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wheel interested · 03-06-2011, 09:23 PM

You can call headquarters and sign up as a MAL (member at large, no unit affiliation) and they will wait for your check or take your charge card information, I believe. I think two units where you can sign up immediately are NOVA (Northern Ohio Virtual Airstream) and Sierra Nevada. They take Pay Pal on their unit web sites. I am sure others will also have some recommendations. But you are correct one would expect to be able to sign up online at the WBCCI site and have it be one quick transaction start to finish. It's a welcome gesture inviting you to become acquainted with a local unit that you may be receiving. I had that my first year.

xrvr · 03-07-2011, 11:45 AM

The packet might be your membership info, the phone calls from close by units asking you to join. No pressure, relax. Again the phone calls are probably from a local unit. If you join a unit you save lots of money and are not obligated to attend any function. zz

robwok · 03-07-2011, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zigzagguzzi

The packet might be your membership info, the phone calls from close by units asking you to join. No pressure, relax. Again the phone calls are probably from a local unit. If you join a unit you save lots of money and are not obligated to attend any function. zz

Can someone summarize this for me? What money am I saving? It sounds like I can spend several hundred dollars for the right to attend a long trip or a rally somewhere. I might be able to get a discount on trailer insurance. It also gives me new red stickers on my AS. Are there any other real tangible benefits? Not the fluffy stuff like comraderie and tradition - that's a given. I'm not opposed to joining, if there is more benefit than hassle. I did send an inquiry about 3 weeks ago to ask if my WBBCI number on my trailer was available. I got an auto confirmation, and that's the last I heard.

Oh, and personally, I think AS should have just covered the trailers in whatever those stickers are made of. I have no idea how to get them off. I was replacing my marker lights near the front and buffed around them, and the silver on the stickers just didn't move. I think they're tougher than the aluminum. Maybe I can just get the silver base and tape all my seams....

wheel interested · 03-07-2011, 01:29 PM

I think ziggy is talking about saving membership dues money between your membership options. There is the $5.00 as a MAL penalty charge to "encourage" you to join a unit and paying the $20.00 for the usual unit dues goes directly to International instead so that you can't save by being a MAL, and that is added onto the mandatory basic $55.00 International dues. You could join many of the newer internet units for a dollar plus the International dues making it $56.00 as the least expensive way to join the WBCCI. Depending upon the unit the dues are $1.00-$25.00 I think, the average is $75.00 total for membership, and is it $75.00 or $80.00 to be a MAL now? Joining the VAC will add another $20.00 onto that and joining the CAC will add an additional $10.00.

If you call one of the very nice women of the WBCCI office staff at headquarters, they will check the number immediately and assign you the number you request if it is available. Otherwise you can post the number and anyone with a WBCCI directory can check it to see if it is listed currently, however it may be held by someone not currently listed in the directory. The number is held for two years and some are not in the directory at all through choice or delay.

You might consider the spending of the IBT as fuduciary irresponsibility. I don't know if that would make leaders walk but it certainly would be a known factor to them and represent some frustration to be faced with a proposed dues increase while at the same time trying to shore up the cracks of dwindling membership.

RamblinManGa · 03-07-2011, 02:57 PM

Hi from Ga. . . As a new Airstreamer, old guy, longtime camper/RV'er, and not much of a joiner, I joined the WBCCI thru the 4CU. It was a 1 page form, send a check and get a very nice response in a timely fashion. I do not personally know one other AS owner. I joined to embrace the tradition, ignore the politics, and find people with similar interests to spend a weekend with 3 or 4 times a year. I have a Son in college, spend most of my time with people younger than me, don't sit around the campfire drinking wine (don't drink at all actually) and the idea of meeting all kinds of new people seemed like a good idea, and the Airstream a good excuse. The fight amongst the membership troubles me, but I know it only through this forum. We are so looking forward to our 1st 'rally' in April and talking to real AS people IN PERSON. I would hope that new young people like Robwok and new older people like me can keep this club chugging cause it would be a shame to lose it. (& I just got my red #'s on !) Thanks for keeping this dialogue lively and Regards, Craig

Aviator · 03-07-2011, 03:26 PM

Craig, You may want to check out the Georgia Unit as well. They have a nice campground up in Helen, GA which is only $7 a night for members. Their first rally of the season is the weekend after Springstream.

With any luck in my schedule, I hope to see you there.

mbmbstreamer · 03-07-2011, 04:20 PM

As a WBCCI member you are welcome at any Rally (any unit) an any of our parks. The Airstream parks are one of our best kept secrets! I'm addition to Top of Georgia, there are very nice parks in Virginia, New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas and Minnesota.

You should try a few rallies, use the Parks (at least as inexpensive overnight stops) and try a special event rally or two.

