There are a handful of us that hang out and help each other work on our cars, we finally bit the bullet and put a name to our madness. Without gettin all rulesy and takin the fun out of it we understand that we need some type of regulation to keep it simple. What are some of ur "rules" or guide lines to running a smooth club???
We're kinda in the same boat, but I don't think we have any rules. Oh yeah, there is one, if you're gonna sell something, offer it up to the club before you post it on the internet or at a swap space. Fuck a bunch of rules. If you need em, you're prolly not hanging out with the right people...
dont rip people off and dont bring any bad vibes to the club.show some respect... clubs will last with those simple rules
Ours is.....pay your annual dues, which is actualy pretty token. It's bit like the HAMB, come to a few meetings, if there's any chemistry someone will want to join or be asked, otherwise not. That's pretty simple.
If you haven't had to put any "rules" into effect up until now don't ruin a good thing by starting to apply some now. People tend to get uptight and look for "violations" when there is a set of rules. If your all good friends now, don't loose some of them because some silly "rule" was violated. Now, if you want to have a plaque or jacket that's common among the group that can be a good thing. Lets people know you hang together and might attract a few new people that are likeminded. As far as dues, I think $100/mo to start would be fine and I can send you my address to forward the money. Frank
We dont have any real rules, everyone has to agree about and know any new members, and to have an old car with a style we like, keep it simple! We are more of a bunch of friends with a clubname then a real club!
Rule # 1: Don't have any money in the treasury at the end of the year.If you do,get everyone together and spend it. There will be less fighting over it if you don't have any. I'd be happy to send you a copy of our club rules and you could pick thru them and see what you need. I'll PM them to you if you want them. People think they can keep it simple but things always come up that needs to be controlled. If you own things as a group,you need rules as to what happens to it if the club breaks up,etc. If you get big enough ,you might want to think about incorporating as a non-profit.
One good thing to start is a club fund. Just have the members give 10 or 20 bucks at meetings. This would be a great way to pay for out of town trips. It could pay for gas, and maybe hotel stay. One thing I made sure of was that the person was not a trouble maker. Some freinds I know got there car torched due another guy in the club talking shit to other club members. Big thing here Never talk SHIT about another car club. Best thing is having the guys around. Great help when you need them and great to hang out with and have a couple beers with.
Someone famous once said he they didn't want to belong to a group that would want him in the group. This almost makes sense to me. Rules are a hinderance in casual arenas like small clubs that seem to work well without them. Don't ruin it. Madatory things like dues might turn away some people who have a lot to offer yet don't like commitment, especially finacial commitments. I don't know about anyone else, but my money tree seems to have contracted something like Dutch Elm disease. It's not budding near like I'd want it to. Vance
Our club is all of three members and we like it that way. No rules to speak of, but if I had to list any the number one rule would be: get together often to wrench, hang out, and cruise
We didn't take dues until we set up our website, then we had to assess an annual fee to pay for the site license or whatever it's called. When we needed to order shirts or whatnot, we collected dough. Dues can get messy. Decide on what you need, then collect the money. We also don't really have officers. All decisions that affect the club as a whole requires a unanymous vote.. say voting in new members, new shirt design, etc. Make too many rules and you'll take the fun out... and you'll have to figure who will enforce them and how
This is why Frank isn't in the Nightmares! Seriously, don't get swamped with rules. Have fun. If you (the club) can make some $$ while you're at it, great. The Nightmares are a loosely run club of delinquent hot rodders. Pre-'64, homebuilt and driven. Those are pretty much our rules. ....Oh yeah, you can't be an idiot either. The definition of idiot is up to the members.
I have belonged to a club out of SoCal for about 5 years now. We have a scant few rules and basically it boils down to... Help other members if at all possible Have fun Screw mandatory meetings and paying dues It's more like a bunch of friends with cars i common than a car club, and we like it that way.
The Yaks Rules: No Dues No Don'ts.....pretty simple. Los Boulevardos has a one man one vote policy....We judge the person on their personality as much as the car (and sometimes more). Keep it simple. If you guys are friends consider just agreeing on a design and plaque and go with that....Forget all the rules...they can be a pain
well, i just fell face first in this pile of shit we call "the deadbeaters", a great group of derelicts to hang out with. We just placed an order with Dennis from O'Brien for our dragger plates. other than that it's very informal, no rules to speak of, no dues either. we help wrench on each other's rides and that's that.
