Kerry, you need to get out to Cronulla RSL mate, no oldies there only hot beach chicks and surfer dudes, plus an awesome view all the way down the beach.
I agree with you though on why I became a MOCA member in the first place and that was for insurance reasons. I just used to hang on the forum until I needed to insure my car and then I became a member.
Younger people like forums, Facebook etc not sitting in a room at a car club meeting. One thing I have noticed is that there are more meets at like Hungry Jacks and McDonalds and Cars and Coffee's etc that are popular.
Think back to the 50's/60's, (I can't but I am sure you were in your prime ), it was all about driving your car and meeting at the corner shop etc or working on your cars. This is the hobby in my opinion, does it really need to be about meetings.
I would like to know what these meetings really achieve.
Is it about power in numbers to help influence government regulations that are pro classic car clubs and therefore lobbying strategies result?
Is it about organising functions, car shows, drives etc
Is it really about people who love cars getting together to talk about the hobby or is it to run the club like a business with minutes and balance sheets, cash flow, etc.
I have never been to one so it is a serious question. How does a meeting help keep the hobby alive?
cage wrote:Kerry, you need to get out to Cronulla RSL mate, no oldies there only hot beach chicks and surfer dudes, plus an awesome view all the way down the beach.
I agree with you though on why I became a MOCA member in the first place and that was for insurance reasons. I just used to hang on the forum until I needed to insure my car and then I became a member.
Younger people like forums, Facebook etc not sitting in a room at a car club meeting. One thing I have noticed is that there are more meets at like Hungry Jacks and McDonalds and Cars and Coffee's etc that are popular.
Think back to the 50's/60's, (I can't but I am sure you were in your prime ), it was all about driving your car and meeting at the corner shop etc or working on your cars. This is the hobby in my opinion, does it really need to be about meetings.
I would like to know what these meetings really achieve.
Is it about power in numbers to help influence government regulations that are pro classic car clubs and therefore lobbying strategies result?
Is it about organising functions, car shows, drives etc
Is it really about people who love cars getting together to talk about the hobby or is it to run the club like a business with minutes and balance sheets, cash flow, etc.
I have never been to one so it is a serious question. How does a meeting help keep the hobby alive?
Don't go to Merrylands RSL expecting the same scenery ..... :rotfl:
Yep big rethink how to "sell" to the younger gen. One way would be to try to copy the US way of doing things, however I do not believe we have the "embedded car culture" that the US possesses.
Meetings at an eatery would be a start, cruise in, eat & have a quick meet. The business could be covered by a forum/Facebook type group or email.
The reality is the meetings are none of what you think. Maybe some of what you suggested could have been the original idea, but as long as I have been involved, it has never been achieved (especially the first thought).
I've been watching this and related threads with intrigue over the last few days.
Firstly a big thank you to those members and the committee of MOCA who I'm sure do a fine job and run some great events. A number of which I have attended, and am pleased to make a donation at, to good causes that are supported by the club.
Now to my point. Like Cage I get more than enough of meetings and politics at work and in my industry. Then between work related travel and my chosen commitment to my young family, I have felt to date that I could not make an effective contribution to the club with respect to regularly attending monthly meetings. Especially considering what I had heard that attending said meetings are somewhat "expected" by the committee. Which I respect if that is indeed the case. Mind you, the idea of rolling up to Merrylands RSL once a month, or even once every few months, where I would not feel comfortable about driving and leaving parked the very thing I would hypothetically be there to discuss, doesn't really get my blood pumping. I suspect from my objective position many (members or not) may feel the same way. Perhaps it would be worth the drive from the other side of town IF one COULD feel comfortable in driving a Mustang there. A different location most months of the year... Perhaps that make it more interesting? In fact, what better excuse could there be for taking the pony for a run?
One of our industry associations move our regular meetings around to the various members' premises and this in itself ads the variety needed to prevent them from becoming mundane. Having never attended a MOCA meeting of course I am not suggesting that they are mundane, just making a comment based on my experience elsewhere.
Lance, your initiative in asking the question should be applauded, in my humble, albeit somewhat "outsider's" opinion. It may just provoke the feedback you are seeking to promote better attendances, if that is indeed an is an issue. Pity if in fact the question was squashed elsewhere... on the surface it seems like an appropriate question to put to the members. But, there may well be more to it than appears on the surface.
Time for me to get off my soap box and start thinking about revising the ride height of my front end.
"Hey Steve, I hope we can put this back together" - Ozbilt
Like the Shelby Club that I join in on, when in Los Angeles for work. They hold it at a mechanical workshop where one of their members works/owns. His '65 GT350 is always parked in the shop. They throw some chairs around, order a bucket load of pizza and soft drinks and go to town eating and chatting. It's a very informal 'meeting' at some point, then they hang around and chat some more if they can and then everybody peels out and heads home. I enjoy those meetings, as there is no BS and a lot of members drive their various Mustangs and Shelby's, so it creates a mini car show/talking point.
