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ahoyhere · 07-06-2016, 06:12 PM

Wow...

So, as a couple of brand new Airstreamers (and particularly young ones, apparently)... we'd planned on joining WBCCI because it's the thing.

But, dress code?? Berets? TIES?

Yuck.

It's not that I would ever attend a meeting that required a dress code, but the mere idea that people running an organization see it as something worth spending precious time and energy on is, to me, a huge waving red flag.

BTW, the logo is

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it violates several rules of design, including one called "nose room." Unless poor Wally is meant to look like he's in the corner, being punished in time out, and glaring evilly at the viewer.

SilverEagle6 · 07-06-2016, 06:35 PM

Exactly right. The organization spends entirely too much time on itself, and not its members. Imagine an organization of owners that had a smart corporate head that could bring the power of its membership to influence Airstream....that would be worth participating in. The whole promoting an ancient past to Wally does no one any good. It's a part of history, respect it, and put a plaque up,somewhere. But time has come to focus on today and tomorrow.

BAB · 07-06-2016, 07:25 PM

I confess (having just attended the Lewisburg rally--my first International), that I, too, had some preconceived notions about stuff like berets, etc. And, since I'm retired military, I had 20 years of wearing a uniform. I even have a blue beret that I was given by my Vietnamese counterpart in 1970 -- though it wouldn't pass for the "official" beret. There was no time that I ever felt uncomfortable in wearing what I'd usually wear when camping. Yup, we did wear the "official" name tag with the appropriate ribbons attached (red for paid attendance, yellow for "Newbie" (first timer at the rally), and a "Veteran" ribbon). Other than that it was very informal. The very best part -- at least for me -- was meeting lots of fellow Airstreamers...some of whom I've PM'd here on AF and had never met. A couple I'd actually met in campgrounds. Lots of information sharing. And, I got to see folks from my unit and Region. If you wanted to be social you could be. I enjoyed the flag ceremony and the band concert. I mean, the band played really well. Even a few "clinkers" from the reed or brass section didn't lessen how much fun they had playing and we had listening. Like anything, you get out of something exactly what you invest.

ahoyhere · 07-06-2016, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverEagle6

Exactly right. The organization spends entirely too much time on itself, and not its members. Imagine an organization of owners that had a smart corporate head that could bring the power of its membership to influence Airstream....that would be worth participating in. The whole promoting an ancient past to Wally does no one any good. It's a part of history, respect it, and put a plaque up,somewhere. But time has come to focus on today and tomorrow.

Exactly.

Here's how many times I have heard one of my friends breathe the word "Airstream" (without me bringing it up): Once, ever, in my entire life. And that one time, it was a friend of mine telling me he bought an Avion to fix up.

These are young people with money who love good design and spend on travel and experiences... like us, and our friends.

Airstream SHOULD be attracting these design nerds.

AirBnB can make staying in stranger's houses cool, surely somebody can make sexy, private trailers cool. (The Wynns do a great job but of course, another brand got to them first.)

An long-dead dude in a beret: Never cool. A serious whiff of fascist posters. (And I collect vintage posters so I know.)

A glossy brochure full of nothing but white people: Gross. We showed the official Airstream brochure (with its lovely embossing) to a few of our friends and every single one commented on the fact that there wasn't a single POC anywhere. Disgustingly 1950.

I've only had good experiences here on the forum so I'm excited to make the acquaintance of my fellow Airstreamers! But disappointed that we are the only ones in our very broad social network who will be doing this.

I do blame hamfisted marketing by people who don't get it.

mccrosti · 07-06-2016, 07:39 PM

Mine go on the rear glass

Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

DanB · 07-06-2016, 07:49 PM

OK, let's address the logo. It's not new. The wording is. You are critiquing a design decades old. Don't suspect it's changing anytime soon.

Now "uniforms", Berets, and ties. I consider them appropriate for the formality of the occasion. It was two meetings and only encourage for the participants.

These leaders volunteered for a 4 year long position. They deserve the respect of some formality for their induction. No one was forced to attend.

The club is growing. The club is strong. The members are amazing.

The club is not perfect, but we are working on it.

xrvr · 07-07-2016, 06:47 AM

So many opinions on here are based on PC. Not enough minorities in the picture, a fascist looking logo?, uniforms, etc. If you are looking for something, you can probably find it. Look for the good!

AWCHIEF · 07-07-2016, 06:52 AM

Returned home yesterday from an adventurous trip to West Virginia and my first International. The only "rule" I was asked to comply with was to wear my badge with rally ribbons attached for identification purposes. I got the impression that only the hard core Officers choose to wear the suggested club attire and then only if they felt like it. The only official major event I attended was the opening flag ceremony. It was actually very impression, especially when the flag of the new European Unit was presented to the club membership brought everyone to their feet with a standing ovation. A shout out to the band of volunteers. Pretty amazing that they were so good with so little time playing together. Brought back memories of marching band days. In spite of all the unplanned adventures I am signed up for the 2017 International. Hopefully major acts of god or man will not be part of this rally.

switz · 07-07-2016, 07:29 AM

We became Life members to help fund the club going forward.

After attending the International at Farmington in 2014, we decided that we have done that event and will concentrate on the local events and folks. We are more into smaller groups and individual camping wherever we want.

franklyfrank · 07-07-2016, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Silver.Sanctuary

I suspect they don't want to continue the "tradition" of a dying WBCCI, so something would have to give, wouldn't it?

