Has it been THAT long???

I apologize for letting this one get away. Life...well, you know the story.

To update since October, we've had our Association meeting in Pennsylvania. Representing the Northeast Region, I went there with the issues that are pressing our region the hardest; land and money. Here's the text of the speech I gave for those that haven't seen it yet;

The winds of change are blowing.
Throughout the world economies are crippled and with that, every aspect of our lives is affected. This past year we’ve witnessed first hand what it’s doing to our beloved past time; membership numbers are dropping, volunteer hours falling off, even whole clubs ready to implode. It’s been a year where our Region has been hurt by the economy in such a way that members are now looking harder than ever at how far their dues go and for what. We’re thinking far outside the box now, trying to appeal to the needs of the members, beyond the recreation itself.

Since last year when I spoke, the Northeast Region has instituted numerous changes and policies that I think have begun to create a much more appealing organization. Mentioned in the spring report, we’ve cataloged each club’s trail ride schedule into a Region calendar. This makes it much easier to track trail usage and find club conflicts, easing over-crowding on the few trails we have. We’ve co-created a new website with the Northeast Association of Four Wheel Drive Clubs, called the North East Trails and Roads Coalition (or NETRoC). This website is set up to help foster good relations between the two Associations, create non-binding trail policy, and disseminate trail and land action alerts much faster than before.

At the Region’s October meeting we implemented many new changes for the immediate and long term future of our organization. Beginning with a comprehensive, first ever budget projection, we outlined our income and expenses to the end of 2009 to help format what we’re able to do and what our financial needs would be. This is the backbone of our programs, yet still flexible in its format.

We’ve created a Club Insurance Subsidy Program whereby EC4WDA Northeast will subsidize $100 toward the purchase of general liability insurance for individual clubs. Anticipating matching funds from our parent organization, we’ll be making insurance a reality for many uninsured clubs throughout the Northeast.

We’ve instituted a partial refund policy for clubs based on trail scheduling and availability. In a nutshell, if a club gets bumped from the schedule through no fault of their own, they’ll get a partial refund of their Region dues.

To create more of an interest in keeping these dates available and possibly allowing more runs, our Region has created a Trail Point of Contact/Club Incentive Program, giving cash back to the people who work at obtaining property permission, cutting the trails, and keeping the landowners happy.

Beginning in 2010, EC4WDA Northeast Region (D) will be offering to its members and immediate family members a College Scholarship Program. While details will be worked out during 2009, we hope to award the first $500 scholarship to one lucky recipient in early 2010 and help with one of the most important, yet most expensive parts of our lives.

The most difficult issues facing our Region are retention, land, and of course money. With an organization such as the NEA operating in the Northeast also, we face the challenge of making our Region the best it can be if we want to retain our member clubs. With a dues structure that’s equal to our Region dues, yet 64% cheaper than our overall EC4WDA dues, even if we offered the exact things the NEA offers we’re being “out-priced” by our “competitor”. The only way to change this is to better our product, of which I’ve already described, or lower our dues across the board to stay relative.

A combination of both would be ideal. Our priority shouldn’t be membership numbers, the total clubs under our umbrella, nor the amount of money in our coffers. It’s about being the best Association we can be. Financially affordable, offering as much as we can with the manpower and money we have, and keeping it enjoyable. Focus on the members more, on our volunteers more, and especially our sponsors, instead of so much on luring potential members and clubs into our organization. Make our current members excited to be here and potential members will notice. Doing that, the Association sells itself and we all win.

Steven J. Alheim
Chairman – EC4WDA Northeast Region (D)

We're continually striving to make sure our clubs are getting the most they can for the dues they pay, and remember that YOU are EC4WDA and by helping other clubs, all clubs benefit.

The next Region meeting is being held January 18th at EVB in Danbury, CT from 10am to 2pm. JT4x4 is scheduled to bring breakfast and I'll have an agenda posted on the forum by the end of the month.

REMEMBER: We'll be doing our Trail Lottery at the January meeting. Open dates for private property will be posted THIS WEEK.

Steve A.

Silence isn't as silent as you think.

The Region newsletter hit a snag recently. Mainly, it hasn't been too much of a priority, so it may or may not be published in time for distribution at the Region meeting. I'm no longer asking for anyone to step up to be the editor because I think it may all be falling on deaf ears anyway. It'll be published so long as I find the time or someone offers, but I don't see that in the future.

Gas is down, economy is down, attendance is down, motivation is down, membership is down, and communication is down. I hope not only do the delegates bring their complaints, but also their suggestions on how to help turn it around throughout the sport. Clubs and Associations all over the U.S. are in a state of upheaval, and now is not the time to throw in the towel, quit, or start yet another organization that suits your needs.

Now is the time to put your head down, buck the trends, face the wind, and help guide us through the changes that need to be made.

The next EC4WDA Northeast Region (D) meeting will be held at EVB in Danbury CT. I've posted the agenda and details on the EC4WDA forum for all the club delegates to distribute as needed. I'm looking forward to this meeting as it'll set the tone for the Association meeting in November as well as 2009 (and perhaps beyond that).

Reform, Re-org, and Renew

In an effort to keep every member of EC4WDA Northeast Region (D) informed and up-to-date on the activity of your Association, we started this blog back in the spring. Well, it got away from me and instead of keeping the updates coming; I lost the focus of it. While I’ve heard from clubs outside of our Region express the blog was informative and motivational to them, the primary goal for you, the members, got lost. So let’s get back to business!

Trailfest 2008: It came together finally and proved to be a big hit! Special thanks to Don Roy of HV4W. He worked extremely hard zipping it all together into one event and we all learned a great deal from it. Thank you to ALL our Region volunteers for coming together for this, and thanks to ALL the participants for coming! 2009 planning is underway and we’ll be that much better as a result. We’ll definitely have an easier registration, a pricing level that will be more affordable, more t-shirts, and more raffle items!

Newsletter: Our newsletters have been going out during the month of the Region meetings. I’d like to bump it up to at least two weeks prior to make distribution easier (and cheaper!). Therefore, the October newsletter will be printed by the end of September, with articles and advertisements due no later than September 15th. Please spread the word, and if your business is interested in advertising in the Trail Register, email me at the address listed here on the “profile”.
The newsletter format is set, most content is driven from outside the Region with some from member clubs, and advertiser rates are posted. What we need now is an editor to pull it together and print it. If you’re interested in giving back to your clubs and your Region (not to mention you get a seat on the Region BOD as Region D Editor), please let me know. I’ll be sure the transition is seamless and you won’t get left “holding the bag”.