I went to a meeting about 5 years ago. I went with people I had known outside of the Mustang world for a long time. Still, I found it a touch intimidating. People were friendly enough and I am sure after a few more meetings things would have become much more comfortable. But it just wasnt really my cup of tea. You could sense the presence of a few different cliques within the group & tbh I just couldnt be bothered with it.
I am probably a touch jaded when it comes to clubs though. I spent 7 years as Vice President of a Model Car Club (we raced nitro r/c cars) I was one of the original members & we started pretty small. The club grew quickly (over 100 racers every week at one point) and over time things got cliquey. Different groups had their own agendas, some honestly thinking they were doing the right thing by the club, others more self serving. The end result was it would take months to achieve anything. We grew & were more productive in our aims in the first 3 years than anything we managed over the next 5. For all the effort it was soul destroying. To boil it down, politics destroyed it for me. In the end I declined the nomination at my final AGM & decided I would just go back to being a normal member, race my car & go home. I lasted about 6 weeks. I am still friends with most of the members, but only go down to the club once or twice a year & run a few of the bigger races so the guys that normally bust their asses can get to have a drive, but I just couldn't be fucked putting my own car on the track.
The moral of the story for me I suppose is that I have invested far too much time & effort into my Mustang to end up hating it due to club politics. To be brutally honest some of the bullshit that appeared on the MOCA forum in the past few days makes me sick. As adults it should be pretty embarrassing & again to be honest there can be blame leveled at both sides of the debate. I have no doubt that neither Sean or Lance intended things to go down as they did, but sadly that seems to be the nature of club politics whether it is cars, models or kids sport it seems to make no difference.
Back in 2005 a partnership was formed between 3 friends that gathered at my workshop. I made the 4th partner in a project that was to buy an industrial acreage in Sacramento CA & build many small units that could house car or bike collections. Buildings would be scaled to what the prospective owners wanted.
The point of this posted here is that the central building (or main building if you like) was to be a facility that could be a club meeting venue with training facilities available so a club meeting could also be an information night. My shop was to moved to this building & my background as a TAFE teacher would be utilized for training days/nights.
This all began because I ran a couple of club days at my shop where we had people like Total Control Products demoing their suspension & steering products. I also ran days showing people what to look for when buying a classic car & other days talking about panel/paint work etc. Throw in food & you have an impromptu car show, club meet & greet.
Although we sold off the land before the housing crash (luckily) the plans still are in my possession & most of that idea could be enacted here. It is something I would consider in the future, be it here or back in CA.
Reality, a meeting could easily be carried out this way & become an informal but great learning experience for all involved. Throw in a meeting room that could become an eatery or movie room & I feel you would have the perfect venue.
I have belonged to other clubs (in the USA) that met at car themed diners & they were mostly fun. However that was “pre-internet†so we had to put up with reading of minutes etc, something that is not necessary today. They always had a guest speaker & was well advertised, so well attended. I used to drive almost 2 hours to a NorCal SAAC meeting then another 2 hours home.
Thats the thing Kerry, when things start out & there are no egos involved "clubs" can be a great thing. The typical club model is broken though in my opinion.
This place is like an online version of what you are talking about. Everyone here is like a mate. So far I have met some fantastic people & had some experiences that would have been impossible if it werent for this forum & prior to that the MOCA forum. It's just a shame when things get ruined. Hopefully the new management group at MOCA whoever they end up being can set things back to right. The pessimist in me wonders if it is even possible. in any event credit to Lance, Sean & Ron for having the fortitude to have a crack.
I am really appreciating this input. After a long time in various Car Clubs and I mean a long time, you need the perspective of the member's to constantly re invigorate the message.
Jeez my first club used to meet At Beefies, by a burger, talk about the necessary then chat cars.
Some (No never me) would then Venture to Brickies. My point is mentioning that is what was then 'socially' acceptable is not necessarily the case a few years on.
DD 289 thanks, great insight, and from my heart there is no more to my question than to understand the current needs of the enthusiast. Don't let anyone tell you different, I am not as complex as I make out
SOC123, your input as well great info, keep it coming who knows what a few weeks could bring...
Muzz67
Experience is a great school, but the fees come high!
soc123_au wrote:Thats the thing Kerry, when things start out & there are no egos involved "clubs" can be a great thing. The typical club model is broken though in my opinion.
This place is like an online version of what you are talking about. Everyone here is like a mate. So far I have met some fantastic people & had some experiences that would have been impossible if it werent for this forum & prior to that the MOCA forum. It's just a shame when things get ruined. Hopefully the new management group at MOCA whoever they end up being can set things back to right. The pessimist in me wonders if it is even possible. in any event credit to Lance, Sean & Ron for having the fortitude to have a crack.
