Collectors Car Clubs of the Past

Wondering about some of the changes that have occurred with car clubs in the last few years? There are numerous, after all as lives go on and technology improves people change as well. What was once fulfilling and satisfying barely meets anyone?s needs now and the car clubs have all been forced to adapt and adjust as well. This means that the clubs that in the past were the top of the line have also had to adjust in order to meet the needs of members.

Those clubs that did not evolve have all subsided and closed, while new clubs appeared. In the past, many people felt that a car club was only useful for an occasional organized drive and of course participating in only local car shows with. This would generally be a monthly activity that took place for a few hours and usually just involved the members of the club. Today?s clubs still take drives, however they tend to occur on a weekly basis now, and are completely voluntary. Additionally the drives are usually very short, or else cover the course of an entire weekend and members are encouraged to bring their entire family along for the adventure.

Additional changes that have occurred include membership fees and acceptance. In the past, most clubs accepted almost everyone who applied and there were few if any that charged membership. Now there are very few that accept everyone who applies and the majority charge at least a small membership fee to help defer some of the costs that the club has. From organizing events to even making some charitable donations many car clubs have a few bills that must be covered somehow. In the past, the clubs were not very well organized. People would simply meet together, possibly wear a jacket that was identical to other members and have a small sticker that they placed on their car. Times have changed and membership often means so much more now.

Car clubs of the past typically involved only men. Women were almost never around cars, after all in the old days the woman?s place was in the kitchen cooking or taking care of children, never out in the garage with the men. Today?s car clubs have women who are members and car enthusiasts themselves. The numbers of women who are members have grown dramatically in recent years and continues to grow even more. There are even some clubs that limit membership to only women to help encourage and foster the love that women have for cars.

People also tend to demand more now than they ever did from memberships and clubs and to help adapt many have worked out deals with businesses and services that are useful to the car owner, which allows members to receive a discount. This is something that car clubs in the past never worried about, yet most clubs offer some form of benefit. The benefits that each club offers varies greatly, and even the amount of the discounts that each club has available varies from club to club depending on the deal worked out but you can usually find something that is beneficial to you.

You can only imagine how car clubs of today will compare to those of tomorrow. At this point in time collector?s car clubs have changed so dramatically that they are so vastly different and likely more changes are in store as the clubs continue to adapt to life. People always love cars, after all the power and thrill of creating a car from the ground up or even restoring an old and tarnished car into the masterpiece that car enthusiast?s love is always thrilling and likely will not disappear anytime in the future. In addition, working on cars is a great way for families to bond and it creates the need for people to get together and learn, show off their cars and admire the work of others. Car clubs have thus far stood the test of time and will continue to do so in the future.

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Giving Back to the Community

People are always looking for ways to give back to the communities that they are in, and one of the most giving types of organizations tends to be the collectors? car clubs. These are the groups that often go around working with places such as Toys for Tots, and other charity organizations for Christmas drives as well as numerous other events that are designed to help raise money for various charities.

Many car clubs organize charity drives. These are great ways for members to get out and enjoy each other?s company while driving around and showing off their cars and raising money for charity at the same time. Different clubs are involved with different charities and some are involved with none at all. There are even some clubs that are very heavily involved and encourage members to do as much as possible for the benefit of the charity of their choice.

Deciding how much you are comfortable doing for the charity is very important. If you do not enjoy doing extensive work for charities, it is a good idea to check with the car club before joining to see if they are involved. Also, ensure that you know exactly what is expected of you so that there are no surprises and you can plan accordingly. Most people are more than happy to help give back to their community, especially if they know in advance what is expected of them.

If you are creating a new car club, the choice is up to you to decide what should be expected from members. Most clubs have at least one charity run a year that they allow members to sign up for, and additionally they usually make the event a voluntary occurrence. There are very few car clubs that require members to participate in the charity work that they do simply because not everyone agrees with all charities.

If you enjoy the idea of helping out different charities then a car club can be a great place to start, especially since most do offer some form of fundraiser. Working with those that you enjoy spending time with, looking at great cars and driving around the car of your dreams is certainly a great way to raise money and with a bit of luck you can do fairly well at it as well. The entire situation is usually a great winning scenario and leaves car clubs with a really great impression on people.

This is especially important in those areas where a lot of people have bad impressions about car clubs. Many tend to compare car clubs to gangs and other community problems, despite the fact that they are vastly different. Working with charities can help cast your club in a good light and make everyone happy that they are able to help give back a bit to the community.

If your club does not currently do anything for charity, you should consider it; this is a great way to help out. Spending just a single day a year can be a huge help for those that are struggling so much, and since the money raised is from donations of other people it does not hurt anything and can be a lot of fun if the activities are organized well. So work with your car club and organize a great way that you can help support a local charity.

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Holding Elections, Casting Nominations and other Administrative Issues

Deciding how to handle elections and other similar issues for your collector?s car club can seem like a nightmare at times, but if you work on organizing these events ahead of time, it really is not so bad. It is also very important to ensure that you have all of the policies and guidelines for elections noted down in the clubs bylaws to ensure that everyone is well aware of the process.

When you are deciding to start electing officer it is very important to decide what officers you want or need. Most clubs at a minimum have a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Some clubs may have additional officers as well, but this is the general list of officers. Additionally, if your club is very small then you can omit the Vice President; however, this is typically a matter of personal preference and the choice of the club itself. There are no strict and hard fast rules that must be followed.

Most clubs opt to make it public knowledge exactly when election time is, and they also tend to encourage all members to appear. This is generally when the club will offer prizes and raffles as well for those who attend the meetings that determine the officers for the next year. These is not always effective, but it is generally very helpful in encouraging additional members to attend meetings.

