Members coming and going

[Hector G.]

Re: Members coming and going

Couldn't agree with you more Don. You meet some wonderful people at these events. Looking forward to the Tahoe meet.

[Clark D.]

Re: Members coming and going

Although I've owned a Corvette for almost the last 11 years it wasn't until I purchased my '65 last year that I joined. I knew next to nothing about these cars and thought I might be biting off more than I could chew buying the '65 but I wanted it as a hobby and to learn how to work on it. I bought a very nice 'numbers matching' car and although my primary purpose was to buy it to drive I also thought in the back of my mind that maybe over time I could get it to a point to show in a meet. I joined the NCRS in an effort to learn as much as I could about the history of these cars and use the forum as a source of reference for questions that I have.

What I have discovered is that the NCRS is an unbelievable repository of knowledge down to the smallest detail. I am amazed (in a very complimentary way) the amount of work, time and dedication people put into their cars. As I have learned more about what it takes, the more I realize how far my particular car is from ever achieving a Top Flight status because of the limitations of my own ability and yes, the significant amount of money that it would take to get it there. But nonetheless, I do enjoy trying to make things as correct as possible over time and rely greatly on this forum.

Yes, the NCRS can seem intimidating from the outside and I even find myself reluctant to ask questions 'dumb' questions but what I have found is that many times the same 'dumb' question I may have has been asked at least once if not several times before and seems to have always been answered positively and constructively. I second Ed's sentiment that the knowledge of others who have been around this hobby much longer is a blessing to many of us.

This reminds me - I have to renew my membership...

[Kenneth B.]

Re: Members coming and going

I think most of the coming & going is related to people buying Corvettes & joining. When they sell it they quit. NCRS is not a social club per say so why pay dues if you don't have a Corvette or not interested in originality. I waited to join NCRS because they were only for C-1'S. I waited till they allowed C-2'S, That took a act of congress & many members quit & formed the SAC. Lets face it we are a nitch in the Corvette hobby & I like that this club is for preveservation,restoration & information of what Corvettes were like when bought new.

[Michael M.]

[Don H.]

Re: Members coming and going

I believe this has been discussed before. There are two types of NCRS members. Those that attend events and those that belong for the publications. I was in the latter group for many years as my family and personal situation did not allow attending events. As things changed (IE kids grew up) I became more active at events. Both are very legitimate members, I think it is still a great value for just the publications (thanks Vinnie & Eric). Any volunteer organization consists of people that want to be there, be it your Church, car or sports group, etc. You make time for what you want to do, we are all busy (not a valid excuse - I am busy). As they say, my $.02. Don H.

[Arland D.]

Re: Members coming and going

FWIW during my time on the BOD, I conducted two different phone surveys of members who had not renewed their membership for a period of twelve months. The timeframe eliminated those who would say 'I forgot' and will send in my dues now that you reminded me. The result of interviewing about 150 lapsed members showed some interesting feedback. All but one were very complimentary about NCRS and that one made some suggestions that I'm pretty sure are anatomically impossible. The answers to most questions were varied and there was no 'smoking gun' as to why they left except to say in one way or another that they had moved on to other things in their life. As to leaving because they sold their Corvette, fully 75% of them still owned their car. The one statistic that may be of value here is that the average age of those who chose to leave was 62 years old. From what I have seen in other organizations, NCRS is no different when it comes to retaining members - most come and go over a given timeframe.

[Bill H.]

Re: Members coming and going

Your car looks familiar Mike, are you going up to Tahoe for the regional in June?