December President's Message

[aluminomad]

15,000 is a lot for marketing in an age where Twitter, Internet, FB & email are FREE & you can contact a lot more newbies just w/a few buz words... so yeah... I'd be scratching my head too if I were a member paying dues... sounds very unorganized... I had to search to find info on WBCCI... they don't even tweet!

[wkerfoot]

Oh, but they do Wally_Byam.

Bill

Originally Posted by aluminomad

... I had to search to find info on WBCCI... they don't even tweet!

[aluminomad]

Originally Posted by wkerfoot

Oh, but they do Wally_Byam.

Bill

I'd hardly call a few tweets a week tweeting... that's no way to feed the stream... heck if you hashtag airstream the Wally tweets are few & far between... they've got to be proactive in their tweets/marketing... w/millions of users around the world one can get lost in the stream if one doesn't keep up a daily feed.

it's a great FREE marketing tool that is used worldwide (except China)... so why not use it to it's full potential as you can w/other social networking sites... after all... isn't the club about networking the love of Airstreams?
~Trez

[Pahaska]

Marketing WBCCI is simply naivety. New members are either new Airstream owners whose names are given to Membership Chairpersons, persons with a friend in the club (me 6 years ago), or folks that just happen to be bumped into or stumble into rally or caravan. Last week, we signed up an owner who happened upon our 26 rigs at a rally.

The number of folks who would see an ad in a magazine somewhere and sign up is going to be vanishingly small.

[dwightdi]

Fred Richardson is the Marketing Chairman. His E-mail address is in the directory. Address your questions to him directly and you may get an answer. If you do not, Norm Beu's Email address is in the Blue Beret every month. Address your questions to him telling him you did not get an answer from Fred and he should take care of it. The front office needs more direct contact from the members so they know we are watching. You might offer some positive suggestions on what you would like them to do to help the club out. The club management need to understand what the members, and potential members, want the club to do for them.

The International, as it now formated, is targeted to benefit old friends that come every year to sit around and talk. The quality of the seminars and the number of vendors and services has dropped off significantly in the last 5 years. It never has been a very good bargain for young couples with limited time off or deep pockets. Most luncheons are $20 a head and the catered food is poor.

[Allen H]

I believe our new Pres. is making a difference, while I don't attend the internatioal rally I do enjoy the WBCCI. We should always help make it a better club. I don't believe being negitive is the way to do it.

[eubank]

Originally Posted by dwightdi

...The International, as it now formated, is targeted to benefit old friends that come every year to sit around and talk. The quality of the seminars and the number of vendors and services has dropped off significantly in the last 5 years. It never has been a very good bargain for young couples with limited time off or deep pockets. Most luncheons are $20 a head and the catered food is poor.

Sounds kind of like the nationwide meetings of nearly all of the large RV clubs.

Lynn

[Pahaska]

Originally Posted by Allen H

I believe our new Pres. is making a difference, while I don't attend the International rally I do enjoy the WBCCI. We should always help make it a better club. I don't believe being negative is the way to do it.

... and what real difference is he making, please, other than ignoring advice and virtually insuring a substantial loss at the International rally?

[greywolf]

Originally Posted by Allen H

I believe our new Pres. is making a difference, while I don't attend the internatioal rally I do enjoy the WBCCI. We should always help make it a better club. I don't believe being negitive is the way to do it.

The WBCCI leadership is reflecting the attitudes displayed by its top leaders, namely arrogance and pride. I am not at all impressed with this new president. An incident took place at this past International resulting in our unit president and first vice president resigning early partly due to the unprofessional actions of the club's top leadership. One of our members acted out of line with a parking volunteer. The then unit president attempted to make ammends on behalf of the unit member that acted out of line but was rediculed on a personal level. The wife of the member who acted out of line phoned everyone back home with inaccurate information stating how it was the president and not her own husband that casued the scene. Rather than having all of the facts come out, the new replacement unit president and our region 6 president are refusing to allow any discussion to take place about this situation at any of the board meetings. They insist that what took place at International will remain at International, dispite the fact that what took place is directly affecting the unit's membership. Various unit members have demanded there be a called meeting to address this situation. Each demand has been met with flat out refusal, resuting in more members resigning.

At least a couple dozen members have either quit entirely or renewed in surrounding units. Others who have renewed before fully realizing what took place will not be renewing next year. Yet, our unit and region president remain steadfast in their refusal to address what took place. Their official plan is to hope that everything will simply blow over and eventually everyone will come back.

Because of the failure to properly address this situation, Pensacola Unit 29 is in jerpardy of having to close it's Mystic Spring Park at some point in the future!

Can you explain how the inaction of the leadership is making this a better club? In my humble opinion, the "leadership" of WBCCI is ineffective from the lowest local level all the way up to the top level of supposed leadership.

And btw, don't even mention change, that freaks the old timers out!

[pmclemore]

Graywolf,

Page and I enjoyed our visit to Mystic Springs a few years ago and still remember some of the nice folks we met. I hope you guys can work through your current issues.

