September Blue Beret

[PeeWee]

Is this the one everyone is talking about?

[wheel interested]

Hey they look like they are having fun!!! Gee I might want to join that club!

Great posts of the Blue Berets Pee Wee. Thanks.

[peegreen]

Time for the annaul revisit. As always, flip to the back page because I love pictures. Is that Big red getting on the ferry? I'm excited as I may actually know somebody on the inside back cover. Next the pres message.... I won't elaborate, but less than motivational. Next flip through the usual, but now there's something new. I am a firm believer in separation between church and state and truly believe that this is a camping club and while out in the wilderness will come across nature's creatures such as Ravens; but stories connecting birds and the lord for the general population would be better left for another publication. Just my opinion. Keep it to holding tanks, winterizing, breakaways and safety chains, through in some light non denominational humor. The BB is still "it is what it is", will not evolve, but should not be listed as one of the benefits of being a member. I think I'll just look at the pictures on the inside back cover from now on.

[rgesch]

Originally Posted by peegreen

Next flip through the usual, but now there's something new. I am a firm believer in separation between church and state and truly believe that this is a camping club and while out in the wilderness will come across nature's creatures such as Ravens; but stories connecting birds and the lord for the general population would be better left for another publication. Just my opinion. Keep it to holding tanks, winterizing, breakaways and safety chains, through in some light non denominational humor.

The same could be said about the WBCCI Amateur Radio, or any other sub-club or interest.

"It's an RV/Camping/Airstream club, not a _____(fill in the blank) club."

There are a lot of people with a lot of interests and belief systems within this club. If we start whittling away at the different those things, we start whittling away at the membership, the participation and the friends.

Two things to keep in mind:

1.The idea of "separation of church and state" is rooted in a court decision, not the Constitution, Bill Of Rights, Declaration, nor Federalist Papers.
2. The WBCCI is not "the State" although to some of us, it may seem like it is. Sometimes.
This post is brought to you by a hopelessly borderline agnostic...

[Mikethefixit]

Speaking of publications. WBCCI members come here and see what we have to say, so why are we not allowed to see what They are saying without getting permission or approval from Someone' Just wondering. OR maybe I aint found the rite buttons yet

[LHall]

As I was reading through the Blue Beret I just received, I was struck by the absence of FUN. We recently attended a rally and were fortunate enough to meet Dale (PeeWee) Schwamborn, who enthusiastically shared with our group the Wally Byam Creed. In fact, we each took turns reading and passing around the document.

I noticed that the Code of Ethics of the club received mention ... Why not the Creed? In my opinion that is what the club should be about. IMHO the Creed should be reaffirmed in each Blue Beret.

I had never read the creed before our rally, If you have never read it, please see it below.

"To place the great wide world at your doorstep for you who yearn to travel with all the comforts of home.

To provide a more satisfying, meaningful way of travel that offers complete travel independence, wherever and whenever you choose to go or stay.

To keep alive and make real an enduring promise of high adventure and faraway lands... of rediscovering old places and new interests.

To open a whole world of new experiences...a new dimension in enjoyment where travel adventure and good fellowship are your constant companions.

To encourage clubs and rallies that provide an endless source of frendships, travel fun and personal expressions.

To lead caravans wherever the four winds blow...over twinkling boulevards, across trackless deserts...to the traveled and untraveled corners of the earth.

To play some part in promoting international goodwill and understanding among the proples of the world through person-to-person contact.

To strive endleessly to stir the venturesome spirit that moves you to follow a rainbow to its end...and thus make your travel dreams come true."

Happy Camping

[RedSHED]

Originally Posted by LHall

...
I noticed that the Code of Ethics of the club received mention ... Why not the Creed? In my opinion that is what the club should be about. IMHO the Creed should be reaffirmed in each Blue Beret.
...

If you've been reading the Bob Thompson/ Leo Garvey threads, the answer to this is all too evident.

But you're absolutely right. That should be in the inside front cover of every issue. The prez's mug & blurb can go elsewhere.

[LHall]

Originally Posted by RedSHED

If you've been reading the Bob Thompson/ Leo Garvey threads, the answer to this is all too evident.

But you're absolutely right. That should be in the inside front cover of every issue. The prez's mug & blurb can go elsewhere.

I have been reading and trying to stay out of it since I am a fairly new member.

[eubank]

I don't mind the newsprint paper; it is easier to recycle in many quarters. On the other hand, for a publication whose advertising income exceeds its publication expenses, I think the club could make some improvements.

May I suggest that we stop complaining and make some specific, positive suggestions for improvement. Here are a couple:

1. Make the BB available to members electronically, by option. This could reduce the postage side of production (a sizeable expense, by the way!).

2. Expand the individual unit news sections.

3. As a rule of thumb for each issue of the BB, every item (story, graphic) that appeals to an older generation should be counterbalanced by an item (story, graphic) that specifically appeals to younger and/or newer members. (Ideally, this would also extend to advertisements, but that's of course somewhat more difficult.)


