IH Clubs

[cookiedan@domain.elided (Daniel Nees)]

I want to print an exerp from the Falcon Club of America, My dad is a
member, newsletter. It is relevant to a certain extent. 
   Many years ago, I was like most new members that attend Falcon (IH)
meets. I would check out 'The Falcon (IH) Newsletter' to see if there
were any meets in my area that week (never planned ahead). When I went
to a meet, I would back my car (truck) into a space, get out and see how
straight I was parked. If it was not parked straight, I would have to
get back in and make it as straight and in line as possible. I'd get the
glass cleaner out and get all those bugs off the windshield and front
bumper. Wipe down the dash and maybe get the tar remover out if I went
through a construction zone. 
   After the whole ritual was over I would get out my lawn chairs and
cooler and sit behind my car. I would engage in some serious Falcon
discussion. Lots of good information is exchanged at our Falcon meets. I
learned lots of facts and inportant information at these meets.
Sometimes I wished I would have recorded some of the discussions.
   There were a few people walking around getting information from
everyone that attended the meet. I found out later that these people
were some of the officers of the local Falcon Chapter. They were
recording the names and cars of everyone that attended the meet. This
information was published intheir chapter newsletter the following
month. I also discovered that they were very organised. They had a
meeting at 1:00PM at every meet to keep their club members informed. At
this meeting they talked about what was going on in the club. They also
let everyone know what car shows the chapter was attending as a group.
   <snip>
   After attending a few meets I decided to join the local chapter. This
was one of my better decisions. I have learned a lot about all Falcon
models and years. I couldn't believe how many people were interested in
looking at my car, It's no AACA winner. It's just my old Falcon. We have
a great time at meets and my wife and I have made a lot of good friends.
I started coming to many of the meets so they asked me to be an officer.
I thought, why not, I'll give some of my time to this fun project. I
serve on committees at my church and school. Why not help out here in
the Falcon Club?
   Well, now I'm an officer. There's no oak desk to prop my feet up on
and whale out orders to my secretary. Maybe a TV table and a folding
chair in the corner of my bedroom.
   There's no corperate center or conference room to meet in, just a
corner booth at Denney's.
   The company car is non existent.
   There are no monetary benifits, no stock dividens. The only benifit
is seeing those rows of Falcons show up several times a year and the
warm fellowship from the members.
  <snip>
   Now I realize how much work it takes to plan a whoile year of Falcon
meets and run a Regional show. I guess you never know until you walk in
someone else's shoes. I didn't realize how much work these people were
doing.
   <snip>
   So the next time there is a need for officers in your chapter or even
at the national level, don't look down at the ground or act like you're
busy cleaning grease out of your finger nails. Raise your hand and
nominate the person next to you.
I can't beleive I said that!!!!!
   I guess that's because that's what most people do. What you really
should do is let someone know that you are interested in the position
and have them nominate you. You could also let one of the officers know
you are interested in the job. Ask one of your officers for a written
description on the duties for each position. That way there are no
surprises later. It's always good to talk to the person holding the
position that you're interested in for information about the job.
   If you don't want to be an officer in your club, volunteer to do some
of the other jobs in your club. Organize a meet in your area, or
volunteer and take charge of one of the many jobs at a regional or
national meet. This club is every member's club. If all of us pitch in
and do a little work it won't be a burden for just a few people. 
   We should not let the work in the club overwelm us. Everyone in the
club should realize that this is supposed to be fun. We want to take it
serious but not so serious that it adds stress to our lives. We all have
enough of that at work. I don't want to down play our club, but we are
not saving lives here or making world peace. This is a hobby. As stated
in every newsletter, "We are dedicated to preserving the Falcon
Automobile" Let's make it fun!
Bruce A. Wolfe, President Keystone Chapter, Falcon Club Of America
(reprinted without permission)

   I thought this was very apropo to our IH community as well. You may
take this any way you want. I just thought it would inspire you to help
your local club be much better than it is.     

Dan Nees
cookiedan@domain.elided

   1979 Scout II 345, Auto, 3.07's, Lexan window's in TravelTop. One
Ugly and Trusty Truck!

1971 Scout II 304, D30/44, D20, power steering.

http://members.tripod.com/~IHCaholic/scoutindex.html