We did so and enjoy it 5 years later.

mbmbstreamer · 03-07-2011, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbmbstreamer

As a WBCCI member you are welcome at any Rally (any unit) an any of our parks. The Airstream parks are one of our best kept secrets! I'm addition to Top of Georgia, there are very nice parks in Virginia, New Jersey, Florida, Pennsylvania, Texas and Minnesota.

You should try a few rallies, use the Parks (at least as inexpensive overnight stops) and try a special event rally or two.

We did so and enjoy it 5 years later.

I forgot Tennessee. If there are others, I am sure someone will add to the list.

TWaugh · 03-07-2011, 05:11 PM

Carol stated: There is the $5.00 as a MAL penalty charge to "encourage" you to join a unit and paying the $20.00 for the usual unit dues goes directly to International instead so that you can't save by being a MAL, and that is added onto the mandatory basic $55.00 International dues. You could join many of the newer internet units for a dollar plus the International dues making it $56.00 as the least expensive way to join the WBCCI.

Yeah, sorry Carol that went to $65.00 this year and with my WDCU dues of $1.00 the grand total was $66.00. (If it's still $55.00 I overpaid and should get a refund

)

I don't quite know what else to tell you robwok that others haven't already alluded to. If you're expecting something of monetary value for your dues forget it. All you'll get it a membership card, a membership pamphlet, and a WBCCI sticker. What you do get are the fluffy things

as you call them and the benefit of being able to attend the rallies and camp at the Airstream campgrounds throughout the country as mbmbstreamer stated. If you want to purchase a lifetime membership I guess the cost could get rather steep considering your age. Even for me a lifetime membership would be around $1400.00.

I don't think anyone is proposing you go the lifetime membership route. If your looking for the cheapest route I can tell you the Washington DC Unit is still one of the cheapest ,but most fun units still around. (WDCU - Washington D.C. Unit (#170) ) The benefits for some of us just outweigh the cost. Why does anyone join any club? Most likely because they want to belong to something larger than themselves. Some of us want that, others don't. A far as the politics of the club, some of us are more patient than others. We remember when we didn't have instant mashed potatoes and instant gratification.

I applaud those who have stuck to their guns and walked away from the club but, I sure miss them at the rallies we have throughout the year and I always hope to run into them somewhere down the road.

Maybe you should consider joining another club such as the TAC. That's another great group of folks. Even if you don't join any club remember almost every unit in the WBCCI has a buddy rally sometime during the calendar year. All you have to do is seek out those rallies in your area and attend them. Who knows, if you go to enough of them you might eventually find a unit you like and decide to join.

Gene · 03-13-2011, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robwok

However, my day job, I work at a fortune 200 company consulting them on how to engage younger customers with new digital technology. Anyway, when looking at the pics on the WBCCI trying to figure out what it was, there seems to be precious few folks in my generation on the site.

Organizations have a hard time getting new generations to join ranks. Youth joins your ranks due to a coolness factor. Putting rigid rules and creating trips that are comfortable for older citizens are not going to attract the next generation.

To be honest, you're really going to have to think about a way to make these caravans something cool if you don't want the whole thing to fade away with the normal human life expectancy.

I think you need to fundamentally choose what type of culture you want to be in 5-10 years and then figure out how to get there.

So, do you want an enduring club that exists long after you're gone, or do you want one that you and those in your generation enjoy, without the hassles of a bunch of screaming kids? I have found that many times, people want the kids and the youth, but want them quiet. They want them to act like all the other seniors in the group. Sorry, but though we homeschool my boys, and limit the tv, they are still products of this culture. They are not Wally and the Beaver. I wish they were that respectful! I can say my kids are close, but most are not.

I think robwok's post illustrates well the problems many organizations have. I was involved as an officer and board member of one for years where I kept telling the other old people around me they were not doing anything to attract young people. They had a pathetic internet presence and the board just kept getting greyer each year. They thought they were doing the right thing, but had no idea what they really needed to do or where to start. They seemed to want to return to the 1980's when they were much younger and the organization had lots more creative energy. As more members did not renew, the old guard took over again and I gave up. They have cemented their control and continue making the organization less and less relevant to today.

When an organization ceases to be relevant to most people in the present, many potential and present leaders go elsewhere. Those with old attitudes (which may have been ahead of their time 30 or 40 years ago) stay and help the organization die with them. Death will take many years, and there's a very small chance things will change, but the WBCCI will never be what it once was. A new constitution will not solve anything if new and young leaders cannot take over. WBCCI's reputation is in tatters and that would take a long time to change.

I have no doubt some WBCCI units are more contemporary in attitude, but they do not lead the organization and will die with it, or will eventually go out on their own. Many members enjoy camping with friends they have met through the WBCCI, and they may keep up with it in some way.

