Ideas & Suggestions for the future of the MMOC

[aupickup]

another suggestion i would like to make is this

the lcv register have a place at the great dorset steam fair
i went last year with them and iy is an absolutley great place
it is on for 4 days and it has everything

i wonder if something like this could be organised for the more southerly of us

i have the adress some where

there are loads of other car clubs there, austin a 35, mg, etc etc

[Judge]

Have you read my previous suggestions

[Judge]

PS Although there are probably those that would disagree, I do not consider my suggestions as criticism, simply ideas on how I feel the Club could be improved and ways to encourage more Minor enthusiasts to join. I honestly believe that in light of falling membership, at least these suggestions should be given a fair hearing and not just shrugged off.

[HarryMango]

In regard to the branch-v-national club level point that has cropped up in recent posts, Lincolnshire obviously have a different view to Leicester on that - Lincs thinks that you actually cant be a member unless you are also a member of the national club. I wonder if thats something thats set at a regional rather than national level?

Hi Mike

This was brought up at the pre-AGM liaison meeting a few years ago & the guidance given by either Rosie or Sandy H was that this was ok so long as the non MMOC members were not on the branch commitee or did not actively help out at branch rallies eg marshalling as they would not be covered under the Insurance scheme .

Rog

[LouiseM]

is the national rally a bit old hat for the below 30`s maybe

my reason for going to the national is to meet up with the website guys and gals
the other things happening there do not really hold my attention

I agree. I have attended quite a few National rallies and the format hasn't changed for years. The 'entertainment' always seems very old fashioned and aimed specifically at a small minority. It feels a 'bit old hat' even to me Dennis and I'm over 40 .

For example at this years rally there is rhythmic gymnastics, majorettes, a Scottish pipe band, dogs to music (whatever that is ), a flower arranging demonstration and a hand knit & embroidery stall.

Not much to appeal to the 20's - 40's age group is there? I appreciate that a lot of time and effort goes into organising the rallies but it's difficult to see how the club will continue to attract new members unless things change.

Most people here seem to agree that there needs to be an input of fresh ideas (and even personnel) at committee level. Unless there is the desire to change things how will the club ever move forward?

I hope I haven't breached any T&C's but I'm getting increasingly frustated by the fact that there have been a lot of positive suggestions made on this site by people who are genuinely interested in the future of the club yet the chances of anyone that matters actually taking notice seems pretty slim.

I understand that the Committee are aware of this thread. Could one of you please make the effort to post a response and let the large number of members who use this site know that their suggestions are at least being considered?

[aupickup]

[leafie]

is the national rally a bit old hat for the below 30`s maybe

my reason for going to the national is to meet up with the website guys and gals
the other things happening there do not really hold my attention

I agree. I have attended quite a few National rallies and the format hasn't changed for years. The 'entertainment' always seems very old fashioned and aimed specifically at a small minority. It feels a 'bit old hat' even to me Dennis and I'm over 40 .

For example at this years rally there is rhythmic gymnastics, majorettes, a Scottish pipe band, dogs to music (whatever that is ), a flower arranging demonstration and a hand knit & embroidery stall.

Not much to appeal to the 20's - 40's age group is there? I appreciate that a lot of time and effort goes into organising the rallies but it's difficult to see how the club will continue to attract new members unless things change.

Most people here seem to agree that there needs to be an input of fresh ideas (and even personnel) at committee level. Unless there is the desire to change things how will the club ever move forward?

I hope I haven't breached any T&C's but I'm getting increasingly frustated by the fact that there have been a lot of positive suggestions made on this site by people who are genuinely interested in the future of the club yet the chances of anyone that matters actually taking notice seems pretty slim.

I understand that the Committee are aware of this thread. Could one of you please make the effort to post a response and let the large number of members who use this site know that their suggestions are at least being considered?

Couldn’t agree more.

Leafie

[Judge]

is the national rally a bit old hat for the below 30`s maybe

my reason for going to the national is to meet up with the website guys and gals
the other things happening there do not really hold my attention

I agree. I have attended quite a few National rallies and the format hasn't changed for years. The 'entertainment' always seems very old fashioned and aimed specifically at a small minority. It feels a 'bit old hat' even to me Dennis and I'm over 40 .

