FLU ELECTIONS-QUESTIONS

[ventura ace]

Hi,
Just arrived home from vacation last night. I hope to find time to read through this thread tonight and provide some of my thoughts.

Alvon

[mbouse]

i think you've now stumbled into the TOO MANY QUESTIONS for this forum discussion.

I would be glad to go into SUPER detail with anyone privately, but seriously ??? !!!

no one at this forum possesses the official insurance policy binder. those specific questions need to be asked of the FLU officer in charge of securing, maintaining and renewing the liability insurance policy.

this is not the offical FLU membership forum. like i suggested before, those questions need to be posted elsewhere. i'm not attempting to hide anything here, and have ALWAYS said i'd answer as much as i could via email....but we are ALL beyond our scope and authority on this issue now.

[So Cal Mark]

I was just asking general questions, not looking for a legal response.

[mbouse]

I just saw the questions becoming more and more specific and finite. more than Denise and I are able to handle. A FLU officer should be able to steer those very direct and specific questions to anyone as yourself with a serious interest in forming a chapter.

yes, there is a day membership clause. yes, there is always a possibility of a non-authorized participant to screw up the works, but those are possibilities for groups outside of the club as well. the only iron-clad protection is to stay at home on the sofa.

i guess i am putting my disclaimer here and stating that i am not able to answer every question to the nth degree of detail, and nothing written here should be construed as such; for the participants and for the lurking crowd in the background. we've strayed WAY away from the original gist of the post.

how can i help foster a FLU chapter in California? how can i help clarify the elections and the status of the candidates?

[leeputmanjr]

Mark-

I understand the spot you're sitting in...only too well. I began the Chicago group in June of '07, just two & a half years ago. Having stubbed my toes multiple times, I'm now in a GREAT position to give advice to someone looking to start a new FLU chapter.

Others have chimed in on the benefits, and you're right - liability insurance is the key ingredient to the mix. Mikey mentioned our "unfortunate incident", where a (then) pristine '77 Spider went nose-to-nose with a Chevy Suburban. A lot of our current Chi-FLU culture stems from that happening at our third-ever event.

You ask how you could handle someone tagging along? Good question! We handle it several ways. The first is with how & where the event is advertised. For us it's 95% on our own web site. Our members can sign up on the Chi-FLU site for free, but when they do we sent them pre-approved text stating all our membership levels. We detail that web-membership is free (we have many remote members who could never hope to visit our area), along with our Day Membership fees, and Full FLU Membership. So, we set the expectations early. We then use text at top of the calendar event description saying, "FLU Membership Required" when it's a Tech or Driving event. We make sure to have several events a year that are 'show & shine' focused, so that non-fee-payers can come hang out with us (great recruitment, BTW!). Then, at the actual Tech or Driving event, we diffuse the "you need to pay" situation by simply asking the guest to fill out & sign the Day Membership form & Chi-FLU then offers to cover the guest fee of $5.00 for them. Most people of course, roll thier eyes at us and laugh, as they hand us $5.00!

These are just a few of the little things we've learned in our first few years. I look forwward to the day when FLU has a support forum for Chapter Leaders where we can incubate & grow chapters. The thing is, you're already 85% of the way there! You have a lot of Fiats in your area, you meet up, and you already have a website.

A few volunteers who can learn the FLU Chapter administrative stuff really isn't that big a deal, espcially as you have three FLU BOD members on your site already! We won't let you fail!

I have a whole lotta other advice, but I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing it on you. Email me anytime, it'd be a pleasure to help you out!

-Lee

Lee Putman
Board of Directors - Fiat & Lancia Unlimited (FLU)
Founder & President - Chicagoland Fiat & Lancia Unlimited (Chi-FLU!)
Director, Illinois branch - Scuderia Non Originale

“You meet the nicest people in a Fiat”

847.687.7291

My Email:
leeputmanjr@mac.com

Chicagoland Fiat & Lancia Unlimited
http://Www.chicagolandFLU.com

[So Cal Mark]

Lee
thanks very much for that response! I'll email with some specific questions that you can help with. Maybe we can get this west coast thing up and running after all

[mdrburchette]

Hey Lee, I could use your great ideas and advice too! Thanks for sharing.

[leeputmanjr]

Anytime!

[So Cal Mark]

I spent a few minutes looking over the FLU.org site per Mike Bouse's request to post my questions there. I was a little surprised to not see any discussion of elections or candidates. Nor did I see an appropriate section to post my questions. Chatter section says it's for non-Fiat related matters. Am I missing something?

[mbouse]

no. not unless you are missing the general apathy of the american public. i dunn know the statistics in canada, but in the usa typically less than 40% of the eligible voters bother to show at the polls, and even less voice public opinions beforehand.

like any other forum, there isn't a special place for political debate and voting quesitons. i guess the chatter section would be about as good as any other.

i enjoyed the conversation here on this topic. i was hoping that someone might have taken the bait and opened a debate "over there". i am certain that it would have raised a little dust in several tangents had someone started the ball rolling. it has been a long time since anyone has challenged a BOD vote.

[So Cal Mark]

I'll post in the Chatter section, I just expected a site for FLU matters or at least candidates statements

[mdrburchette]

I actually thought there was a spot for "club business" but I can now see there isn't. Maybe something we should bring up to Jon Prisbe or whoever it is that keeps the forum up and running.

[mbouse]

the actual chat forum is under the control of Chris Layton; Prisbe maintains the home page.

folks are still voting, and non-electronically inclined members have yet to receive their paper ballot. So, i believe there is still ample time for a spirited discussion concerning the election.

[mbouse]

alright... mark has started a thread, and i have replied... let's see if anyone else has something to say over there!