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12-20-2006, 06:54 AM
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#21
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Rivet Master
2005 34' Classic
N Smithfield
, Rhode Island
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 884
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WBCCI will survive!
WBCCI will survive here in New England. Our group keeps growing and havivg FUN! We incorporate the past with the future and just have a lot of fun at our rallies.
We DO NOT want Wally to be forgotten, as he is the reason we are all together in our Shiny Tin Cans. We even sing the "Wally Songs" at our campfires.
Hip hip hooray for Wally..............
Gail
__________________
Titu & Gail
2005 34' Classic-Mercury (Goddess of Travel)
2016 GMC Sierra Denali 2500HD Diesel
BRN-2905
NEAC of Region 1
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12-20-2006, 07:07 AM
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#22
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Rivet Master
NOVA SCOTIA
, CANADA
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 5,448
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Growing pains
For my Rivet Master post.I believe the WBCCI will survive and is close to a turnaround.I believe this turnaround in the short term is dependant on a couple of factors.
The membership needs to see strong leadership and reaction from these leaders to issues that are deemed important.What's the good of a survey of the members if nothing is done to address the concerns.
I also believe it is very important that the IBT approves the charter of the FCU in Perry in January.This would strengthen the membership numbers and open the door for other like minded units to get established.To turn down this units provisional charter in my opinion would not be in the best interest of the organization going forward.WBCCI must adapt to the times.
__________________
Mike
AIR # 7916
Ex WBCCI #32083
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12-20-2006, 07:57 AM
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#23
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Rivet Master
2007 23' International CCD
Lapeer
, Michigan
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 7,080
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Congratulations Rick and Sandi on your upcoming wedding!!! A WBCCI Wedding Rally sounds really cool! Hope there is lots of press in the BB and Airstream Life and news. We all want to share in your joy. Has anything like this ever been done before? (Hope the rally participants don't decide to hold a chivaree on you two after the campfire. )
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12-20-2006, 08:02 AM
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#24
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Site Team
1964 26' Overlander
1964 19' Globetrotter
OlyPen
, Washington
Join Date: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,935
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off topic... Tin Hut - congrats on 500!
now back to our regular programing....
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12-20-2006, 08:04 AM
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#25
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Site Team
2002 25' Safari
Dewey
, Arizona
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 15,616
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Still off topic.....
Congratulations Mike!!!
Now back to...........
__________________
Richard
Wally Byam Airstream Club 7513
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12-20-2006, 08:30 AM
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#26
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Rivet Master
1984 31' Excella
Abernathy
, Texas
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 865
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[quote]
Quote:
Originally Posted by rickandsandi
Dear Fellow Airstream Owners- For fifty years the WBCCI has been around providing a rally pole for all us AS owners. There is history here and we have two choices as members; be the problem and quit, be the solution and participate, become involved. Sure it is comfortable to sit here at your keyboard and complain about everything that is wrong but I ask you to do two things, ask yourself what you think the problems are and two, do something about it! Become activly involved in your unit, work up the ranks, throw your hat in the ring for a region office. What I have read is a whole bunch of complaints and no one stepping up to help. We belong to the New England Unit and I will tell you this; there is no greater group of people dedicated to their AS, the way of life we share and the getting together whenever possible. There is not a month for 2007 where there are at least two scheduled activities. Hey, we are even having a WBCCI Wedding Rally where Sandi and I are getting married! You get what you put into something and right now I think the membership at large needs to stop complaining and help with the problem. Yes, there is need for changes, and they will come with the right people stepping up to the place. Hey no one likes change, we need change and we need to do it so that all members are comfortable with the process and it does not divide the club. I love WBCCI and what Wally has done for us. Her was a man who gave us a new way of life, Airstreams and the open road, then brought us all together to share that great exprience together. I believe the organization should not change its name and we need to start at the unit level and grow.
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WBCCI could perhaps learn from the model of successful civic organizations (Lion's, Rotary, etc) that share a passion for their cause?
Airstream owners share a passion for camping and Airstreams. Beyond this common ground, there is a need for diversity due to geography, and also due to various interests of the members.
There is already division in the WBCCI that is sanctioned. The VAC is a Club within the club, and as the organization ages, will likely become the driving force as there will ultimately be more Airstreams on the road older than 25 years of age than newer than 25 years of age.
Lubbock, TX is home to the Largest Lion's Club in the USA. I am a member of the Lubbock Lion's Club.
