I was told 'Not to Join'???

[Msmoto]

In rereading the OP, I note the age thing....OK, so some members could be my grandchildren.....but must I remind you, I sold my Suzuki Hayabusa at age 67. LOL


Ms Tommie Lauer
Greensboro, NC
2015 Serenity 30 RB / 2008 Dodge Cummins 4 X 4
WBCCI #4165 AIR #31871

[sandlapper]

Originally Posted by Msmoto

In rereading the OP, I note the age thing....OK, so some members could be my grandchildren.....but must I remind you, I sold my Suzuki Hayabusa at age 67. LOL


Ms Tommie Lauer
Greensboro, NC
2015 Serenity 30 RB / 2008 Dodge Cummins 4 X 4
WBCCI #4165 AIR #31871

Age is just a number.

Some younger folks feel old, some older folks feel young.

John

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by sandlapper

Age is just a number.

With regard to WBCCI membership, age isn't just a number, because the lower the number, the more likely the member is to still have a boss— other than the missus— who dictates when he can or cannot take off from work to attend WBCCI events.

I joined WBCCI three years ago, while I was still working. I never was able to take off enough time at the right time of year to make any of the caravans, not even the Cajun Caravan that is closest to me. I only made one Region rally for my region in three years, and even then I was forced to arrive a day late and leave a day early. In fact, until I retired I was never able to attend every day of any WBCCI rally, and I had to miss a lot of rallies entirely due to work. I was never able to make an International Rally or a Midwinter IBT until I retired, either.

Nevertheless I stayed a member for those three work years, knowing that once I retired and I owned my own schedule, I'd be able to take full advantage of my WBCCI membership. The membership isn't all that expensive, and at the very least I was able to get to know a lot of great people while waiting for the day that I retired, so now I get to go and have fun with people I already know, instead of just going and having fun with strangers as would be the case if I waited until retirement to join.

[sandlapper]

Protag, just referring to one's mindset, not work set. Some folks are able to work and play at the same time, for a long time. John

[hshovic]

We were members for years, but have ceased. An interesting organization, but we retired at 58/55 and we were just too young for it. Different interests and abilities I guess. However, we will be back. When I am 70. I think that is a good time for the kinds of activities they do.

[xrvr]

You were in the wrong unit. Jim

[mefly2]

I'm with Hank ... not sure if we will re-up or not.
We have met some very nice folks but there are simply not many AS owners / members around this part of the country. So; events are usually quite distant.

[SteveSueMac]

Our unit's current president is intentionally trying to meet the needs of working campers. Many in the unit are in their 40s/50s, still working and enjoying the hell out of however many weekends we can hang out together. There's a short caravan planned this fall that I can't join but it's a total of about 10 days and would make an awesome vacation. I'm very happy with the NEU. There is an air of yesterday's organizational process across the whole WBCCI to me but I really don't see much of it - I just experience it though my local unit and that experience is just good fun camping. Hope everyone finds whatever they're looking for. Get out and camp however you do it :-)

[johncook]

not many people in Montana.

[TG Twinkie]

We dropped our membership.
Schedule being reason one.
Events were poorly organized. At least the few we attended.
When we looked at the cost of going to an event, site rentals, member fees, rally fees. Then compared it to staying in the same RV park, it was less expensive to go as a private party when compared to the club fees.
At least with Good Sam you get some discount on spaces, fuel costs and parts at CW.


Sent from my iPod touch using Airstream Forums

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

Events were poorly organized. At least the few we attended.

The answer to that isn't quitting. It's becoming a Unit officer and organizing the events the way you want them organized. Set a good example for those that follow because you've already had bad examples.

When we looked at the cost of going to an event, site rentals, member fees, rally fees. Then compared it to staying in the same RV park, it was less expensive to go as a private party when compared to the club fees.

Of course it's cheaper that way. I go camping by myself about half the time, too. But when I do, I'm not with a bunch of friends, unlike a rally where I already know many if not all of the other attendees. Sometimes I want to be sociable; sometimes I don't. Luckily I can have it both ways. I don't have to quit WBCCI to go camping by myself from time to time.

But your complaint may also be tied in to "poorly organized." In my Unit, rally fees consist of just splitting the cost of communal meals equally among all attendees except the cooks— cooks eat free because they did all the work. That's only fair, and the cost is not onerous for those of us who didn't cook. We all pay our own site fees, and we each use any discount that applies to us: Good Sam, Passport America, whatever.

