Following is the article I wrote for the February '96 issue of the PTC
newsletter. Do we need this? I don't know, but I welcome ALL responses and
ideas.
"SOME THOUGHTS ON A NATIONAL CLUB FOR ALL ROOTES GROUP CARS"
Last month I mentioned that I would discuss the issue of a national club for
Rootes Group cars. This idea
has long been debated in the various Sunbeam marque clubs for years, and
while many agree the idea may be
beneficial, the varied interests of individual clubs have sometimes caused
the dialogue to stalemate. Many of
the marques that are well known to the public have large national
organizations. In the Sunbeam community
we have several large regional clubs, as well as smaller regional clubs. The
need is to integrate these
differing factions into one cohesive voice, without ruining the autonomy of
the member clubs.
In 1978 various individuals representing Sunbeam clubs from across the nation
signed the ‘Sunbeam Tiger-
Alpine Council’ agreement. This was an attempt to finally place all of the
major clubs across the country
under one umbrella club.
The purpose of STAC was stated in their bylaws under Article 2:
“2.1 To facilitate the exchange and dissemination of information among
member clubs.
2.2 To coordinate parts procurement to avoid duplication of effort.
2.3 To coordinate information concerning parts sources and availability.
2.4 To coordinate the activities of the member clubs.”
Unfortunately, this idea never took root (Rootes?). These are sound
principals, and ones which I think all of
us agree would be beneficial to the Sunbeam community. A national club
would give us additional benefits
though:
1.Ability to speak as a representative voice of thousands of Sunbeam
enthusiasts to members of industry, as
well as the political arena.
2.Ability to merchandise the Sunbeam marque to the public in a nationwide
manner, allowing for increased
education of, and awareness of the marque.
3. Ensure the health of member clubs by precluding membership loss to a new
‘stand-alone’ club. By
supporting each of the member clubs, rather than attacking them with a new
club, the national club should
generate more interest from all parties. Some ideas on how this would be
implemented:
1. All existing clubs are automatically member clubs in the new club.
2. The president and newsletter editor from each club are automatically named
to the new Executive Board.
This ensures that each member club’s representatives speak with the elected
voice of the club, and that they
are dynamic participants within their member clubs. The newsletter editors
are necessary to compile the
information from the national club, and put this monthly release into the
member club’s newsletter. This
would be a monthly column which would attempt to view the Sunbeam community
on a national level, and
list the important information compiled from each member club.
3. The member clubs would bear all expenses of their representatives. With
the increase in technology,
meetings could probably held by an on-line chat session, E-Mail posts, or
telephone tree. This would allow
for timely compilation and release of national club information. These
member expenses should not be that
high, and each Executive Board could customize their process to the needs of
their specific board members.
Member clubs would have the advantage of a large number of new ‘associate’
members to merchandise their
club products to. Those clubs with services or concepts could
license/franchise them to other member clubs.
Parts vendors would hear a united voice from the community about what was
needed. The amount of
service provided to associate members would be up to each club, and their own
financial needs.
My vision is of a lean and mean national organization, with a stripped down
infrastructure. Why duplicate
the excellent systems of the member clubs? Form a congress, or confederation
of existing clubs, and ensure
their mutual support by providing support. This way costs would be held to
a mininmum, and the member
clubs wouldn’t be severely impacted. All of us in the Sunbeam community
would benefit from the increased
information and opportunity that this national voice would allow us. What to
call it? My idea: Tigers
International-The International club of the Rootes group cars, including
Sunbeam Alpine, Hillman, Humber,
and Rapier. If you like, or hate, what I’ve proposed let me know. Where
this concept goes it up to all of us.
That's it-nothing amazing (or even new, really), but an attempt to get us
thinking about ways to make Rootes ownership easier, more fun, and more
fulfilling.
Kindest Regards,
Von Levandowski
B9472230/TAC #160
faded paint, torn upholstery, but shiny LAT 9s...
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