For example at this years rally there is rhythmic gymnastics, majorettes, a Scottish pipe band, dogs to music (whatever that is ), a flower arranging demonstration and a hand knit & embroidery stall.

Not much to appeal to the 20's - 40's age group is there? I appreciate that a lot of time and effort goes into organising the rallies but it's difficult to see how the club will continue to attract new members unless things change.

Most people here seem to agree that there needs to be an input of fresh ideas (and even personnel) at committee level. Unless there is the desire to change things how will the club ever move forward?

I hope I haven't breached any T&C's but I'm getting increasingly frustated by the fact that there have been a lot of positive suggestions made on this site by people who are genuinely interested in the future of the club yet the chances of anyone that matters actually taking notice seems pretty slim.

I understand that the Committee are aware of this thread. Could one of you please make the effort to post a response and let the large number of members who use this site know that their suggestions are at least being considered?

Ditto

[aupickup]

but i suppose that we are a very small minority here on the website

so the other non users of the web are quite happy the way things are going i guess

[Judge]

On the other hand maybe their not, and this is the reason why many do not renew their membership

[aupickup]

well thats true bill, never thought of that

and i would think this board is the most active area within the club

lets hope our voices are heard

[LouiseM]

There are 4000 registered users on this site. In the poll "Are you a member of the MMOC" 80% of those who voted said they were members with another 10% saying they were thinking about joining.

When compared to the total club membership the numbers aren't statistically high but this site is clearly influential in publicising the club, gaining new members and allowing current members to have their say.

When was the last time that all members were asked to submit their views about the future of the club or vote for the committee members?

Perhaps it's time for a survey to be included in Minor Matters to find out what the members really want from their club. Providing the results are actually acted on it would be a good way to guage members opinions and get things changed.

[Judge]

........and with only around 100 attending AGM's, most of these being branch officials, this messageboard has a huge potential.

A survey such as the one you have suggested was carried out some time ago. Perhaps it's time that members were reminded of the outcome, and also advised of what action was taken in respect of the suggestions made.

[theminorsite]

This was brought up at the pre-AGM liaison meeting a few years ago & the guidance given by either Rosie or Sandy H was that this was ok so long as the non MMOC members were not on the branch commitee or did not actively help out at branch rallies eg marshalling as they would not be covered under the Insurance scheme .Rog

Thanks for that Rog (oddly enough its Rosie and Sandy's branch! ), I'll let the branch committee know next meeting.

is the national rally a bit old hat for the below 30`s maybe my reason for going to the national is to meet up with the website guys and gals the other things happening there do not really hold my attention

Ummm, I usually end up going Friday thru Monday so I can recover from the volume of home brew that seems to spontaneously appear each evening

There are 4000 registered users on this site. In the poll "Are you a member of the MMOC" 80% of those who voted said they were members with another 10% saying they were thinking about joining.

Thats a bit misleading tho, inasmuch as while 4,000 may have registered, nowhere near that amount are active members here. I reckon thats about 100 or so, but thats still statistically a very high number. As has been mentioned, its as many as attend the AGM, and its probably more than any single branch too!

When was the last time that all members were asked to submit their views about the future of the club or vote for the committee members?

I remember when it last happened but I dont ever remember seeing any feedback on it!

[leafie]

Perhaps it's time for a survey to be included in Minor Matters to find out what the members really want from their club. Providing the results are actually acted on it would be a good way to guage members opinions and get things changed.

A survey such as the one you have suggested was carried out some time ago. Perhaps it's time that members were reminded of the outcome, and also advised of what action was taken in respect of the suggestions made.

The biggest problem with trying to change things is that when the people in positions of influence think things are fine as they are unbelievable effort can be put into coming up with reasons why something won’t work. It would be interesting to find out what ideas came out of the survey and how positively they were received.