As for membership fees, WBCCI still only charges $65 per year, plus Unit fees of maybe $10. Yes, that's more expensive than the Good Sam membership fee of $25 per year. But look at it this way: If you belong to WBCCI and attend ONE region- or international-level rally per year, you'll pay a lot less than if you belong to Good Sam and attend just one Good Sam rally per year. And the more WBCCI rallies you attend versus Good Sam rallies, the bigger the savings. Good Sam makes their profit off the event fees, not off the membership fees. WBCCI gains most of its working capital off the membership fees, not the event fees.

At least with Good Sam you get some discount on spaces, fuel costs and parts at CW.

You can belong to Good Sam and get the discounts whether you belong to WBCCI or not. It's not an either/or proposition.

If you organize WBCCI rallies at parks that offer Good Sam discounts, you can use that discount for an Airstream rally. And Airstream rallies are still a lot cheaper than Good Sam Rallies. For example… the WBCCI Mardi Gras Rally was held right next to the Good Sam Mardi Gras Rally the last few years through 2014. Same amenities, pretty much the same events, but the Airstream rally was just a quarter of the cost of the Good Sam rally. WBCCI only has to cover expenses; they don't have to make a profit the way Good Sam does.

[Gene]

When we bought our Airstream, WBCCI was in a bad state of losing members and having continual conflict over what way the organization was going to go. It seems things have settled down and there are new people running it now.

But by now we are used to traveling ourselves and if we want to go to a rally, there are independent ones organized through the Forum if we want to go to a rally. From time to time there are WBCCI rallies open to anyone and we have gone to a few of those, most notably the Balloon Fiesta. We have met friends through those and keep in touch with them when possible.

If we were buying a trailer now, we might join the WBCCI to try it out, but there are plenty of opportunities to meet people through the Forum and that works fine for us. Before we owned a trailer we traveled throughout the US (including Alaska, northern Canada, Newfoundland) Canada ourselves. We like being able to choose what we want to do, where we want to stop for a while once we discover something we like and rest for a day when we are tired. A caravan would not be our type of traveling. Works for us. But for some, being thousands of miles from home when something breaks, a caravan could be a great help. We have met people with broken trailer suspensions and busted trucks far from home and in distant places who had to fend for themselves. I had to fix a tire 100 miles from a service station in Alaska once and was glad to have a tire repair kit and a compressor. Bringing lots of tools gives us some feeling of security.

Several years ago there were a lot of complaints about WBCCI dues being too high, but they seem reasonable compared to other nonprofits. Dues aren't stopping us, it is just that it is not necessary for us.

Maybe the day will come when we are too old to travel far and rallies will be more important to us. Then if we join the WBCCI we (actually me, not my young wife) will raise the average age of members.

Gene

[mefly2]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

...
When we looked at the cost of going to an event, site rentals, member fees, rally fees. Then compared it to staying in the same RV park, it was less expensive to go as a private party when compared to the club fees.
...

Ed Zachary !
A major reason for selecting the AS (or any of the other RVs for that matter) is to be able to prepare the food that we like ...when we want it ... not be subjected to what the masses prefer.

[AWCHIEF]

As this is a three year old thread I am curious as to what the OP decided to do. To join or not to join?

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by mefly2

A major reason for selecting the AS (or any of the other RVs for that matter) is to be able to prepare the food that we like ...when we want it ... not be subjected to what the masses prefer.

On the other hand, I don't have family to go camping with. And none of my (former) co-workers were into RVing. If I didn't belong to some sort of RV club, nearly all of my trips would be solo.

While I like getting away from it all as much as the next person, if I wanted to be alone I'd just stay home. So you could say that WBCCI keeps me from being a hermit.

[kb0zke]

Each of us decides what we will do based on how we see the costs and benefits. When we had our mpg we attended one national rally and one state rally. Since we've had our Foretravel we've not attended any rallies, but that's due more to our schedules and finances than anything else. I fully expect that we will attend one sometime, but for now we'll have to pass.

Should we buy an Airstream we'll probably join and see what the club is all about.

