<CORSA Chapters> Club President help

[Bruce Schug]

On Nov 29, 2005, at 6:59 PM, RJ Sottile wrote:

> Hey everyone i just wanted to share alittle news from
> the Keystone
> Corvair Club. I have been a menber since we started
> and i was only 15.
> Iam 21 now and the last president decided he would
> like to step down
> so i was ask if i would want the job i agreed so now i
> guess iam going
> to be the youngest corvair club president of any
> corvair club. I was
> just wondering if anyone had any good pointers for
> me?? Thanks RJ

I have been an active member of CORSA and CORSA South Carolina for 
about 24 years. During that time I have held every office in our club, 
including being president three or four times. I have seen our club 
change from one centered around the "bunch of guys" concept, to a 
family-oriented club; an active social group whose principal interest 
is Corvairs. Here is my advice:

1. Keep the club active. Our club meets the second Tuesday evening of 
each month for a casual dinner followed by a "meeting" which is NOT 
some dry, boring business meeting, but a discussion of what's going on 
with the club; the results of the last event; results of other events 
our members attended; announcements of the next event, and anything 
else anyone wants to discuss - who's pregnant, if anyone's sick, etc. 
This is followed by a raffle of inexpensive items brought by members. 
This raffle contributes $40-75 per month to the treasury. Attendance at 
these meetings is 30-40 adults.

Our membership peaked at around 63 several years ago. That was because 
we used to have people join to show their car at our mall show. It fell 
into the high 20's and has rebounded as we have gotten several new 
young members in the past few years. Our membership is currently 43.

We used to have only events - not these Tuesday night meetings. The 
start of these meetings transformed our club from a "bunch of guys" 
group to a family-oriented social group. In December we have our 
Christmas Dinner/Party, which is the regular Tuesday meeting night, at 
a nicer restaurant.

2. Keep the club active. Have events. Every year we have a weekend 
event, probably 9-11 months. We always have an economy run, a rally, an 
autocross, a Fall color tour, some kind of tech session, and a picnic. 
Others may include "The Great Corvair Challenge" (see letter in the new 
Communique from Staci and Lambert Ridings), a show of some kind, a trip 
to a Corvair-related place, go kart races, etc. In addition, we 
participate in one or two Christmas Parades and several cruise-ins. 
These events are either on a Saturday or a Sunday.

3. Run the club with a board of directors. Do NOT subject the general 
membership to the nitty-gritty details of a "business meeting" they do 
not need to hear all the pros and cons of each issue, the detail, etc. 
(I remember a meeting we had years ago on a weekend, at a guy's house. 
We were discussing the upcoming mall show. We went over and over every 
detail. Later, a couple of members told me they were really pi**ed 
about having to sit through all that.) Our board consists of the 
president, VP, treasurer, secretary, and three at-large board members - 
seven people. We have had from 2-12 board meetings per year, 3-4 is a 
good number. Usually these are at the president's house on a Sunday 
afternoon but they can be at a restaurant for dinner and discussion on 
a week night, if not too much has to be decided.

4. Have a good newsletter. This holds the club together. Email it to 
those who want it that way and save the club money. Some will rarely 
attend a meeting but will give you dues money for the newsletter and to 
support the club. Look at other club's newsletters for ideas for yours.

5. Have a good calendar. At last month's board meeting we set a 
preliminary calendar for Jan 2006 through February 2007. When next 
year's board meets in January, they can firm it up. This lets members 
see what's going to happen next year so they'll pay their dues. We 
schedule through the next February to provide continuity going into the 
next year. Here's our new calendar:

Calendar

2006

January 22 - Sunday	Tech Session			Steve Poe

February 11 or 12		Rally				Barry Ellison

March 				The Great Corvair Challenge

April	21-22			Helen GA event
					Charlotte AutoFair

May					Economy Run

June				Car Show

July					Go Kart event
					25-29 CORSA Convention, Buffalo

August				Picnic

September			"Corvairs in the Curves XVII" Autocross

October				Fall Affair Mini Convention, Charlotte
					Charlotte AutoFair

November			Color Tour

December			Christmas Party

2007

January				Film Fest

February				Tech Session

6. Collect dues. This is often a problem for clubs. Here's one idea 
that helps. I mentioned the raffle we have at the Tuesday night 
meetings. We do it differently at the Christmas party. Instead of 
selling tickets, we give them away. Each paid member gets one red 
ticket (for instance) and five blue tickets. We start drawing red 
tickets and go through all of them. This way, everyone gets one gift 
before anyone gets two. Then, we start on the blue tickets. But giving 
tickets only to paid members essentially guarantees that anyone who 
comes to the Christmas party will pay their dues.

7. Have a good set of documents that spell out how the club is run. We 
have a set of objectives, a constitution, by laws, and policy. I wrote 
these several years ago using documents from the North Texas club as 
guidelines. I'll fax a copy of these to anyone who wants them.

7. Encourage CORSA membership. There are different ways to do this. 
CORSA members will be stronger local members.

8. Encourage participation in other club's events. You will see in our 
calendar we encourage participation in national and regional Corvair 
events put on by other clubs. Strong Corvair events result in a strong 
marque club.

9. Evangelize. You need to constantly be out there driving your 
Corvairs, showing them at cruise-ins, keeping them in public sight. 
Tell people how much fun they are. Some clubs are literally dying off. 
You must keep new, younger people coming into your club. Be friendly! 
If you can get them to a meeting or event, talk to them or you'll 
probably never see them again. One thing is always true in any group of 
people, Corvair club, church, Rotary - if newcomers are made to feel 
at-home, if people are friendly to them, they will probably return. If 
they return, you may be able to interest them in your group. If they 
become interested in your group, they may join. If they join they may 
become active. If they become active everybody wins.

Good luck!

Bruce

Bruce W. Schug
CORSA South Carolina
Greenville, SC
bwschug at charter.net

CORSA member since 1981

'67 Monza. "67AC140"