Irish Region Committee Feedback required

kdevitt wrote: but I don't see any reason why there shouldn't be a Irish BMW car club, rather than us being a UK region.

One simple reason is economy of scale.  There aren't enough members here to support a club structure, even if all the work is voluntary.  Even if all the Irish members moved across it would be difficult to organize the little things that are taken for granted and it would be unfair to expect people to do all the work on a voluntary basis.  Having been on the committee of the Irish Jordan club those years ago (which was a breakaway from the official UK club) I know the workload is high and the thanks is little.  With a club organization in place its work that no one needs to do, and the effort can be spent in organizing actual events and activities.

For example, the insurance cover for individuals at Mondello that Killian mentioned.  It may or may not cost much but the time it would take a volunteer to organize it, get quotes, fill in forms, put the cover in place, pay for it, etc. is huge, assuming the cover can be had.  I know this from trying to organize Public Liability insurance for the management company in the estate where I live.

Lets all back up a little and remember the question we started out asking.  That was, do we need to change the way the Irish section is organized and run? 

The question was not about the whether to break away. 

Also, the whole point of a club, and its one that has been lost in the question about what you get for €50, is that its what people put in that makes a club successful, not what they take (or get) out. 

I personally think €50 is cheap for the entertainment and enjoyment I get from being involved.

A point that has been alluded to as well is that the forum is an interest to a lot of people but that you don't have to be a member to partake.  True, but I have no problem in chipping in a small sum to keep it afloat, simply so that I can use it.  Others can make their own minds about piggy backing if they want, but I see it as a service that I use and want to continue and therefore am happy to contribute to that as another service provided by the club.

One last thing ("I promise"!), a point was made earlier about event dates appearing in the club mags after the events themselves.  There is a simple way to avoid that, set the dates early enough to make the correct deadlines for the publication of the previous edition!

highbeem wrote:   I will be joining when i get home. I 'm joining in order of importance because 1. Bdd (trackdays)  2. Forum (help and Knowledge)  3. Discounts (Topazman is cheaper than ebay for meguiars) I would prefer to join a free standing Irish club but it would'nt put me off joining an affiliate. For less than the price of a tank of go go juice i think i would get value for money. I must put in only a slight effort recoup this outlay over the year.

Cheers for that Highbeem  

I don't think restricting the forum to club members is a good idea. The Alfa club GB is member-only, and ticks me off no end I can't get in.

In terms of branching away from BMWclub GB, I really don't see how it benefits us. They provide a useful service, any thing club related is handled quickly and efficiently (membership, paying for trackday, Silverstone etc).

Alot of good events people have had are individual-driven rather than club-driven (such as Frankfurt, NI trip etc). But essentially they are BMWclub members prposing & co-ordinating the trip. As Brendan said, this approach to events is new, is working, and if it ain't broke why try fix it? Unless Richie, Niall et al feel this work should be recognised by the club by creating a more formal role for them?

I agree with Niall that group buys should be restricted to club members (but will we lose the numbers to support a group buy then?). The technical help provided by BMW technicians requires your membership number which is fair enough. remember alot of people log on by chance looking for assistance for a problem they have. It's this support that has created the community we have now.

This is probably as TJ said is what I think is the only benifit and maybe recognition by BMW UK/IRL?

In terms of branching away from BMWclub GB, I really don't see how it benefits us. They provide a useful service, any thing club related is handled quickly and efficiently (membership, paying for trackday, Silverstone etc).