Membership in the VOA Enthusiast vs Membership

[MoparJohn]

I realize this doesn't fit the GenV thread criteria. I have posted the same question in the general thread.

I have been noticing over the years that there are more people labeled as "enthusiasts" instead of being actual members of the VOA. My question is if you were once a member and no longer are. Why? If you are not interested in joining the VOA as an official dues paying member. Why?

This is not meant as a criticism. I am asking because I have seen membership drop off a bit and am curious to know what it would take for people to become official members again.

[Policy Limits]

I used to pay the fee as a member and stopped because I dont participated in events, etc. So it didn't make sense for me. If you're more involved it might make sense to join.

[ACRSNK]

I haven't been able to do many events over the last couple years, but I like the VOA and want it to continue, so paying for a membership is fine with me. Heck....the magazine alone is worth it!

[ViperNC]

I'd suggest going back and reading the previous thread about this from a couple months ago and you'll get your answers.

https://driveviper.com/forums/thread...t-contributing

[98intrigue]

Zero club activity here. I've reached out to the CFL president and even briefly with Beth, but nothing came about it.The only reason why I renewed for 2020 was because of NVE4. I know of at least 10 Viper owners in the Tampa area that I/we coordinate events with other makes/models, but it's obviously never club-affiliated so there's no motivation for me to renew for 2021.

[Topplayer]

Zero club activity here. I've reached out to the CFL president and even briefly with Beth, but nothing came about it.The only reason why I renewed for 2020 was because of NVE4. I know of at least 10 Viper owners in the Tampa area that I/we coordinate events with other makes/models, but it's obviously never club-affiliated so there's no motivation for me to renew for 2021.

why not get involved local? or take over the local club lol.

[ViperSRT]

Zero club activity here. I've reached out to the CFL president and even briefly with Beth, but nothing came about it.The only reason why I renewed for 2020 was because of NVE4. I know of at least 10 Viper owners in the Tampa area that I/we coordinate events with other makes/models, but it's obviously never club-affiliated so there's no motivation for me to renew for 2021.

I live in a region where there are a pretty good number of activities (excluding this year for obvious reasons), and full disclosure of financials. In regions where there is little to no activity as indicated in the post above are the local funds just refunded? If not where does it go?

[98intrigue]

why not get involved local? or take over the local club lol.

I had previously reached out to the CFL president, but did not receive a response. When Beth reached out to me, she admitted he was too busy to prioritize the club. I had expressed interest in helping out, but nothing came about it. I was looking forward to discussing further options at NVE, but that won't happen until next year.

I live in a region where there are a pretty good number of activities (excluding this year for obvious reasons), and full disclosure of financials. In regions where there is little to no activity as indicated in the post above are the local funds just refunded? If not where does it go?

That's a good question. I'm not sure.

[ViperNC]

I had previously reached out to the CFL president, but did not receive a response.

I was going to be quiet, but since you mentioned this I had the exact same experience for me in NC. Doesn't inspire a desire to join when no one makes the effort to acknowledge and get back with you (Although clearly that person wants people to pay money to support VOA). Fortunately, I've found 4 other Viper owners locally and we do our own thing.

[braunstein82]

I was going to be quiet, but since you mentioned this I had the exact same experience for me in NC. Doesn't inspire a desire to join when no one makes the effort to acknowledge and get back with you (Although clearly that person wants people to pay money to support VOA). Fortunately, I've found 4 other Viper owners locally and we do our own thing.

Slightly different scenario than his. His region has very little gatherings. He reached out regarding that and didn't get the attention that maybe it should have. Unfortunately that region has lost several members due to that from what I understand. However NC is one of the regions with the most events. I'm not sure if you don't think we do enough events each year or if it was a isolated situation where you contacted someone and didn't get a reply. Either way message me (Matt) or the Jon (who started this thread) and we will try to resolve it.

Note: I only go on the website a couple times a week. So sorry if I'm slow to reply.

[MoparJohn]

I was going to be quiet, but since you mentioned this I had the exact same experience for me in NC. Doesn't inspire a desire to join when no one makes the effort to acknowledge and get back with you (Although clearly that person wants people to pay money to support VOA). Fortunately, I've found 4 other Viper owners locally and we do our own thing.

Viper NC. I'm sorry what you experienced in the past, but as of January we have a new club president and I am the new VP. I would love to have you join the VOA and participate in some of the events we have planned. I am currently working on one down in Charlotte / Concord. It should be a pretty good event if the state moves onto phase III. Please send me a direct message or you can call me at 561.862.7786 if you would like to discuss this issue further.

[imzoomintoo]

I would have to agree, the Las Vegas chapter is very weak to say the least. I've had more outings and social events with other car and Mopar clubs the area. I feel I want to support VOA and I have but when I'm getting nothing for my money at some point I'll just give up!

