When I read this post I was reminded of the term, balkanized: to divide
(groups, areas, etc.) into contending and usually ineffectual factions
(from Dictionary.com).
It seems to me that the more, independent, full-scale club operations
there are (I'm not speaking of local chapters), the less effective and
wasteful of efforts and resources the sum total is. To illustrate, to
the absurd, if competition within the hobby is so desirable and
positive, why not have actual Austin-Healey clubs for each and every
state, and province, within each country, with each operating
independently and producing a slick monthly periodical. That would
certainly fit the "more is better" model suggested by the poster, but
would likely be proven less than useful, overall. Certainly, if nothing
else, economies of scale should come to play somewhere in an analysis of
club structures.
Not having been involved in the politics of the various clubs, viewing
it from a fairly neutral perspective (I believe), it might make more
sense to have a single umbrella organization, with regional sub-groups,
that don't duplicate, but support, each others efforts. Of course, if
egos are involved, and I suppose they are, since we are all human, no
one is likely to give up the sovereignty of their own organization.
While I laud the individual efforts of all those who have built sweat
equity in each of the Austin-Healey clubs, I think that some of the
leadership may view their particular fiefdoms as indispensable entities.
So, until the cost of maintaining the existing organizational structures
becomes obviously so much greater than the cost of changing, such as
with some sort of unification, there may be little evolution to be expected.
Bob
> Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:33:27 +0000 (UTC)
> From: Bob Spidell<bspidell@comcast.net>
> Subject: Re: [Healeys] Just one club? In this Country?
> To: Ray Donovan<ahstc@live.com>
> Cc:editorgary@aol.com,healeys@autox.team.net
> Message-ID:
>
><2105733586.2528040.1300811607931.JavaMail.root@sz0054a.emeryville.ca.mail.comcast.net>
>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Seems to me, the more clubs the better; just shows how much passion--as
>evidenced by the contention--there is for these great cars. One club would be
>like 'one-party' rule in a country, no?
>
> Ain't no law says you can't join more than one, is there?
>
>
> Bob
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