Tom, you are aware of Tiger Tom's efforts to get TE/AE and the other
clubs into a national grouping. I have talked to you Tom, and to Wally
Swift, and my conclusion is that there are some Olde Timers who just
don't want to give up their Turf.
I consider this a sad state, and consider those who think this way as
leading their clubs down in membership.
To "Sell" a club, you have to offer something. And yes you have to
"Sell" a club, just like everything else.
I believe the internet has made great in roads in providing useful
information that owners need. If there were a national club, they might
have been able to do this, but given the opposition from olde members, I
also don't think this will happen.
So again, thanks to Mark and Steve for providing a real time location to
share with other owners.
I personally have benefited more from the internet, and the people I met
over the internet, that the two clubs I have belong to over the last 34
years .
Larry
Tom Hall wrote:
For all of you that think a National Sunbeam Club is a great new idea, a
little history might be in order:
In the early 70's STOA routinely published it's newsletter with stories
and articles from several area's of the USA and beyond. The predominant
input came from the Ohio area and most regional groups were very active
in autocross activities. STOA was attempting to create a national
newsletter for distribution through affiliation of the various
geographic groups whereby each geographic group would receive the
national edition in bulk, add a page or so of local interest and mail to
their local membership.
STOA invited active Tiger owners to attend our meetings and events from
all area's whenever they were in our vicinity. One of the early
organizers on the East Coast attended an STOA meeting in March 1976 and
went home all fired up and ready to get his local area going and
affiliated . By August STOA had developed and announced a formal
program of "affiliation" we began to sign up various geographical
groups. TE/AE became the first group to decide that affiliation was not
in their best interest. Financial support and interest in the
affiliation program generally diminished from that point.
In 1978 the clubs tried again and met at Tigers United V in Redding,
CA. Representatives from the four major clubs signed an agreement to
form the Sunbeam Tiger Alpine Council (STAC). This effort also had a
short history and was soon forgotten. No one I know of, has tried to
tie the various groups and clubs together on a formal basis since that
time save STOA's efforts to write the Tigers United Guidelines.
The primary difference between the Sunbeam groups and the Shelby
organization is that SAAC is a for profit corporation with lots and lots
of members of means. It may or may not have started out on that path way
back in Oakland, CA, but that's what it is today. They've also enjoyed
an early head start in the value of their cars and the visibility of a
world racing championship. Should the LeMans Tigers have been more
successful, It might have been a different story, and maybe Ian Garrad
would get the recognition he so justly deserves. I fully support the
concept of a national group, but I have no idea how to make it happen.
It's a good thing that subscription to this list is free, otherwise it
wouldn't have much content.
Tom
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