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By Joe Gagliano |
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It has been a real pleasure being the Vice President of Regions over the past two years. It is a challenging job, but very rewarding. There is a sense of accomplishment when we are able to assist and sign up a new region or chapter and an equally disappointing feeling when we are notified of the disbanding of one of our local affiliates. As VP-Regions I also become a “sounding board” for many issues that affect our regions and chapters. There are many diverse opinions, processes and traditions that are embedded in our local clubs and in some cases these tend to create issues. This may be more common when we are out recruiting new members, especially younger members. No matter how you like it, one fact is true, times are changing and whether you are willing to accept change may determine how you survive in the future. It’s true in business, at work, in your community and in your club. I’d like to share the most common issues I’ve run into in the past couple years as your VP- Regions.
Many of our members forget why they joined the club in the first place…to have fun. They’ve forgotten that to recruit and hold members you have to have activities, programs and an environment that are fun. Arguing and bickering at meetings isn’t fun.
All regions are required to have a documented Constitution and set of By-Laws. These documents are the basis for how the club will be operated and define the processes and proceedings to be followed. They typically define the elected officers and their responsibilities. If the membership decides, these should be revised; there should also be a process to define the change and voting process.
Local activities and events are the responsibility of the region and chapter, National AACA does not dictate how you will manage them. Our concern would be any situation or incident that would have a negative or detrimental impact on our national organization. There are well defined guidelines for hosting a National event or activity which must be followed.
We live in a very diverse society and we need to respect the beliefs of others, and avoid comments and situations which could cause some of our members to be offended. “It’s not the journey that’s important;
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2005-A Bonus year for newsletter editors By Earl D. Beauchamp, Jr. |
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As most Editors know, in order to enter the AACA Region and Chapter Newsletter Contest there is only one thing you have to do and that is to fill in the form that is sent from National Headquarters and return it. However, in order to actually compete in the Contest you must supply your newsletter to the members of the Publications Committee on a regular basis. How you fare in the Contest then depends on the quality and effort you put into your newsletter. We have found that some Editors do not fill in the form, but send their newsletter to all or most of the Committee anyway. By doing this they historically have spent their postage with no award being received. Other Editors enter the Contest by sending in the form and then never send their newsletter to members of the Committee, which also has resulted in no award being received.’ For Regions or Chapters who feel they cannot afford to send their newsletter to the members of the Committee, there is the ability to request a waiver when sending in the form. However, if that is done and accepted, it is still necessary to send a copy to National Headquarters as well as the Vice President of Publications. In those cases such newsletters are reviewed at the annual meeting of the Committee. As you may imagine, a quick review of this sort does not result in the same attention that receiving your newsletter all year accomplishes. If your Region or Chapter does elect to fully enter the Contest it is strongly suggested that each member of the Committee receive a copy of each issue. Now for the Bonus mentioned in my title line! If your Region or Chapter Editor did not send in the form for 2005, but mailed their newsletter to the Committee members anyway, we have waived, for this one-year only, that requirement and your Editor will receive an award of Merit, Distinction or Excellence for 2005. I want to remind Editors that they must avoid using copyrighted material without permissions. You could get sued. Also, and this is important. At least one newsletter did not receive an award because of using objectionable material. Objectionable language, jokes, religious, sexual or political commentary does not belong in our old car publications. Why have we broken our own rule for 2005? It is because we wanted everyone who went to the trouble of sending their newsletter to see what result they could have if they simply took the time to fill out and mail in the entry form. Consider it a form of encouragement for Editors to enter the Contest. This “bonus” will not be repeated in 2006, so if you haven’t sent in the form in the past, make sure you do it in the coming year. I have often said that the Region or Chapter newsletter is the glue that holds these groups together. That makes our Region and Chapter Editors very important, for which they deserve our appreciation. I would request members to tell their Editor’s occasionally how much they appreciate that person’s efforts.
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By Fran Shore, Library and Research Board Member |
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The AACA Library and Research Center is going to try something a bit different this year in our fundraising approach. 2006 marks the AACA Library’s 25th Anniversary. We would like to encourage each Region and Chapter to contribute to the Endowment Fund, the Collector Foundation matching grant and general operational expenses. It would be exciting and great identity promotion for your Regions and Chapters to consider presenting a donation to the Library at the February AACA Annual Meeting this year. We want to emphasize that any amount at any time is greatly appreciated and graciously received. The AACA library is a separate organization and must maintain its own facility. It is also critical that the Library expand its technological capabilities to enhance the opportunities of our member’s ability to access this AACA treasure. The growth of this collection is possible through your continued support. All donations, whether research materials or monetary, are tax deductible. The AACA Library is a 501(c)3 organization. The AACA Library is for the automobile hobbyist and for historians of all types, as our library has preserved a written and pictorial history of motorized transportation in this country and abroad. The AACA Library is a debt-free organization and is proud that we have been able to keep our expenses within our income. This upcoming year will be more difficult to do with operational expenses increasing due to the economy. Donations may be made to either of the two named funds or to general operation expenses. The Library and Research Center Endowment Fund has been in existence since the Library’s establishment and its growth has proven to be of benefit to keep the AACA Library accessible to all in the hobby. The newest fund was established in 2005 by a grant from Hagerty Insurance and is named “The Collector Foundation Matching Grant.” This grant continues for five years. The total amount from the grant is $100,000 and we must match $20,000 a year for the five years. We have been successful for the year 2005 and anticipate we will meet our goal in the coming years with the help of our membership. The purpose of the grant is to place a catalog of our Library’s holdings online for easy access by the membership. We need the support of the AACA Regions and Chapters and hope that you will make a donation. The AACA Library is there for the membership and we are hoping that with your help, this great storehouse of knowledge will benefit future generations of AACA members.
AACA Library & Research Center 501 W. Governor Road 717-534-2082 Celebrating 25 Years!
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Herb Oakes, VP– Development & Support, |
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As your Vice President of Development and Support of the Eastern and South Eastern Division of Regions and Chapters, along with a team of 8 chairman, I would like to introduce to you our on-going program of interaction with and between Regions, Chapters and individual members to promote good will and understanding (“esprit de corps”) between members, Regions Chapters and the National organization. Consider me that of a goodwill ambassador representing the National club. Our task is informational and should help to address the main question of what the AACA can do for our local Regions and Chapters. If your members would like to have one or our chairmen make a visit, they would be more than happy to accept an invitation to your club meeting or event, as well as accept or answer questions from individual members. Our objective is to make a presentation, have a short video and then answer questions. The presentation would cover a basic background conformation: History of the AACA, membership, national meets and tours, policy and procedures manual general information, attending national meets, activity request cards- where to find them and how to use them, etc. These topics can vary based on your membership requests. The total amount of time from beginning to end should be approximately one hour including 5-10 minutes for questions. This effort is designated to establish more direct face-to-face contact between individual members and the National organization to foster a more direct feeling of belonging rather than any feeling of being “forced to belong”. It is my goal as Vice President of Development & Support to make individual members that are encountered feel they are important to the National organization and that their feelings and concerns are heard and considered. If your membership would be interested for us to visit them and enjoy the club meeting or event as well as accept or answer questions, we need nothing more than an invitation. If any region or chapter is interested in this program, please contact me by letter, e-mail or phone and I am at your service. I will contact the chairman that is responsible for your state and make arrangements for him to contact your region or chapter. Thank you in advance for your response. I can be reached at 102 Converse Dr., Jacksonville, NC 28546, or by telephone at 910 346-3834 or by email at herbfran@gibralter.net.
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Why are we here?