Another consideration that you need is to decide when club officers will take office. Many clubs have members taking office around the first of the year, but hold elections in the fall time before the holidays are a major concern. However, other clubs have decided to do elections and instatement of new officers in the summer and fall to completely avoid the holiday hassles. Look to the input of your members if you are completely unsure about when to hold the elections, but always be sure that elections are held at the same time each year for easy remembering.

It is also a wise decision to have some guidelines about who is allowed to serve as an officer. This is usually just based on the minimum age of 18, as well as a period of required membership before someone is eligible to hold an office. The exact requirements that you stipulate can depend on your circumstances and you may choose to add additional requirements as well depending on the needs of your club.

Look to other clubs that are similar if you need some ideas about exactly what you do and do not need. You may discover if your club is very large that only 3-4 officers cannot handle all of the tasks for the club without severely cutting into their family time. If this occurs, it may be necessary to create additional officers as they are needed to ensure that everyone is able to do their job effectively without cutting into other priorities that they have.

It is also important to ensure you make arrangements in the event that someone is not able to fulfill their office for any reason. Determine what will be in place to fill the emptied position, will someone be appointed, or will the members of the club hold a special election to fill the position. Having all of this information readily available is important to ensure that everything is open and everyone is aware of their rights and responsibilities.

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Organizing the Club Meetings

The task of organizing and scheduling a meeting can seem like a huge hassle but they are part of the normal routine for a car club president. The exact matters that are discussed at each meeting can vary, but having a good idea of what you are going to talk about can help make the process go as smoothly as possible. Ensure that you plan your meetings ahead as much as possible so that they go also go as smoothly as possible.

One of the main issues that clubs talk about is a quick reading of the minutes from the previous meeting. This is generally done by the Secretary for the club; however, there are times when someone else is given that job instead. Additionally, someone is responsible for taking a roll call to see who is attending the meetings and who is not. These records are generally kept for at least a year in the event that they are necessary so it is important to ensure that this is done properly.

Other issues that are raised during meetings are often talks and plans about events and activities that are in the near future. For example, most people tend to start planning and organizing car shows, and even races at least two months in advance. This means that issues are usually discussed at meetings at least a month before this time so members can all discuss potential plans and decide who will be doing what for the event.

Additional matters can include any charity runs that are coming up, or any other events that the club is planning to participate in that are not directly hosted by the club. For example, if the club always attends a car show that is sponsored by another car club this would be discussed at a meeting held before the show so that everyone can ask questions and all details can be clearly communicated to the members.

During the time of year when the club has elected to hold elections it is very important to ensure that time is scheduled for the nomination process as well as the election process. Without the time scheduled for this it is often quite easy to overlook and this can leave the club scrambling to schedule emergency meetings to ensure that elections are properly handled.

Another important issue at many meetings is the various news items that arise, such as talking about car shows, races and even sales that are going on that can be of great interest to members. For example, if a detailing shop was running a huge special right before a car show it would be worth mentioning to members for those who did not have time to detail their vehicle themselves.

Most clubs also reserve a bit of time during each meeting for the club treasurer to discuss the finances of the club. This allows the club members to all be fully aware of what the money paid in dues goes for, and ensure that funds are being properly managed. This serves primarily as a system of checks and balances to make most people feel much better, as well as ensure that the treasurer is properly handling the money.

Most clubs are able to handle all of their business in approximately an hour once a month or so. There are some clubs that meet much more often, but the majority are able to wrap business up pretty quickly so that everyone can move along with other plans. With a well organized meeting agenda it is possible to speed the meeting greatly and still cover all of the essentials.

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Great Places to Hold Meetings

Car clubs are always tons of fun, but part of the problem with meetings is deciding where to hold the meeting. Very few car clubs have the ability or resources to rent or build their own building to handle all of their members who attend the meetings. This leaves you with the problem of deciding where you can hold meetings. Of course, you need a place with enough room for all of the members, as well as plenty of room for parking to ensure that everyone can attend who wants to.

This can sometimes be a problem, but with a bit of creative thinking it is possible to locate the space that you need. Many car clubs look to places such as libraries, schools, churches, and even some restaurants for space to meet. There are some benefits to looking around for space at these types of places and there are some disadvantages as well.

If your club plans on meeting during dinner hours it may be a convenient idea to meet at a local restaurant that has space. This would allow people to eat while the meeting is going on and help save some time. Peoples? lives are very busy lately and being able to save a bit of time can be a huge help and is a great way to be considerate of the time that your members have. It is also important to consider the type of restaurant. Choosing a nice restaurant may sound appealing, but it is important to choose something that is enjoyable by the majority of people and also a reasonable price. Choosing the most expensive steakhouse in town is not wise since it may be outside of many people?s budgets. Additionally, if many members like to bring their children look for a place that can offer foods that kids will like.

If you choose a school then you have the benefit of having a playground available for those who bring their children to meetings. This can be a huge help especially for younger children and you can usually use the space for free so that you are not using up any of the clubs resources on meeting spaces.

Some of the other options that are available include car parts stores, meeting centers, and even local parts when the weather is nice. Look to ensure that regardless of where you choose for meeting locations there is enough room for everyone that you think will be attending. Choosing a small local restaurant that can seat 20 people is great, but not so great if you anticipate 100 people showing up for the meeting. Additionally, ensuring that there is plenty of parking is an essential process. Most people drive their prized cars to meetings; they do not want their car damaged while in a parking lot so you must ensure that there is enough space for everyone to fit comfortably.

Once you have found a great place to hold your meetings it is probably a wise idea to use the same location the majority of the time. This will help to reduce the confusion that members have over the locations of meetings and also allow you to work out a good routine with the location so that meetings can go much smoother and be a great event that is tons of fun.

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