View Full Version : Membership suggestion...
Eric Landry
29-11-10, 10:29 AM
To the club executives,
I have a suggestion for the club regarding membership. As some of you know, I have been a dedicated member for a very long time. I joined way back in 2002 and have always been quite active as a member from day one. I have paid my dues to the club for 7 years, I have been on countless runs all over the province and I have helped in organizing runs in our area including the infamous Bathurst May mud run and the absolutely amazing Big Bald winter camping trip, along with a few Xmas parties. This past winter, I borrowed a Jeep from a friend to go on a run and I sent my payment for my membership once again for the 8th year. I was very surprised to get the cheque back a few weeks later with a note that I was not accepted as a member because I didn't own a Jeep at this time. I have owned 5 Jeeps in the last 8 years but right now I am not in a position to be able to have the funds or the time to own and enjoy one. However, I still wanted to be part of the club because the friends I met in this club are there for life whether I own a Jeep or not. Being a member gave me the privilege to attend events such as parties and such and I also felt welcome at the meet and greets. I can also take part of the Christmas toy drives and help the club in which ever way I can.
I know that rules are rules and I can understand that not everyone should be able to join the club if they don't own a Jeep. The line has to be drawn somewhere. However I believe that rules are meant to be broken :p and adjusted when they don't make sense and a long time member in good standing should have the privilege to remain a member while been TEMPORARILY Jeepless. I love Jeeps and I WILL own another one as soon as I can. In the meantime, I would like to remain a member and continue to pay my dues.
I would like this to be discussed at the monthly meeting. I would love to attend a meeting but being from Bathurst makes it hard to schedule. I believe it is a fair request from a long time member who believes in this club.
All you need is to decide on a criteria to be able to remain a back seat member. How many years do you have to be a member before you can bypass that rule? Do you have to pay the full membership including the insurance(which I don't mind doing)? etc. Of course I don't expect to be able to go on club runs without a Jeep. All I`m looking for is to be a member and be able to attend club events. How can this be a bad idea for the club? I would be very surprise to hear any negative comments about this suggestion.
Eric Landry
Past Jeeps:
2002 TJ Sport
1993, ZJ
1994 XJ
2006 TJ Unlimited Rubicon
1996 XJ
...to be continued...:):p
Eric Landry
29-11-10, 10:31 AM
It's funny to see the status junior member with a single post!!!! I think I had something like 4000 posts in the last forum.
I think that with all your implication among the jeep club you should still be able to be a member of the jeep club with all due respect to the administrators of the nb jeep club ,
should I also add that Eric is the one that got me hooked up to jeeping and with good events and has been really help full to many members and non members and helped whoever was in need .
good luck Eric and hope to see you back on the trails son with us!!!
94laredo
29-11-10, 12:21 PM
Fill out the membership and lie...you must have a diecast toy Jeep or something haha
Wrong people running the club seems like.
94laredo
29-11-10, 12:52 PM
Wrong people running the club seems like.
Must have taken a big can opener to open up that can of worms lol...Good Luck with that!
gcfishguy
29-11-10, 01:36 PM
Wrong people running the club seems like.
Blame it on the handful of people that step up and give hundreds of hours and put up with a ton of crap to try and make sure everybody has fun. THAT makes sense.
It's in the bylaws. It's been in the bylaws since I joined and I'd imagine it was there a long time before that, so it has nothing to do with the people running the club.
That being said, I don't agree with it either.
well as far as the comment goes Wrong people running the club,well it is your club,and where are you when the monthly meeting is going on!
no i dont agree with this either BUT i wont put down the excetutive!
WOW....I can't belive they denied you membership? Maybe if the person that denied your membership only knew how much time and energy you put into the NB jeep club they would have a better understanding .. your the one that got me into this club also. i'm sure once the ones higher up realize they made a mistake your membership will be in the mail shortly. if not you can claim part owner in my money pit to join the club...lol
Butterball
29-11-10, 04:28 PM
I thought it was the love that we all have for JEEPS ,I was welcome even before i had owned a jeep .For a long time member such as Eric I think there should no problem for being a continuing member even though he does not own a jeep at this time.As some of you all know things happen in life that we do not ask for but changes things wether it finance or other,but he wishes to stay a member that should not change as his love for jeep did not change,like i said its the love for jeeps and the friends we meet that share the same love for jeeps I think thats what its all about.
You could buy a 200-300$ pile of rust and call it your project. Then they couldn't denie your membership. But it makes for an expensive membership. Really, they could let you be something like a unactive/non-voting member or something like that.
paul954rr
29-11-10, 05:49 PM
I will make sure it is talked about. There are no more meetings this year. However i will call an exec meeting asap. I will also tell you what my vote is going to be. YES let him join. I only have a short time left in the exec. If i knew about it before, it was overlooked by me. For that i apologize. Please stay tuned Eric.
mcbjeep
29-11-10, 05:58 PM
A bit of info : If it writing in the constatution it can only be change once a year at the first meeting of the year , so if you want it change be at the meeting or have some one bring it up
I not saying i'm for it or against it but to bash the exec is a lot of bs we been getting it all year but I don't see that many up for elections
not many are up for elections because it is too far to travel out of town to attend the meetings...i suggested using some sort of teleconfernce for the meetings so some out of towners could run for some exec positions without feeling obligated to travel to the monthly meetings...but i guess it fell on deaf ears :(
JeepingNet
29-11-10, 07:15 PM
I'd like to propose a change to the club regulations next time they are open.