October Region Meeting: The October meeting is just over a month away (October 19th), but this meeting will be the foundation to start building into 2009 as January is the “action” month. The tentative agenda will be posted on our members’ forum in the next few weeks, so if you or your club has something to add to it, send it in so we can allocate sufficient time to address it.
We’re moving the meeting to EVB in Danbury CT. (EVB is an active supporter of OHV recreation and a proud sponsor of our Region.) While our meetings have been set at 4 hours for as long as I can remember, I’d like to see it expanded to 5 hours (10am to 3pm). Having it at the EVB building will allow us more flexibility if we decide to do this, and also allow us to have a much more productive meeting where important decisions can be thoroughly discussed AND ACTED ON. The October meeting will only run 4 hours however.
In anticipation of 2009, I need each club delegate to work out what they’d like to see from the Association and the Region. Since this meeting is a precursor to our November Association meeting, it allows me a chance to take some of our Region concerns and comments to the national level. I know what I’d like to see from above, but I need your input to make it work of you. Outline your goals and critiques and give us all a chance to make it happen.
We’re already planning Region-sponsored trail work for next year. This will be in place by the time your club schedules start forming, so please make sure to check Region events before you fill in the dates. Of course it’s not required, but it’ll make volunteering for these “parties” much easier to plan for.
Also, our private property “policy” regarding inter-club rides will be undergoing a reform to allow easier scheduling with fewer conflicts. One idea being floated is a calendar “lottery”, whereas each POC will release open dates and clubs will pick which ones they want. Then depending on if a date has multiple clubs wanting it, we’ll select it from a hat in January. We certainly don’t want the POC’s to feel like tour guides all year, so please don’t expect an enormous amount of open dates for each trail. We’re looking to make it fair and equitable for all the clubs involved. Perhaps even an “auction” for desired trails and dates?

During the course of the next few months we’re also going to be seeing the Land Use re-organization mentioned in an earlier post be implemented, as well as instill an aggressive public relations branch.

We need to fill the Community Service position also. Please send in your name if you're interested.

On a final note, it goes without saying (but I’ll say it), EC4WDA Northeast Region (D) has a NO ALCOHOL ON THE TRAIL policy for Region events.
Please do not drink on the trail. It’s a bad idea.

So there's a snapshot of your Region this month. You can reach me anytime at my email address! I need to hear what you need to say!

PUSH THROUGH IT!!!

If we all did the things we are capable of doing we would
literally astound ourselves.

Thomas Alva Edison

Everybody knows what the focus of 4x4 clubs is; wheeling. But what happens when the wheeling just isn’t enough? Should we fight the tide of membership loss and start pushing ways to retain the numbers or should we accept the change and work with the numbers we end up with? Man, those are some difficult questions really. Let’s look at both of ‘em.

Acceptance and decline:
So the membership numbers are falling off, sometimes in droves. As I’ve stated before, there are numerous reasons why this happens; the economy, trail closures, personal reasons, politics, etc. Remember that the reason there’s a club to begin with is that we’re a group of guys and gals that enjoy what we do, and that’s go wheelin’! So when someone…or quite of few someone’s, no longer enjoy it or simply can’t go during the club’s trail rides, the numbers shrink. To choose this course to let run, we can weigh some of our positives and negatives:
Negatives –
Fewer volunteers for events, charity work, trail work, etc.
Fewer members mean less money in our accounts. If we’re actually doing something with that money, that could be a big negative. If it’s not doing much, trim what expenses you can…like a PO Box or newsletter or stickers. Big events might be out of the question of course.
Fewer members mean fewer voices on our political issues. That is probably the worst thing to happen. We need everyone to be involved when it comes to our representation!
Positives –
Fewer members mean fewer trail users mean easier trail rides and scheduling (mostly).
Less “paperwork” dealing with the membership and less “administration”.
Generally, fewer people means it’ll be a little easier (again, for the most part).

Retain and grow:
So the membership numbers are falling off, sometimes in droves (still). Look at it like a business, with customers, employees, services, etc.
Negatives –
It takes a lot of hard work to keep the group together during good times, let alone the hard.
Your “service” better be worth it.
Your application process may become lax or too lenient.
Positives –
There’s strength in numbers!
You’re resolving to continue could lead to a renewed interest in the club, region, or anything really.

There’s really no right answer, but every club and most organizations will go through this all. Let’s look at ways to ride it out or take it by the horns;

Money: Perhaps a dues structure to take advantage of everyone’s passion without compromising their membership? For example, limited membership benefits such as forum access or events at a lower cost to the member. If $50 a year gets you full membership, perhaps a $30 membership would get you just the forum access but no member rides. Or $20 or $10 or even free…the key here is to retain an active number of voices within our organizations and also, not to lose friends and acquaintances based on money alone. Eventually things will get better and those members won’t feel as alienated later on.

Politics: There’s just no way around this one. We’re all going to get ticked at other members and they’re all going to get ticked at you. How you handle it is the key. Learning to disagree AND ACCEPT THE OUTCOME is very difficult. Hell, I’ve damn near tossed in the towel countless times, pretty recently too! LISTEN to what the club wants, whether you’re the club president or just a member…LISTEN. If it’s one item like where to wheel this weekend, suck it up. If it’s the entire course of the club’s future, speak up. Then if it still doesn’t go your way, run for office! Call people, talk to everyone, convince them WHY you’re way is better! DON’T JUST QUIT.

Trails: There just really aren’t enough, are there? This is the Holy Grail right here. I got nothin’

Incentives: A way to help attendance is FREE STUFF! Gas cards, 50/50’s (yeah, not really free, but kinda!), old t-shirts, etc. Give people a reason to show up. Kill off some of the formalities if need be, at least once in a while.

Diversify: One way to draw new members with similar interests is to open up the club to other user groups. The obvious ones being motorized users, but thinking outside the box would be to enlist the members of organizations that may have the same issues you do; like government land closures and the anti-access groups. Organizations like equestrian, ATV, OHM's...they need trails too. Just be sure the trails you may offer are just as open to them as the seat you offer at the table. Step away and "think outside the box" is the point.

Remember, during difficult times it can become almost impossible. DON’T GIVE UP! Think like a lighthouse; sure, you can shut off the light if you don’t see any boats, but WHAT ABOUT THE BOATS STILL OUT THERE??? Seriously, there’s always a boat on the horizon, or an up and coming OHV’er ready to learn more. Always. Bring ‘em in as far as you can, then smack ‘em with a rock and tell them to friggin help ya with dinner once in a while.

On to the specifics;

TRAILFEST 2008 IS ALMOST HERE!!! Are you frikkin' kidding me?

