Oaky we need to do something to boost our meetings! (2 Viewers)

[Bear80]

Please post ideas of what would boost YOUR attendance.

Me, I just need time off from work.

I know location has been discussed to death but there has to be more to it.

Last night I did suggest we go to meetings every other month or even just three or four times a year. A possibility would be a new year meeting, spring, summer and fall. The new year meeting could cover club business such as officers etc (if we keep officers), and we could also include a holiday party to replace the fall meeting.

If we go to limited meetings a year we could also change the location each time. That would require getting the word out diligently and having members keep up.

I think if we can get consistent gatherings and membership we would have a solid base to progress the club and have organized runs, t-shirts etc.

Please feel free to post your honest opinions.

 

[ilikebigtires]

Oh, and don't forget....we voted Daniel in as our next president. Congratulations!!!!

 

[Bear80]

LOL that's right.

 

[shfd739]

I like the monthly meetings. It feels like there is too much time between when meeting quarterly. The club we were members of in Mobile went to quarterly then back to monthly for that reason.

Only thing that keeps us from going is work schedules. With us both on nights it all depends on it falling on a night off which is every other thursday.

 

[Sully73FJ40]

Lol whoa whoa voted me in as President? What!

 

[Sully73FJ40]

Well as the clubs next President I believe that while longhorns might be a quieter place to hold club business meetings, I feel that a fun atmosphere might appeal to people... I know I wasn't at this months meeting due to surgery on Thursday, but I'll be honest Longhorns isn't the grandest of places no offense.... Also as being the only club in this city, a more centrally located place to meet would be better for all. Now, I'm not sure if longhorns was chosen because the birthwort is where most people live but I believe that if the meetings were more centrally located that might help with turn out. I know that some of you didn't much care for the cove but I truly thought it was a great location for multiple reasons. I thought the atmosphere was fun, it's nice to go somewhere that you can sit outside, eat good food, listen to music(live bands almost every night) and enjoy the company of the club. I also thought that the parking was adequate, and heck you can even wash your car while your there or do laundry for those who might need it... Chose Thursday to be your carwash/laundry/ club meeting night..lol. Just my .02


On another note, I have talked to few guys who seem to have checked out other clubs and were turned off by the dryness of those at the club. I've told those people to come check out this club as I believe everyone seems to be open to all...

Another thing that would be nice, is maybe planning some camping trips, wheeling or not... Maybe some bbqs.... Etc...

I know all of this has been suggested before but maybe the core of the problem is time and day in which the meeting is???? Did you guys talk about possibly changing the meeting to another day or time??

To me, I think the club is a great thing. I didn't know truly anyone in San Antonio until I showed up at the club meeting and it's been a great opportunity to meet others..

On another note, next months meeting can be at the house, we can hold a meeting to help me lift my tub off my 40

 

[Sully73FJ40]

Birthwort=northside in crazy iPhone predictive writing

 

[shfd739]

I'm not sure what the answer is. Only thing that keeps us from going is having to work. Our last club was a Jeep club with roughly the same number of members and we routinely had half the club at monthly meeting nights. They also did quarterly Saturday shows at different eateries to publicize our existence and draw new members. A parking lot full of 4x4s draws a crowd.

It almost seems like there is a lack of general interest from all but the usual folks. I'll drive wherever for a meeting.

 

[BrettinSanAntonio]

Club participation

This is a very old and complicated issue. We were discussing this back in 2000 with the original members and I still don't see one individual reason it's never taken off. We eventually decided that even if only three to five people showed up that was enough for us.

I think that's a valid question to ask ourselves. What difference does it make if only a few show up? If you're getting something out of it, the number of people attending shouldn't be of concern. If you want large gatherings and a very active organization, Toyota's in San Antonio just don't seem to make that happen. I've never understood why but the last ten years have taught me this is the case.
The Land Rover and Jeep people seem to have large meetings and large event turnouts. In most cases I believe they have far better marketing for their products and promote a more active, outdoor enthusiast image. I can't personally speak for the Jeep guys but I know the Land Rover people buy into a "lifestyle". Toyota sells some of the best off road vehicles on the planet but they also sell a lot of Camrys, Corolla's and mini-vans. When I would attend Land Rover events in my built LX450, the Rover people were astonished to see a Toyota off road. That sounds foreign and ridicules to us but image and "lifestyle" sells cars. In our region, you don't see a lot of Toyota 4x4's off road. This is obviously different in other parts of the country.

