MALs in WBCCI

[HowieE]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

Some posts make it sound like the WBCCI is like a secret society such as the Masons, but does it without the secrecy.
Gene

Not sure the secrecy is missing.

It appears that several members of WBCCI that have voiced open concern at the National Rally have been dropped from this years membership. Not by the members choice.

I had a conversation with our units membership chairman after I got word that our unit had seen a sizable drop in member ship listing in this years Book. Our unit, WDCU, is not the most mainstream of followers. She assured me that they that had paid and that the information had been transmitted to Jackson. During the conversation we realized that some of those that had been left out were those that had openly contested things in the past.

My question now is when does a member accrue his or her voting rights? Is voting limited to those members listed in the annual membership publication or by some other date. Has the WDCU lost some of it's influence not by it's own choosing?

Another bit of secret society dealings is it appears that the rules have been changed so preclude nominations from the floor.

[eubank]

Originally Posted by CrawfordGene

I'm curious about some of the things that show up on the gazillion WBCCI threads. ...

If a member, do you have to wear a beret or own one? In the '50's, berets were associated with the Beat Generation, poets, jazz, "reefers", and Frenchmen. Did Wally have a connection with any of those things?

Nope, no requirement to wear a beret. Most members I know don't own one. Apparently, Wally came to like the beret from experience in France. Like most things Wally, the WBCCI subsequently turned his preference into creedo.

I've seen something about vests. Do people have to wear them? Is there a dress code?

Apparently, the upper ranks have some kind of thing, or so I've heard. Precious little trickle-down economics here.

I understand there's something about flags on trailers. What's that about?

Flags are sort of neat, I think, but nothing required. The WBCCI seems to have reams of rules about how to handle flags if you have them.

There's a lot of talk about units with ceremonies and units that are informal. What are these ceremonies?

I guess it's installation of new officers. Presumably some kind of ceremonial stuff, but it varies a lot from unit to unit.

The International sounds like the most formal of all rallies. Is that true?

That'd be my guess, too.

What happens if you break a rule?

It depends on where and when. If you break a rule with your friends in a unit, people will get disappointed, but not break your neck. Try that in front of the high horses, though, and you may have a neck brace. They seem to take their rules very seriously.

So, what is a WBCCI rally like?—I know it's an opportunity to make friends and talk Airstream—but sometimes it sounds like there's a bunch of guys in vests and berets making sure you've followed a few thousand rules. The officers in their flagged trailers probably get the best spaces. There will be very formal ceremonies with tuxedos and maybe the ladies will wear evening gowns and maybe there's the Wally Worship hour. Since everyone is ancient, an ambulance with a full crew of EMT's will be standing by. Everyone must be asleep by 8:30 and up at 4:30 am. Afternoon naps will be enforced. Any opposition will result in expulsion.

My feeling is that this is primarily generational/attitudinal. The "greatest generation" was, in the view of some, successful at least in part because of their regimented Lebensanschauung (something like "life view"). Believing that there was no alternative, they encoded this Lebensanschauung into the rules of the WBCCI road. And we get to deal with this legacy.


Lynn

[Gene]

Thanks to Matt and Lynn. As Silvertwinkie indicated in #18, there's no end to this debate. There's two threads going on right now. There were two a month ago, one about the membership drop. It can get hot. Sometimes I think there are two sides to this that will never agree and the only way to settle it would be to have an annual tug of war in the parking lot at JC—WBCCI officers one one side and those that post the most on the Forum on the other (each side dressed in their own ways). The mythology dictates the Forum posters would be younger and always win. OK, I'm getting silly again, but this debate needs some humor.

I'm interested in more personal observations (without flames) about my questions. For example, people who joined, checked out some rallies and stayed or quit, those trying to reform and those not.

Gene

[47WeeWind]

CrawfordGene writes: "In the interest of promoting clarity,

Q: If a member, do you have to wear a beret or own one? In the '50's, berets were associated with the Beat Generation, poets, jazz, "reefers", and Frenchmen. Did Wally have a connection with any of those things? [/]

MY TAKE: Unit officers might be expected to own a beret and wear one at their swearing in ceremony, but not otherwise. Unit members are not required to own berets, but some of us hippies and weirdos prefer the vintage wool berets to the newer polyester ones cause we like da funk their wooliness radiates. Wally liked berets as practical headgear and wore one, hence the connection.

