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Post by rswords on Nov 30, 2014 19:49:48 GMT -5
So? Whats the deal? Is there a list of benefits or anything? How active is the club?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 2, 2014 19:56:49 GMT -5
Two days and no one has answered you yet. I'm going to provide a couple thoughts for you. Please keep in mind that these are my personal views only, and what I say should not be applied to all and no one should view anything I write as a personal attack. It is my personal view about the current condition of the club only. I tend to get long winded, and lately I've seem to ruffle a lot of feathers; although that is not my intention other than to display my displeasure.
I met a lot of my good friends as a result of this forum and eventually the club (T4W). I'm very thankful I made such good friends and made a lot of good memories. I've been through a lot of vehicles and been to several places. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Having said that, I do not intend to renew my club membership. Things change I guess, and it isn't what I remember when I first started out. I don't feel it is quite as family oriented as it once was. A lot of the people are also no longer around. The club does very little, if any, wheeling together (other than the ATR). The club does not spend any money on wheeling that benefits its members. We have SWAG, a Christmas party, and sometimes a summer picnic. It's pretty much dead until it is time to plan the ATR, and then people come out of the woodwork and drama ensues. Then it goes dead again.
We used to never get any business conducted because of the quorum mandate in the bylaws. We finally got that taken care, but now business is conducted so fast, that if you miss a meeting drastic issues are brought up and voted on in one meeting. I do not understand this trailer business. I do not understand the reserved spot at Dennis Anderson Park. From my point of view a few people are taking advantage of membership apathy and using the club to fund personal wants that have nothing to do with a Four Wheeling Club.
There are still a lot of great people in the club, some of who year after year keep volunteering their time to keep things afloat and moving. Lisa is a prime example of selflessness. We've elected a president for the 2nd term (Does no one else want the job?) who gives and gives his time, and works very hard to raise money for the cause. But many times this is done at the cost of pissing people off and leaving them in the wake when we are all on the same team. I will say that I am personally aware many others feel the same but for whatever reason won't say it. Either that or they want to set me up to go ahead and share my thoughts and watch the trouble that ensues. Sometimes I think the whole picture is lost as to what we're in it for.
I also do not like the mandatory membership to VA4WDA and UFWDA. I do not like being strongarmed in to being a member of those organizations. Whether I want to or not isn't the issue; the choice should be mine to make not the club's.
Since I'm not pleased, and admittedly I have no more time to give to try and effect change right now, I'm not going to continue funding things I don't believe in. So there you have it. Maybe some discussion will be sparked now to make positive change; or maybe I'll just get lambasted again. Either way I hope you do get a differing view so you can have all types of information from which to make a decision.
BTW, membership benefits other than making friends and memories are:
Membership to VA4WDA and UFWDA
Club discount program at 4WD Hardware
Discount at Tom Wood's Driveshafts
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Post by Jesse Schneirla on Dec 2, 2014 21:29:23 GMT -5
rswords,
I'm sorry I didn't respond faster but I don't get on here as much any more. I tend to update our Facebook page more. But below is some of the benefits of joining this club:
Membership to Tidewater Fourwheelers. Below are some of the things we do:
- Host the VA4WDA Annual Trail Ride at Oak Ridge Estate that benefits VA4WDA, United and a local food pantry. There are usually 220 vehicles and over 350+ people that attend this event.
- There is usually one to two events/wheeling trips planned by different members to different places a month.
- We are going to start completing our trail clean-ups in the George Washington National Forest again twice a year. The club has a trail that we have volunteered to maintain, "Second Mountain Trail".
- We have started to reserve a spot out at Dennis Anderson's Muddy Motorsports Park and he has at least eight events a year.
- We have a summer picnic either at a local place here in Tidewater or down in the outer banks.
- We have a Christmas party which is scheduled this year for the 13th of December and perspective members are encouraged to attend. This year we are having it at one of our club members property that he has opened up to us to go wheeling with our OHV or ATV's. Plus he has encouraged camping there that night.