Leafie

[aupickup]

hmmmm sounds a bit like the house of lords

[overider]

As a great philosopher once said :
''If things don't change they will stay as they are!''
THEN DIE!
Not quite sure who it was that said it.

[theminorsite]

Not quite sure who it was that said it.

You just did

[pgc520]

All,

Thanks for the comments about the National Rally, below are my thoughts on the points rasied.

I agree. I have attended quite a few National rallies and the format hasn't changed for years. The 'entertainment' always seems very old fashioned and aimed specifically at a small minority. It feels a 'bit old hat' even to me Dennis and I'm over 40 .
A)
1) The average attendance at the National rally has been between 1000 and 1500 people for the last 5 years. I.e 10 to 15% of the membership.
2) As I put in my previous note different venues have been tried i.e Sandringham and Litchfield, but these arrangements can be difficult to co-ordinate at the right time of year / location. I am currently talking to two venues which may offer a different type of event, but cannot confirm details yet.
3) Entertainment – many clubs VW and Mini have no entertainment at all apart from the odd children’s fair ground ride for the under fives!



For example at this years rally there is rhythmic gymnastics, majorettes, a Scottish pipe band, dogs to music (whatever that is ), a flower arranging demonstration and a hand knit & embroidery stall.
A)
1) Lou you seem to have missed the rocket making, Lazer quest activities and Inter branch challenge which are aimed at the 15 to 25 year olds. Plus the many other things that are on offer. The range of activities to be offered at Stanford was also discussed at the pre AGM branch meeting.
2) The Minor service workshop with live demonstrations on how to fix your minor has been set up with the help of three or four willing volunteers and companies. Based on a thread from the web site!!!!!
3) A lot of people enjoyed the flowers last time at Scunthorpe, and it has a big appeal to many members who do not want to look under the cars all day.
4) Dancing to Dogs – fastest growing canine activity sport, if you type Mary Ray into Google all will be revealed.


Not much to appeal to the 20's - 40's age group is there? I appreciate that a lot of time and effort goes into organising the rallies but it's difficult to see how the club will continue to attract new members unless things change.
A) 1) the custom and modified register is looking to have a large display at the event.
2) Revised advertising material is being prepared to appeal to different age groups, and will be available for the event
3) Publicity for the event and club is increasing and we have several media interviews being planned to publicise the car and club.
4) the bar and opening times have been designed to enable us all to enjoy a good pint!

Most people here seem to agree that there needs to be an input of fresh ideas (and even personnel) at committee level. Unless there is the desire to change things how will the club ever move forward?
A) 1) Members of the committee change quite frequently, Steve Morris has just been appointed as editor, and the treasure is due to change at the AGM.
2) All committee members are voted in at the AGM on a three yearly basis, posts are advertised in MM if members want to apply.

I hope I haven't breached any T&C's but I'm getting increasingly frustrated by the fact that there have been a lot of positive suggestions made on this site by people who are genuinely interested in the future of the club yet the chances of anyone that matters actually taking notice seems pretty slim.

A) 1) I think that most of the ideas in this thread are good and positive, but my question to you, is who is going to do the work to make some of these thing happen??
2) The T&Cs need to exist to prevent people making incorrect factual statements. See what happened to the Volvo club enough said.

I understand that the Committee are aware of this thread. Could one of you please make the effort to post a response and let the large number of members who use this site know that their suggestions are at least being considered?

A) I trust that my reply is sufficient for the moment, as I really would like to get on with writing the next article on the 60th Anniversary event at Stanford Hall, and a couple of reports for work having spent most of the last two / three days on MMOC business.
Regards
Andrew

Final point

The MMOC working group looking at approved traders and arbitration schemes will be meeting in April to finalise its proposals and these will then be discussed with the traders along with the quality of the spares, and I will let you know outcome of the meeting after it has taken place.

[Judge]

Well done everyone, it seems that the the messageboard and it's users suggestions are now being given the consideration they justly deserve.

A) 1) I think that most of the ideas in this thread are good and positive, but my question to you, is who is going to do the work to make some of these thing happen??

As you know Andrew many of the suggestions I have personally made at committee have also been backed up with my offers to help.