCCI another chance but start fresh. We went back and forth on that one because there doesn’t seem to be many advantages of belonging to WBCCI but the one tangible benefit (or requirement) is the ability to belong to the VAC, which many of us enjoy. There is a formal, but not too onerous of a process to get a new unit off the ground and we now have a provisional charter that will be voted on at the IBT . There is a template of minimum bylaws to join and we have adopted that. Other than that, by starting fresh there is flexibility in how the group operates. The things we wish to avoid are structure and puffery within the group. I don’t like the idea of camping with my family and having big signs in the windows of motorhomes or trailers announcing that a President or VP sleeps there. I find that kind of silly since this is an RV thing we’re dealing with here and it’s no more important than that. Our unit leaders have agreed to take a low key servant approach. We’ve also seen the pressure put on folks to be "hosts" for rallies and the load they have to carry.
Basically, our objective is to keep the formula that has worked for us on our informal campouts over the past couple of years. In a nutshell, we do campouts, mainly at state or natl. parks and avoid rallies at RV parks. Everyone that wishes to attend is responsible for making and paying for their own reservation based on when they plan to arrive/depart. We potluck our dinners and breakfasts. We do not conduct any business meetings during a campout (ours will be done on-line on a Yahoo site). We’ve had some small "caravans" over the past two years as well that worked fine with attendees being responsible for their own arrangements and schedule. Our objective is to keep the annual unit dues to under $1.00 per year. (maybe a can of baked beans as well)
We have had great times and have gotten along just fine without the policies, policing and structure for the past couple of years of these informal gatherings. In other words, the description of our weekends should be simply "Camping with Friends". As a matter of fact, the name of our unit is the Heart of Texas Campers. If any on the forum would like to join our group feel free to PM me with any questions.
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"would you rather have a mansion full of money or a trailer full of love?"
Change from within. An obvious demonstration of folks putting the effort forth. Even if the goal is in-formalization, it took a slight effort to make it happen.
Best of luck on your adventure.
__________________ Ken Smillie
My 1994 36' Classic MH is for sale See it in the classifieds
My gosh, that is so rational and straightforward that there is nothing left to argue about! I like it: if you hit a roadblock, take a few steps laterally, engage in minimal papershuffling, and proceed forward in the direction that suits you best. Congratulations on your spunk, drive and Heart.
This summer I was chatting with a WBCCI Regional officer. He recognized that a few Units in his Region are stuck in the past and resistant to change, hewing to "the way it was always done". He said he could only encourage them to adopt and change, not force them to. He recognized that if they continued to loose members and shrink in size, those Units eventually would wither away and die. He found that a very natural process. Units that failed to adopt would drop by the wayside and be replaced by other Units, existing or new, that got the picture.
This is the second new WBCCI Unit in recent years, the first being the WDCU Unit based in Washington, D.C. that was founded primarily by VAC members but is open to all. Minimizing pomp and circumstance will appeal to many Airstreamers. Congratulations Tin Hut on your new Heart of Texas Unit and best wishes for continued growth and recurring fun.
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Fred Coldwell, WBCCI #1510, AIR #2675
Denver, Colorado - WBCCI Unit 24
Charter Associate Member FCU
Vintage Airstream Club Historian
Airstream Life "Old Aluminum Adventures"
Nothing will give me more pleasure than to add your new unit to the Region webpages. I'll give you plenty of press! When it happens, email me a paragraph or two to put on the unit page that boils down the gist of what you posted.
I think we should have enough folks of a similar mind in and around Austin to do the same thing. I wouldn't leave my current unit, but I sure would sign on as an Associate member of any such new unit that starts up in the Austin area.
What you are doing is the right approach. I would like to see similar units pop up at every metropolitan area.
What you are doing is almost how my previous TrailManor club operated. Dues were low and puffery was nonexistant. We had a quarterly newsletter with photos, totally volunteer produced, that would make the Blue Beret blush. We had two very informal region rallies a year plus a National rally every other year. Meals were pot lucks with the exception of some catered meals at the national rally. I could count all of the entire club officers, nationwide, on my fingers and toes.
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John W. Irwin
2005 Classic 28 "Sabre-Dog III"
2004 Silverado 2500HD Duramax/Allison
WBCCI Region 9 Webmaster, #9632
Nothing will give me more pleasure than to add your new unit to the Region webpages. I'll give you plenty of press! When it happens, email me a paragraph or two to put on the unit page that boils down the gist of what you posted.
Good for you John. One can always count on you to actually get things done and done right.
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What you are doing is the right approach. I would like to see similar units pop up at every metropolitan area.
Hear Hear! BTW this is an abbreviation for "hear, all ye good people, hear what this brilliant and eloquent speaker has to say!" That goes for Tin Hut too. Metro Detroit, are you listening?
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What you are doing is almost how my previous TrailManor club operated. Dues were low and puffery was nonexistant. We had a quarterly newsletter with photos, totally volunteer produced, that would make the Blue Beret blush. We had two very informal region rallies a year plus a National rally every other year. Meals were pot lucks with the exception of some catered meals at the national rally. I could count all of the entire club officers, nationwide, on my fingers and toes.
I'm curious to know just what the minimums are. How many hoops did you have to jump through?
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You'd have to start by contacting the president of your region to solicit their assistance and sponsorship. There's a sample constititution and bylaws that you can get from WBCCI and use it for your starting point. Assuming there's no wholesale changes in the fundamentals on paper you submit it to the Reg. Pres. along with a list of 10-12 (I forget the exact number) of members (rigs) that have agreed to join the unit. You'll then receive a provisional charter as the app. goes thru an internal review & vote or sanctioning. I can keep you posted on the progress. We just got the provisional last week.
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"would you rather have a mansion full of money or a trailer full of love?"
even as a airstream-dreamer, this type of civilized dialogue reinforces my good impression of the 'stream community. This is one of the few forums which doesn't dissolve into flaming.
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Metro Detroit, are you listening?
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