- We hold monthly meetings at Southern Jeep, Chrysler, Ram, Fiat on N. Military Hwy in Norfolk near the airport. This is held the second Wednesday of every month. Stop by and check us out.
- We have been going to the George Washington over the 4th of July Weekend for wheeling in the National Forrest. Every year more and more members join in on the fun. This coming year we are going to be joined by a group out of Fredricksburg and Newport News.
- You get discounts from Southern Jeep, Tom Wood's Driveshafts, 4 Wheel Drive Hardware and we have re-imbursement agreements with 4 Wheel Drive Hardware and Amsoil.
Membership to Virginia Fourwheel Drive Association, With that you get the following:
- Quarterly news letter on what is happening in the state of Virginia concerning our sport.
- $40 off the registration fee to the VA4WDA Annual Trail Ride hosted by this club.
- Two Clean-up/wheeling trips to the George Washington National Forrest, one in the spring around Earth Day and the second in fall around Halloween.
- Get to wheel at Gore as part of the VA4WDA Members Only Ride at a discounted price.
- We hold an Annual Meeting/Wheeling Day at Starr Motors in Suffolk usually the third Saturday in March.
- There a numerous events put on by Association Clubs that everyone is invited to come to and have fun.
Membership to United Fourwheel Drive Association. With that you get e-mailed quarterly newsletters and are kept updated of issues with our sport on a National level.
I hope this was the information that you were seeking and we hope to see you in the future.
R/
Jesse L Schneirla
Tidewater Fourwheelers President
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Post by Sandy Schneirla on Dec 3, 2014 20:00:02 GMT -5
Keith - I have been a member of this 40+ year old club for 20+ years. I have had enough of the hand full of people that do not come to meetings, expect the club to change our bylaws to suit their needs, and blast other members all the time. We are not changing for you! If you came to a meeting or participated in club events, you would know what this club does. Why don't you take your unhappy a@@ elsewhere? Stop creating drama in our club!
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Post by smrflng on Dec 3, 2014 20:27:49 GMT -5
Yes the club may not do as many so called wheeling events as years past. But we still do many different events a year. Remember due to the state of the economy these days not everyone can attend every event however nice it would be. Like every organization there are people who are unhappy with the way things are run. And want to change things to fit their beliefs without thinking of the effects it would have on others. If people have problems with other individuals they should be adult enough to have a one on one conversation and not blast an entire organization if that person only has issues with a few people and not in and open forum.
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Post by toynrnd on Dec 4, 2014 8:25:35 GMT -5
rswords asked 2 questions, what are the benefits of joing the club, and how active is the club. Please keep your responses to just that.
I believe both Keith and Jesse listed the benefits of joining the club...friends, memories, and activities, etc.
As far as how active is the club? In my 26+ years with the club, I have seen the highs and lows of almost everything. Year after year, the membership goes up and membership goes down. The number of wheeling trips goes up and the number goes down. The number of different 4x4 related activities (mud bog attendance, truck shows) varies too. Attendance at these different things varies as one would expect, based on an individual's personal finances, sports and school schedules (if they have children), and their desire to attend that type of activity. I would say start attending, and form your own opinion.
As far as the formal club/dues/ thing, I support it. There are local, state, and national organizations that promote the sport/hobby (whatever you want to call it) that I like to participate in. The dues to help all three cost less than 1/2 a tank of fuel in my Dodge Ram. I have been involved in the leadership at all 3 levels, so I know that it takes money to fight the fight, promote the sport, and participate in the land management planning, etc. To me it is money well spent. If the (limited number of) volunteers at these 3 levels don't folks backing them up in sweat equity, the least I can do is throw them some money. It gives those volunteers a chance to do some good. If every four wheeler stopped donating time or money to the cause, we're sunk.