Q: I've seen something about vests. Do people have to wear them? Is there a dress code?

MY TAKE: There is no requirement to own or wear a vest, but some people like vests and patches so wear them as a personal preference. It's not my style so I go vestless, but it does not greatly upset me that others enjoy wearing vests and patches. I'll even be seen next to them on occasion. The informal or occasional WBCCI dress code is far less stringent than that for lawyers who appear in court. The main exception is for club business meetings at International, where national officers dress up but regular club members are not required to dress up for, attend or even suffer through such meetings. Since most club members are adults, they are free to do as they please at International, subject to civility and common sense.

Q: I understand there's something about flags on trailers. What's that about?

PRIDE.

Q: There's a lot of talk about units with ceremonies and units that are informal. What are these ceremonies?

MY TAKE: I can't speak for other Units, but the Denver Unit has an initiation ceremony once a year for new officers and at some meetings we quickly and painlessly swear in new Unit members. I cannot discuss the secret initiation rituals involving hot oil, chains and whips.

Q: The International sounds like the most formal of all rallies. Is that true?

MY TAKE: Yes, but regular members can ignore all that at their pleasure and hang with the VAC or their friends. Like much of life, it is what you make it.

Q: What happens if you break a rule?

MY TAKE: Well, during the Bush administration the penalty was extraordinary rendition to a foreign intelligence agency's secret torture chamber in a North African country that shall remain nameless. But with the Obama new administration, it will probably be 24 nonstop hours of forced discussions about economic recovery alternatives with Ivy League policy wonks.

Q: So, what is a WBCCI rally like?—I know it's an opportunity to make friends and talk Airstream—but sometimes it sounds like there's a bunch of guys in vests and berets making sure you've followed a few thousand rules.

MY TAKE: This is soooo far offbase it's laughable . . . and truly sad if you actually believe it.

. . . The officers in their flagged trailers probably get the best spaces.

MT TAKE: Only in their opinion inter se . . . some of us think the best spaces are on the fringe.

. . . There will be very formal ceremonies with tuxedos and maybe the ladies will wear evening gowns and maybe there's the Wally Worship hour.

MY TAKE: There might be one such installation ceremony at International limited to national officers, but as a new or regular member you do not have to drink that Koolaid.

. . . Since everyone is ancient, an ambulance with a full crew of EMT's will be standing by. Everyone must be asleep by 8:30 and up at 4:30 am. Afternoon naps will be enforced. Any opposition will result in expulsion.

MY TAKE: By the time you finish your factual investigation of the WBCCI, you will be at the age where all the above will actually be true for you, and every expulsion will result in welcome intestinal relief.

. . . You may think I'm being silly, but I really don't know what's going on and I'm trying to illustrate a point. Some people make the WBCCI sound awful and others think it's great. Maybe there'll never be agreement but it'd be easier to to make some sense out of all these threads if I understood some sort of objective reality. [signed] Gene.

MY TAKE: I think you are clueless about what occurs at the Unit level, and what you illustrate is a horribly skewed Internet-based negative viewpoint of the WBCCI. Different people have different opinions about the WBCCI, so there never will be any overwhelming agreement, only differing views. But objective reality can be found only at WBCCI functions to which you have been invited many times but which you have (with one enjoyable exeception) refuse to attend. You will not find objective reality on Internet threads, only opinions, and many of those opinions are mere parrotings of others opinions based wholly on third-party experience, not on direct personal experience.

"Objective reality" is personal, and your "objective reality" exists only in your brain, no where else. The WBCCI exists among its members, not virtually on the Internet. In my opinion, you will never be able to really make sense of the WBCCI until you attend a few functions and experience the club personally, for yourself, good or bad. It took me a few years to realize this very lesson I'm trying to impart to, so I very well know the difference between impressions gleaned from the Internet or ignorance and those obtained from personal experience and direct involvement. Night and day.