Reason why this place is so good is because of the altruistic nature all involved here. We are all prepared to help one another (& put shit on some wheel choices) & as long as that continues, this will be one of our "happy places" .....
ozbilt wrote:
Reason why this place is so good is because of the altruistic nature all involved here. We are all prepared to help one another (& put shit on some wheel choices) & as long as that continues, this will be one of our "happy places" .....
Similar to Kerry I sat with my best friends a few years ago round my kitchen table, discussing life and common interests (cars)
During the discussion we brokered an idea of a 60's style diner on an old Servo site on Windsor road, one side carpark for everyday hacks, one side double bays for CLassic's
Then building a 60's club room for meetings...... and
Should have could have.............
Muzz67
Experience is a great school, but the fees come high!
Lance or Sean, if you guys were to get the numbers, what is your vision for the club over the next 2 years? One of the things that I didnt get out of my meeting experience was a sense of what the club was about. To be fair it was only one meeting but I left no wiser about the clubs aims than I was before I arrived.
I did get from the other forum that one of the issues involves the use of cars with club rego, but I imagine the picture is much bigger than that.
Lance, this may not be entirely relevant coming from WA.. but my guess it the experience is somewhat similar..
Like cage and others, my lack of attendance was mostly about timing and work commitments.. however on top of that was the feeling of being out of place like others have also stated..
Not being a long term member, with irregular attendance, it was very hard to buy into the 'club' experience.. when I never really felt wanted by the club in the first place..
It wasn't until I didn't renew my membership that the club showed any interest in me as a member.. by then it was too late.. as the shite that went down on the club forum around that time had turned me off entirely.
So now I pay more for insurance and with full rego anyway.. I just drive my car where ever, and when ever I want.
To be honest, I've had a better 'club' experience with local members of this forum than I ever did with the club itself.. even if some of those I'm talking about are / were club members.
The monthly Custom Cars and Coffee outing has much more appeal than anything I did with the club.. and that's just a bunch of randoms from facebook and alike.
The Vision is to create a club that Value ads itself to it's members, that make the members want to be members. We believe the first process is to seek the approval of the general population to trust us and then to investigate ways to breath extra life, excitement and young blood into the club. Some of us remain young for a very long time due, in my case I believe that is so from vast age difference in my mix of friends, the fact my career puts me in front of 100O's of people a year and living in the now.
We have little time attending meetings for meetings sake, and we believe the club is on a Merry go round, 'Doing what it has always Done and getting the results it has always got' but nothing changes.
The staples of this club has to be maintained, the Majority of the Events are great value and fun yet there is more. And our aim is to find that more and bring it to the members.
Also to simplify communication and approval to drive your car, If the RMS specs are only 3 pages, and we meet all the requirements then use the RMS base (our Constitution is only a generic item with minor mods) and uncomplicated things like a few other 'Progressive clubs' do.
Mind you there are some 'unsavoury' events that should in our opinion be on the no go zone.
One bug bear for us was the lack of response to the submission of the nomination forms. The acknowledgement took a month and was then only thrown onto a Forum Thread. Very poor. Our point from that exercise was how many other 'opportunities' are missed due to poor communication.
We are all for looking at parts of the club that may wish to join in community projects which involve their cars and their families. We seriously do not believe though that there enough of a Balance of things our Members wish to be involved in vs what is on offer currently. Few cars shows are 'Family' friendly after all.
We wish to achieve more harmony, certainly not break up 'cliques' as most of those are formed over many, many, many, years. But those cannot profit by ignoring the new, young in club years and in many cases life years when the enter the club by choice. We aim to embrace people, lead by example and focus on positive results.
Certainly there will be road blocks, however a 'strong' Leadership Team will have the focus to create many plan 'B's' and to open the barriers in a win, win, situation.
Many people shy away from 'Committee's' Apathy lives in all facets, but those who wish to give are valuable asset's and deserve coaching and training. The current and past Committee's are somewhat of a testament to that.
However rotation we believe is the key, as we have stated elsewhere, in 10 years we have only had 3 President's and 1 of those has probably been in the chair 7 of the 10 years or more. In our opinion that is not conducive to growth in a fast moving World, especially when these are unpaid and voluntary. However our view is Commitment, if you take on a role be prepared to give 100% of yourself to that role, and be accountable for your actions.
We would like to create meetings and events that People really want to attend when they wish to, without seemingly being frowned on when they don't.
As far as a two year Vision, we need to be given the opportunity by the members for the 1st year, settle into to the roles and the current machinations of the Committee and then talk to our members about improvements they want.
History is a great thing, only if you use it as a Roadmap to the Future.
Not sure if that is what you wanted to hear Steve, but the reality is till the last votes are counted, it's a pipe dream. After the vote, hopefully it's baby steps, and no changes for just change sake.
As always I like the way you broach things, and deal with life, thanks for the questions
Lance.
Muzz67
Experience is a great school, but the fees come high!
), it was all about driving your car and meeting at the corner shop etc or working on your cars. This is the hobby in my opinion, does it really need to be about meetings. 
and 