Washington DC Unit - What Happened

[utee94]

Originally Posted by 47WeeWind

It's just like the evening news. Good deeds, good people and good news go unreported. Wrecks and disasters make headlines. Don't judge the WBCCI by the few comments you read (time and again) here.

That's fair enough, Fred, and very wise words indeed.

-Marcus

[byamcaravanner]

Originally Posted by 47WeeWind

But my main point is don't keep picking the Richard Heyde scab. Let it fully heal and let's move on to more current topics.

Fred,

I'm the last to open old wounds, but it seems that at least in some respects, there are similar happenings this year. I've met April Hirshberger, having spoken to her for quite a while at this years CBR. She and her husband Andy are the exact sort of folks we need in this club. They have, in a short time, put their heart and soul into Airstreaming. As I understand it, April was recruited at the last minute to serve as representative of the WDCU for a similar purpose as in the story I recounted from last years IBT meeting. I have not heard the recording, nor am I aware of exactly who is the offending member of the board this time around, but it apparently has happened again.

I appreciate, you posting your support of IBT members that are working for a good purpose and I certainly did not paint any accusations with a broad brush, but these folks are all on the board and if each year, the Richard Heydes of the world are allowed abuse the membership at-large without an appropriate correction, the board as a whole carries some responsibility.

My take is that as long as the boards in the near term do not ruin the club by changing the name or allowing the white boxes to join in, things will take care of themselves over time.

I look forward to meeting and supporting all those folks that are working much harder than I am to carry this club into a strong future. There will be next year... and very near to my home. :-)

[Buttercup]

I would agree that this international was the best I have been to, albeit short for us. The vintage area was lively and active. Salem was my first and the vintage section was a blast there as well but this time we participated more directly and that made the difference for us.
That is why I am looking forward to Madison. I expect that we will have many more trailers in the parade and folks camping with the vintage section. I really am pumped!

[Shacksman]

Originally Posted by byamcaravanner

Fred,

I appreciate, you posting your support of IBT members that are working for a good purpose and I certainly did not paint any accusations with a broad brush, but these folks are all on the board and if each year, the Richard Heydes of the world are allowed abuse the membership at-large without an appropriate correction, the board as a whole carries some responsibility.

I lost all respect for the IBT in 2005, when as the President of WDCU, I was invited to the Unit Presidents appreciation party. They held it 3 days earlier then the opening of the rally. I couldn't make the party so no big deal, I was at the rally. I found out that if you did not attend their party your appreciation gift was sold at the flea market. A great way to show their appreciation!!! They'r all a bunch #$%^&*'s to allow that.

[byamcaravanner]

Doug,

Sounds like a mutual non-appreciation society. Not a good way to run a social organization.

I can tell you that we all appreciate all you do for the group. I put you and your wife in group of folks that I was thrilled to spend time with this last April.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Hey Doug, I really appreciate all that you do for the WDCU. I want to be just like you someday... no, really, I do. You are always there. Always there helping. Helping in some way to make others have a great experience. I have not come for the morning coffee once and not found you there, making more, or making sure that everything is set for the rest of the unit. You are always happy to talk about life or your Airstream Life. You take on tasks for everyone and do them... Thank you.
I have to say I appreciate everyone in my unit. My unit is what the WBCCI is. I have not experienced all this saber rattling, horn blowing, or any of that. The WDCU just does not do that stuff. I think that next year will be very different experience for the old guard. The location will allow many more of the progressive units to go and to show them what WE want OUR club to be like.