Many members have talked themselves blue in the face trying to get you and other new Airstream owners to attend a few local functions, to no avail. I'm not going to try to convince you to show up and have a good time because your absence is not my loss, it is your loss. But I will confirm to you that you will not be able to really understand the WBCCI until you show up in person to experience it directly. So I'll leave it at this: if you are happy with a shallow understanding of the WBCCI, stick to your keyboard. But if you want a deeper understanding of the WBCCI, one that truly satisfies your quest for relevant and material knowledge, arrange to attend a few WBCCI events, the more local the better. For until you do that, you will remain objectively uninformed.

[Gene]

I recognize there are many viewpoints expressed about the WBCCI and some of them, on either side, may be silly. So I decided to figure out a way to find out what's true and what's not and try to focus the discussion. If that's being "shallow", so be it. My belief that I don't go to WBCCI rallies because I don't feel it's right to go under false pretenses may or may not be poor reasoning or morals or whatever, but I prefer to be honest about it, even if wrong. Actually I don't have all that much interest in rallies as we like to travel on our own most of the time, but I think they can be a small part of the Airstream experience. I am interested in how communities function, live and die, and so WBCCI discussions fascinate me. I'll stick with my keyboard and try to gain clarity. I asked people who had been at rallies, who had joined, who had quit, what they thought. Seemed like a good approach to me.

A lot of people are introduced to the WBCCI through this Forum. They may get stuff from the dealer about it if they bought from a dealer, but there is so much stuff, WBCCI literature gets lost.

I think I gave people the opportunity to quash myths about the WBCCI and I appreciate the answers. It's obvious some posts picture the WBCCI as a organization run by crazed senile fascists and I think specific questions can help dispel that picture. I knew I took the chance of getting flamed.

Gene

[mbmbstreamer]

I think you and Fred make an interesting team. Did Fred send you the questions?

As for making the club better, improving the club, or making of it what you will...If we had a few hundred more active members from this Forum...don't you think that would change someone's objective reality?

And Fred is right about keeping the best sites on the fringe. We joined the VAC last summer in Bozeman. Our 06 Safari was a little out of place, but nobody there cared a bit. We picked up a 69 Overlander this winter. Not to fit in, but hoping to enjoy our vintage as much as the folks around us.

Make the club what you want it to be. Get involved. Have Fun. Invite friends.

Matt

[Mikethefixit]

Runinbearrr
I think if you stay tuned here you will find that Mid-Ohio Forums members are very friendly and welcoming. We also found stand-offish WBCCI members last year when we visited a rally in Fremont. You have to remember its the the OLD GUARD and they are very resistant to NEWBIES and Young people. For that reason we have chosen NOT to become members of WBCCI.For the most part WBCCI members that are real campers and are not in WBCCI just because of the politics, are very friendly ,giving people,and a joy to be with.
So why not plan to hang with us,no dues, no rally fee's we will not hold against U that U belong to W---- and you can even vote for what we have for supper. WHAT DAYA THINK.

[Driver1]

Hi,

I just posted some pictures taken last weekend at our Cannon Beach, OR rally. We had 12 trailers show up. Not too many vests or berets evident. Though it's not in the pictures, there was one, maybe two, trailer(s) with a flag (The one I remember was a pirate flag).

The 10 pictures are at (It's possibly still the last post to that thread):
http://www.airforums.com/forums/f289...n-47153-2.html

The bottom 2 pictures include 4 of our 5 elected unit board of directors and our membership committee chairman. The one drawing from the wire cage is our president.

At lease at the unit level, things can be quite unregimented.

Walt

[Frank's Trailer Works]

I was dwelling on the beret thing. I do not really ever see any members of my Unit wearing berets. So I went back through my pictures looking. I did find this one of Don and Amanda. They are wearing berets. Both of em are wearing berets. That guy with the beer belly, thats me. I have lost twenty pounds since the photo, most of that belly is gone now. I do look like a beat nick or a hippie though. Guess there are worst things I could look like.

And then I found this one. It is the swearing in of new officers. No secret rituals going on, just some folks saying they will serve the Unit and do the jobs they agreed to do. Kind of nice setting. Sunset, in front of the campfire, what more could you ask for? The ladies wearing the berets... well, they can pull it off. Me I look like a geek in one.