There is also about 17 other Lion's Clubs in Lubbock that serve the needs of those members. Yet, the common cause is a passion for community service and a dedication to the blind and the disabled children in Texas and the World.
There is friendly rivalry, comraderie, and competition between the clubs. Lion's International is the beneficiary of this diversification.
What if Lion's International adopted the philosophy of some WBCCI Regions that believe that allowing more than one Unit in a city was not healthy? What if your choice is to either join the one allowed Unit, or vote with your feet and become a MAL, not join any Unit, or quit because you are misfit in the allowed Unit?
I prefer a model of inclusiveness over exclusiveness that looks more like the model of the various civic organizations where minimum size is necessary to Charter and maintain a Unit, and adherance to a standard framework of by-laws that insure the integrity of the parent organization.
Beyond those minimum standard requirements, the common thread should be a love of Airstreams, adventure, and camping.....and not a love of "we've never done it that way before, so let's not allow change."
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12-20-2006, 09:06 AM
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#27
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Tom, the Uber Disney Fan
2006 30' Safari
Orlando
, Florida
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 4,693
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I am in my mid-40's and just purchased our Airstream in May of '06 and joined the WBCCI in August. Part of the reason I joined was to belong to an historic organization dedicated to Airstreams. The rest of the reason I joined was to be with other Airstream owners at rallies and to make friends at those rallies.
We attended forum rallies prior to purchasing our Airstream and will be attending our first forum rally with our Airstream in a couple of weeks. It wasn't necessary for us to join the WBCCI to participate in rallies, but we wanted to join to be a part of the organization and to have that comeraderie. From the descriptions I have read, I don't think I would like the regimented nature of the WBCCI rallies if it goes on during the entire rally. I think it might be kind of fun if the formality was restricted maybe during one organized social event (happy hour maybe) and then the rest of the rally could be relaxed and casual.
I really hope that the WBCCI doesn't go away. I feel confident after reading this thread that there is more support for the WBCCI than there was just a year ago. I hope this trend continues and that the leadership will consider a more relaxed future for the organization so that other middleaged members like me won't join and drop out after the first year because the activities are boring or too regimented. I still like the concept of membership in the oldest RV club and the largest brand specific RV club in the world. I also like the fact that the name, while incredibly long to say or type, pays homage to the founder of the RV brand that has world wide recognition as an American icon and recognition as the cream of the camping crop.
__________________
2006 30' Safari - "Changes in Latitudes"
2008 F-250 Lariat Power Stroke Diesel Crew Cab SWB
Family of Disney Fanatics
WBCCI# 4821
https://streaminacrossamerica.com/
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12-20-2006, 09:29 AM
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#28
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Rivet Master
1968 26' Overlander
Wenatchee WA
, Cape Cod
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 871
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I think the reason that this subject keeps coming up here in the forums (do a search you will find weeks of reading) is exactly why I think the WBCCI is not going away. Like a cape it ebbs and flows with tide. It loses sand in one area and builds up sand in another. Some years it grows, some years shrinks. But it is ever changing. If people don't like their unit, join another, or better yet, if you have the energy....change the one that's closest to you. If you want your rallies to be more of "just camping" offer to host a rally for your unit.
I asked the North Cascade Unit guys once "why are all of your rallies in parking lots (fairgrounds, large barren camping areas with tons of sites, etc). They replied that the unit used to be so large that those were the only places that they fit in. They also wanted a camping area with a central enclosed meeting area in case of inclement weather. But the unit started out as a group who split from a larger group because they were fed up with the status quo. Now they don't have as many members that still rally but they still book these fairground or fairground like areas.
But it is just about camping and the people. We just happen to rally under this name WBCCI. It will change, ebb, flow, reduce, increase, but as long as their are Airstreams and people who love Airstream history, the WBCCI isn't going anywhere.
Kathleen
__________________
Jim & Kathleen 1968 Overlander - WBCCI #5793
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12-20-2006, 10:05 AM
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#29
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3 Rivet Member
Currently Looking...
On the road
, again...
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 138
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wkerfoot
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That list seems old fashioned compared to AS forums format. I no longer use it. The same questions are asked over and over again as the format of the list is via email. The discussion history isn't organized / assessible / searchable so it is difficult to use compared to AS forums format. IMHO, it was THE list of the times when it first came out but now the AS forums is the place to be to find/post information.