The meeting location has never been ideal. I don't personally care for Longhorn Cafe's food and wait times. I'm all for moving it to another venue; however, keep this in mind: Central doesn't mean, downtown. The population center of San Antonio is actually the Loop 410 / I-10 area. By population center I'm referring to Bexar County. As for the club population center, a few years ago, we plotted on a map where members live and the most central location was north San Antonio. I would recommend looking at where active members live and using that to determine what is central. While I like The Cove, my guess is it's far South for most people that actually make the meetings.

A small issue is administrative duties. While the meetings are usually the same day of the month, a reminder email would go a long way. With all the craziness of the holidays, my thoughts weren't on which Thursday it was. A simple reminder email a day or two before the meetings might boost attendance a bit. If I realized last Thursday was our meeting night, I would have made it. It totally slipped my mind.

One last thing comes to mind. This has always been a diverse group of people with different expectations. After speaking to past members that no longer attend, many different reasons for their lack of interest were brought to my attention.
Some thought the group drank to much, cussed to much and wasn't family oriented. Others were only interested in technical details and don't drive off road. Some have schedules that don't permit meeting attendance or events on a regular basis. A few could no longer afford the cost of the vehicle/gas and others had life changing events like the birth of children and their priorities changed. These are just a few "reasons" I've heard.

I hope the next people to step up to "leadership" can take it farther than we did in the past.

 

[Sully73FJ40]

Great advice Brett.... It is hard to compete with the Jeep world, but those guys are missing out.... I liked your idea of shooting out emails to everyone a few days before the meeting and if that be the case, I'll volunteer to take on that task if someone wants to inform me of when and where. As a new member, I would love to see the club grow, but your right if it's a small group that shows then we will just have to go with that.... As for location, how about if someone brings a map and we point out the locations of active members again... Anyways, like I said I'll volunteer to send out an email to everyone in advance as long as I can get the meeting info in advance. I'll try to shoot out an email two weeks in advance and another email the Monday before the meeting. If you guys would like to email me your email addresses at fordmandan150@yahoo.com I would be glad to do that....

 

[warpdriv]

Brett has some good advice. Being Pres. for the Austin club 2 times, I have found that trying to have a club that everyone can enjoy is the best approach. We have a wide range of people from collectors to hard core wheelers. We do not get hung up in any formal club procedures. It's just a place/time where people can come and hang out with like minded people. Once the club gets a reputation of a chill'n group of people who love land cruisers, the rest will take care of itself.

Hope this helps.

 

[nspctr1]

As I mentioned in my post, I am not sure what causes the low participation in our meetings but what about issues like T shirts? Everyone expressed interest in purchasing one or two but when it came time to pay there was little to no response.. There were emails sent and it was mentioned through several meetings with only 5-6 people responding. That is a pretty sad turnout for a club with approx. 50 members.
Maybe if we had a membership fee of 25 bux and that would get you a free shirt. Maybe the turn out would be better if people had more of an investment. Who knows.

I do think the meeting location could change and I think the 281 / 410 area may be the shot....

 

[ilikebigtires]

Like Brett said I hope the next group of leadership has better better ideas and can bring this club together. As of today I resign my position as Secretary. I will continue to attend meetings. I just don't have the time to put into something that bares little to no results.

Jennifer

 

[gold03]

Grown ass people shouldn't need a reminder if they care about something! What about the sorry turnout at meetings as well as other functions even when e-mails were sent? As far as the Jeep crowd missing out......really? On what? Maybe it's about wrenching, wheeling and just overall friendships more than a specific brand or vehicle type! I have no interest is Land Cruisers yet I have helped everyone that needed it (even that Land Rover crowd I had to get in the creek for) and been glad to do it. Look at Jen, she did not own one until a few months ago but still attended meetings and tried to get things going! Seems there has always been an excuse by someone as to why they were not showing to something............too far, don't like the food, forgot or the like! Every one can't be pleased and everyone should be making an effort on their own if they really do care about the organization. I was vice-president of a large Jeep club here in tx for several years and learned that early on.