But the point I am trying to make is Thanks Doug

[robandzoe]

Just wanted to send out a few public "Thank yous!" to a few people. Onw, thanks to Daisy Welch for carrying our flag at the opening ceremony. Then to Tim and Kimber for stepping up in a time of need to be our delegates... and to April and Andy for stepping in when Tim and Kimber had to leave. I was going to be there, but being back on Active Duty with the Marines for 6 months now, I was not able too! Next year, Madison will rock!!! Thanks to Paul Waddell (past WDCU President and now Region 2 VAC Rep) for a great East Coast VAC Rally (over 40 rigs at the 1st event) and making an opportunity for people to see what it's all about... and to Doug, Frank Abe, Steve, and hopefully Marcus showing all how much they care!!! Remember, this is your club, and as "PAYING" members, without you, there is no club.... - and I will never forget it supposed to be about the FUN, ADVENTURE, and GOOD TIMES - not about casting 103 votes for someone we've never met... Hope you had FUN otherwise April - I know I did traveling along with you guys on your BLOG. I will see you all on Saturday (there only for the day - but it'll be a day to remember) at one of the year's biggest events.. the 1st ever VINTAGE TRAILER JAM in Saratoga Spring State Park, here in the Upstate area of NY...

See ya down the road and drive slow to save GAS!!! Rob

[vajeep]

Rob,
Thanks back at you and all the other members of the WDCU unit.
The WDCU unit has found what it takes to grow and attract new members.

[rideair]

One must remember the WDCU has always been known to walk to the beat of a different drummer. Each of the presidents of the WDCU has interacted or the lack there of, with the IBT in different ways. Some have decided not to interact at all in their process; some enough to get by, others by the book, some have used the IBT rules against them and then stuck their tongue out at them.

In the end, this is the very thing that makes the WDCU so great. Each year, depending on the “fire drill” of the day, the president does what they think is needed and the wishes of the WDCU membership, then will interact or the lack there of with the IBT accordingly. But understand, members of the WDCU need to let the leadership know their wishes so it can be passed on (no mind reading allowed) to the IBT.

Remember the WDCU motto:

“It’s just camping”

[vajeep]

Remember the WDCU motto:

“It’s just camping”[/quote]With adult beverages

[streamer23]

Originally Posted by Buttercup

I was slated to be the WDCU delegate this year.
Once we were parked I realized with horror that 2 things happened - One, Kimber and I would have to leave early because we would have to be in Sacramento on Tuesday (actually, we knew this before we left for Bozeman) and second, I had no delegate credentials nor the result of the voting, which was done by email.

Just trying to understand your post Tim.You must have felt terrible to be in that situation knowing before you left for Bozeman that you would not be able to fulfill your role as delegate for the WDCU.Alternate's would no doubt be on their way to the rally and hard to contact as a replacement.And to have no delegate credentials and unaware of the voting results,what a situation to be in.Why would the results of the units vote (which was done by email)not be available?
I hope that some lessons have been learned so that a similar situation can be averted at Madison.
The WDCU to me is one of the shining stars of the club and the wishes of the unit need to be heard and counted.

[Buttercup]

Overall, I think it was somewhat of a communication snafu which was resolved before we left. The vote was taken late in the year and not everybody responded so perhaps there was some hope that more would come in. I don't know.
I do know that it took a few days and a few phone calls to get it straightened out. It was quite exciting to race down to the local Staples store to receive the fax and then find that it just was not coming in - then the girl behind the counter figured out that it was out of paper! She put some in and it started printing all of the faxes that had not printed the day before (by this time my bowels are starting to turn into liquid).
When it was finally printed we had to hightail it back to the delegates credentials desk. It was just like in the movies - the desk was only open for one hour that day and we got the paper in with 10 minutes to spare.
I am sure that there will not be a repeat of this in Madison - not for WDCU at least. Once bitten, twice shy...

[streamer23]

Glad to hear that lessons will be learned from this years Int'l.
Communication is the key and for Madison I would hope that the delegate has everything needed to fulfill the wishes of the unit.Maybe an earlier cut off time to gather the unit members votes should be considered.It might also be prudent to have an alternate delegate in place AND PREPARED in case the primary delegate is unable to complete their duty.Kudos for those who stepped up this year and tried.
I look on units like the WDCU as one of the units to spearhead the changes needed to finally turn this club in the proper direction.There are many in other units that are WDCU followers and what happened this year just cannot happen again,not just for those following but especially for the WDCU members themselves.I'm glad that something was learned at Bozeman and feel confident it won't happen again.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

I'll do the job. I am your man.... I will firmly commit to going, and cast the appropriate votes.... However, I suspect that most of the unit will be there too.