Best wishes - Pat

[Tom Nugler]

Originally Posted by greywolf

The WBCCI leadership is reflecting the attitudes displayed by its top leaders, namely arrogance and pride...... One of our members acted out of line with a parking volunteer. The then unit president attempted to make ammends on behalf of the unit member that acted out of line but was rediculed on a personal level....

Why do I keep hearing of issues with parking?
Members I have broached the topic with; past, present and Ex all seem to have some story about “Parking Nazis”.
As a first timer parking with the Vintage Group in Madison I could see one in every mirror flailing their arms about and shouting unintelligible commands in a soft, rain soaked field.
After jumping out of the truck and discovering that all they wanted was the tongue jack over the orange paint mark I hit it within 6 inches on the first try.
I suspect that this emphasizes the point that because they have done this numerous times that you should know this intuitively. Instead of communicating directly and streamlining operations they convene another committee and try a “new” approach to marketing.
I’m sticking with the Club for now but until there are some changes to the cost and structure of the International I won’t be going anytime soon.

Tom

[Lily&Me]

This information came today in our January Southern Illinois Newsletter:

Good news – the club operations are following
the break even budget that was approved. Part of
that budget was the sale of the mail trailer, which
is being actively marketed and should be sold by
the end or our fiscal year. Our Club remains
fiscally solvent with over $1,000,000 in equity.
All of this equity is in bank certificates of deposit
and operating bank accounts, all of which are
covered by FDIC insurance.
Other news – the International Rally only has 312
registrations as of today. Our budget is based
upon 825 registrations. This number of 312
registrations will STRONGLY impact the
financial results of the Rally. The more members
registering and attending the Rally will greatly
ease this situation. It is up to you our members to
sign up. If you have not registered, please do so
ASAP. It will also determine the number of early
workers we can support. Please sign up now and
join us for some good old Airstream fun.
It has been the practice in the past to front end
load substantial, non essential expenditures. This
occurs before it is known how many members
plan to attend the International Rally. This year
$45,503 has been expended through November.
With expenditures of this magnitude made before
the number of attendees is known, it makes it very
difficult to control the finances of the Rally. By
keeping these essential expenses to $8,000 or less,
not including site deposits, we can better manage
any losses. The Club has lost money on 5 of the
last 7 International Rallies; the accumulated losses
net of the income years equal $51,455.
THE GOOD NEWS is we are more capable of
avoiding such losses in the future by instituting
appropriate financial controls. Therefore, the
budget committee is putting forth a motion at the
January IBT, to limit front end costs until a
reasonable estimate of the number of attendees
can be determined and a reasonable budget
prepared. The motion is not to restrict the money
spent on the rally; it is to make sure we have the
money before expenditures are made.
______________________________________
Proposed Motion
I move that, Bylaws Article XVI, Financial
Disbursements, page 44, Policy, Rallies, Sec.7,
International Rallies, Contracts, paragraph q, be
amended as follows:
Number the existing wording as paragraph
“(1)” and add the following as paragraph (2):
“(2) Contracts for international rallies shall be
based on a reasonable fee for the facilities or
a set fee multiplied by the number of units on
site. (No minimums, no per day fee) This
should be a realistic number of units
estimated to be on site based on current
trends and the number attending preceding
years’ rallies. In addition, no officer or
employee of WBCCI shall contract for, or
expend, more than $8,000 prior to January 1
of the year of the International Rally for Rally
expenses. This limit is to include moving
cargo trailer(s), registration forms, contractual
deposits, promotional items and travel to
future rally sites.
The amendment, with changes in bold, would then
read:
“q. Contracts:
(1) The Rally Committee is authorized to
engage the services of an attorney in the area
of the rally site to review and advise on
contracts for local facilities, services and
material required for the rally. (1/24/87)
“(2) Contracts for international rallies shall
be based on a reasonable fee for the
facilities or a set fee multiplied by the
number of units on site. (No minimums, no
per day fee) This should be a realistic
number of units estimated to be on site
based on current trends and the number
attending preceding years’ rallies. In
addition, no officer or employee of WBCCI
shall contract for, or expend, more than
$8,000 prior to January 1 of the year of the
International Rally for Rally expenses. This
limit is to include moving cargo trailer(s),
registration forms, contractual deposits,
promotional items and travel to future rally
sites.
Rationale: These expenditure limitations are necessary to
limit unnecessary front end costs until a reasonable estimate of
the number of attendees can be reasonably determined and a
reasonable budget prepared. The goal is to provide a fiscally
sound international rally each and every year. To do this the
Club cannot continue to front load our expenses before we
have a more accurate count of those who will actually
be attending the rally. Obviously much has to be done
early on such as site selection and some promotional
endeavors. However, by waiting until January to fully
fund any rally will give the IBT the opportunity to
amend the budget if necessary. This motion avoids
putting the cart before the horse. It allows the Club to
plan reasonably for fiscally sound success. It also
avoids drawing on Club reserves to fund international
rallies.
Financial Impact Statement: The adoption of
the proposed amendment of the bylaws
should allow the club to arrive at a realistic
budget for each rally. A realistic budget
should eliminate losses on International
Rallies.
Letter From the Wisconsin Unit
The president, treasurer, and past
president of the Wisconsin Unit #116
sent a letter to the International Board
of Trustees with carbon copies of all
unit presidents and Cindy Reed was
WBCCI Headquarters.
The essence of their letter was the
request that any motion presented at
any future IBT meeting be tables until
such time that each Region President
has requested a vote from their units.
The letter referred to the
announcement that Airstream, Inc had
indicated that it would be willing to
manufacture a quantity of new mote
homes if WBCCI members expressed
sufficient interest.
Dan will have copies of the full letter at the
January luncheon. If you wish to express
your thoughts about this issue, you can
contact Dan if you are unable to attend the
January luncheon.
In summary, if you have read this far, the
editor hopes that you will take time to let Dan
know your thoughts about both the
International Treasure’s proposed motion and
the letter from the Wisconsin Unit.