This week is make or break time for the event I feel.

We've only received a small number of registrations, so the opportunity to win something at the raffle will be pretty damn good. T-shirts are iffy right now based on the number of registrants, though. Remember to support your Region! If you can’t make it, THEN HELP BY SPREADING THE WORD PLEASE!

http://www.ec4wda.org/regiond/TF08/TF08_reg.pdf

4WD TRAILFEST 2008 AUGUST 15-17, WINDSOR CT
Book your room today! http://www.clarionhotel.com/

Clarion Inn & Suites of East Windsor
161 Bridge Street, East Windsor CT 06088

The July newsletter is out. Find it online at http://www.ec4wda.org/regiond/doc/july08_trailregister.pdf

If you want hardcopies, email me.

Keep together out there. We really can’t afford not to right now.

In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.

Albert Einstein

Past, Present, and Future

Looking back...

By now you've seen (I hope) Dave's Land Use Blog referencing the closures in CT, the DEC changes in the wind in NY, and the MA legislation. REMEMBER TO WRITE IN AND THEN CALL ABOUT THE ISSUES THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO US! We constantly ask ourselves "How do the greenies get us everytime?". It's obvious; they get mad, get organized, and ACT!!! We're getting outgunned on the front. When we let alerts slip through our emails or ignore the issues, we're getting outflanked from the sides. And when we fail to act at all until it's too late, we getting hit from behind. How can we hope to achieve our goals if we don't ACT? We can't.

Ever see "Bug's Life"? One ant gets his tail kicked...until the rest actually step up.

Find out who YOU should write to at http://www.votesmart.org/

Here in the present...

The July newsletter is available for download now at http://www.ec4wda.org/regiond/doc/july08_trailregister.pdf . As mentioned at the Region meeting in June, the hardcopy prints will be mailed out the club presidents should they request them, so contact me if you'd like them sent for your members.

The Trailfest registration is now available at http://www.ec4wda.org/regiond/TF08/TF08_reg.pdf. Understanding that we're in a time of belt-tightening, Trailfest is still an enormous value. Trails, t-shirts, a full dinner banquet, dash plaque, and a raffle to name a few. Please help support your entire Region by attending the re-birth of our premier event here. Check out the newsletter for a chance to win free tickets!

On to the future...

EC4WDA-North East (D) will be undergoing an organizational change sometime this year. The premise is simple; get more out of the members based on their interests and abilities while streamlining many of the facets of our Land Use "branch". Instead of burdening an already taxed member base, I'm hoping to spread the workload over a greater area.

As it works now, each club should have a Land Use representative that organizes with other clubs within our region via the State Land Use Chair. Each state has an individual State Land Use Chairman that reports to Dave Brill, our Region Land Use Chair. The Land Use reps oversee (or should at least) the issues that deal with their respective state, be it trail research, documenting, scouting, closures, trail maintenance, etc., getting their information directly from each club. That's alot of information for one guy to coordinate! Then by the time it gets up to the Region, there's alot of stuff to do. The less that gets done at the "ground level", the more that NEEDS to get done further up the ladder. Obviously, there'll be some stuff that gets lost in the shuffle or prioritized off the list, especially as our personal lives necessitate.

Now, what our proposal seeks to do is split these responsibilities to the members with the best resources (time, computer, vehicle, etc) to handle them.

Each club should still have their own Land Use representative, dealing at the ground level with local trails, trail issues, and (lest we forget) obtaining land. At the State level, the Land Use Chairman (LU) will now focus on political action items pertinent to our sport, as well as the research and documentation of new and existing trails within their state. Eventually I'd like to see trail "histories" available showing what we've done for each road and trail, including cleanups and research, legality and surveys. Action Alerts are another important item the State Land Use Chair should focus on, sending these to Dave AND up to the Sema Action Network and BRC. This will be a great fit for someone with good computer skills, a desire to sit in front of it, and interested in the political stuff.
The second part of the split will be the State Trails Coordinator (TC). I'd like to see this person coordinating our trail cuts, scouting, and trail maintenance amongst our clubs...the "Field Team" part of Land Use. Having a vehicle is a plus!
We'll still be sending our stuff up to the Region LU Chair, but I hope this decreases the amount of responsibility on each member's backs as it is now. Plus we'll have some cool new titles to hand out!

I've no idea on the date we'll implement this as there are a few tweaks to make.

Also, we're toying with the idea of having a Region multi-day meeting one weekend a year, incorporating a trail ride for participating delegates.

Starting at the last meeting, the North East Region has begun a "Door Prize" incentive program for delegates; we gave away a $50 check just for attending!

Finally, CHECK THE SCHEDULE OFTEN!

Where do you go for motivation?

The last month and a half or so things have slowed to a crawl in our region. Trail rides, communication, volunteering; they’ve all been shelved for one reason or another. Unfortunately, my motivation tanked recently and I couldn't find the ladder to get out of that hole. I have a general feeling that it's a wider issue than me, too.

I know the price of gas has many of us shaking our heads as we re-schedule rides in favor of closer ones or just cancel them altogether. It’s going to create a shake-up in our activities and sooner or later a shake-up in our membership. I'm hoping to brainstorm soon with some of you on ways to help us all out and continue our current trend of growth and communication.
Keep an eye out for those wonderful tidbits of info on the web concerning saving gas. They pop up quite often, but I’ll hit on a few here;

• Fill up in the morning before fuel vapors and condensation develop. Not sure what effect it’ll actually have, but I read it somewhere so it must be true.
• Slow down! On the convoy to the trailhead, keep it below 70mph (or whatever the limit is of course). Start slow, speed up gradually, and slow down well before your stop.
• Keep your tires inflated on the road. It’ll make a HUGE difference when dealing with over-sized tires that have more rolling resistance to begin with.
• Get your gas in Vermont. Wow, it’s like 20 cents difference. What the hell?

I’m no fuel expert obviously, but if something seems like it’ll save you a few bucks a week, give it a shot. I started carpooling to work and I’m saving around $20 a week now. Not too shabby. Plus I can brag my carbon footprint can fit up a…nevermind.

Getting members “politicized”? Most of you just want to wheel, but there are a few that want to wheel and make a difference to the community at the same time. There’s nothing wrong with either position and we all cross the line in both directions. Last year I wheeled my tail off without much input in the club I’m in. This year it’s the opposite. Yeah, having a Jeep in the driveway down to the frame makes it easy to change focus, too. The point being is that, like not being able to please everyone all the time, you can’t be expected to “spearhead the cause” all the time either. Motivation ebbs and sways, changing as personal or club politics create unfavorable feelings or difficult circumstances. In some cases, all it takes is one person to create the issue; fellow member, other club member, wife, kids, boss. Then one morning you realize (or someone helps you realize) your priorities. I learned long ago that life is like trying to keep plates spinning on a stick; there are only so many you can keep spinning at the same time. The more you focus on the few, the more you’ll risk losing others. And the wobbly ones can really tick ya off, too. Let those ones fall.

