Re: National Stuff

["Bill Thebert" <bthebert@domain.elided>]

Dan:

Mixed bag of thoughts to follow:

> For instance, my dad belongs to the Falcon Club of America. When
> you join FCA you are recomended to the local club near you. You can't
> join one without the other.

I'm not sure how I feel about subscribing to the Binder Bulletin (or *any*
national organization) being "mandatory" for membership in a local club. 
Goes against my Libertarian instincts, I think.  I figger that if I keep
writing checks each year to sponsor stuff like the NW Binder Round Up, for
example, pretty soon the NW Binder folks will mention me to their members,
and *we'll* get some additional members.  If I offer a product or service
that "feels" worth $15 to those individual members of various local clubs,
I'll get their business and their support.

John Olvera from Scout Owners of Texas spent a few minutes videotaping a
bit of an interview this past weekend -- that will go back to their
membership in order to explain what we're trying to do, and what we offer. 
That club is actively trying to "promote" the Bulletin among its members; 
but I sure don't think there's anything "obigatory" involved.

> What we really need is a unifying entity that is connected with the
> various clubs and would recommend people to the local clubs in their
> area. 

I'm more than happy to recommend folks to local clubs in their area -- even
without a mandatory "also" membership.  

In fact, I'm hoping that what we're doing with the "Member Profiles" pages
might spawn some NEW local clubs and local activities.  There are enough
Members listed on that Profile page to support a club in Colorado Springs,
the Pittsburgh area, and perhaps Salt Lake City.  Other areas like Ohio,
Michigan, Nebraska and Massachussetts are darn close.

I'm working to provide some "support" materials on our web site for those
folks looking to either start or grow a local club -- stuff like sample
bylaws, budgets, activity suggestions, web site templates, etc.  I'm a bit
behind my projections in this regard, but it's been an awfully hectic
summer.

We've also got some standing offers out there to toss a bit of money toward
starting a new event or two -- like a Winter event in Southern Arizona, for
example.

> Have you thought of perhaps taking the Binder
> Bulletin national?

Not sure precisely what you mean here, Dan.  We're already "national", or
even "international" -- as we have members in Iceland, Norway, Netherlands,
Switzerland, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, . . .

I guess I'm gonna sound a bit like Popeye here -- "I am what I am".  Don't
know if having anyone's "blessing" or "title" would change a thing.  I / we
will keep doing what we're doing.  And if we keep offering a lot of bang
for the buck, folks like you will either start or continue to speak highly
of our efforts and recommend us to your friends.  And if it so happens that
all or most folks who belong to local IH clubs *also* pitch a few bucks our
way and enjoy the Binder Bulletin -- then so be it. 

Regards,

Bill Thebert
The Binder Bulletin


P.S. -- Since the Bulletin has evolved into way more than a mere
"newsletter", and since we recently adopted the "unincorporated non-profit"
designation in the State of Colorado, and have begun organizing activites
of our own (like trail trips & such), I was told by John Glancy at the
Nationals this weekend that he considers The Bulletin to be a "Club".  He
mentioned this because a number of y'all listed the Bulletin as your "Club
Affiliation" on your registration sheet.  Rumor has it that we were darn
close to taking the award for greatest "Club Participation" even!  I guess
I'm all for folks viewing the Bulletin in this way.





----------
> From: Daniel Nees <cookiedan@domain.elided>
> To: Bill Thebert <bthebert@domain.elided>
> Subject: Re: Nationals - thank you
> Date: Tuesday, September 15, 1998 12:23 PM
> 
> Bill,
>    Since you are talking about the nation wide spread of the IH
> community, I'm going to ask you about something we talked about sunday
> night at dinner.
>    We were discussing the ineffectiveness of SIMTA as a national entity.
> What we really need is a unifying entity that is connected with the
> various clubs and would recommend people to the local clubs in their
> area. For instance, my dad belongs to the Falcon Club of America. When
> you join FCA you are recomended to the local club near you. You can't
> join one without the other. This helps promote a sense of community, and
> combines the people who would help continue and preserve the hobby.
>    I don't know what this could be, although the most promonant
> componant of the hobby right now it the Binder Bulletin. When I meat
> people for the first time with a Scout or IH I recommend them to the
> Binder Bulletin for info for their trucks. 
>    I'm just rambling here, but; Pansy and I were discussing this a
> little yesterday as well. Have you thought of perhaps taking the Binder
> Bulletin national?
> 
> Dan Nees
> cookiedan@domain.elided
> I drove a brand new Scout II!
>    1979 Scout II 345, Auto, 3.07's, Trak-Lok. One Ugly and Trusty Truck
> with the Hat Trick. 
> 
> 1971 Scout II 304, D30/44, D20, power steering.
> 
> http://members.tripod.com/~IHCaholic/scoutindex.html