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Time for Officer Elections

Series3Scott

Co-Founder/Past President
Platinum Level Sponsor
SAOCA Club Members - I am excited to announce two opportunities for those willing to volunteer their time and energy to make this club bigger and better.

Later this year I will be stepping down as President, and Rich Vose will also be stepping down as your Membership Director / Treasurer. Both Rich and I have served the club for multiple years (I've been in serving in some capacity for over 12!) and feel a change is necessary to keep fresh ideas flowing. We've come a long way as a club, with hundreds of members worldwide, and the future looks bright. I believe through better use of technology we can improve not only the overall look and feel of our website but also the CONTENT. But it doesn't stop there - our original idea of building up regional chapters has yet to be fully developed, but I believe that's one of the best ways to grow our club. Like anything, it takes time, energy, and strong volunteers to make it happen.

Please do not ready anything into this announcement - there is nothing wrong with either of us, the club is healthy, and things are fine. The fact is we're long overdue in officer elections (according to the bylaws) and we just don't have the personal time any longer to commit to the club's growth.

Steve Silverstein and Steve Kirk will stay on as Vice President and Secretary respectively, and I appreciate their work behind the scenes.

So, who will step up and take on the positions of President and Membership Director / Treasurer?

Please use this new forum to begin discussions / debate, and feel free to nominate yourself or someone you feel would be ideal for the job. Here is your chance to run an official campaign! Rich and I will do our best to monitor these threads and answer any questions you might have about the job, or feel free to PM us.

We will collect candidate's names throughout the months of January, February, and March. This is assuming we'll have a healthy list of potential candidates. If it becomes clear early on that we only have one (or none) we'll have to go to plan B.

Once the final candidates have been determined, we will set up a survey on this forum and allow everyone to vote for their candidate. This will probably occur some time in early April. Formal announcement and the "passing of the torch" will take place during our Invasion.

I wish you all the best, and thank you for your long support of our great club.

Cheers,

Scott & Rich
 

Series6

Past President
Gold Level Sponsor
OK, I'll bite.

Can you outline the responsibilities of each office? Include the time invested monthly so prospective candidates have an idea what they are stepping into? Worst thing I can think of is for a guy to win an office then have to step out because it's more than he (actually or she) anticipated?

As far a a regional, I'd be interested in an area? How large do you expect the regions to be? Or are you thinking of state coordinators?

Are Darksiders able to hold office?
 

RootesRich

Donation Time
As some of you know, my wife and I just had our 1st child. Even though he's only 2 months old, I've found my attention is now focused elsewhere and I'm struggling to keep up with my duties as Treasurer/ Membership Director. Hence my decision that after 6+ years I step down.

To answer Nick's question about duties and time, I average about 5-10 hours per week with Club business and my time typically ramps up a month before and after the Invasion to 15 hours a week.

During an average week, I'll receive an e-mail or two inquiring about the Club and how to donate. I'll also receive e-mails or calls regarding donation renewal status. As the donor packets are assembled and shipped by me; I handle the printing of all Andrew's fantastic graphics (except for the statics which he prints and ships to me) and then run to the post office to mail as needed. Right now I have about a dozen 2010 donor packets that need to be shipped once I receive the statics from Andrew. Having a wife on bedrest last October and our son in late November delayed the 2010 graphic work getting started which in turn has delayed the donor packets from being shipped.

I write (with help from the rest of the Officers) the Donor letter that's included in the packets, check the Paypal account every few days to accept donations, pay the Club's expenses (insurance, printing, shipping, internet, etc) and route any non-membership or financial questions I receive to the correct Officer.

Since we no longer have a printed newletter, I no longer file a formal report on the Club's current financial status and Donor status for publication, but I do submit a one page financial summary to the Officers once a month and also include a blurb about the number of donors we received during that time period.

If you have any other questions regarding my duties, feel free to ask.
 

Series3Scott

Co-Founder/Past President
Platinum Level Sponsor
For the office of President, here's a general breakdown of duties:

1. Respond to an average of 3 to 5 emails / PMs per week. These are typically general inquiries about joining the club, "how much is my car worth", "can you help me find a part", etc. Sometimes it's in response to something that is happening on the message board, which leads me to # 2.
2. Moderate heated discussions / feuds and make the tough call if needed. As many of you have seen, I've had to step in and shut down a thread or even create new sub-forums in response to some of the topics we insist on discussing on this board. Sometimes I am not the most popular person at the moment, but this isn't necessarily a popularity contest.
3. Call ad hoc meetings as necessary to discuss various club business - membership, costs, Invasion planning, etc. I will get an inquiry from time to time from a vendor who would like to provide something (various logo wear, custom parts for our club) and will call a meeting with the officers to discuss.
4. Deal with the IRS. At first it was filing all the paperwork to get non-profit status, now it's just filing an e-form every year certifying we aren't raking in big bucks as a club, and therefore might lose our non-profit status.
5. Lead and drive the Invasion planning process. As the date grows nearer you will find yourself calling more meetings and making sure all the details are covered. You can either delegate or deal directly yourself with the vendors, site management people, and all other parties involved in an Invasion.
6. Make final decisions on budget, expenses, website.