I haven’t been as active in the past 6 weeks or so. Lots of plates spinning and not all OHV related. Some of those plates were motivation killers, too, so I understand when someone says they can’t make a meeting or trail cut. Being a member of a club shouldn’t make you feel obligated to volunteer for every event, position, or opportunity that gets brought up. If each member could commit to one or two a year though…imagine the things we could accomplish!
And if one of your club’s elected officials can’t make an event or isn’t around as much, give ‘em a break if you could. Better yet, give ‘em a hand. We all need one sooner or later. I babble...

The next Region meeting is in July, which means our quarterly newsletter will be getting put together soon. We have one sponsor on board already but if you know of one that would be interested, please pass along the information and a copy of our April issue. Check the Region website for the link. We still need a full-time editor, so contact me if you’re interested.

We’re still working on the 2008 goals we set out months ago; Trailfest, the Economic Assessment, by-law updates, advertising, member packets, Region publications, etc. Our July agenda looks to be quite busy as the people involved with these items report on the updates.

A brighter outlook, a relaxed attitude, and priorities reset, I look forward to relaxing on the trail soon. Hope to see you all out there eventually!

Let's all try to find the ladder out of this damn hole! (If you aren't having that problem, grab someone who is and pull 'em up!)

Ups, downs, and in betweens

Next Region meeting is scheduled for June 22nd. Agenda will be done by the end of May. If you have something you’d like to add to it, email me so we can schedule the time to include it. One item of concern is the private trail network and our POC’s, as well as by-law issues.

Remember to plan your trip to Trailfest soon and book your rooms. More information can be found by emailing Bruce at organizeordie24@snet.net Subject: TRAILFEST.

We’re already working on the July issue of our newsletter. However, I just want to remind everyone I had no intention of doing it full-time. We’re still looking for a Region Newsletter Editor so please, if you’re interested in helping or contributing to it, please let me know.

Also, if anyone has interest in working on the new 4x4 What’s the Score book or helping on the Economic Assessment, email me or call. We've got things on tap, we just need more resources to pull from and volunteers are the key to our growth and the growth of our sport.

Hand outs and more quick hits!!!

There's alot of things on the table right now after attending the Association meetings and then the Region meetings a week later.

The Economic Assessment, somewhat in a state of disarray, is now back on track to be completed within few months.

Hand outs at the Region meeting:

The Region Newsletter was handed out in hardcopy to all the club delegates at the Region meeting April 20th. It's also online at http://www.ec4wda.org/regiond/doc/trail_register.pdf

Our 2008 Jeep Raffle tickets were distributed at the meeting, so contact your club presidents to get your tickets. They're only $5.00 each and just 8000 will be sold!

***Club presidents, please return the stubs and money to me at PO BOX 1546, South Glens Falls, NY 12803 or during upcoming Region meetings***

Membership directories were handed out also to club representatives. Contact your club president if you didn't get yours. Also, we have stickers but were unable to get them out to everybody, so at the next meeting we'll be sure to have those again.

Dave had an informational "Trails in Trouble" DVD for distribution to all EC4WDA clubs.

At the Association meeting, we discussed the need for more advertising on behalf of our sport, and Barry Kellerman mentioned that EC will pursue creating, producing, or distributing an informational video on the basics of 4 wheeling.

The Association newsletter looks like it'll get a major makeover as well. Look for that next issue soon!

Bruce Conroy has stepped up to lead our Trailfest 2008 Team. Questions and volunteers can contact him for more information at organizeordie24@snet.net Subject: TRAILFEST

With the difficulties of getting and keeping good leaders in place for our clubs and our Region, we're going to be creating a Region and club-specific leadership course or seminar to begin next year. Many times when club elections occur, an often heard reply to "Why don't you run?" is "I don't know what to do or expect." Hopefully we'll get some interest in attending and the people who have experience as club and/or region representatives will step up to help shape the next generation of leaders.

Now that Trail Season is in high gear, remember to be smart, drive safely, and stay legal! See you out there!

Reminder

EC4WDA Northeast Region (D) quarterly meeting is Sunday, April 20th in Brookfield, CT from 10am to 2pm. If you are a club delegate or officer, the agenda is posted HERE.

Adirondack Jeeps will be providing coffee/donuts.

New clubs interested in attending please contact me at adktj@adirondackjeeps.com

From Dubois PA

This weekend is the Association meeting in Dubois. There's plenty for us to do, and I hope to come back with a few things to help our region even more. First, the newsletter...

The April (2nd quarter) newsletter is printed and ready to go. We were looking to have it mailed to each member, but after seeing the cost of postage and the lack of timely advertisers, I've decided to hand out individual newsletters at the Region meeting next week and let the club delegates distribute them. Also, the newsletter in pdf format will be available for download next week direct from the region website. We did have two advertisers interested right away, but missed the deadline by a week. Since it was sent to the printer, we've heard from 4 more interested businesses which makes our July issue practically paid for!

Vermonster is fast approaching, so PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD! Randy needs our support and as a MAJOR sponsor of our Trailfest 08, we should do just that. Visit the website for more information: http://www.vermonster4x4.com/

As I said earlier, this weekend I'll be trying to get more EC4WDA publications into the hands of the clubs and also trying to get more funds for our Region to advertise more. More on that next week (if it happens at all).

At the meeting, each Region will be giving our report. The Northeast Region report follows (basically a recap of the last few months);

April 2008

The Northeast Region is in overdrive and the upheaval is noticeable. Since taking the helm a few short months ago, we’ve pushed the gas pedal to the floor and seen unbelievable returns in the process!

Immediately after my election to Chairman we began the process of increasing public awareness of our organization, our clubs, and our members. The first item we addressed was the need to create a more recognizable “brand”. It was determined that, because the general public will never understand what “Region D” means, we altered our name and Region logo to “East Coast 4 Wheel Drive Association Northeast Region (D)”. This change brings to focus our area of operation and creates an image easily identifiable to the public and legislators alike. Each club was then asked to add EC4WDA specific meta-tags to their websites to increase the amount of search engine “hits”, bringing EC4WDA to the top of sites such as Yahoo and Google. As well as internal changes, cosmetic changes will be researched also, such as adding EC4WDA to each individual club logo if possible. The goal of this effort is to help pull together each club into a recognizable national organization.