 

[Sully73FJ40]

First, off I apologize for offending you with the Jeep comment that I made... It was suppose to be somewhat funny... Secondly, I believe that individuals should receive an email to remind them of the club meeting. I understand what your saying about "if someone cares, they will remember" but face it, people are busy with work, life, family, etc, therefore a single monthly meeting can slip to the back of minds. Your right it is all about having fun, wrenching, playing, etc, so maybe the problem lies there? Maybe the monthly meeting should be a wrench day? You might have more turn out if the meeting was on a Saturday or Sunday? Maybe the problem with this club is that in a location with fewer landcruisers then jeeps and landrovers, just this site isnt enough to get the word out about the club? Maybe more people might be attracted to the club, if we were capable of gaining a friendship with a Toyota Dealership that might host a "wrench date/meeting, on a Saturday? It would be a win/win situation. The dealership would become more active in the community and get more business due to that friendship. On the other hand, the club would gain a location, better relationship with a dealership for parts, and it might attract more people to the club.

Another question, what does it cost to be a member to this club?

 

[ilikebigtires]

First, off I apologize for offending you with the Jeep comment that I made... It was suppose to be somewhat funny... Secondly, I believe that individuals should receive an email to remind them of the club meeting. I understand what your saying about "if someone cares, they will remember" but face it, people are busy with work, life, family, etc, therefore a single monthly meeting can slip to the back of minds. Your right it is all about having fun, wrenching, playing, etc, so maybe the problem lies there? Maybe the monthly meeting should be a wrench day? You might have more turn out if the meeting was on a Saturday or Sunday? Maybe the problem with this club is that in a location with fewer landcruisers then jeeps and landrovers, just this site isnt enough to get the word out about the club? Maybe more people might be attracted to the club, if we were capable of gaining a friendship with a Toyota Dealership that might host a "wrench date/meeting, on a Saturday? It would be a win/win situation. The dealership would become more active in the community and get more business due to that friendship. On the other hand, the club would gain a location, better relationship with a dealership for parts, and it might attract more people to the club.

Another question, what does it cost to be a member to this club?

I think these are all great ideas. I particularly like the idea about forming a partnership with a dealership to allow for events. Kelly and I went to a Houston event which was hosted at a Toyota dealership. Many Toyotas showed up and it was a blast. I don't know about them hosting an wrench day because of liability issues, but this may happen with a progression of partnership.


I dropped the ball this last month because I didn't send out an email and I apologize for this, however, all other months I have sent out emails to club members signed up to receive them, which has also resulted in low turnout.

Daniel for President!

 

[gold03]

................don't feel bad Jen, I don't think it was you that dropped the ball or caused a lack of interest. You were always trying to get this group together in one way or another.

 

[BrettinSanAntonio]

Whoa there partner, take a deep breath. "Grown ass people" do need a reminder from time to time. At least I do.

I don't think blame is being assigned to anyone. The reason for this thread is to solicit feedback concerning why there is low turn out at meetings.

Grown ass people shouldn't need a reminder if they care about something! What about the sorry turnout at meetings as well as other functions even when e-mails were sent? As far as the Jeep crowd missing out......really? On what? Maybe it's about wrenching, wheeling and just overall friendships more than a specific brand or vehicle type! I have no interest is Land Cruisers yet I have helped everyone that needed it (even that Land Rover crowd I had to get in the creek for) and been glad to do it. Look at Jen, she did not own one until a few months ago but still attended meetings and tried to get things going! Seems there has always been an excuse by someone as to why they were not showing to something............too far, don't like the food, forgot or the like! Every one can't be pleased and everyone should be making an effort on their own if they really do care about the organization. I was vice-president of a large Jeep club here in tx for several years and learned that early on.

 

[Sully73FJ40]

Jen,

I think that maybe a day(Saturday) at a dealership would be good at least to get the club out there to the public.. I would have never know there was a club here in San Antonio if I had not stumbled across this forum.. It could be a Toyota 4x4 day at the dealership or something like that, then it would not just bring in Landcruiser owners but a collection of all Toyota offroad owners. I think the dealership would be apt to doing this with enough notification. I know of at least two guys that don't go to club meetings, but sure they would love to drive their 40s over to a dealership for a cookout of some sort.. I'd love to drive mine but mine is torn down. Anyways, I'm not sure if any of you have ever met the general manager of red Mccombs Toyota but he is very much in tune with the Toyota off-road world... While he doesn't own a Landcruiser, his truck set up makes you drop your jaw... Anyways, if we decide to do a recruitment ever such as this, let's brew up some ideas"plans" and we will go in and talk to him.... I'm sure he would love the idea. Also might not hurt to contact the TLCA and see what their input might be...

By the way, I can still the idea so Chris was more of the idea brewer on this one.

Chris for President!

 

[Sully73FJ40]

Can't steal the idea****