Why not have a new class of membership which is an associate class.
-Associate class don't get voting rights or covered under the club insurance
-Can not run for club executive
-Can be removed from club with standard process
-Allowed at club functions and non-voting meetings (different fee might be required to attend certain events)
-Not able to apply for club discounts
-Must have two sponsoring full members (optional but often a good idea)
This is a common membership class in a lot of clubs to allow non-active members to still stay connected without having the full status. I know when I sold my Jeep I gave up my membership... I would have liked to have stayed connected a little more.. might have made me buy my new jeep a little faster.
Just my two cents..
I'd like to propose a change to the club regulations next time they are open.
Why not have a new class of membership which is an associate class.
-Associate class don't get voting rights or covered under the club insurance
-Can not run for club executive
-Can be removed from club with standard process
-Allowed at club functions and non-voting meetings (different fee might be required to attend certain events)
-Not able to apply for club discounts
-Must have two sponsoring full members (optional but often a good idea)
This is a common membership class in a lot of clubs to allow non-active members to still stay connected without having the full status. I know when I sold my Jeep I gave up my membership... I would have liked to have stayed connected a little more.. might have made me buy my new jeep a little faster.
Just my two cents..
I second if it's worth anything...
Eric Landry
30-11-10, 08:37 AM
I just want to make it absolutely clear that my suggestion in no way accuses the executives of not doing a good job. I know that the bylaws are there and they were followed and I totally agree with the procedure that was followed. You also can’t expect the original executives to think ahead and imagine every scenario possible that could occur down the road, so the idea of needing to own a Jeep to join did make sense at the time.
I am not saying either that because I have been a long time member that the rules shouldn’t be followed. But it doesn’t mean that we can’t re-adjust the by-laws as we see changes occur within the club.
That is why I believe that the by-laws needs an adjustment for us long time members and if I could be at the meetings I would be there but like I said it is not possible for me to travel this far for the meetings.
PLEASE let's not turn this thread into an exec bashing thread or he did she did, he said she said. That is not the point. Let's stick to the point and discuss about whether or not it would be a good idea to change the by-laws to allow us long time members to remain members while being Jeepless.
Thanks.
;)
Thornbird
30-11-10, 09:42 AM
I don't understand the problem. he wants to pay for membership and doesn't have a jeep, big deal. I would let everyone pay to join the club if they want, because isn't there still a bylaw in the rules somewhere which would still make things all jeep, which is "in order to go on a club run, you must own and have insured a jeep brand vehicle." So if a guy in a chevy wants to pay 35 bucks to join our club, all the better for the club (money wise) but he still won't be able to go on a club run without a jeep.
just a thought. personally, I find everyone in the club is very welcoming and friendly, and if you want to stay friends with everyone just go to the various meet and greets or weekend runs, no membership required for that, the only real gathering that would be affected would be the christmas party, and for a long time member and friend of most, either just let him in or make him pay a 10 dollar fee like a non member club run.
I personally don't get out and play enough to join, as I only really get out with the club once a year at the fall crawl, but that is my financial situation. i struggle to maintain my DD jeep currently and can't risk the added cost of trail breakage and extra burn of fuel. as it is my jeep stays with my wifes family in town all week just so I get to use it everyday and not drive it all the way in from hillsborough. to save gas, fortuneately my wife and i are currently on a similar shift at work so I can do that.
I wish I had time to help more with the club, but I don't have enough hours in a day to do the things I need to do myself. Best I can do is offer my home and yard to the fall crawl every year. for the party or just for campers. Hopefully when I am more financially secure I wont do something silly like buy a new jeep and I will have money to maintain and use the beast I love to own so much. and I will again become a member and get out to all the runs every year.
But hell... if someone wants to pay and join the club. let them join!
Chandra
30-11-10, 09:49 AM
You make a very good point Eric. This is not something that we thought of in the beginning of building the club but as the years go by things change. People go through some major life changes and finiacially we are not always able to own a Jeep. As we all know, they are not cheap to run. lol
I think that this is something to be looked at and be discussed. It makes since to me because it is nice to be able to keep in touch with others even though you are Jeepless at the time. Good Luck.
LibertyFever
30-11-10, 10:00 AM
Heck Eric I'm sure if you ask around there's a few of us that would be more than willing to give you enough Jeep parts to qualify as a Jeep owner & club member Junior. Y'know that's your new official nickname Eric :D
I will support your membership. Heck I'd even vote for you if you decide to run for president.
I am in total agreement with Eric ,as a person who has gone through a similar "TEMPORARY "situation, if I may does this mean that if an executive member or any of us happens fall in the same situation that he or she should have their have their membership revolked ? I dont think so !
so how about coming up with a solution that helps all of those involved and all those who may be involved in the future however unfortunate their situation be. and remember folks WE are all a part of this jeep family. KOODOS FOR CHANGE ERIC!!!
not many are up for elections because it is too far to travel out of town to attend the meetings...i suggested using some sort of teleconfernce for the meetings so some out of towners could run for some exec positions without feeling obligated to travel to the monthly meetings...but i guess it fell on deaf ears :(
That's a great idea.
To be honest...we should do the meetings over skype.
I haven't been around for an election...but surely you can vote online..right?