The second major initiative we’ve pushed for is opening better lines of communication with the other major association in the Northeast, the North East Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs (NEA4WDC). Together with the key players of the NEA, we’ve created NETMaP; the NorthEast Trails Management Plan. Under this plan, all public roads currently being utilized in support of our recreation are “adopted” by member clubs of each organization. As stewards of these trails, clubs can report on environmental problem areas, publicity items, and scheduling conflicts. These clubs become our first line of defense in dealing with issues that often occur and may need immediate attention. Volunteer work groups can then be called to action quicker and organized better. Currently, this is in a trial phase using only two trails, but recent events have shown the plan can work and will most likely be adopted Region-wide. We’ve also tentatively agreed to place strategic public advertisements in local papers to increase awareness of our organizations and our responsibilities to keep our trails open and maintained.

The success of NETMaP depends on the third initiative of our Region; club scheduling. In the past we’ve had numerous clubs posting schedules in a number of areas and not always including the trail name and/or location. This year that changed with the adoption of our Trail Schedule Matrix. With each club doing an outstanding job of stepping up and submitting their schedules, Chris Ryan of Underground Jeeps compiled the information into an easy to read table showing what club will be where and when. This information is an invaluable tool when identifying over-used trails or other problem areas, such as illegal activity. Illegal activity such as trespassing has been given a “no-tolerance” label with each club ready to identify and “police our own.” Members and non-members alike now know both Associations will be watch dogs for the trails.

Communication is the key to a successful organization, and as such we’ve also taken steps to foster a more open dialogue with our members and supporters. Early this year, I began a weekly web-log, or Blog, that keeps our membership up to date on Region activities. From tips on leadership skills to organizing trail cleanups, up-to-the-minute event news to individual member accolades, I try to keep the members informed and involved. Shortly after, the Land Use Blog was also created for Dave Brill to bring up-to-the-minute news on trail closures and land use issues. Both have been enthusiastically received throughout the clubs. You can find those by visiting www.ec4wda.org/regiond .

Our first newsletter in years is currently at the printers and should be distributed throughout the entire Region membership by the time you read this. As we all know, getting newsletter items submitted by members can sometimes be difficult, so to attract more input our Region now offers $25 per submitted article/trail report to each member. Although only one article may be used at a time, with four newsletters a year each member has the potential to earn $100 during the course of the year! Newsletter ads help fray the costs of printing, but it will also be available for download if members wish to opt out of the mailing.

As you may know, our largest event of the year, the Essex Junction Jamboree, has been cancelled. Unfortunately a high volume of raffle Jeep ticket sales occur during this event so our efforts are now focusing on other events. One event we’re going to be involved in is Vermonster, and Mike Chapline of Berkshire 4 Wheelers has stepped up to lead our volunteer group in this new endeavor.

Our premier event of the year, On the Rocks, is now once again returning to the northeast in August as Trailfest. Organizing is underway to make that bigger and better than ever before.

With all the accomplishments we’ve done, and with the plans in place to accomplish much more, we haven’t forgotten the most important aspect of our organization; the members. We have welcomed three new clubs into the Region (Underground Jeeps, Cape Cod Jeep Club, and Ocean State Jeepsters) and hundreds of new members in the past few months. Already their involvement, particularly Dan Stepnik, John Songy, and Chris Paul, have shown our Region to be stronger and more capable than ever before. The efforts of Aili McKeen in CT legislation continue to stand out. Her work and experience working with other user groups such as ATV’s continue to show that different trail groups can and should work together when possible. Mike Belben continues to spearhead legislative action in MA, and Dave Brill’s work for our Region and the Association sustains the high standards we now almost take for granted. I’d also like to take a moment to thank some very important people to the Region; people I may have taken for granted before becoming Chairman of Northeast Region (D). Scott Brown, Joan Blair, and Bob Blair all deserve a loud, public thank you for their work for the Region.

It’s an incredibly exciting time to be a part of East Coast 4 Wheel Drive Association, and it’s only looking to get better.

Quick Hits

Did I mention if you submit an article to the newsletter and it gets used we send you $25? A trip report, a position statement, something like that? Unfortunately, the April issue may be rather one-sided, but hopefully next quarter we'll get some real variety.
That said, I HOPE to get the issue out the door the second week of April, with the other two items close behind.

• One of my goals is for each club to have it's own public relations box full of brochures, economic assessments, pr packets, newsletters, magnets, stickers, etc. If you've ever seen the layout at one of the Essex or Bloomsburg shows, that's the idea. So when a club is doing an event, any event, they can have this readily available to show interested parties. In two weeks I'll be heading down to the Association meeting in PA and will press the need for more informational tools to hand out to our members and legislators. There's a wealth of knowledge on tap and we just need to turn the faucet on.

$25 per used article. Twenty five.

• COY HILL CLEANUP scheduled for May 10th. If you're interested, go HERE. If you're not, disregard. Regardless of the reason, a group of volunteers are organized to go in there and clean up the area. It's not about future access but about the damaged image our sport has taken. We all hope it helps, but remember to support the group even if you don't support the event itself. They're doing it for all of us and I thank them.

• The agenda for the April meeting will be out this week. REMEMBER IT'S STILL AT GOLFQUEST, at least for this month. We should be moving the meetings this summer to a place in Danbury if all goes as planned.

• As stated previously, the bus to Dubois was too expensive, but we're looking at renting a small van for carpooling purposes. More posted once the numbers come back.

• If you haven't scheduled a Land Use seminar with Dave yet, I encourage you to do so. It's very informative and actually interesting.

Well that's pretty much it. April is exceedingly busy for me, so once again if I don't get back to you on something, keep buggin' me. ($25 an article).

Listen, lather, rinse, repeat...

• Raffle Jeep tickets should be around soon.
  
• EC4WDA Northeast Region and Adirondack Jeeps are being featured in a political gazette in May, targeting NY's representatives.
• Aili at CTJEEP.ORG has shown me the light regarding some ideas on motorized recreation partnerships. Her work with the ATV'ers in CT is showing extreme promise. And she's working on tweaking the colors of the logo because I'm colorblind!
  
• Mike B. with NTC continues his tireless efforts in MA regarding Land Use and beginning the steps to build relationships with other land interests.
  
• Dave at E4W is extremely busy. So busy his posts are getting shorter I think!!! (by the way, check out their new website!)
• Stacey S. from E4W will have our membership books and stickers out very soon.
  