[Buttercup]

Yes, there will be plenty of us there next year - heck, we ought to have a WDCU gathering/party in Madison?

[Buttercup]

Mike, are you planning on going to Madison? I sure would love to finally meet you.

[3streams]

We are home and settled in and now and I have finally had time to catch up on the forums. I will try and retell my side of the story from the International Rally. Originally Andy & I were going to leave early Monday morning- but we were approached to be the delegates for the WDCU. I decided I would be the delegate so Andy could have the trailer packed/ hitched and ready to go. As Tim explained we really were rushing against the clock to get the delegate paperwork in. I then got in touch with Pete (the Prez of the WDCU) to find out what the votes were. Unfortunately (due to email problems?) there was not a large response to the vote. The first few votes went well (so to speak- we just reported our numbers and the nominations from the committee won by a landslide) the votes felt rigged because every time there was a nomination from the floor they didn't even stand a chance. The majority of the units Presidents' would choose to vote for the unit (instead of actually taking a vote from the units members) and so when the unit reported its' votes it was always 100% for a certain person (never the nomination from the floor). The WDCU decided to take our few votes and use them as a percentage representation of our unit (because we had votes in multiple directions). When it came time to vote for the new nominating committee there are two positions open so the votes were basically being given 100% to 2 people. We were the only unit that had votes for all four people running for the 2 positions and when the secretary lady plugged our numbers into her computer to give me the votes the wouldn't work out correctly because we had more votes for Leo than we had voting members so they told me I had to vote the odd numbers (103) as abstentions as opposed to give them to a person our unit had not favored and then thus not stayed true to the original percentage representations of our units votes. If you followed all that - you can understand that the morning was a little frustrating. At the end of all of it- the people who the committee had nominated won and the others didn't even stand a chance. So as soon as it was all over- I hurried the hell out of there and we hit the road (we made it to South Dakota that night). I did the best I could and feel that the whole situations was a little messy- but at least our votes went it and we can say we tried to make a difference. I suggest that the votes for all matters of the WBCCI be registered via a website or mail-in instead of via units at a very long and boring meeting. I also think that the people running for the offices should be readily available to anyone wanting to run and they should have articles about each nominee in the Blue Beret and on the organizations website. There was some discussion during the delegates meeting about the fact that none of the nominees discussed their views for the future of the WBCCI - it was all about how many rallies they had attended and how many caravans they had been on (doesn't # of trailers count?). Obviously there needs to be a major change in the organization and although we enjoyed the rally I was getting just plain snappy when the elders kept saying - "why aren't your numbers on your trailer?" & "didn't you listen to the CB announcement at 7:00 am?" It is all about camping- and we were on vacation! I am glad I had the opportunity to represent the WDCU- and I hope I did the unit justice!

[Buttercup]

April,

Thank you for stepping up! It was actually quite fun to race around to get the paperwork done.
I do believe that you probably got railroaded by the recording secretary and I do not think you should feel bad at all. You did a great job.

[byamcaravanner]

Originally Posted by 3streams

I am glad I had the opportunity to represent the WDCU- and I hope I did the unit justice!

April,

I had the opportunity on Saturday to scan through the recorded feed. I think you did a great job. By referring to the candidates by first name only, you injected an element of informality and familiarity that is the cornerstone of the WDCU. People on vacation don't refer to each other as "Mr. So and So." I especially got a chuckle from your "under your breath" comment at the end of the process... yes it was recorded for all to hear, though it was clear that it was not your intention to have it be broadcast.

The system as it stands, is biased toward "electing" individuals whose "turn has come" rather than who is best for the job or who has a vision for the future. These unfortunate events each year do serve to galvanize those supporting productive change to the organization... you took one for the team, thanks!

[Pfredd]

It would be interesting to see the history of how the "nomination" process worked throughout WBCCI's history.

Has it always been that the nomination committee selected only one candidate per position, or did that evolve somehow....