| | | quote | | Originally posted by red GT: So for Central Florida Fieros first meeting of the New Year, what can we tell our club members about CFOGI that will help them to understand this Fiero International Club's goals and objectives for this community so that they would want to join? |
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This archived post should help to answer that for you...
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/20031229-1-032808.html
Mostly, we are the representative body, the point of contact, to the outside world. When magazines, TV, governments, corporations, celebrities, clubs & organizations, etc., deal with the Fiero community, they want to deal with someone who represents all of us. For example, let's say you're trying to get Hall & Oates to help us celebrate the Fiero 25th anniversary, then they say "Who are you?", and your answer is "Well, I'm a Fiero owner in Florida". What if someone wants to get sponsorship from McDonald's for a major event, and all they can say is "I'm with a Fiero club in Texas". They might deal with you, but they might not. It would help if they know they're dealing with THE single group who represents all. I'm not saying we have (yet) succeeded with those examples, but we're trying with those and more, and it helps to have a letterhead that says we're talking on behalf of all Fiero owners.
And the funny thing is, we'll keep doing that whether you as an individual become a member or not. But your membership will support that kind of organization. We do a newsletter, discounts to our events, and access to the private section of our website, as something to help give you a return on your dues, but largely your membership is a token of support to keep such an organization alive.
I am a member of the local club in San Antonio, AAFO. I don't even LIVE in San Antonio... I have only been to one meeting. I DON'T get a discount to the Roundup, and I don't even get a t-shirt.without paying full price for it. What do I get for my annual $15? I get a one-page bulletin in the mail once a month that has 3 paragraphs and a photo or two. - And I'm happy!!! I am also a member of the Houston club, Lone Star Fieros. I pay $12 a year for the privilege of saying I'm a member. What else do I get for that? Just being on an email list that gives notification of future activities (which I could get from the LSF website without paying dues), but I'm happy to pay those dues every year to support the club.
To answer your question more fully, feel free to NOT join this year, but watch and observe what you see from us. Things should be very much improved in 2006. This thread, and the one in the General section that pointed you here, are not meant to gain revenue by having people become members. We're just saying we want to be the right kind of international club. We have made mistakes in the past, and we hope to have learned from them. We will never be perfect, being a collection of ordinary folks, but we believe in the club, so we'll keep trying. We will do better as more people come on board who have various talents & abilities, but until then we'll learn as we go.
I wrote the original post in this thread, and I apologize for forgetting to add my name to that. I'm Chuck Hodges, one of the co-founders of CFOGi. I was President for 2 years, and intentionally did not run for reelection because I thought changing leadership would be good for the club. Due to family issues, I reduced my club involvement for a long time, to being merely a regional deputy director. Personal affairs have improved, and now I'm taking a more active role. The other officers & directors are terrific people, many of whom are regulars here on PFF, and many are officers in their local clubs.
[This message has been edited by Cheever3000 (edited 01-06-2006).]
More info will be coming very soon ..So stay tuned.!!!