• UJ, CCJC, OSJ, and JT4x4 are busy getting the entire Region trail information all over the northeast. With gas prices approaching "insane", my hats off to all the clubs doing the scouting. 100% work with 20% return, but it benefits us ALL.
• Dan S. with CCJC is working on the "Trailfest" flyer and it looks great!
  
• Don R. with with HV4W is doing some important legwork pertaining to some trails in NY.
• Mike C. with B4W, as busy as this guy is these days, is working on our joint EC/NEA booth at Vermonster. We'll be showing the "gentle" side of wheeling surrounded by mud drags and monster trucks!
  
• Bob R. at LIOR continues to work out the bugs and tweaks of our new forum and getting us an easier to navigate website.
• I'm still working on the Economic Assessment, 4x4 What's the Score, our newsletter (send articles, pics, and trail reports to me if you have 'em), and more.

Coming April 7th (I hope)!

Winter's blues almost over

What club hasn't seen a little turmoil this winter? Shake ups and shake downs.
I've seen it first hand over and over; during the winter, when trail rides slow down and clubs start to stagnate a little, the focus on club activities turn toward what to do to keep interest levels high. Without the prospect of a trail ride, members sometimes look toward the officers to keep things together while officers may think the members need time to relax.

It's terribly difficult at times. Club officers can be looked at as being too involved and controlling or not involved enough and not caring. Either way it can eat at the identity of the organization.

So what can you do as a member or as a club officer? Listen to each other.

Members, if your club isn't giving you what you want, listen to what it IS giving you. Seriously, sit down for 5 minutes with a pen and paper and write down all that is good AND bad with the club you're involved in. Think about how you fit into each of those items you just wrote down and how you could help in each. If you find something you love about it and want to see more of it, write it down! Something just not working for you and you have an idea? Write it down! Then send it off to your president. How can he know what's he's doing right or wrong? If members are silent, he's doing something right. But really, how does he know? If he's doing something wrong, he'll surely know though. Be tactful, too. It's easier to get an answer and an ally if the person you're directing your critique to isn't on the defense.
Remember that just because you want it, doesn't mean the entire club wants the same thing.
Also, if you're content with the way things are and just wanna wheel, that's great too! Send a note saying "Hey, I like the club. Keep up the good work." That's helping right there.

Officers, if your members (and even the other officers) aren't giving you what you want, listen to what they want from you. It's scary, but ask. Make a call to one or two or all. PM/email a few and ask for opinions on stuff. You may not agree, but if a majority of the club is asking for something, and it's an easy thing to do, seriously consider it. Pick your battles, stand firm in your decisions, BUT realize that the more information you get the more you can consider the situation. Some can call it flip-flopping, but if 2 people tell you something won't work and you agree only to find weeks later 30 people say it does work, it's called making an educated decision.
Keep the members up to date, hand out tasks you and your members would like done, and listen to the feedback from the membership.
It's certainly not a glorious position, and history tells us the chances of club elections being "hotly contested" are few and far between, but as you create a feeling of "ownership" within the club, more members will become owners.

I'd like to see all the EC4WDA Northeast Region presidents and/or reps do the same. Sit down and fire an email off to me with a little feedback. Let me have it; the good and bad. I may not get back to you right away (or I'll just delete your email LOL) and this is the busiest I've been in months, but drop me a line.

Spring is almost here. We've got trails to cut, areas that need signage put up (yup, we've got signs for ya'll!), and of course, politicians to bother!

Now is the time to pull together and get things rolling!

What about private land?

I try not to delve into Land Use at all (Dave covers it quite enough) , but today I will a little.

We're seeing alot of groups ready to get out scouting for new trails and roads this spring, but let's not forget our private property land owners!
When your club goes out looking at a road or one you may have found on a map, remember to look around the area for posted signs away from the road. Many times, these signs (should) have contact information on the owner. Head back to your computer and see if the town or county has a GIS site and try to find the acreage and, in some cases, more info on the property owner. Contact your club president or land use guy and let him know what's up, and spread the word that you may have a property worth contacting. If it's not already a part of our database, go ahead make the move! It's a difficult call to make, like cold calling sales, but the worst thing to happen is they slam the phone down. The best thing? Well, there are ALOT of good things that can happen. If you don't feel comfortable making the initial contact, let someone in on it. We'll certainly help you because it'll definitely help us. Plus, many clubs give free membership for the time the landowner allows the club access!
So get out there and check out the trails, but remember to check the posted signs!

I had thought a great way to promote attendance at our Association meeting in November would be to charter a bus. Well, it's a tad cost prohibitive, so we'll be looking at other ways to make the trip a little more enticing.

This Saturday, March 15th we'll be in Worcester, MA for a second "summit" meeting between your elected reps of EC4WDA-D and the NEA4WDA. Some items we'll hit are NETMaP tweaks, Coy Hill, Ma Bell, some private land issues, signs on the trails, and advertising/PR campaigns.

There's more, but gotta run for now.

Nothing is so bad you give up everything...

If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.
~Buddhist Saying

Sometimes something happens and you realize just how trivial our priorities can be. I'll be back next week. Til then, get your newsletter articles to me at adktj@adirondackjeeps.com

Volunteers

• The April Region meeting has been rescheduled to April 2oth.
• Deadline for submitting articles to the Region newsletter is MARCH 15th. Remember, members will receive $25 for each article you submit that gets published (one per issue). Gas? Membership dues? EC4WDA Northeast Region merchandise? Use it for whatever!
  

___________________________________________

I almost didn't sit to write today. It was one of those days where the creativity just didn't really materialize, but that got me thinking (funny how that works!)

Our greatest asset, as an Association, is our membership. If you could add it up, there are hundreds of years of experience at our fingertips within our Region alone. Each member brings something special, something tangible to their club. It may not be apparent at first, or ever for that matter, but that member should never be discounted or forgotten.
As our calendar fills up and events start to appear on the horizon, our members will be asked to step up and lend a much needed hand. Many already have in regards to TrailFest and I'm greatly appreciative of that. Many more are ready to throw their hat in the ring and help out. Still, some may think that there's already enough help or that they won't have much to offer. Trust me when I say whatever help offered is a welcome gift. This year we'll need people to just sit at a booth handing out pamphlets, or selling raffle tickets someplace, or handing out pins or leaflets or sometimes even t-shirts. If you're not comfortable handling money or selling tickets, we'll still need help elsewhere. And there are times when we do have plenty of volunteers, believe it or not, but knowing somebody can count on you for help is a blessing.
YOU are a key component of this organization. YOU are the force that drives it forward. YOU MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN.