[Boxite]

I am not someone who can write from experience (yet) but reading thru this thread reminds me of two stories, one from my Dad... and one from Garrison Keiler...
Dad's was told around a campfire during my youth in Boy Scouts, in which twin brothers moved to a new town. While walking down the street one brother saw an old man on his porch, rocking in his chair.
"Hey, Old Man", said the boy, "what kind of people are in this town?"
"What kind of people were in the town where you used to live?", replied the Old Man.
"Oh, they were really nice and fun, and always ready to help you out!", replied the boy.
"Well", said the OM, "that's the kind of people that live HERE too!"
Along came the second twin an hour later:
"Hey, Old Man...", said second brother, "What kind of people are in this town?"
"What kind of people were in the town where you used to live?", replied the Old Man.
"Oh... they were grumpy and hard to get along with," said the boy.
"Well", said the OM, "that's the kind of people that live HERE too!"

From Garrison's series of "Lake Wobegon"....in a story to a boy from his Mother,... "Life is what you make it. Go out. Look around. Live.... because LIfe is what you make it."

I have yet to know much about WBCCI,... but it might be a bit like the airplane type club to which we belong... Mysterious and reclusive.... Until we mixed in, met people, and participated with their activities.... and Then... we found our "Real Family" ...an Extended Family of Dear Friends and fellow travelers through Life...

Life Is What You Make It.

Kind Regards,

Curious George (Soon to retire AS Noobie in the Texas Hill Country)

[Msmoto]

Originally Posted by Gahorn

I am not someone who can write from experience (yet) but reading thru this thread reminds me of two stories, one from my Dad... and one from Garrison Keiler...
Dad's was told around a campfire during my youth in Boy Scouts, in which twin brothers moved to a new town. While walking down the street one brother saw an old man on his porch, rocking in his chair.
"Hey, Old Man", said the boy, "what kind of people are in this town?"
"What kind of people were in the town where you used to live?", replied the Old Man.
"Oh, they were really nice and fun, and always ready to help you out!", replied the boy.
"Well", said the OM, "that's the kind of people that live HERE too!"
Along came the second twin an hour later:
"Hey, Old Man...", said second brother, "What kind of people are in this town?"
"What kind of people were in the town where you used to live?", replied the Old Man.
"Oh... they were grumpy and hard to get along with," said the boy.
"Well", said the OM, "that's the kind of people that live HERE too!"

From Garrison's series of "Lake Wobegon"....in a story to a boy from his Mother,... "Life is what you make it. Go out. Look around. Live.... because LIfe is what you make it."

I have yet to know much about WBCCI,... but it might be a bit like the airplane type club to which we belong... Mysterious and reclusive.... Until we mixed in, met people, and participated with their activities.... and Then... we found our "Real Family" ...an Extended Family of Dear Friends and fellow travelers through Life...

Life Is What You Make It.

Kind Regards,

Curious George (Soon to retire AS Noobie in the Texas Hill Country)

This is true...... I used this story last night in discussing interactions with some folks. And I just returned from a rally, many are WBCCI members and those of us who are enjoy it. And if we want to use Wally's creed of improvement as a reason for change, this can only be done from the inside as a member.

WBCCI will be changing some things. Many of the old methods of doing business do not work in today's world, and change to more efficient fiscal policy's is the path to survival. Hopefully for those of us who want to hang around the Airstream community, attend events and have those big red numbers on our trailer, the changes will come before self destruction occurs as it has in some similar organizations.


Ms Tommie Lauer
Greensboro, NC
2015 Serenity 30 RB / 2008 Dodge Cummins 4 X 4
WBCCI #4165 AIR #31871

[Boxite]

Ms Lauer,
WHAT in the world are you doing up this hour? (I awoke at 3AM and couldn't sleep so made the mistake of turning on the laptop...) :LOL:

I had only just finished that posting and then decided to check on Mr. Keillor's last name spelling...found I'd mis-spelled it... came back to "edit" my post... and YOU have responded and thereby locked me out from editing my own post.... YOU have exposed me as a PORE SPELR!

(Apologies to Mr. Keillor) :embarrassed:

[Msmoto]

I have wondered why I cannot edit some of my posts......LOL

As to up at 4:30 AM....why not...more LOL? I go to bed early, occasionally get up or grab the iPad to see what is going on, and you know the rest....

Spelling....the real deal is to be surprised how the auto correct can alter what I wanted to say in such a way that I cannot even remember...the original idea....

What is the topic of this thread???