Oh the flags. We do fly us a mess of flags in our Unit. Some are even official Club flags.

But most often there are more that are not official.

We all enjoy getting together to talk about all aspects of life. The conversation can run the gammit, but usually ends up on Airstream. If you so much as mention you have something needing attention someone will go fetch their tools.

All and all it is a terribly boring club full of old folks that want to follow rules and step to the beat of a drum....

And I love every one of them like family. Joining the WBCCI and WDCU was the greatest thing I ever did for myself and my family.

[Frank's Trailer Works]

Sometimes it helps to see the faces of those you are talking about...









That last one is my family. Oh, and all those people you saw, they are all in the club. Want more?

[azflycaster]

As long as we are showing pictures,
These are a few from the last 4CU Rally - DH3 "The Luau"
First, about the hats...



Some of the games we play (stuff the Airstream)...



A great food (Spam) contest



Famous people (not Milo!)



Terrific camp fires



Best of all, our 4CU Family!



Sounds like the WDCU and the 4CU have a lot in commom; friends and fun!

[wheel interested]

Nice pictures. OK I have decided I am summering at WDCU and wintering at 4CU!!!!

[mbmbstreamer]

All - in - all, a pretty stodgy group.

Looks like fun to me!

That's my point.

Matt

[runningbarre]

thanks for the invite mikethefixit, we plan to attend both a forum rally and a wbcci rally as well, we are uncertain that wbcci will meet our needs at this time most of the meetings listed in our bb meet for lunch during the week when I have to work, so perhaps they do not really want younger members, just a thought!! julie

[WineStream]

Whew, am I in trouble...you guys are mentioning that you're 48, 50, etc and being younger than most...I guess my wife and I at 31 are really screwed, then . However, thus far our complaints are along the same lines. We started the "Give me a straight answer" thread a few days ago that was referenced on page 1 of this thread. Many good replies there. I will update all as to what our "plan" is regarding the WBCCI.

1. We've used savewally.org extensively. Sadly, savewally has better track of chapter activities than the unit websites themselves. Maybe this says something about the needs of at least one unit local to us. Another unit doesn't even have a website which again says something about that unit and our level of interest in it.
2. As a result of savewally, we've itentified luncheons and events that we can fit in our calendar for three local units. We've got an eating event with each of three and two rallies planned before the end of April. From these we will confirm or refute our assumptions to-date about local WBCCI units.
3. One of the local units finally opened up and invited us to attend a meeting and a rally in order to evaluate them before joining. I have since talked via phone with their membership coordinator and I am somewhat re-assured that their unit is a worthy venture.

Message here is: look before you bitch. Yeah, my wife and I are skeptical due to past fuddy-duddy group experiences so we asked some questions. As with any debate topic, those with strong opinions on both sides of the fence responded. We will evaluate and then bitch if necessary.

The micro-discussion here about customs, rule, attire, etc. will quicky have me looking for the exit and not coming back if I experience it at a meeting or rally. I wear what's comfortable for me whenever, whereever. I have the attitude in life and in work that what I do, contribute, and accomplish is what's important. Whether I've shaved in the last 5 days, have a shirt with a collar on it, or something other than jeans and boots on shouldn't matter. You can wear whatever you want to the meetings and rallies, and so can I. But don't tell me what I MUST wear.

I'm happy to see some of the pictures in the more recent posts. I'd like to hang out with these people. This is much of what drew me to the BMW motorcycle group. I went to a few of their rallies and everyone camps, your bike isn't shiny because you just rode 500 miles or more to get there, you haven't shaved since you left home, and your beer is warm (no cooler) and you're drinking it out of the same carabiner cup that you had coffee in this morning. LOOOOOVE IT. I want to get to an AS rally, park the camper, level it, put out the awnings, start the fire pit, bust open the wine and beer, grab the pretzels, relax in my chair, and watch my kids run around like idiots in the yard; hopefully with other peoples' kids or grandkids.

It seems like it's Ohio people that are complaining a lot. Perhaps it's time we band together and join one of the WBCCI units in Ohio and see what a difference we can't make.