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12-20-2006, 10:29 AM
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#30
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Rivet Master
1979 23' Safari
1954 29' Liner
Orange
, California
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 3,850
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rebfa
That list seems old fashioned compared to AS forums format. I no longer use it. The same questions are asked over and over again as the format of the list is via email. The discussion history isn't organized / assessible / searchable so it is difficult to use compared to AS forums format. IMHO, it was THE list of the times when it first came out but now the AS forums is the place to be to find/post information.
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It may be old fashioned, but it, along with the VAC list, were my first exposure to other Airstreamers and many people are only on those two lists. I like to keep in contact with all of them.
New friends are silver, but old friends are gold.
Bill
__________________
Bill Kerfoot, WBCCI/VAC/CAC/El Camino Real Unit #5223
Just my personal opinion
1973 Dodge W200 PowerWagon, 1977 Lincoln Continental, 2014 Dodge Durango
1979 23' Safari, and 1954 29' Double Door Liner Orange, CA
https://billbethsblog.blogspot.com/
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12-20-2006, 11:07 AM
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#31
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Rivet Master
2006 19' Safari SE
NW of Boston
, Massachusetts
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 987
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rebfa
That list seems old fashioned compared to AS forums format. I no longer use it. The same questions are asked over and over again as the format of the list is via email. The discussion history isn't organized / assessible / searchable so it is difficult to use compared to AS forums format. IMHO, it was THE list of the times when it first came out but now the AS forums is the place to be to find/post information.
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rebfa -- I think the list format (Yahoo, etc.) remains because it's easier for some fulltimers and others with limited internet access and connection time to login and download the listmail, then answer offline and go back online to load up their message.
I'm like you though -- I don't like the list format at all and I much prefer the format, management, and community of the ASforums.
- J
__________________
Doug & Jamie, AIR #650
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12-20-2006, 12:27 PM
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#32
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4 Rivet Member
1978 31' Excella 500
Palm Bay
, Florida
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 269
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65GT's response yesterday.
Leo,
I don't think I have ever read a more impassioned positive support for the WBCCI than you wrote yesterday. I couldn't have said it better myself.
Vic Smith
President, Florida Unit 027.
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12-20-2006, 01:26 PM
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#33
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Rivet Master
1975 29' Ambassador
Reno
, Nevada
Join Date: May 2003
Posts: 1,351
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It seems that the question is based on the experience in these forums and not out in the real world. I think there is a need to be careful when using 'virtual' rather than actual to worry about WBCCI.
The 4CU is a case in point. From what I can tell, its affiliation with WBCCI is getting ironed out. It needs to show that it is forming from an appropriate motivation and that it is an actual rather than a virtual group.
They are doing this although much of the participation I see at this point is for spite and not for collegiality. That will remain a worry.
That is related to lauding 'forum rallies' - I see no way that a forum rally can be other than a special event. WBCCI depends upon frequent gatherings of Airstream RV enthusiasts out using their rigs. It manages a 20% member participation at its annual conference over the long term. When 'forum rallies' can approach those kinds of numbers, it might elevate the idea to something other than a special interest group.
The 4CU and Constitution threads are solid testimony to what is wrong with these forums. Rational discussion of ideas? Forget it. Courteous discussion? Forget it. - but the phenomena is well known going back to the early days of UseNet and CompuServe.
The fact is that WBCCI is not as it is often portrayed in these forums and by some in this thread. What you see are the anomolies - the kind that hurt everyone. WBCCI does have its fossils, it does have traditions, it does have its share of jerks. - But it also has its vibrant corners and it does have many responsible citizens and lots of plain good folks.
Change is happening where it counts and for reasons that make it effective and long lasting. If you look, you can see the WBCCI Code of Ethics showing up where it makes a difference. Let us hope it will show up more in these discussions, too.
Quote:
To be ever mindful of our responsibility to Wally Byam Caravan Club International, Inc., and through conduct, indicate to the public that membership in this organization is an assurance of our courtesy on the road and good will to all peoples and countries.
To be ever mindful of what we say or print with respect to the effect on others so as to avoid disharmony and ill feelings among club members and to dedicate ourselves to the work of cementing together the members of WBCCI in bonds of good fellowship and mutual understanding.
To conduct ourselves in a manner to inspire others engaged in recreational vehicle travel to a full appreciation of the intent and meaning of this code.
To maintain our camps in an orderly manner and leave them in the same way.
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Let's keep the heat down, the tolerance for ideas up, and the personalities off the table. That way we can keep our camps, and our forum discussions, better when they end. WBCCI will grow, fellowship and mutual understanding will be enhanced, and a lot of folks who don't dare treat these forums might just feel it is safe enough to step in and say something.
