Radio Free Registry

[spg356]

Sebastian,

Let me simply say two things---

First, you are most welcome here. I am pleased (and--sorry--a bit surprised but happy nonetheless) that you are engaged here in a serious, informative, no name calling, discussion. I commend you.

Second, you need to worry. This kind of activity---trust me and check scores of R Forum pages of not so long ago involving moi---is not tolerated on the R Forum at this time. It is Their way or the highway. You write a column. It is a good one. Respectfully---and I am very sincere when I write this---your ability to continue there is at great risk as you post here.

Best,

Steve Heinrichs

Hi Steve,

I hadn't thought about that, but I plan to continue here as long as it remains civil. It will stay that way on my end for sure, and I believe it will on the incoming as well.

I can't say that I am going to post daily or even weekly or monthly, but I feel good now about the dialogue.

Thanks,

[Steve Heinrichs]

Sebastian,

Thanks for the response. I am certain that you will find the "exchanges" here civil ones. I'm sure you know from various R Forum threads (not only the lawsuit ones or the ones leading up to that) that it is not always so there. And, some have come here and engage in that sort of stuff and found that the guys here are as good at giving as they are receiving.

Anyway---welcome again.

As to the specifics of how the club should be run, while like everyone (well, many) I have opinions. Much good stuff here has been discussed but there is a "trap" and, at this time, other than pointing out problems related to transparency, tax issues and legal requirements....frankly (I think anyway) little is served by asking versions of "ok, how would you do it?". What I mean is that the conversations here are ignorned over there. The dialog needs to take place there and resolved there. But, of course, it does not take place there...so this is the only real venue.

As you may recall, others (including me) have been severely criticized, banished, run off, whatever by asking questions. This is all, in the end, a very simple problem that is inhibiting club growth,the attraction of younger members and much more. It can be stated in one word but only serious change will fix the problem: attitude.

I do hope you will stay here and join in on the fun topics as well....bring the dicussion of casting numbers (as thought by Pellow) here. It, would be a good one.

Steve Heinrichs

[bbspdstr]

that cheap?"...but things took off under Dan's leadership and fairly regular newsletter. We had drives, we had picnics, we had winter doldrums house parties. Then Dan tired of carrying the club alone, Martha and I tired of hosting the picnics with only one other couple taking it one year out of 15 and the other couple who hosted the house party has lately had personal distractions interrupt their long consecutive string.

Not much else has happened other than our Holidays (2). Dan helped on our second and many locals pitched in to make Lancaster 2008 a success.

In thinking about that first meeting, I'll bet half the attendees are gone, as in permanently. Others are gone, as in retired elsewhere, maybe Florida, who knows? Some are still around, looking for the best work for the least money.

A few recognizable local 356 people have come out of nowhere but do nothing to host or help, but then again, our society in general has become 'me-me.'

So, we have those who used to put 10k on their 356s between state inspections now getting 75 mi. on the same 356. (The question when they come in is "Change the gas and check the oil?")

We have the club demographic changed by weather,time passing, member relocation and increasing 356 values slowing down use. Add apathy, always a factor, and that's where many areas are now with regard to 'club' function, local or the Registry.

Not enough punk kids in their 40s and 50s, even 60s with 356 enthusiasm!

So, if you out west who bought our excess eastern 356s in the '60s and '70s still have the fever, great. If you 356ers in the Detroit area or anywhere else are active and happy.....I'm envious....but that shows an inequity.

This all goes back to needing a glue, a patch for some and an alternate means of communication with other 356 enthusiasts without local groups in which to participate. Thus, the Registry needs to open up, be the best it can be...or we may as well be happy with Justin's site here as an Internet gathering place ("club"?) for 356ers and PCA regions for actual 3-D gatherings if no one locally picks up the ball.

[356JAGER]

The ease or difficulty of having local chapters under the umbrella of
a National club is moot. It's required by Ohio and Federal statutes in order to comply with being a non-profit club, as is no profit accruing to anyone in said club. There's the rub, and no amount of wishful thinking or 'difficulty' negates those requirements. Sometimes things are simple if you're paying attention and following the rules, but then not doing so is why a court of law will be the decider in this case unless the trustees decide to do the right thing and step aside.

