- 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!
