[VAC] 25 year rule - One Man's Opinion

[Terry Tyler <tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi Fellow Vintage Airstreamers,

The latest VAC newsletter contains a President's Message asking for
discussion about changing the qualifications for vintage status. Currently,
the rule is once an Airstream is 25 years old, it's a Vintage Airstream.

According to President Vogt, consideration is being given to setting cutoff
dates to qualify as Vintage (1968 or 19??) and establishing classifications
of Vintage, such as 1930's, 1940's, etc. for membership grouping.

Do I have anything to say about this idea? Yes, I do. Is it based on facts?
No, it's my opinion and here it is - as plainly as I can say it.

Arbitrarily classifying and dividing Airstream owners into groups on the
basis of the decade in which their Airstream was manufactured seems arrogant
and invasive. Plus, will those of us with multiple Airstreams be assigned to
multiple groups? I believe owners are fully capable of figuring out which
members they will consult in their search for knowledge as well as which
friendships they will form for specific group activities.

My suggestion is to stay with the crisp and clean 25 year rule. Allow each
of us to share the joy of restoring and using our wonderful old vintage
vehicles without being artificially grouped on the basis of the decade our
Airstreams were manufactured.

I have a second thought. It begins with a question. When will mistakes of
the past be recognized in the present and avoided in the future?

In past years, leaders of WBCCI chose to exclude owners and first time
buyers from the organization when they purchased newly manufactured Argosy
and square shaped Airstreams, even though these RVs were bonafide Airstream
products.

At the time, it appeared to me our WBCCI leaders had a strong need to
"divide and conquer" so they could maintain total control of the Club. Their
influence prevailed and as a result, owners of these new products were
effectively locked out of access to leadership roles in WBCCI. Simply put,
they were "excluded" from WBCCI, yet ironically, were " included" in all
Airstream Company events. Divisiveness was at an all time high during those
painful years.

Later, when WBCCI leaders recognized consistent dwindling membership figures
and a continuing loss of money to meet organizational expenses, they changed
the bylaws and suddenly, the rule of exclusion became the rule of inclusion.
They began searching for owners of these Airstream products and encouraging
them to join (and pay dues).

A few who hadn't been totally alienated by past practices did join. It has
been only recently that NEW owners of OLD Argosys and OLD square shaped
Airstreams are beginning to join the WBCCI family. What these new owners
recognize that past leaders did not, is their Airstreams are an integral and
genuine part of Airstream cultural history. Owning an Airstream product is
owning the most recognized RV icon name in the world.

They also recognize that within VAC there is equality among owners of all
models and all years of Airstream products. I believe we need to confirm
this is still the case within VAC. I believe it would be counter productive
and dead wrong to even hint that VAC leaders might consider returning to the
old days of sorting out owners on the basis of which Airstream they owned.

Now, fast forward to the last 10 years. When the fledgling Vintage Airstream
Club came on the scene, they showed uncanny foresight by providing a direct
pathway for including ALL NON-WBCCI owners of ANY VINTAGE Airstream
product.

First, they established a "Friends" route for joining, then developed a free
and comprehensive website which included the most complete archive in the
world on the topic of Airstreaming. Next, they created a knowledgeable email
discussion group which accepted everyone and anyone with an interest in
Airstreams. This was a VAC recruiting coup of major/massive proportions that
occurred independently of WBCCI leadership.

For these and other reasons, hundreds of new owners chose to become
"Friends" of the Vintage Airstream Club. The ground swell of interest and
eventual involvement quickly expanded our membership to over1,000.

It's common knowledge that enthusiasm among owners of Vintage Airstreams is
high at VAC meetings, during VAC rallies and on VAC caravans. With each
successive year, VAC's growth and development surpasses the previous year.
On top of that, the Vintage Advantage news magazine has become a quality
professional publication with worldwide circulation, recognition and
respect. I believe a good share of the intense loyalty toward VAC is due to
us being united as one group, one family of owners.

Hopefully, this phenomena has not been lost on current WBCCI leaders.
There's general awareness among VAC members that it's essential for WBCCI
leaders to demonstrate vision, desire and genuine intitiative if they are
going to make WBCCI a better organization.

In just a decade, VAC efforts have proven we can attract quality people such
as younger folks and families. Not only does this raise the value of being a
member in VAC, it enhances the membership base of WBCCI. This is essential
for continued growth and for fostering a vibrantly active, energetic group.
Only time will show what or if current WBCCI leaders will learn from this.

Another insightful decision by VAC was the establishment of a brand new
WBCCI Unit designed to specifically represent vintage Airstream owners, to
include members from all states in the Union (and including Canada and
Mexico) and to be supportive of WBCCI. The federal district of the United
States was selected to symbolize VAC's goal of inclusiveness. Growth of the
Washington DC Unit continues to exceed any other unit within WBCCI. VAC
meetings are lively and well attended. Their unique rallies occur throughout
the country.

It's now the year 2002 and unfortunately, we're seeing the start of internal
discussion designed to divide VAC membership into discrete groups, one of
which would be based on the year their Airstream was manufactured. To me,
that flies in the face of what we learned from the past. When will mistakes
of the past be recognized in the present and avoided in the future?

In my opinion, we don't need another generation of owners who feel exclusive
at the expense of those being excluded. The slightest hint that divisive
mistakes of past years are about occur again, but this time, within the
Vintage Airstream Club organization could stifly VAC's momentum. That does
not make any sense to me. We need to resist that type of thinking, no
matter how insignificant it may seem to those who are promoting it.

Ten years ago, a group of Airstreamers created this club. They wisely chose
a fully inclusive path for all members. The current VAC leadership should
stay with that crisp and clean 25 year rule. The original thinking of our
founders must be resoundingly confirmed.

Some will disagree with me and pick at parts of what I've written. That's
the price of freedom in America. Bring it on and let's hash it out. This is
our club and our rules. We need to make sure the rules are right for us.

Terry Tyler #6477

<mailto:tylerbears@airstream.net>