[spg356]

If the Registry is required to have local chapters, how many are required? Does anyone know if there is a number? Would it have to cover the entire country? I believe those are fair questions if we first agree that the Registry might/will be required to do so. I could certainly council people how best to run one, but as said before I have no experience starting one.

Would the Registry have to hire someone to organize this or would the trustees have to do it? That is quite a bit to think about, it could actually make the club larger as a consequence. If it can be pulled off I would be ecstatic. I could not imagine living in an area with no strong local group. If I were to move somewhere, a huge factor would be if the area I was looking at had an active group of 356 owners. Again, my wife would roll her eyes

[356JAGER]

Sebastian,

I think think the 'disparity of regions' argument is already solved by the existence of those clubs now extant. Any group wanting to
form a new 'region' would be welcome to do so. The 'Neu 356 Registry' should be a central hub of information for the regional clubs and be 'trusteed' by one elected rep from each region, with alternating term limits to keep it fresh, and to give equal voice to each region,regardless of population. (Sounds familiar to me) Agreement by 75 % of reps required to carry anything forward. Puts the power where it should be with limits as to participation by those with 356 business interests. A lot of this stuff already exists, it's just that it's ignored by the current leadership.

That's my solution. Love to hear yours.

Best regards,
Joel

[Phil Planck]

Welcome Sebastian!
I have not been very active with this topic as I also believe it wont do much to improve the R. However, some good R issues are pointed out here. As to this being more civil than the R discussions of similar issues I am not so sure. But, your involvement has made it more civil. Thanks.
Joel, I don't think you will find any voting issues where you will get 75 percent agreement. Also, looking at the mag list of local clubs, it could become a pretty large board running the national R.

Phil Planck

[356JAGER]

Welcome Sebastian!
I have not been very active with this topic as I also believe it wont do much to improve the R. However, some good R issues are pointed out here. As to this being more civil than the R discussions of similar issues I am not so sure. But, your involvement has made it more civil. Thanks.

I don't think you will find anywhere on this site the use of the many
and varied truly uncivil monikers attributed to those with dissenting views on the R site, including some of the 'leadership', all in violation of their own rules. Here we're civil because that's how you get to the bottom of things. I disagree with your assessment that this is a meaningless exercise that contributes nothing to the
Registry, and I believe that the motion, albeit cosmetic, over there
is an indicator of that reality.

Joel, I don't think you will find any voting issues where you will get 75 percent agreement. Also, looking at the mag list of local clubs, it could become a pretty large board running the national R.

Phil, The trustees have boasted on more than one occasion of their
'always unanimous decisions'. That's 100% so 75 should be a cinch.
Best to you,
Joel

Phil Planck

[S.J.Szabo]

Work in Progress

Edited by author for further consideration.

[spg356]

Work in Progress

Edited by author for further consideration.

Hi SJ,

I just sat down to respond but see it is in for editing. I may not be able to get back to you when it is ready to post, so if you do not hear back from me till later you will know why.

Thanks,

[MMW]

As stated before I am an outsider looking in. That is my choice.

What can the registry do about events/face to face meet ups?

They can easily hold them. The problem I see with people not wanting to "be in charge" of events is they always try to make it a big deal. Look at what the Holidays are. They are a big undertaking & cost a lot of money to put together. Not a bad thing but there is lots of room for smaller events.

For example -- How many 356ers get together at Hershey? Every year the guys from 914world forum go to Hershey. The planning is done on the forum & here is how it goes. Someone posts "who's going", "Are we still staying at the Knights Inn?". Everyone makes there own reservation who wants to go. Someone usually suggests a place for dinner & most of them meet there Friday night. Usually a beer & wings place. Then it is hanging out at the motel parking lot having beverages until late. Someone might plan a cruise of 50-60 miles or someone gets a few swap sites together as a place to hang also. They have bbq'd in the motel parking lot after the swap. It's about camaraderie.

The issue I see is the average age of the R member currently. Again nothing wrong with it but they just aren't like they used to be. They want fine hotels, nice restaurants, etc. For these folks gone are the days of sleeping in cheap motels & drinking beer half the night while "bench racing" out in the parking lot. Now they are worried about security of their cars & not wrinkling there dinner suit etc. Nothing wrong with that if that is what you want. But try to entice the younger crowd & it will be hard.

