Hey Gang,
Visiting that great website that GoMoG has developed got me to thinkin' again...
Janet and I have owned our '66 Plus 4 for nearly twenty years, have put many,
many thousands of miles on it, have driven it to and shown it at numerous
shows and conclaves, but have never gone to a National Morgan Convention. Why
not? Well, mainly 'cause there ain't none...
Have you ever asked yourself why there is not a huge (well, largish anyway)
Morgan Club in North America? The advantages--parts availability, regalia,
international conclaves, regional conclaves, a slick Morgan Monthly, etc.,
etc, etc,--seem so obvious.
I've always believed it is because we are so spread out over here that
communication was just too big a problem to handle. Because of the internet I
think that may be changing.
Nowadays it would be possible to structure a North American Moggie Club so
that each specific club (GoMog or MogMog or whatever)
retains it's status as a local or regional club undiminished
while becoming a club chapter in a national club. Members
joining the national club would have the option of affiliating with the
Chapter of
their choice and most would affiliate with the nearest chapter. Local
chapters could charge a nominal extra fee to cover whatever costs the local
chapter thinks are not recovered by the rebate of dues from national.
Individuals who do not have a close local chapter could still join the national
club and participate as much as they could. Personally, I have little doubt
that most members could and would make it to at least some of the "Continental
Morgan Conventions." The lure of a couple of hundred Mogs gathered on the
grass would pull strong at the heartstrings...
Most chapters would still publish a small newsletter with local info but the big
effort and expense would be in a slick national mag which would be published
monthly and very
professionally by the national club. "National" could collect all dues and
rebate a portion
to the chapters based on the number of affiliates.
Both National and Chapter websites could and would flourish through "net
rings." There would be both National and
Chapter activities but the Premier Event would be an annual Continental
Convention conducted at rotating sites in the US and Canada. At the annual
Convention, Chapters would "bid" to host
the next (open) convention date (which would be scheduled several years in
advance)
and the membership would select the site. First year, maybe Philadelphia, then
maybe L.A, then Toronto, then Dallas, whatever, you get the idea...
Chapters (and unaffiliated members) would elect National Board members; the
elected Board members would select
officers from their own ranks and the board would appoint "special" chairs as
needed (competition, regalia, membership, model registry, etc., etc.).
The benefits and advantages seem self-evident. Why wouldn't something like
this work for Morgans? Anybody have any thoughts?
--Colin Cobb, Las Cruces, NM, USA
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