The topic of volunteering frequently comes up in club discussions. "How do we motivate volunteers?" or "How do we get people to volunteer?"
I don't profess to know myself, but here are some great tips I picked up in book somewhere*;

• ASK. Don't wait for help to come to you. Go ahead and ask for help directly.
• Keep the members up to speed on what is going on and encourage idea/responsibility sharing.
  
• Although the chances of having a definitive job description for most of our events is slim, try to lay out as much information about the task as can be done. Then listen for suggestions that could help save time, manpower, and possibly money.
• Publicize and acknowledge the work of the volunteers, even before the event is finished.
  
• Guilt won't work for long.
  
• Volunteers that are dissatisfied with the job most often feel underutilized.

It all begins and ends with volunteering. From getting out the winch for a buddy to sitting here writing this blog, from scouting for trails to posting a really great link, we're all volunteers.

Raise your hand. MAKE IT HAPPEN.

*Pick up "Marketing Nonprofit Programs and Services" by Douglas Herron.

Public Relations (PR)

Public relations is one of the most important aspects of our sport, but unfortunately most of us really don't know how to do it effectively. Keeping our name in the news, generating newsworthy articles, and spreading the word about what we do and who we are makes it easier for us to move around within political circles as well as with private landowners.
There are three major groups to target when dealing with public relations, at least from our point of view; our members and potential members, the general public, and our legislators. Each group has a specific approach we need to apply when trying to promote our sport in a positive light.
While members and potential members demand more "detail", like where the trails are and what events would a club participate in, the general public is unconcerned about that. So we "market" ourselves differently. We promote each club and what is offered, like private acreage, educational classes, and more with most information generated at meetings and online forums. The general public sees our fundraising and community service events in newspaper articles or bulletins. The legislators however, are not "marketed". What we have failed to realize until recently is the importance of getting our word out not only to our members and the general public, but directly to our representatives.
The easiest way for a club to target all three groups is with a newsletter. EC4WDA Northeast Region has, as previously discussed, brought back our long forgotten quarterly newsletter, but let's not stop there. The benefits of a newsletter to the membership are that they are kept up to date and can see specifically what their club is doing. It's also nice to have your rig in print, too! A few extra copies left at your local library, post office, or mailed to your local paper brings your name to people who otherwise may not know what your club is about or even if it exists. And the greatest thing about the newsletter is the ease of putting it in an envelope and mailing it to your state representative's office.
Another item of interest is specifically addressed to the private landowner. OHV OPTIONS - A GUIDE FOR LANDOWNERS isn't loaded with new information, but it is a functional pamphlet that lays out the benefits of allowing OHV use on private property. I encourage members and non-members alike to use it when possible. More information can be found at the Adirondack Jeeps website or by emailing me.
One PR item your Northeast Region has begun work on is an educational, behind the scenes video similar to a Discovery Channel documentary. Storyboarding has just begun, but by using collegiate production classes we'll be able to create a quality video at affordable costs for use in mass media applications.
Our economic assessment is scheduled to be complete by May 1st and the 4x4 What's the Score booklet is scheduled for completion April 1st.
Finally, we have the help of a woman with many years of public relations experience creating media packets and press releases for a corporate headquarters in Portland, Oregon. She has agreed to look through our blogs, minutes, websites, and by-laws to find our "message" and the best way to present it. Being from outside the OHV world, her viewpoints should prove invaluable to our marketing strategy.
It is about marketing ourselves and creating our own "image". We've been the subject of "negative marketing" by the anti-access groups for too long.
Working together, we counter that with the truth today.

Litte, big issues (and still no PR)

How do you ask for volunteers to hold positions in your clubs, disseminate information as you get it, and hope like hell everyone trusts each other and plays nicely?

Small Issue #1. Suggestions.
If I don't get back to you right away, it's not because the suggestion wasn't a good one. I currently spend over an hour a day checking OHV related emails/posts/phone calls. I do suggest before making a suggestion to check around all the forums you can think of as you may be able to apply your idea to a pre-existing one. If you don't find one, ask if there is something like that in place. "xalexjx" did just that and I appreciate it immensely. Teamwork gets us further, faster.

Small Issue #2. Leadership.
Club presidents, this comes from your members; we need you more than you know. We need your enthusiasm. We need your ideas. We need your help making your club the best club in the Northeast. If nobody is talking, talk. If nobody is working, work. YOU are the leader of a club. Yeah, I know it's work and we're all supposed to be in this for fun, but it's like going to a dance with no DJ. You may eventually get canned, but you'll get at least a few people dancing to at least a few songs. At least you tried.

Big Issue #1. Public property.
We all know if it's a public road we schedule it and run it. While the NETMaP idea seems to be gaining ground (please spread the word about it), we haven't really used it yet. I urge the members of both Associations to be patient with it before throwing it out the window and giving alternatives. I realize there are other ways we could do it and would be happy to change things as needed, but we haven't done anything with it to know what tweaks need to be made. If it fails miserably, we start over. If it works at Gutter, we can try to apply it elsewhere. But we need to buy into it and work to make it happen.

Big Issue #2. Private property.
We need to answer this and answer this now;

• Is it okay to contact a landowner if the landowner has already been knowingly contacted by an OHV representative?
  

This is the single biggest problem we have (Okay, not single biggest. Volunteers, complacency, and apathy are up there as well). This question pits member against member, club against club, and association against association. Think about your answer from all sides; initial contact person, landowner, and subsequent contact person.

It better be pretty damn good wheeling if you're willing to risk friendships, reputations, and respect by undermining another man's...another club's...another associations hard work. Get with your club and region representatives before you pick up the phone.

Essentially, we're all in the same club. Let's start acting like it before it's too late.

Relationships

When I had an idea for the blog, I really didn’t think I’d have enough to talk about every Friday. Someday I may not, but it’s good to know that we’re busy and there IS enough to talk about on a weekly basis, even if some of it gets under my skin a little. I’m going to jump around a little;

• Recently the Friends of Coy Hill received some good publicity about the work our Region and the NEA is trying to do. You can read the article here. Mike Belben did a great job for the entire 4x4 community with that one.
  

• In case you haven’t heard, Essex Junction is not hosting a 4WD Jamboree this year. However, a show in Vermont (Vermonster) will be held twice this year and EC4WDA Northeast Region will be hosting a collaborative booth with the Northeast Association of 4 Wheel Drive Clubs to spread the word about organized 4 wheeling. Mike C. with Berkshire 4 Wheelers has accepted the position of event coordinator for us, so if you have any questions OR WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER, head over to the club website and look up “sidriptide”.
  

