WBCCI and local Units

[66Overlander]

Originally Posted by BowlingAlone

Joe,

My approach to starting a new unit was based on a rather small geographic foot print to enable working families the opportunity to participate. This came from the idea that working families would not have the time or desire to travel over 120 miles for weekend events. Perhaps I am thinking too small.

When you asked if we would open the unit to Michigan it forced us to rethink what we were trying to do. If the goal is to build new WBCCI units that accommodate the needs of working families why not open the unit to anyone? The next logical step in this thought process asks why not form new units through forum threads.

Help me out here.

Terry

Terry,
I totally agree on the geographic thing for the main focus of your new unit. While I might consider becoming an associate of your new unit, I would like to keep my primary membership closer to home if possible, for the same reasons you'd like to keep yours centered near where you are. (As an aside, so far so good for me with trying out the Metro-Detroit Unit after attending the first luncheon. )

I put the OH-MI thing in there mainly as a touch of humor (I know poor attempt).

I do wish you luck with the new unit. WBCCI certainly could use more units that focus on working folks and families. While retirees are and will likely continue to be the larger portion of the club (and probably many units work very well for them), we need to get new folks "in" pre-retirement, so that they can eventually ease into the retiree lifestyle in the Club. Better that than waiting until they are retired to try to attract them to the club.

[BowlingAlone]

If the goal is to build new WBCCI units that accommodate the needs of working families why not open the unit to anyone?

This was a poor choice of words on my part, and wkerfoot correctly brought this to my attention. We never thought about restricting who could join. We just never considered someone from another state would want to join a unit over 120 miles away.

The rally schedule will be based on the availability of the members. Families with kids often stay close to home when the kids are in school, then take an extended vacation during the summer months.

Weekend camping is very challenging for a lot of people just to get packed. Most communities today restrict home owners from keeping their RV at home, and some even have a 1 hour parking limit. The time required to retrieve the RV from a storage facility, pack it, and get on the road is not trivial. Add in a couple hours of travel time, water tank fill up, and site setup before Mom and Dad can sit down and catch their breath.

The trip home is no less time consuming. You have the travel time, unpacking, cleaning, and the trip back to the storage facility. Lord help those that think they can leave the RV on the street overnight. A young couple with a new 28’ Airstream was telling me Saturday that the police woke them up saying they could no leave the RV on the street overnight.

With this kind of environment to deal with I believe most rallies during the school year will be less then 180 miles from home. The summer months are a different ball game. We are currently planning a trip to Rapid City SD for 2007. I want to show the kids where I lived and biked in the 70’s!

Terry

[Communicator]

I can certainly see that not being able to get your materials without attending a rally would be frustrating! We all just want to go camping and have fun.

Local units vary in their composition, approaches, and do have local rules, but that is a part of the flexibility that allows the members to actually run the club! WBCCI has a long and cool history and new trends are definitely breaking through as is evidenced by many excellent units. Like everything else, the club is run by those who show up.

It is a volunteer organization run by volunteers. Forward thinking volunteers will result in a forward thinking club. I joined when I was just about 33 and have been a member for 17 years. Despite some frustrations, the club is definitely worth it. My unit, the South Carolina Coastal Unit is one that has moved forward in many ways and we are still working on it. We definitely just want to go camping and have fun!