Zero club activity here. I've reached out to the CFL president and even briefly with Beth, but nothing came about it.The only reason why I renewed for 2020 was because of NVE4. I know of at least 10 Viper owners in the Tampa area that I/we coordinate events with other makes/models, but it's obviously never club-affiliated so there's no motivation for me to renew for 2021.

[Herrsss]

Zero club activity here. I've reached out to the CFL president and even briefly with Beth, but nothing came about it.The only reason why I renewed for 2020 was because of NVE4. I know of at least 10 Viper owners in the Tampa area that I/we coordinate events with other makes/models, but it's obviously never club-affiliated so there's no motivation for me to renew for 2021.

Brian Willey said ya'll have chatted about options for CFL so please keep me posted on your progress.

[Gen5snake]

I haven't been able to participate in local events, but I still pay the membership. This forum is the only voice we have. A good example was the lack of Pirelli tires for our cars. The Association spoke up, reached out to Pirelli and a few months later, I was able to get a fresh set of meats. At least I'm thinking the Association had something to do with that....I know I got an email stating new tires were available.

[darbgnik]

My region hosted such exciting motorsports events, as highway cruises and wine tasting events, all in the same usual area, 800 miles away from me. Less than zero interest in that, and honestly, if it were a block away from me, I still would not have participated.

The only use I ever got out of my membership was when the Pirelli deal was going on. Think I sprung for two separate memberships over that deal. When that deal ended, so did my membership.

That aside, I believe the forum works well for guys helping each other out, with some enthusiasts(who wrench, race, etc) experience being more worthwhile than paying members' experience. JMHO

[Brian GTS]

Well....there are a lot of volunteers behind the scenes managing the club, forum, FB, organizing events, etc. At the end of the day, most of us have day jobs....and a family, so what's a measly $115/yr in order to support their volunteer efforts? ...and you get a high quality Viper "porn" magazine to boot!

If your region isn't doing what you like or anything at all, my suggestion would be to step up to the plate and help organize and event or two. It makes a huge difference when you have people chipping in to help. You don't have to be an officer to help plan some events.

[ViperGeorge]

Our regional club is very active with several overnight trips, track events, drives, lunches, parties, BBQs, etc. The previous club I was in before moving to Colorado was the New England club and they were also very active. Now on the other hand the NJ club which I also used to belong to hardly did anything and they were a large club. Get involved and organize an event you would like to do and others will join. Club membership is a steal for the money. The magazine is worth it and don't for a moment think that putting up this website is free. Other websites I used to regularly use such as Traildamage.com (for info on Jeep trails) used to be free and now they charge.

[Hoonin88]

I joined at a weird time lol. Freaking pandemic ended up canceling a few meetups and of course the one that did end up happening- I couldn't make it to. I really needed my car looked over by Tom Sessions and that has been postponed and potentially canceled for the year as well. F

Regardless, I plan on keeping my membership even if it is just for the monthly gatherings.

[TrackAire]

Main reasons I join.....

Supporting the cost of the website (I hate facebook)
Nice magazine
NVE attendance

I don't do local events because of travel logistics (NorCal is a big area) and time (I'd rather do track days)...but NorCal has always had a great group of people with lots of social stuff going on.

The cost of the yearly membership is negligible....I spend more money per month going through the drive thru at Starbucks.

For those that don't want or need to join, the website is here to help answer tech questions, etc. Overall, a pretty good solution for both members and non-members.

[MoparJohn]

Thank you for the comments. Please keep them coming. I also realized there was an earlier thread on this subject, but honestly the question needs to be brought up from time to time.
The VOA has given me friendships that will last a lifetime and that wouldn't have been possible unless I joined and started going to events. The cars bring us together, but the people are why we stay. If your region is less active then some you can organize your own events. You do not need to be an officer to step up and plan something to bring people together. As Brian stated this club is built by people volunteering their time and sometimes life can get in the way for the leaders in your region to plan events. If that happens call them. Talk to them and tell them what you want to do. I am sure they will support you in any way possible. Here in the Carolinas region we are what I consider to be very active. One event is on the books for at least 8 months a year. Several of which are overnight events.
My point is this. If the VOA has in someway helped or benefited you please consider joining or renewing your membership.

[RT SERPENT]

Thank you for the comments. Please keep them coming. I also realized there was an earlier thread on this subject, but honestly the question needs to be brought up from time to time.
The VOA has given me friendships that will last a lifetime and that wouldn't have been possible unless I joined and started going to events. The cars bring us together, but the people are why we stay. If your region is less active then some you can organize your own events. You do not need to be an officer to step up and plan something to bring people together. As Brian stated this club is built by people volunteering their time and sometimes life can get in the way for the leaders in your region to plan events. If that happens call them. Talk to them and tell them what you want to do. I am sure they will support you in any way possible. Here in the Carolinas region we are what I consider to be very active. One event is on the books for at least 8 months a year. Several of which are overnight events.
My point is this. If the VOA has in someway helped or benefited you please consider joining or renewing your membership.