• Dave Brill offers a Land Use seminar as part of our ongoing quest to make everyone “land use reps”. Knowledge is power, so if your club is interested, contact Dave and set up a seminar. It’s informative, it’s fun, and it’s free (although coffee and donuts would make it even better!).

I was going to get into PR (public relations) today, but I changed my mind. Perhaps this weekend.

Like shopping when you're hungry, you shouldn't blog when your angry.

It's about the trails II

Back in December folks from the NEA4WDC and EC4WDA Northeast Region got together in a sort of "summit" to discuss, among other things, how to handle the huge growth in our sport and our dwindling resources. We all brainstormed and came up with a pilot program to try out for 2008:
The North East Trails Maintenance Program, or NETMaP, is being tested on the Gutter this year. This is a work in progress and strictly voluntary. However, we strongly encourage clubs to follow it so we can figure out how to tweak it as we go and apply it to other areas. If you have any questions on how it works or what this means to you, email me.

The Gutter is private property and actively managed timberland. The public is welcome and recreation will continue to be allowed if:

1) Private property rights are respected;
2) No natural resources are removed or damaged
3) No dumping or vandalism occurs
4) No long term camping takes place
5) Motorized vehicles don’t harm culvert and road systems

We have obtained permission to travel this land and recognize the importance of the Tread Lightly! principles. Please exercise care and common sense when recreating here. Also respect the rights of ALL other trail users including hikers, equestrians, snowmobiles, etc. DO NOT travel away from the power line trail at any time. Our goal is to maintain this property for the public to enjoy for many generations to come.

If you have any questions, concerns, or observe any form of vandalism, do not hesitate to contact our Land Manager, Paul Regish via email at paul@nea4wd.org

*Please try to limit your club runs here to one run per year. Please understand that there are 30+ other clubs in New England that all wheel here therefore it will be traveled almost every other week. We are asking all the clubs to try to limit their runs.

*When entering the trail via the road (proper) DO NOT travel up the stream bed or anywhere else there is soft mud or stream banks. Please travel in a southerly direction perpendicular andstraight across the stream bed towards the first obstacle.

*Traveling the "washout" section above the first landing is acceptable, this is not a stream bed but seasonal water washed out section. The hard rock bed will not degrade any further.

*The southern end of the trail before the first road crossing consists of multiple private landowners who do not want any travel to disperse from the powerline. Please DO NOT travel down any trails perpendicular to the power line. These trails more than likely have gates and signs posted.

*This land is private land and it is NOT yours, please have complete respect for other trail users including but not limited to: hikers, birdwatchers, bicyclists, ATVers, hunters, and snowmobilers.

*Please observe Tread Lightly! principles at all times.

*If you are ever questioned or confronted by another trail user regarding your being there, calmly explain to them that you have proper verbal permission from the landowner that you can be there under the auspices of the NEA4WDC and EC4WDA. Never become confrontational on the trail and always use your best judgment and professionalism to diffuse any confrontations with others.

As stated, it's voluntary. However, it's up to all of us to make a difference. Special thanks to Paul R. for stepping up to the task, too.
Also, check out the Friends of Coy Hill site, a collaboration of regional clubs and the two prominent 4WD Associations here in the Northeast.

It's about the trails...

I've been perusing old newsletters from our region this past week.
We all know about the rebirth of TrailFest, but it's amazing how big it was and will be again. So with that, it looks like we're bringing back a few more tidbits from the days of yore. Just need to check with the "days of yore" people to make sure I know where to give credit. More on that next week, but it includes raffling off tickets, t-shirts, and a room.
As you know, the Northeast 4WD TrailFest '08 is taking place August 15th-17th. The festivities will be located in Windsor, CT at the Best Western and we'll have a block of rooms available at discount. Trails will range from stock to hardcore on several pieces of private property nearby. Ticket prices for the weekend have yet to be determined.
The EC4WDA Northeast Region has set up a great new trail schedule that includes each club, the dates, and the locations of all the trail runs in 2008. Each club delegate knows who is where and when, so coordinating runs is a little easier. With 11 clubs running 85 days this year, it's no surprise that some trails are going to be quite busy. Chris_Ryan with Underground Jeeps created the schedule you can see HERE.
Suggestion: If you're planning a pick-up run, please contact another club to see where, how many, and if a you could join 'em. If they're already running 20, perhaps a different trail would be a better option for a pick-up ride. If they're running 10 and you wanna bring 10, perhaps coordinate times. If they have 5 and you have 5, join together and meet new people/old friends. With over a thousand participants between our Region and NEA4WDC, it's getting crowded, but we have to keep our heads when it comes to getting out and wheeling. Make sure you use your contacts when dealing with private land owners, and make sure you use your common sense when dealing with public areas. As I've said, the trails thank you, and we need your help.
Next month Aili and Bruce will be heading out to New Mexico to attend the NOHVCC seminar, so have your club land use people keep tabs on 'em. They'll be bringing back plenty of info for you.
Well, that's it this week. You can keep tabs on the happenings of our Region as they occur by logging onto our forum (check the sidebar). If you're a EC4WDA club officer, please check in. There's stuff for you.

Getting Organized

As we steamroll into the 2008 season, we're already experiencing some enormous changes. Our first meeting of the year saw 29 representatives from 11 different clubs, and although we tried to pack in as much information as we could in 4 hours, it still didn't seem like near enough time. It wasn't.

Some of the great things we're doing this
year;

-Our previous On The Rocks event has been re-worked and renamed Trailfest. With the closing of Paragon last year, we knew it was time to bring the event back to the Northeast where it belonged. Multiple trail rides all weekend, a barbecue, a banquet, and loads of raffle prizes make this an event you won't want to miss this August.

-The first Region newsletter in 18 months is due out in late March. This time we're offering $25 to each member who sends in an article which gets published (maximum one article per issue). With 4 issues a year, that's an extra $100 in your pocket! Due date for the April issue in March 15th.

-We're currently working on updating our "4x4 What's the Score" booklet, as well as the 2008 Economic Assessment. Look for these to become available before the summer.

-Public relations and publicity are also a hot topic with our Region. How can we apply the "numbers" if we don't have the means to do it? Aili's working up a great PR packet each club can use when contacting a land owner, a news outlet, and your representatives. This will make it alot easier for your clubs to take the first step. We've also found that "Region D" doesn't focus the picture as well as "Northeast Region" when dealing with the public, so look for a new logo and letterheads.

That's just a few items we're working on for the members of East Coast 4 Wheel Drive Association's Northeast Region.

Want to get involved? Contact your club president or, if you're not yet a member of EC4WDA, contact us and we'll be glad to help you "get organized". We can't do it without YOU.