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12-20-2006, 01:45 PM
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#34
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Rivet Master
2006 30' Classic
Farmington
, New Mexico
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 826
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 65GT
If you don't like what's local get a bunch of AS friends together and start a new unit.
Members, and some current non-members, tried to start a new unit and have thusfar been denied by the Officers of Region 11. Some of those involved have completely given up on the idea due to the closed mindedness of the written opinions in the denial letter. quote from dscluchfc
65gt--it sounds good to say just go start a new unit but as you can see this just isn't possible, at least without so much discourageing resistance that many < myself included > feel it just isn't worth it.
Become activly involved in your unit, work up the ranks, throw your hat in the ring for a region office. What I have read is a whole bunch of complaints and no one stepping up to help:::Quote from dsluchfc
Dave --Just how long would you estimate it would take a young, new member to become a regional officer??? I figure if I threw my "hat in the ring" I would be about 137 years old and the first thing on my agenda as a new officer would be to introduce an ammendment allowing wheel chains with Airstream badges to be accepted in the club.---pieman
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12-20-2006, 02:12 PM
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#35
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Rivet Master
2004 22' International CCD
Spotsylvania
, Virginia
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 663
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I think the WBCCI will transform to the identity of it's new generation of members.
Boomers like me are not as much for regimentation and rules as their parents. (A baseball cap maybe, but definitely no beret.)
Different values based on their environment. The Depression, World War II, etc.
That said, what will the Boomers do to make WBCCI reflect their values? Feedback, please! And then, what about when the Gen X, Y and Z come along?
__________________
Bob
---------------
"THE BAUXITE BUNGALOW"
2004 22' CCD
1997 F-150
TAC VA-12
AIR# 4749
ex WBCCI# 1430
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12-20-2006, 05:21 PM
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#36
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Rivet Master
1984 31' Excella
Abernathy
, Texas
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 865
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rickandsandi
Become activly involved in your unit, work up the ranks, throw your hat in the ring for a region office. What I have read is a whole bunch of complaints and no one stepping up to help
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The above quote is attributed to me in post #36 by Mike Lewis.
It is in fact rickandsandi's quote from post #20..
Thanks for noting the correction.
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12-20-2006, 06:03 PM
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#37
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Silver Mist
Currently Looking...
Riverhead
, New York
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,011
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Lewis
Quote:
Originally Posted by 65GT
If you don't like what's local get a bunch of AS friends together and start a new unit.
Members, and some current non-members, tried to start a new unit and have thusfar been denied by the Officers of Region 11. Some of those involved have completely given up on the idea due to the closed mindedness of the written opinions in the denial letter.
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I don't want to open a can of worms not knowing the details but If they have not acted in the best interest of the organization is their a procedure for redress of an individual chapters decision to the national board?
Moreover, if their decision was arbitrary and or capricious their may be grounds for legal intervention.
__________________
Bob
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12-20-2006, 10:27 PM
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#38
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Rivet Master
1984 31' Excella
Abernathy
, Texas
Join Date: Jun 2002
Posts: 865
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I am sure the 4CU will proceed with or without the WBCCI....
just as I will proceed with or without the WBCCI.
I have played the organizational politics game professionally on a much higher level than WBCCI, and am not in the mood to play it with my recreational time.
There will either be a Unit that I would join that is affiliated with WBCCI, or there won't be a WBCCI affiliated Unit to join....
It really makes no difference to me if 4CU is chartered by WBCCI or not.
I am going camping regardless, and will vote with my feet and checkbook since it is the only vote I have.
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12-21-2006, 07:25 AM
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#39
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4 Rivet Member
1976 Argosy 24
Tempe
, Arizona
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 326
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Being more disposed to being an anarchist than any political affiliation, I was drawn to the 4CU because of its "different strokes for different folks" attitude. It is not important what affiliation the 4CU obtains to me unless the affiliations means that I can play with the unit anynore.
The generation before me seems to need identifiable connections to organizations that have rules. That's nice... it makes them happy.
My daily life has enough rule based bull&*%^ so when I'm on the road I' looking for "no worries".
Regards
Mike
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12-21-2006, 07:40 AM
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#40
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4 Rivet Member
2000 31' Land Yacht
Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 497
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WBCCI will survive! The upcoming leadership is very progressive, and will make a difference. 4CU will likely be approved at the IBT meeting in February.
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