The way I see the WBBCCI tradition is the shared interest and enthusiasm and pride in owning our quirky and beautiful Airstreams. That in addition to the very human desire of belonging to tribe. The dress code and various rituals fade and change over time and they are not the core motivators. I for one enjoy some of it and ignore most of it. And I love tradition.

Tincandad · 07-07-2016, 08:57 PM

My experiences with the WBCCI over the past few years have been limited to our local unit but we have traveled/camped over the Eastern US and Canada. We just seem to bond well with members better than the general public. I hear that not every unit is the same but even though I am a person of color, we're in our 40s, and my son is often the only young kid at an event, my family has felt nothing but welcomed and supported. We may not bond well with each and every member in our unit but there is an appreciation that seems to be infectious with the active majority of our unit and that has proven beyond worthy of the dues. I now have people willing to go the extra mile to lend a hand (or rivet tool). Could I develop those same friends through other channels?....probably but the WBCCI structure makes it easy. I have friends that own Airstreams that have not and will not join the WBCCI. They have their reasons and I respect that but I know it just works for us even though we're decades away from enjoying a caravan.

SteveSueMac · 07-07-2016, 09:15 PM

Hear hear, Garvin 😀

I really enjoy the friendships among the NEU.

cazual6 · 07-07-2016, 11:05 PM

What the rest of these things on your signature? AIR 70341, 4CU, WD9EMC

I just saw the WBCCI and joined that. Not sure why, but I did. Now I am curious to what else is out there.

Rich Jenkins · 07-08-2016, 05:27 AM

Anybody know if WBCCI has a discussion forum online based on vBulletin or similar?

I looked through www.wbcci.net and if it was there, I missed it.

AWCHIEF · 07-08-2016, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Llando88

Anybody know if WBCCI has a discussion forum online based on vBulletin or similar?

I looked through www.wbcci.net and if it was there, I missed it.

There are several Facebook pages devoted to the WBCCI and its individual units. But I do not think there is an official Club discussion forum anywhere else.

Silver.Sanctuary · 07-08-2016, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franklyfrank

The way I see the WBBCCI tradition is the shared interest and enthusiasm and pride in owning our quirky and beautiful Airstreams. That in addition to the very human desire of belonging to tribe. The dress code and various rituals fade and change over time and they are not the core motivators. I for one enjoy some of it and ignore most of it. And I love tradition.

I spent 4 years at the United States Military Academy. We always said that it sported 200 years of tradition unhampered by progress! Our dress code, uniforms, and rituals appeared not to fade and changed very little over time. Glad you like tradition...

nvestysly · 07-08-2016, 01:15 PM

When the OP brought up the use of Wally Byam Airstream Club I wasn't certain how I felt about the use of a new moniker. I appreciate the need to insert the word Airstream into web pages, links, documents, etc. related to the club. Using the word Airstream will certainly make finding the club easier.

A few years ago the WBCCI dabbled with new phrases that used the word Airstream but none of the proposed nomenclature went as far as issuing a new logo. In general I like the idea of new/changed logo. I also like the idea of local units incorporating the word Airstream in their URL to increase the likelihood of finding club related information.

For those whose sense of history is yesterday, last week, last year or even five years ago the logo may not make sense. Could the change have been implemented differently with a different outcome? Probably. Is the change bad? I don't think so. Will the logo change again sometime? My guess is yes.

For now, we'll wait and see what happens. Whether it's referred to Wally Byam Airstream Club or WBCCI or something else has little impact on the camaraderie and friendships that are made by being part of the club.

For those that don't join the club because membership cost $65+ per year, or focus on one or two imperfections, or, or, or... you may be missing out on lots of fun and adventure. I suggest you try it - you might find you like it.

franklyfrank · 07-09-2016, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nvestysly

When the OP brought up the use of Wally Byam Airstream Club I wasn't certain how I felt about the use of a new moniker. I appreciate the need to insert the word Airstream into web pages, links, documents, etc. related to the club. Using the word Airstream will certainly make finding the club easier.

A few years ago the WBCCI dabbled with new phrases that used the word Airstream but none of the proposed nomenclature went as far as issuing a new logo. In general I like the idea of new/changed logo. I also like the idea of local units incorporating the word Airstream in their URL to increase the likelihood of finding club related information.

For those whose sense of history is yesterday, last week, last year or even five years ago the logo may not make sense. Could the change have been implemented differently with a different outcome? Probably. Is the change bad? I don't think so. Will the logo change again sometime? My guess is yes.

For now, we'll wait and see what happens. Whether it's referred to Wally Byam Airstream Club or WBCCI or something else has little impact on the camaraderie and friendships that are made by being part of the club.

For those that don't join the club because membership cost $65+ per year, or focus on one or two imperfections, or, or, or... you may be missing out on lots of fun and adventure. I suggest you try it - you might find you like it.

I happily pay the dues to keep the organization going. I don't know of any other Trailer out there with the history of not only the trailer but its early creator. Talk about those adventures !

AWCHIEF · 07-10-2016, 06:27 AM

For a light read about these early adventures check out,

http://store.airstreamlife.com/produ...pecial-edition

Denis4x4 · 07-10-2016, 02:34 PM

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I'm curious to know who owns the Airstream trademark and if there is some sort of licensing agreement with Thor.