I know I'm just generalizing here but that's my point.

[MMW]

Another thing is the acceptance of non 356 cars. Sebastian had a good experience with his ghia but not all 356ers are as welcoming. I am part of an air-cooled VW club vs. PCA because of this. I am not saying they should embrace other cars because after all it is a 356 club but what about replicas? That is all some people will be able to afford. Some are even nicer than the real thing but with the registry attitude of "it's not real so go park in the corner", not very welcoming.

[spg356]

That's my solution. Love to hear yours.

Best regards,
Joel

Hi Joel,

I realize I have been the one asking all the questions and that in addition to the question you just asked, SJ is preparing something for me (I quickly scanned the original post that is now being edited while I was driving home from a Motor Cities Gruppe dinner-I know, I know, dangerous...) but fair is fair and I know it's my turn on the hot seat. I'll answer anything that is asked as best I can.

I cannot offer anything as a solution as I can be counted as one of the content members. I can say, however that a club structured as you describe would work well in my opinion, but I personally have no problem with the leadership or the structure of the club as it is. I have had exactly one bad experience while a Registry member. It was in 1992 or '93 at a Holiday. I was at the tech session and raised my hand to ask this question (I'd like to think that I am slightly smarter about these cars by now) "If I put an 8 volt battery in my car will everything work better?" A guy in the back shouted "holy hell, why would you think that is a good idea?" Before I could turn around to say "I don't know, that's why I asked" one of the guys at the tech table kindly but firmly let him know that was not behavior conducive to encourage learning by a younger fellow. That's it, absolutely everything else has been enjoyable and positive to me.

From everything I know of the entire bruhaha, I know that the main posters here are frustrated and upset, but that is their fight and not mine.

Thus I have no solution to offer when I don't have a problem, but coming here and hearing some pretty good ideas has been a good experience.

[spg356]

The issue I see is the average age of the R member currently. Again nothing wrong with it but they just aren't like they used to be. They want fine hotels, nice restaurants, etc. For these folks gone are the days of sleeping in cheap motels & drinking beer half the night while "bench racing" out in the parking lot. Now they are worried about security of their cars & not wrinkling there dinner suit etc. Nothing wrong with that if that is what you want. But try to entice the younger crowd & it will be hard.

I know I'm just generalizing here but that's my point.

Mic,

On top of that is the price of these cars today. Say you are the average young guy who sees a 356 and looks into buying one. A pile of rust for $15k, a car that barely runs and drives for $30k and the one he would actually consider buying (hey, he didn't grow up working on cars like we did so does not have that skill set) is $50k to infinity. Well, if he's just got to have a Porsche, that 10 year old Boxster, a mid engined roadster for @ $15k for a really nice one looks pretty good right now.

I told a friend the other day we can lick our chops all we want about our cars securing our retirement, but that does not ensure the future of our hobby in any way, shape or form.

[MMW]

One more on making an event. Last year I planned a 90 mile route. 45 miles each way to a lunch place/pub. I e-mailed it out to my e-mail group with a start time & meeting point. Four of us met up & went. It was fun. Cost me nothing but my gas & my food. Took about an hour maybe to map out a good route. Two 356, one Beck Spyder (replica) & a Ghia. Simple.

Right now I'm helping plan a cruise in the VW club. A little more involved. I planned out a 30 mile cruise to a lunch place. We start at a campground where some of us will camp Friday & Saturday. Cruise starts Saturday am from campground. Everyone not camping will meet there also. We picked an off wknd for the campground so they are happy to have us. We contacted the lunch spot & they will be ready for us. Leisurely ride, stop at somewhere for a photo op & then to lunch. 15 mile cruise back to the campground after lunch for a night of company with other like minded air-cooled enthusiasts. This is the third year of the cruise. Last year fifty cars.

Again all this just gets posted on the forum & whoever shows up shows up. People make there own reservations at the campground also. We just have an area that the campground will put us together as much as possible.

Last years photo op. This is what 50 cars looks like pulled over on a back road. The neighbors came out & chatted for awhile. We made their day. No pro photogs just get out & take your own pic. Post them on the site if you want. No registration fee.