Finally, I'd like to say that I have nothing against the older crowd. I can't wait to hang out with mikethefixit and loudruff (April, I hope!). Some of the people I enjoyed spending time with the most were my grandpa (now passed) and my now-retired bikin' buddy Tom who winters in AZ with is custom camper (not an AS, unfortunately!). I'm hoping when he sees our '74 that he will get hooked. I really wouldn't mind being the only 31 year olds at rallies; older folks please bring your grandkids...if my kids are constantly running to mom & dad for attention then we're never going to get to socialize with anyone else and the kids are never going to get socialized to other kids, either!

I think it says a lot for the older folks when they are on here posting. My mom is 63 and can barely check her email and the weather online let alone get on a forum and post. The days when a "meeting" is required to conduct business is on it's way out. To be honest, it should be prefectly possible to hold meetings via IM / Yahoo and have rallies be the only time that people see each other in person. Then again, there's something to be said for getting together in person for some food just to shoot the sh!t whether the camper is in tow or not.

[Don Boyd]

HI,
I have owned an airstream for the last several of years. I am not a member of the wbcci but have thought about becomming a MAL.I like to camp and so do my grandkids. I am also very young(42) and have too many years left too work.I bought my first airstream from a guy in Cambridge Ohio. I contacted the ohio unit two years ago with no success. I want to live the airstream dream.I want to travel the world. we now camp about 30 miles from our home at Gregory Lake in Drakesboro Kentucky.we have now bought our second trailer a 25 foot 1970 tradewind. My Grandbaby told me today he was looking foward to riding the Yamaha Rhino, and cooking smores on the campfire.I am loking for people like myself who enjoy relaxing.if time and money were no object, I would travel to capetown and beyond. Don

[WineStream]

Originally Posted by Don Boyd

I contacted the ohio unit two years ago with no success. I want to live the airstream dream...My Grandbaby told me today he was looking foward to riding the Yamaha Rhino, and cooking smores on the campfire.I am loking for people like myself who enjoy relaxing.

Sounds like another vote for a new unit and/or an airforum unit. I would LOVE to hang out with you and your grandbaby. Given that you're 42 and have a grandbaby, you should haul your own kids along, too. I am guessing we'd all get along quite well.

[kfrere]

We joined as MAL because we didn't know much about our local unit. Very soon after joining we were contacted by several members of the local unit, sending us information, copies of past newsletters, and an invitation to check them out. I called a couple of them and they were very receptive to "try before you buy." We attended our first luncheon and joined at that meeting. This all happened over the winter so have not yet been to any rallies.

Our unit members have been very warm and welcoming, but here's our only issue: The majority or our members appear to be in their 60's and 70's. We are in our 40's. Our state rally, scheduled for April, carries the theme, "Senior Olympics." Surely Airstreaming attracts younger folks, so is it just the club that is heavy on the older crowd? How do we let younger folks know that being in a unit is doable even though you are younger and employed full time?

[rickandsandi]

Our local AS dealer automaticaly pays for the first year membership in WBCCI in the local chapter when anyone buys a new AS.

[WineStream]

Originally Posted by kfrere

Surely Airstreaming attracts younger folks, so is it just the club that is heavy on the older crowd? How do we let younger folks know that being in a unit is doable even though you are younger and employed full time?

Not that I'm planning a takeover of the WBCCI, but I'd sure like to change it's direction a bit. There has to be a "younger" person in each WBCCI unit that is the membership coordinator. This person need to find the AS buyer that are buying new and used. I think that regardless of age, someone who buys an airstream (vintage or otherwise) does it for a reason. If you don't WANT and airstream, then you aren't going to spend the money on one. Period. So, the purchase of the AS already constitutes intent to want to be in the group. The WBCCI chapters just need to foster & grow that. We'll see how things go in the first few meetings/rallies that I go to. Maybe I stick to AIR rallies & the forums. Maybe the WBCCI is the way to go. Grouping is still popular, but not so much for the reasons that it was 30 years ago. Now, all of us gathering and typing at the forums is no different that one big WBCCI unit. 30 years ago this wasn't possible. Now it is. Times they are a changin'.