I've dealt with several clubs from the Dayton, OH area that I witnessed the membership dwindle to single digits in one case just weeks after the whole club of 25+ voted in a new 'consitution'. I call that a kiss of death. That club fell apart in no time. I was at one meeting when they were trying to organize a show and the club prez would have had an easier time pulling teeth then getting people to volunteer to help put this show together. After these new rules were in place, no one wanted to do anything and yet, they all voted for them. Go figure. Vance
If you're in your car, wear your shirts, jackets, whatever.....Even if you're by yourself, you're a representative
Thanx for all the feedback, our biggest conern is we have a lot of other friends in not really an outter circle but we're not as a tight with them as we are with our group that started the club. We're wanting to avoid, "Oh, he's gotta car he's in" or "He's cool, he's in" <---no car We will not be a "Gang" or "Jacket Club". We decided to vote and majority wins, it seems to be working, the only thing is a couple of the guys want some of their other buddies in and some of our other friends are a little butt hurt that they're not in. We haven't even got our shirts printed and we're fending off the wolves, it's crazy. On the dues, there being collected to build my olds motor. LOL As of now we have no dues just passin the hat around when we need something.
Here are the rules: Help your buddies out, don't be a douchebag, have a car (or at least parts of one) We meet at the same time once each month. Each meeting, a club member hosts the meeting at his house, or where ever he wants. That's about it. Smaller clubs are better.
We just started the Cin-Day Rodders. We're still getting started, so I'll tell you what we are about. Our rules are simple: No dues, not crap, no bullshit. We do NOT do officers, car shows, mandatory ANYTHING, raffles or any other 'big club' crud. Them's the rules. We are car guys that hang together. If you can come out GREAT. If not, that's cool too. Come out to an event if you can. Help the other guys like they were your brothers if you can. IF YOU CAN is the operative phrase. INTENT is more important than RULES. We are guys building cars. I hope we can keep it this way. Hope this helps. Glenn
No new members. Whoever was there at the beginning is it. And watch out for the loud mouthed girlfriends who try and run everything, and run it into the ground. And make sure whoever is collecting money for shirts doesn't spend it on his own car. And don't get all upset about parking the same way or dressing alike while out in public, or not allowing burnouts or street racing. And don't pledge anyone with silly crap. Especially for more than a weekend. And don't make meetings madatory. Come to think about it, don't start any more clubs... Just be friends and hang out. Maybe just get a plaque and let it end at that. Politics kill hot rodding everytime.
You guys get along good enough to stay buddies? NO RULES. However, if a member misses an event WITHOUT good reason, he buys lunch for the rest of the guys
No new members? I think the Quakers tried that with celibacy. Now due to that brilliant action, there aren’t a whole lot of Quakers. Sounds kinda short-sighted to me. I do like what you say about loudmouth girlfriends. Although that could be a two-way street if you have any female members. Vance
My car club has been meeting every Thursday since 1956, rules and all. The BIG factor that everyone, even the old guys who have been in for almost 50 years agrees on, you need a clubhouse. Not someones basement or garage, a real place you can call your own, work for, and hold you together when the road gets bumpy. There are lots of important guide lines like membership caps and voting that you can adjust to your personal needs, but if you're gonna jump in with both feet and form a hot rod car club, not just a social club with a few cars and a neat name(which is fine, too), a building is the most important part. Just my 2 cents.
Quoting bobbleed "Car Clubs are Gay." Keep it simple and stay away from rules at all cost. If someone asks about joining my club I tell the "We will be accepting application sin the fall" If it's fall I say we're full.
rule one: dont be a 'club', hang a goofy sign in the garage with a gag name on it if you just absolutely have to rule two: keep doing what you're doing, you'll get more done.
I meant that lightheartedly, but most clubs I know are started by a group of buddies with one vision and then every monkey and their uncle wants in and they begin changing things, the original members get pissed and leave and the club ends up very far from the tight knit group of buddies who used to cruise around and fix up cars....
Hemi, I sure was hoping that was done tongue-in-cheek. Although I can think of several clubs that I was would institute that rule, and soon... Vance
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