FTO Drivers Club, Western Australia

[RichardH]

Hi All.

The following email received today from Tanya Broadby at www.ftoaustralia.com.

I've posted this up here to promote discussion. So... read, digest and, er, discuss!

- Rich

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From NSW to WA - greetings. I don't know if you participate/log on to our web site (ftoaustralia.com) at all, but we have been discussing the idea of a national club - for all the FTO enthusiasts of Australia. (I logged on to your site last night and I was impressed - both with the site and with some of the cars, there are some very very nice FTO's over your way.)

Some of the directions we are looking at include - CAMS registration, benefits for member - both financial and non-financial, promotional items, discounts/offers for club members at participating outlets. The basic structure we have put in place at the moment to facilitate the new direction is:-
Club Coordinator Stephen
Club secretary - Tanya
NSW Coordinator- Robert
VIC Coordinator - Michael
QLD Coordinator - Mark
SA Coordinator - DAZFTO (to be confirmed)
WA Coordinator - .....

What we hope becoming a National Club will mean:-

Everyone to still have the same benefits as before, web access, meeting up for cruises, general information sharing.... BUT....

Discounts:- Saving money. The more members we can get, the more we can start approaching companies to give us discounts, both Nationally and locally. The bigger we get - the more discounts/benefits we can negotiate - for example - even a saving of 10% on tyres would be good (for me alone this is $139.60 ...depends on your tyres of course). Being a more formal club with membership cards means we can be taken more seriously.

FTO Shop - we currently have an online shop with specialty FTO products, the more members we get, the more we can expand the range available and basic economies of scale - the more we can sell the better the price.

FTO Improvements - we currently have a project going for a new exhaust manifold that has proved successful, other states have great projects too - it would be nice if we could all pool our information and resources together - the aim at the end of the day is to make our cars the best they can be.

CAMS (Confederation of Australian Motor Sport)
We would like to become a CAMS affiliated club - some of the motor sport events available through CAMS include Rallying/ Circuit Racing/ Hillclimbs/ Sprints - financial members would have access through the club to apply for various licences.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to call/email me.

Regards
Tanya Broadby (sitename: teania)
FTO Australia Club Secretary
www.ftoaustralia.com

[RichardH]

In the best tradition of replying to one's own postings, here goes!

Some thoughts of mine... in no particular order...

- In order to be CAMS-affiliated, is it the case that club volunteers must make themselves available to facilitate at CAMS events?

- This would, I take it, be a fully incorporated body... an independent legal entity. This would then need regular meetings, an AGM, treasurer, accounts, the whole shebang. What beaurocratic overhead would be required state-by-state?

- Having a CAMS-affiliated FTO club isn't a big issue in my book. There are a plethora of car clubs here that you can use to get a CAMS license. I joined AFARCC to get mine... it was $20 a year if you would agree to help out on a couple of club days, of $50 if you were a lazy sod and wouldn't be any help at all. "The $50 one, please!", I said.

- Things have been a bit quiet in the West Aussie FTO Drivers Club scene lately. Since June '03, we've had a drag day, photo shoot, Lancelin BBQ and an autokhana training day or two. Mark has moved to the UK, I've got my little 'un at home, a job gone mad... and I've thrown all my remaining time into driving up at MC's! The thought of a new direction and fresh impetus in FTO club stuff over here is an intriguing one.

- In my book, any financial aspect to club membership needs the following: Incorporation, for liability reasons. Accessible, published accounts. Transparent committee elections. Obvious value for money for everyone. Something to offer that genuinely gives it an advantage over an informal group. Perhaps ftoautralia should have a chat to the Skylines Australia bunch here in WA... they are just going through this whole transformation right now:

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=23

Have a chat about their support of both financial and non-financial members. What the legal/liability issues are. Where the traps are when incorporating, importance of sponsorship, etc.

They're a good bunch. I'm sure they will be happy to discuss the current state of play, and what they have learned so far!

Jeez, this is taking up too much space! Time to call it a night...

- Rich

[RichardH]

See the original ftoaustralia forum thread on this here:

http://www.ftoaustralia.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1014

- Rich

[BASSULA]

ok well...........

national sounds good to some and not to others...

so ehre are some pros/cons of being aust wide that I see haveing been inthe position before

PROS:
more people involved
mre discussion which coiuld lead to better events

CONS:
Being oz wide is hard.. you have a LOT of country to get over.
sponsors, with teh main body being in the eastern states it is generally the eastern states pople that get teh most out of it.
The bigger the group the more undesirables that come along
Paying to be in a registered club. but where does all the money from wa ppl go.

Not haveing a go at the ppl in the east at all... just what I am seeing.
but if it were to be a fully registered club with payment fees AGMs etc etc etc How would it be done with such a vast space between WA and the rest of oz. AGMs iirc need to have teh majority of memberspresent.. bit hard being spread over 7 states/territories.

In my view.. its a bit hard.. there is a good thing already here and why fix what isnt broken..

let some others have there thoughts..

cheers

[Zan]

I gotta agree with you there Bas. I'm quite happy with what I'm currently getting out of our little unofficial club here.

And I don't really see myself taking a huge avantage of any specials that might be provided to us.

It's a good idea. But I don't think there will be much benefit for myself.

z.

[smorison]

hey guys,
Just to update a little further on the email sent and to answer some concerns raised here.

We have done a huge amount of work in the background already around, incorporation, finance, public liability and various other issues. We have a lawyer (Well several) who are already club members who have graciously donated their time and expertise to help setup the club.

"but we are so far away"
are you? you are only as far away, as seperated from the rest of the community as you want to be. We are a national community already with many of our eastern state members visting these forums and the West Australian members visiting the National Club site (www.ftoaustralia.com).

The club isn't about taking your money and not giving anything back. We are already negotiating with many suppliers in Australia who will be offering finanical members discounts on products and services. We are not just about gettings CAM's licenses for members we are about developing a club that provides it's members (both finanical and non-finanical) with everything they want.

the FTO club of Australia will be a Non Profit Organisation (NPO). All profits raised will be invested back into the club. some of the ideas already out there are having a stand at AutoSalon where the club covers a portion of the cost for selected members entering their cars. We may even be able to cover the cost of freighting interstate cars to an event.

There is no requirement for everyone to become a finanical member of the club. Non financial members will still have access to events, the site its knowledge base and forums. they simply won't have discounts at the shops that are prepared to offer discounts to our finanical members.

The membership should be looked at putting money into your club, a place where you have a good time, share experiences, learn about your car and what not to do.

anyway guys i won't interupt your discussions on whether or not you wish to become part of the National Club.

Just let me say one more thing before departing. My vision is for a NATIONAL club not a eastern australian club. The Club will always welcome members from anywhere and everywhere it will be your choice if you want to become a finanical member. We will not look down on those who don't become one.

If you want to discuss anything in detail feel free to contact me (details below).

Regards
Stephen Morison
National Coordinator

[email protected]
0416224669

[RichardH]

Thanks for that, Stephen.

- Rich