IOWA VCA Region?

[ROCKET62]

Greetings Iowa Viper Owners. Planning to take the plunge and join the VCA - and curious if there is enough interest / owners to consider a "Hawkeye" region?

Since a good portion of the dues go the the region - I would like to have that money go a region that I would attend. As I live in the Iowa Quad Cities - the Illinois/Chicago Region is 3+ hours away, and the IA/NE region is 5 hours away. Kudos to the KC Region as if I was to have to pick a region to join - I'd love to be part of that region based on the events you guys organize!

Seems that we could move meetings/events between Iowa City, DesMoines, Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities. Drop me an email if interested: [email protected]

Now - if SPRING would only arrive!

 

[SNKEBIT]

WHAT'S A MATTER WITH US MUD-DUCKS?????

 

[ROCKET62]

Mud Ducks? Ahhhhhh you mean <font color="yellow"> CHEESE-HEADS! </font> Actually, you guys seem to have a pretty fun and active group. I was going to try to meet up for some of your cruises but bad timing did not allow me to make it.

So - no other IOWA guys?

 

[SNKEBIT]

sorry, I WAS a mud-duck.(minn.) Defected to curd land in 95 We have a couple guys from Iowa in our little group.
you goin' to MAM in may??? Afew of us are gonna be there!

 

[Pictureman]

Maybe things will be changing soon????

 

[ROCKET62]

I see MAM on the schedule for May 13, 14, 15 in Pacific Junction, Iowa - but not a lot of details. Any insite?

Sorry, CHEESE (I mean Snake) - but I have to include the one picture I think of when I think of a Wisconsin (Green Bay) Viper:

 

[SNKEBIT]

LOL!!! I'm a born and raised Minnesotan about an hour outta the cities, still work in minneapolis.
Goin' to MAM for viperdays. Check thier website, lotsa info there.

 

[Y2K5SRT]

Hey, thanks for the comments on the KC Region! We work hard to make sure everybody is involved and gets the opportunity to participate in events. We also try to get events in different parts of the region. For example, we will be doing a joint event with the Iowa/Nebraska Region for Viper Days up in Iowa:

While we will be encouraging our members to actually participate in the program itself, we are also organizing a large group cruise to the track on Saturday, May 14th. We will be joining up with people from all over Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, and Kansas. We will be getting a "spectator package" deal from Viper Days as a group - details to be announced soon. By the way, the event is at Mid-America Motorplex in Pacific Junction, Iowa - about 20 minutes south of Omaha just off I-29.

Now, to your point about the club I can only tell you this for now: It is not as easy as it looks, especially when you want to have an active club. Part of the challenge is to have not only active members, but a membership base large enough to fund events either all or in part. For example, our local Dyno Day will end up costing close to $1000 - all of which is paid by the KC VCA (members eat, drink, and dyno for free). Given what you get in dues (approximately $54 per member per year goes to the regional club), you need roughly 19 paid members just to cover that single event. And that would wipe out your treasury for the year. Granted, you could pay for part of it but it still leaves things pretty tight.

One thought might be to become part of a larger region and then form active "local chapters" within that region. In other words, have both the financial and organizational resources available to you from your region without the challenge of rounding up enough interest (and money) to do it on your own. Most regions have different committees such as an Event Committee. Simply make sure that somebody from your local area is represented there. This could be by phone, e-mail, or whatever. The idea is that your area would be an active participant in the discussions and therefor the results of same.

My suggestion to you personally is to join the region with which you feel the most comfortable. Just make sure you continue your quest to find a local group to be an active part of that region. It will pay off.

Chris

PS. And as to your (and others) concern when it comes to management of your dues (subscriptions, badges, etc.), the more active your region the more likely things will be handled painlessly: A strong region will have the resources to manage issues both internally (events) and externally (badges, etc.).