Lynn

[63Silver]

I just recently had the opportunity to see my first copy of the BB (not a member yet) and could not believe how dry it was. I had hoped for something a little more exciting not a newsletter from the local quilters club. Where are the beautiful pictures of far away places? New equipment? Great campsites? Family activities? I know MANY high school students who could create a more exciting magazine that would reflect the interest of all readers, young and old.

63silver

[rgesch]

Originally Posted by peegreen

Is that Big red getting on the ferry?

I dunno. Is that Rich Walbridge wearing the white shirt in the picture on the left?

[rideair]

For me, it’s 9 issues of “How great the International rally will be” and 1 issue of “How good the International rally was”.

I think it would be fun to see old articles from the “Caravanner” from back in the 60’s. You know, “On this day 50 yrs ago in WBCCI history “Blab, Blab, blab”. Not real hard to do, just a retype.

Oh well, maybe they don’t want everyone to know how much fun the WBCCI use to be!

[Frank's Trailer Works]

I sometimes wonder if the "oldtimers" felt the same way as the "youngercrowd" back when they were the "youngercrowd"....

I actually wonder that a lot.

I also sometimes wonder if the media known as the internet has given those "youngercrowd" a voice, that in the past, was not heard.

I also always wonder why so many folks that do not belong to the club, have so much to say about the club.

Now I will wonder how many negative replies come from this.

[wheel interested]

Maybe not, (were there old timers?) not as we have Pee Wee's experiences that growing up in the club he was very active and so were all the members and having so much fun. I don't think the governance of the club was the entity it has grown to be today.

But yeah generational gaps between children and parents seem to have always existed and not likely to ever stop in the future viewed in general.

I wonder if the balance of power lies with the majority. It must have in the beginning. But I don't know if it does now. If it does now, but still wants to attract new members, then it should seriously look into reinventing itself.

I really don't see many similarities in the club today and the club when it started, do you?

If the BB is still to be an newsletter to highlight events they might want to include more pictures and experiences from members rather than coupons that vary little year to year, let alone issue to issue.

If each unit submitted their rallies' pictures and stories it could be interesting and inspiring.

I see a change listed from the IP that EDITED letters from readers will be included. I believe the capitols or underscore was of his origination. There are definite control issues to be addressed and loosened to make way for what younger members would now like to see the BB be to them.

Do you think as we see the pictures of the Airstreams in a circle to exotic places they subdivded into a many smaller groups to go to Denny's for breakfast, or Holiday Inn for ice cream or signed up for tours, or had private dinners to have fun together?

I've not seen pictures of the days of meetings and separate parking, just everyone on their lawn chairs gathered in a circle raising their hands to vote.

Times change, as they did from then, they must also change from now.

[myboyburt]

Originally Posted by rgesch

I dunno. Is that Rich Walbridge wearing the white shirt in the picture on the left?

Hey, I haven't received my BB yet. I want to see the pictures! Maybe they from the Region One Maritime Holiday Caravan or the NEU Maritime Discovery Caravan.

Anyway, here is a picture of "Big Red" on the ferry from Nova Scotia to PEI on our way to the 2008 R1R.

[rideair]

All one has to do is go back and look at the old "Caravanner" newspapers from Airstream and the WBCCI to see the club news-letter has changed. "The Caravanner" showed pictures of rallies, caravans, write-ups on new products, a short list of the big rallies, projects that people were taking on (like the family living over seas for two years in a trailer), etc...

What it was not, was a book of "rally coupons" over and over, an endless marketing letter for the International Rally, advertisements and one big list of every rally happening in the next 3 months.

If the WBCCI wants to keep the current format, fine, but hire an outside company to do it right. Instead of the WBCCI spending all this money on the IBT to travel around (building interest in the International Rally) that same money could be spent paying a few good writers for articles, pics, etc...

I say either go back to what it was in the 60's, fix the current format or just trash it all together! I personally think trying to use it for getting new members does more harm than good and it's like a "Soap Opera" mis a few months and you can pick back up were you left off!

There's enough people with blogs, websites, etc... there should be an endless amount of info to pull from to put together something that would ROCK!! I'm sure most if not all would not charge for this info.

Imagine,
"Google click, Search "Airstream Blog" click(email: Can the WBCCI copy from your blog? Owner: Yes), Copy click, Paste click, Format click, Save Adobe format click, Send to printer click, Send to members wanting soft copy click, I go home click!!"

I know, if I can get out a 30 page proposal in less than three days doing the above, the WBCCI should be about to do wonders in 30 days.

Just a thought.

[tlavergne]

I was a kid in the early 60's when I first started Airstreaming with my Grandparents. It was different. The generation gap,at least to me, appeared to be kids and adults, not adults and adults. Fun was had by all. We traveled and camped. I don't recall problems until the 1990's when it started getting more like it is now. You are right Paul, time for the WBCCI to go back to the way it was in the 60's. That's why I enjoyed the VAC rally in Virginia this summer...it was like the old days. Lawn chairs, food and laughter.
Tom

[warbler5]

Tom.....nothing has changed, really......it's just that many of us who spent our childhood during the 1950s and 1960's have chosen not to grow up. Soooooo....it's kinda the same generation gap: grown-up "kids" vs adults! And, the grown-up "kids" still just wanna have fun!