TOPIC: Asheville BMW Riders

"ABMWR CLUB TRANSITION" reminder
When
Thursday, 19 October 2017
12:00 PM to 12:30 PM
(GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US Canada)
Notes
Dear Fellow Members, The Board of Directors of ABMWR has voted and we will be closing down the formal structure of Asheville BMW Riders. This is not done with sadness, but actually with happiness as we transition to something even better. In collaboration with Eurosportasheville we are able to take the transition of this fine group to the next level and be able to do away with the Structured Officialness of it. With this change we are able to do away with dues, insurance, bylaws, formal meetings website, officers and Board Member, yet retain All that is Good about you fellow riders and what we are about. Eurosportasheville will carry on with the High Pass Boogie fundraiser which we so proudly started with them. We can now begin our transition towards just being a great social and riding group without all the formality of a structured club. Thomas at Eurosport made another Great Offer to us to help in this transition. They will be doing QUARTERLY PRESENTATIONS in a less formal way for all to enjoy, so we will still have those fun nights at the dealer to get together! The Board met and voted on this transition and will take the measures needed to dissolve the official part of the organization. Charters will be relinquished with the MOA and RA, PO Box will be closed etc. and our soon to be former Treasurer Dan Falkenstein will present you with the Board decision made on the remaining funds in the Treasury, in the way of a refund of your dues paid for 2017-2018, or having it, along with any remaining money in the treasury to be donated to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. You wil receive a tax deduction if you choose to allow it to go to the BRPF. He will be sending out emails to you individually explaining all this and we ask that you please respond to him in a timely fashion. We will still have our 2 Main Social Medias in Facebook and Yahoo, so they can be used to your advantage as they always have been. We will open these groups to all motorcycle enthusiasts wishing to join as it will no longer be based on paying dues to a club to be part of them. we will also add more moderators to these 2 medias to keep them running smoothly for everyone. You can use Facebook or Yahoo like Perry has been doing to advertise for any motorcycle related function that you want. Perry will continue with the Wednesday rides and possibly be adding a Bring your Significant Other Saturday or Sunday ride. We are sure Steve Horlick and others will continue to put out the call for some bike camping as has been done in the past, so please take advantage of using Facebook and Yahoo to get members of the social media Groups together for doing things. It is all about having FUN so jump on in. This is exactly what other Facebook and Social Media groups do without having to be official. We are tailoring this after other Facebook Riding Groups that have great success, plus we have the added bonus of our Yahoo Group to get the message out directly to everyone. All of this comes without the Many devoted hours and Cost associated with running a club, plus it does away with having that official air about it that just is not needed any longer. And, obviously it frees up time for the volunteers that have worked so diligently for the past 6 years. We want to have more fun too! Thanks go out to ALL OF YOU who have served in any capacity in the club, as a volunteer, whether as an Officer, Board Member, Presenter or Workers at events. You are all Special and the best part is you are all still there to enjoy this next step in our evolution. As part of this evolution we will also be renaming our Social Media groups to reflect the fact that so many more of you do not live in Asheville, but most of you do reside within an area known as the Appalachians. We always heard the kidding from the non Asheville people, so we will now have a name not as biased. You will always have Asheville BMW Riders as part of your history, but you will now be part of the wider spanning group to be know as the APPALACHIAN BMW RIDERS. The Board Members felt this was a more reflective for such
From
AshevilleBMWRiders Calendar

Is the future with social media. Club affiliation obsolete?

A club members point of view.:
Special situation here with dlr Eurosport hosting meetings (& staying open late to do it)(& giving 10% off those nights..). And last yr they took over running the High Pass Boogie. So, now, no more monthly meetings, club officers, annual picnic (I suppose). But Eurosport'll have "a program" quarterly (the Irish guy's talk/slide show last week cost $2000 with they paying $1500 & the club $500). And they'll continue doing the Boogie each May. And the Yahoo/email ride announcements each Weds & 1st & 3rd Sats will continue as will "campout announcements" (for those very FEW in this group who do camp) will continue from the one guy sending 'em. And name changes from "Asheville" to "Appalachian" (we do have many members far away who don't attend meetings)(even RA Pres Nyktas who, I think, lives in IL..).

Ok Ron, what's your takeaway?

Intereisting.....A BMW club going to an Un-BMW Un-Club??? What do you call that? A Whatchamacallit Bunch? It has the distinct smell of the sinking of the Titanic to me... (Just my humble opinion...experience kinda indicates "No structure: no responsibility: soon: No Nuthin'")

What is my take away? I’m observing the world changing. For good or bad? The POTUS has changed Washington using social media. News events are mixed in social media. Internet BMW Riders supposedly began in 1992. Although Al Gore didn’t invent the internet yet? Four Winds no longer has a news letter. Those without a computer do not participate. Personally I’ve not joined into social media. I’m use to going to rallies and meeting riders. Real people. With social media you can be whoever you wish. Not necessarily a real person. I joined Retreads 1979 and 4-Winds 1992. Retreads use to have 100 motorcyclist meet at Garden Gate Restaurant each month. Today maybe 10 who are 80/90 except me. No young riders to follow. Hence do young riders prefer social media?

Is the future with social media. Club affiliation obsolete?