This all seems headed in the right direction, IMO.

(Pardon the lack of formatting. If a mod is able to fix this, please feel free.)


Maggie

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by doug&maggie

This information came today in our January Southern Illinois Newsletter:

Hi, Doug & Maggie,

Does WBCCI HQ have your email address? Reason I ask is that most of what you have reproduced from the newsletter [from "Good news" to "more expenditures are made"] comes straight out of a "special treasurers report" email that was sent to WBCCI members by the marketing committee on December 10. (In fact it was discussed on this forum some around then.)

If you didn't receive it by email possibly HQ does not have your email address--a common problem.

The motion to limit up front expenditures is from the IBT agenda posted on the WBCCI.org web site.

The only new thing here is the part about the letter from the Wisconsin Unit.

[Lily&Me]

Originally Posted by Nuvite-F

Hi, Doug & Maggie,

Does WBCCI HQ have your email address? Reason I ask is that most of what you have reproduced from the newsletter [from "Good news" to "more expenditures are made"] comes straight out of a "special treasurers report" email that was sent to WBCCI members by the marketing committee on December 10. (In fact it was discussed on this forum some around then.)

If you didn't receive it by email possibly HQ does not have your email address--a common problem.

The motion to limit up front expenditures is from the IBT agenda posted on the WBCCI.org web site.

The only new thing here is the part about the letter from the Wisconsin Unit.

Well, okay---if it's old news, it's old news. That this is being distributed by our Unit to all Unit members, and they are asking for feedback, is a good thing, IMO.

The email newsletter from our Unit does not come from WBCCI HQ.

Maggie

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by doug&maggie

Well, okay---if it's old news, it's old news. That this is being distributed by our Unit to all Unit members, and they are asking for feedback, is a good thing, IMO.

Please don't misunderstand--I am not complaining about "old news". I agree the fact that it is being distributed to all your unit members and discussion is being encouraged is a good thing. What I wonder is whether most of your unit members haven't already received the "special treasurers report" directly from WBCCI HQ more than two weeks ago. If the system is working like it's supposed to, they should have.
.

[HowieE]

In 2009 only 3,800 of the 6,000 members had their e mail addresses listed with HQ.

Having sent the entire list mail, with a service that tracks the openings, in the past I can say that only 19% of those that have e mail even opened the mailing. People tend to be very selective with what mail they open or may even had the sender blocked so they never even know they got a mailing.

HQ should use a tracking service and begin to see who is and who is not opening their mail and maybe have a means of getting the numbers up. Something for the marketing company to work on. If they can even reach the membership what chance do they have of reaching the general public?

[Nuvite-F]

Originally Posted by doug&maggie

This information came today in our January Southern Illinois Newsletter:

Good news – the club operations are following the break even budget that was approved.

<snip>

Letter From the Wisconsin Unit

The president, treasurer, and past president of the Wisconsin Unit #116 sent a letter to the International Board of Trustees with carbon copies of all unit presidents and Cindy Reed was WBCCI Headquarters.

The essence of their letter was the request that any motion presented at any future IBT meeting be tables until such time that each Region President has requested a vote from their units. The letter referred to the announcement that Airstream, Inc had indicated that it would be willing to manufacture a quantity of new mote homes if WBCCI members expressed sufficient interest.

Maggie

I have posted the full text of this letter on the Motor Home thread, in case anyone is interested.
.

[Bill M.]

I belong because it is the WBBCaravanCI. I went to one International after I retired (Bozeman). Good experience one time in a nice place. But probably not again. I can use the time and money to fish when I am out west. Drove right around Gillette this year and spent the week in Teddy Roosevelt park. This year I would have to come back from the west early to go to IL. Not going to happen. But when we do not have a summer caravan might attend another International in a good place.
I go to every local chapter meeting when in town and all the rallies when not caravaning. I do not care if they loose a little money on the Interantional for a while. No sense in tearing up the club over that issue. They will figure it out eventually. Do the early workers get special treatment and privilges? Maybe, but probably not much. The ones I know just seem to like spending longer at the place. As I understand it anybody can volunteer and come early??.
Met Norm at a regional rally. Nice guy. Probably well worth it for the officers to travel around and attend the local meetings. Gives everybody some perspective both ways.