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[Baha (Shawn)]

President's Message
2016 is just minutes away and South Jersey Volkswagen Club will be headed into it?s 11th year. We?ve come a long way since the brand new SJVWC & Jersey Panzers merged to form our current club, yet in some ways we seem to be going backwards.

   Participation at the meetings is great, yet participation at cruises is way down. The Christmas party attendance was the lowest in 5 years, less than half of last year's turnout.
Maybe it?s cyclical but turnout to our events is getting thin.

I did a survey at the beginning of the year and our members have a bunch of VW's that apparently never see the light of day. The SJVWC Overhaulin's have put more than 8 cars on the road yet only 2 were seen on club cruises this year. The idea was to help folks to be able to drive their VW's. What do we have to do to get people to come out and play?

   I "got the band back together". John Gallagher is back as Events Coordinator. John is a devoted car show guy. He?s going to let us know what?s coming up, and coordinate the runs to these shows. Jay "Bugaru" DiPompo is back as Cruise Director. Jays cruises are second to none. He researches & even pre-runs his routes to make sure we have the best possible time. His Pumpkin Run-Run & Turkey Trot Cruise were really great cruises. He?ll work with John to make sure we've got something to do each month.

There are a LOT of VW Westy's in this club. Actually dozens. And lately we see more busses (and Vanagons) at events than Beetles/Type 3s, etc. I know that camping isn't everybody's cup of tea, but the flip side is the bus owners and campers (people who camp) don?t want to be segregated from the group. They want to participate in club events too. We're one club with a lot of interests. The bus owners love the cars as much as you do and most have other VWs as well. So it's time to embrace the loaf
 


The formula I developed over the past few years for monthly events seemed to work last year. It was that during the driving season we would schedule 1 Cruise, 1 Camp Out 1 Ice Cream Run per month. Breakfast with the Beetles (BWTB) and Dub n Dine (DnD) are off season fill ins for the cruises and ice cream runs. Dub n Dines were so popular that we carried them into ?car season? by holding them any month that had 5 weeks.

Last year I gathered data. This year I want to know what you think we should do.

I look forward to seeing you at the meetings and events. Let me know if theres something you?ld like to see the club do. You can always reach me at baha@sjvwc.net , or on Facebook. My cell is . From 4-5 PM weekdays you have a captive audience...I'm sitting in traffic and would love to talk. Otherwise any time 6-9PM & all weekend. Text me anytime.

By the way... If it aint broke... Leave it the hell alone! More missed events happen because of tinkering than I care to mention. Lets get these vehicles out of the garage and take em for a ride!

Have a Happy and Prosperous 2016!

Shawn

[lovebus (jack)]

Sorry to say this is not a new problem with the club and is also a problem with many clubs and many clubs have gone by the wayside and even dropped their presents on the web while  I think we are still strong and continue to have a good following. At any time during the day you can see as many as 65 or more Guest on our Web Site and we have 198 subscribers to our News Letter, this also fluctuates up and down tho very little.
I use post all of our events on thesamba and we always got one or two new faces at an event, we don't do that anymore. The events are not talked up as much as they use to. If it don't sound like the greatest event ever you don't get participation. It takes a LOT of work and it's not being done.
We lose most of our members due to young guys having families, new jobs, illness, Don't like what the club is doing and that is the one that bugs me the most............instead working for change They Quit, take their toys and go home. We've had some good people leave and I don't know the real reason BUT most of the original members are still with us.
It takes a LOT of balls to keep going and working for the club  and Shawn has a BIG set and busts his butt to keep it on track but it takes more then one person and our club seams to always  have people to step up and get the job done.
Even tho attendance may be off on our events we are still going strong where many other clubs have failed.
end of rant     

PS, I don't know what to do to increase attendance.    DO YOU?  

[6T5 square]

There are ways to get more people out. This will be my first full year setting up the calendar. We will be posting on the samba, Cliffs calendar, VW vortex, CJVWS calendar and even some Detroit metal news papers. I am going to fill the calendar with info on all VW shows and a lot of local favorites. The days of us not going to shows with Detroit iron need to end. We won't be hitting every show but we definitely will offer enough for you to bring your car out to.
Let's all make a new year resolution to bring our cars out to at least 3 shows. Come out to one and you'll be hooked for the year.
John

[lovebus (jack)]

I like the local shows more then all VW shows, oru cars get LOTS  of attention, your not just another VW in a sea of VW's, people love our cars and just about everyone remembers when they too had one. Very cool.
 

[rich67vw]

I'll be going to at least 6 or 7 car shows this year like last year- those were fun, not all day, and u get to learn about the different kinds of cars from folks like JoeT, Bob Herbie, Chef John, and JackWagen
I agree with Jackwagen, people love to see our VW's, even those ugly-azz Can-be- gons 

As far as suggestions, that was all covered back in the summer in the "This Club is dead" "This Forum is dead" "My grandmother is dead" threads- nothing to be gained there.....

I'll invite club members to some of the local community events I'm working on in 2016- Come, don't come, play on your iPhones, whatever.

Have a great 2016!

[Daverted]

PS, I don't know what to do to increase attendance.    DO YOU?

  Yup I'm coming to more events, now that my back is fixed... 

 So that will be one more 

[matt]

I like the local shows more then all VW shows, oru cars get LOTS  of attention, your not just another VW in a sea of VW's, people love our cars and just about everyone remembers when they too had one. Very cool.
 

                     X2

               This past year I have gone to about 5 local car shows, one of the VW, associated with OCOD -

It is true bugs get more attention at the Detroit Metal shows, at at these shows there are a few other VWs which show up. I always try to convert them to becoming SJVWC members, in which I justifiably talk the club up in a BIG way, hoping more will join. They seem very interested, but apparently take no further action- unless they are some of the guests that are showing up here.

I have been trying to convince OCOD to change their campout/car show date from Jenn's SJVWC event so both clubs have the opportunity to visit each others event.
Their campout/show is now on 10/1/16


                        I don't really know what more the club can do to increase attendance, I think it is a cyclical thing.. with mainly jobs and family obligations "getting in the way"

[Baha (Shawn)]

                   

I have been trying to convince OCOD to change their campout/car show date from Jenn's SJVWC event so both clubs have the opportunity to visit each others event.
Their campout/show is now on 10/1/1

You're taking credit for that?... And here I thought the phone calls I made to the organizers did it    

[matt]

My rule of thumb:

As long as it cannot be proven otherwise, I take the credit for all good things!