My personal situation - I don't attend as many activities as I used to. My priorities and finacial situation has changed such that I can attend but a few trips a year. It is a family oriented club, however my 9 and 12 years old boys have homework and sports during the week, so they do not ususally attend the meetings when I go. The couple activities at Oak Ridge that I help manage occur during the school year, and my family makes our decision on their attendance based on that. Would I like to go wheeling more? You bet! Will I be able to in the near future? I can only hope so. Like Keith, I have met a lot of great folks in this club. I am still friends with lots of them who have moved on for whatever reason, sold their 4x4, found a different group, etc. Come on out and try it.
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Post by Jesse Schneirla on Dec 4, 2014 8:53:07 GMT -5
I agree with Chris on supporting clubs and Associations at the local, state and national levels. It is one voice in numbers! The more we stand together the better our chances at keeping public lands open to our sport. Very well written Chris. I not only belong to Tidewater, VA4WDA and United, I also belong to NCBBA, OBPA and Chapa in the outerbanks.
If you look at our Facebook page we usually post all scheduled events on there so members and prospective members can join in on the fun. We always welcome new faces to our Tidewater family, so come on out to our meeting next week at Southern Jeep on 10 December at 7pm. Also plan on attending our Christmas party on the 13th. I believe that starts around 2pm and we plan to wheel and spend the day together. Later we will have food, a gift exchange and a bonfire.
Look forward to seeing you there,
Jesse
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Post by stuck tj on Dec 4, 2014 22:53:15 GMT -5
RSWORDS HI!
This is a club all clubs have personalities , all personalities are somewhat different. Everyone here has a love of off roading please come to a meeting or event, Please
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Post by gte718p on Dec 5, 2014 13:41:00 GMT -5
I'll throw my two cents in. Based on your build thread here and on Pirate there are not a lot of trucks in this club that will be able to keep up with you. There is my buggy, Ping Pong, and a couple of the square back mofia guys with built rigs. The club is mostly mildly built jeeps. At least in the last six months the club has been fairly active with GW, red cloud, Duck, etc. Some are not necessarily "club" events, but people connected by the club going out together. A lot of the stuff will not be interesting or even available to you in the truggy.
Benefits:
1. The people are really good. I've enjoyed going out with them every time I've gone.
2. There are members and friends of members who have land available. Nothing extreme, but good places to test. As I said in 1. I've never had a bad trip.
3. You join VA4WD and the discounts and members only run at Gore are worth it.
Activity:
1. Forum activity is next to none existent
2. Club activity as a whole varies
3. Through the club you will probably find someone who want to wheel most weekends
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Post by rswords on Dec 5, 2014 23:39:55 GMT -5
Having the truggy is not a big deal. I have my friends I wheel with that makes my truggy feel like a civic. Also, We are getting a sammi for the miss that will be a mild street driven trail ride rig. I just don't want to waste my time or (let's be honest) money with a club that just wants to have meetings and talk about enjoying wheeling. We want to find a group that truly enjoys getting out and wheeling.
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Post by rswords on Dec 5, 2014 23:43:21 GMT -5
Also, we took a good friend with an open front Toyota on 35's all the way through insanity at gore last year so having a mild built rig is no excuse to not wheel hard.  |
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Post by gte718p on Dec 8, 2014 8:17:59 GMT -5
I know what you mean, I grew up with a 2 wheel drive Nissan pickup and took it about everywhere in the south. more mud then rocks though. The local kid with the silver toyota and the rising sun tail gate followed me through insanity on 33's and open front last year. He also dropped into Bunny Hole but someone else in the group broke so we backed out to get him back to camp. People like that are few and far between. A lot of T4W wheels their daily driver and don't take a ton of risk. There are a couple of people who do go extreme, but extreme is different in a built truggy vice a mildly built jeep. As I said last time, there are a couple of built rigs in the club, its just not the norm.
A lot of the wheeling the club does requires you to be street legal. It is why I build a second truck. Beach wheeling, GW national forest, and Oak Ridge (not really) all require a street legal rig.
My suggestion come down introduce yourself. There are a couple of events coming up including a run at Star Motors. They will not even take your money until you have completed three events with them. If you fit in great, if not you meet some more of the local wheeling community.
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