What I'd like to see (and what I no longer have time for) is a very active President who can gather a team together to get this website totally overhauled, and get some momentum going with the chapters. The trick will be to find reliable volunteers with enough free time in their lives to devote to this - it can be a lot of work, and was at the genesis of this club. Now, the site pretty much takes care of itself, and we have the general Invasion formula down well enough that it too takes care of itself, but we really need some new ideas and energy poured into more exposure of the Sunbeam marque and more chapter growth.

Hope this helps - keep the questions coming.
 

Series3Scott

Co-Founder/Past President
Platinum Level Sponsor
Well it's been a week since the announcement of two officer positions opening up, and I guess I'm a bit dismayed that no one has yet to even slightly raise their hand and show interest. Hopefully many of you are still thinking about it, looking realistically at your daily time constraints, and considering taking over one of the positions.

Again, feel free to ask any questions of Rich or myself.
 

Green67Alpine

Former SAOCA Membership Director
Platinum Level Sponsor
Has there been any interest ? I'd like to help in some way, but I got nothing when when it comes to clubs and forums.
I can understand the excitement with a new baby as we just became Grandparents for the first time.

Tom j
 

PaulK

Gold Level Sponsor
Scott and Rich

My time is becoming much more available recently, and If I can help out I would like to through my name in the hat to help out again.

Let me know if I can be of assistance again.

Paul Krog
 

Series3Scott

Co-Founder/Past President
Platinum Level Sponsor
Scott and Rich

My time is becoming much more available recently, and If I can help out I would like to through my name in the hat to help out again.

Let me know if I can be of assistance again.

Paul Krog

That's great Paul. Maybe we can have you and Andrew working together on the website-related duties. I'll contact you off-line.
 

Series3Scott

Co-Founder/Past President
Platinum Level Sponsor
Has there been any interest ? I'd like to help in some way, but I got nothing when when it comes to clubs and forums.
I can understand the excitement with a new baby as we just became Grandparents for the first time.

Tom j

Not really, which has caused us to discuss "Plan B". There is a "Plan C" but I don't think anyone would be happy - we simply shut everything down....
 

Green67Alpine

Former SAOCA Membership Director
Platinum Level Sponsor
Do the Membership Director / Treasurer need to be the same person? I'm not really interested in anything money related (except how much is that part) .

Tom j
 

Series3Scott

Co-Founder/Past President
Platinum Level Sponsor
Do the Membership Director / Treasurer need to be the same person? I'm not really interested in anything money related (except how much is that part) .

Tom j

Not necessarily - it just evolved into that since Rich was taking in the dues and sending out the welcome packets to new members. We'd simply need the treasurer and membership person to communicate often.
 

PaulK

Gold Level Sponsor
Not really, which has caused us to discuss "Plan B". There is a "Plan C" but I don't think anyone would be happy - we simply shut everything down....

Do no shut it down, if it comes to that I will take it all over for you. This website and forum need to be kept on the road just like the Alpines.

Paul
 

Series6

Past President
Gold Level Sponsor
aww geez...

There's a very real posibility I may be moving (again) and starting a new position which will mess things up for a while, and I don't know much about "Stock" Alpines, and blah-blah-blah...

For the forseeable future I won't be able to make the Invasions which appears to be a major part of the office of President. I'm ok with a majority of the balance of the responsibilities.

Question is: Do you really want an unappoligetic member of the Dark Side for that office?:eek: I think there are better qualified members but if not, I'd take a shot for a year term.

There should be other candidates and let the membership decide. "Vote for me and there'll be a Southwest Invasion".... Sedona in Spring. Hot laps at PIR. A showdown between Stock and Modified in Tombstone. :cool:
 

Series3Scott

Co-Founder/Past President
Platinum Level Sponsor
I've moved way past the whole Dark Side / Purist thing and come to realize that as long as we can band together and promote the car we can keep the whole thing alive.

I'm certainly not into Alpines because of their investment value. Do I think all of the "Dark Side" mods hurt the value of the Alpine? Yes and no. Nicely done ones garner interest from folks who might not necessarily consider an Alpine, which means more might stay on the road over time. I'd just like to see a healthier balance of stock restorations vs. mods so that the general public doesn't think that all Alpines came with V6's, white interiors, etc.

Anyway, it wouldn't matter to me if a "Dark Sider" took office and kept the club going, taking it into new territory, growing, and promoting the marque. There's plenty of room for everybody! We just need more volunteers.

It would be PREFERRRED if as many club officers could attend each Invasion. I've been fortunate not to miss one yet, and I don't intend to, but it's not mandatory to hold office.
 

Alpine Bob

Donation Time
Scott,
This is not the year for me, but when I retire for the last time I will throw my hat in the ring. I miss being in contact with all the Sunbeamers since I moved 125 miles south of Atlanta, but all that will change after retirement. I am throwing a get together for all the Sunbeamers in Georgia and he surounding states, sort of a PreInvasion, on March 27th. So, with that being said, "Ya'll come and eat, talk and maybe even fix.
Yes, I'll throw my hat in next election.
 
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