But the energy is here and with newer internet based organizations like TAC. No doubt, someday the Forum, TAC and others will be full of grey haired people and something new will have the energy. I doubt I will be around to see that, although things seem to happen faster now. It is all part of the recurring cycle of death and renewal.

Gene

eubank · 03-13-2011, 12:33 PM

You know, other than requiring dues, which are too high, the international organization has little to do with the goings-on in many units, at least for many (most?) members. In effect, then, many members have lots of good times with their WBCCI units, pretty much regardless of what the international leadership does. Indeed, I'd argue (1) that it's the units that make or break to club for many (most?) members; and (2) that if dues were not so high, the goings-on at the international office wouldn't even be a topic of major discussion.

Lynn

Quote:

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

...I have no doubt some WBCCI units are more contemporary in attitude, but they do not lead the organization and will die with it, or will eventually go out on their own. Many members enjoy camping with friends they have met through the WBCCI, and they may keep up with it in some way.
... Gene

Gene · 03-13-2011, 01:58 PM

I mostly agree with Lynn. I do think that the "goings-on at the international office" would be a topic of discussion, though how much is generated by dues is impossible to gauge. Fairness and budgeting are not the strengths of the WBCCI leaders and those are things that irritate Americans.

The dues are not very high unless you are as old as me and remember going out for dinner for 85¢. My first job after college (newspaper reporter) paid about the same, so current dues are around the same as a week's salary was in 1962. It's what the money is going for that irritates a people.

One solution to the strange ways of the WBCCI has been to establish units that ignore or reject those things. The Four Corners Unit is one of them. They are excellent at promoting themselves—watch most threads on the WBCCI and often 4CU members tell us how they are informal. To some extent WDCU does the same.

Changing from the bottom up is a good thing to do, but if eventually you see it doesn't work, or takes longer than your lifetime, people go on to other things. More people have left the WBCCI than have joined the most prominent informal units. Even if joining these units is good idea, it's not working.

Gene

Bill M. · 03-13-2011, 04:50 PM

Been a member of WBCCI for 4 years. Do not really see any negatives about it. I do not really understand the hatred for it on this forum. Seems like it would be a good group but people are araid it will change, so they wish to bash it and kill it to keep it from changing? Or maybe egos are hanging out and getting bruised? I do keep our of politics, have fun, and go on caravans. Went to one International. Did not like it a lot. So I do not go. Got no problem with others going. It is a darn good caravan club and that is my primary interest. Been on one??

wheel interested · 03-13-2011, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bill M.

Been a member of WBCCI for 4 years. Do not really see any negatives about it. I do not really understand the hatred for it on this forum. Seems like it would be a good group but people are araid it will change, so they wish to bash it and kill it to keep it from changing? Or maybe egos are hanging out and getting bruised? I do keep our of politics, have fun, and go on caravans. Went to one International. Did not like it a lot. So I do not go. Got no problem with others going. It is a darn good caravan club and that is my primary interest. Been on one??

I haven't heard anyone ever posting on this forum against WBCCI changing, or any hatred for that matter???????? Can you be explicit? I may not be able to go on a caravan any time soon unfortunately. I may even need to save up longer just for international dues these days.

Which to Lynn I might respond that ignoring international is easy to do and paying unit dues is also easy, however spending so much more for taxation to the tune of $65.00 a year and rising, without representation, and only benefiting a small percentage of the club without review is not cool.

Gene · 03-13-2011, 07:16 PM

Bill, even the most diehard supporters of the WBCCI have mostly either given up on it, are very frustrated, or are trying to change it. They have had little or no success. There are a few diehard supporters that don't seem to care whether it changes or not. I don't see hatred, just frustration with the WBCCI leaders.

I don't think anyone wants to kill it, but it seems the present leaders are doing things that will kill it.

Gene

garry · 03-14-2011, 11:26 AM

I agree no one has spoken against the WBCCI as a club.... but a lot has been said about the WBCCI leadership and the direction they are taking the club.

Frank's Trailer Works · 03-14-2011, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garry

a lot has been said about the WBCCI leadership and the direction they are taking the club.

Is it a good direction in your opinion? Just yes or no.

jimmickle · 03-14-2011, 06:33 PM

No!

Silverfoxrae · 03-15-2011, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zigzagguzzi

The packet might be your membership info, the phone calls from close by units asking you to join. No pressure, relax. Again the phone calls are probably from a local unit. If you join a unit you save lots of money and are not obligated to attend any function. zz

I decided that I wanted to join. I emailed the website, filled in a simple online form. I received an email that day or the next day. I sent my check and a printed out form that was a one-pager from the computer. In about a week and a half, everything was done. I have a package waiting at my house, (as I have been away), but I'm already in the membership "book", and have received many friendly hello emails. Maybe I just struck lucky?
Rae

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