Totally agree. The minimal amount of funds required to support the Viper community and brand is worth it.
Even if you don't get to participate in person, or you could care less about the magazine, but clearly still find value in visiting this website and forum,
I'd say there's value right there!

I don't go through life only concerned about "what's in it for me."
Although, as it turns out, I'm more than happy with the value I receive from being a supporting member anyhow.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

Mopar J.D.

Answers ad-nauseum here: https://driveviper.com/forums/thread...t-contributing

Hissstory Trivia:

The original club reached 2000 paying members in Late Fall of 1999, with fewer regions, and only 7.5 years of Viper production on the streets. As a percentage of cars, 2000 was BIG! Club BOD Gary Lashinsky {RIP} and his team had made that a goal by end of '99.

Daimler-Chrysler was duly impressed, and then began paying for "COOL" memberships with MY 2000 cars and newer. Dodge / SRT also offered a lot of cool events: ALMS, ORECA, FIA, NASCAR VOIs, F-16 races, VRL, and more. That spurred paying memberships.

Membership rose to about 4400 if I recall correctly. Unfortunately, most of the "COOL" members did not renew after their first 'free' year.

I have been noticing over the years that there are more people labeled as "enthusiasts" instead of being actual members of the VOA. My question is if you were once a member and no longer are. Why? If you are not interested in joining the VOA as an official dues paying member. Why?

This is not meant as a criticism. I am asking because I have seen membership drop off a bit and am curious to know what it would take for people to become official members again.

[02rt10]

I dropped mine because I don’t participate in enough events.

I realize this doesn't fit the GenV thread criteria. I have posted the same question in the general thread.

I have been noticing over the years that there are more people labeled as "enthusiasts" instead of being actual members of the VOA. My question is if you were once a member and no longer are. Why? If you are not interested in joining the VOA as an official dues paying member. Why?

This is not meant as a criticism. I am asking because I have seen membership drop off a bit and am curious to know what it would take for people to become official members again.

[Dman]

I’ve been a paying member since 1999, and then paying member in both clubs, even thru the ridiculous Soap opera drama at that time.

We used to have great Dodge involvement, a great relationship with SRT, at VCA we had lots, as in tons, of events locally, we’d do a few events ourselves and have 12 plus vipers at anything. All this just went away. When we lost VCA we had nothing local, relationship with Dodge got rough even at one point. Locally now there’s some activity but it’s not the same. Yea, I could try to run for VOA local office and try to build it up, but frankly, the magic was lost and with multiple companies to run and most of my car hobby being at the track. So def no complaints from me, can’t complain about what you’re not willing to fix yourself. It that’s my reason. I’ve never been a fan of the mag, I’ve always just thumbed thru and tossed them, pics of someone’s cookout or whatever, I’ve never understood the mag myself. If it was loaded with owner and vendor project cars, racing and Perf event coverage then maybe. So all I get for value is popping on here no and then to see if I can answer anything or help someone with my 20 yrs of viper experience. The money is immaterial, but the motivation to sit and re-up isn’t there. I guess I could’ve done it vs wetting this reply. LoL. Maybe I’ll go ahead now and do it.

[Viper98]

I keep my membership to help support ALL Viper owners, through the club. One time I briefly thought about not re-upping, but quickly recognized that would not be fair to me, the volunteers, to Billy or Bobby or Betty. We all know there are getting fewer and fewer Viper techs, etc. out there. Some of passed on. RIP Viper guys. And as time goes on more will retire and go live like a king in Costa Rica. The chances of any of the young bunch growing up today that will want to have anything to do with the Viper is quite remote. Electric motor replaces gas motor. Paddle shift replaces manual shift. Autonomous vehicle replaces visceral experience. People like: JonB, Dan Cragin, Tator, Mark Jorgensen and so many more will not be there for us. Soooo, we need to be there for ourselves. The volunteers help make all of this happen. You have to give all of them kudos. What if they said, "You know what? Forget this gig. If the members don't appreciate this enough then they are on their own." ummm...wow! That would not be good for any of us.The mag has some good stuff in it, mechanical and the outing and activities are still cool to see. The mag aside, the knowledge we share is worth every penny. Speaking of pennies: $115.00/12(months)=$9.58/month $9.58/30(days)=$00.32 a day. Seriously?! That's .32X7=$2.24 a week. That's barely more than one gallon of gas or a half a pack of cigarettes or one fountain drink or one beer or two burgers. Isn't keeping all of this for ALL of us enough reason to help make this happen for just $115.00 a year. I believe that 110%. Shoot, if you go for cruises with your club and stop for lunch the club helps pay for part of it. Which means you will actually be spending some of your membership money on you, anyway. If you don't cruise just remember: 32 cents a DAY. That's chump change. I put more than that in my piggy bank every day after work.
Please, don't be a lurker, be a member.

Thank you