From: chance wolf (chance_wolf@shaw.ca)
Date: Mon Jun 06 2005 - 10:37:55 PDT
----- Original Message -----
From: <flyn3nvt@adelphia.net>
To: "Military Vehicles Mailing List" <mil-veh@mil-veh.org>
Sent: Monday, June 06, 2005 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: [MV] MVPA - interesting reading on the G503 list
> Can you post this on the MV list.
Yes please from here too. You just wind up at the login screen with that
URL previously posted.
> Though I believe in groups like AOPA and EAA for helping the aviation
community
> for a positive (will be needed for AT-6 owners). I let go my membership
to the MVPA
> yrs ago because I was tired of the "if its not WW2, then its not a
Military Vehicle"
> additude the group showed me.
"The Group" isn't comprised of the MVPA brass alone, though, or even what
you perceive as being the bulk of the membership. Thousands of people carry
MVPA cards who own everything from Mules to M113s, and at each of the three
MVPA conventions I've managed to attend, a range of vehicles from WWI
Liberty B types through HUMV prototypes was displayed and enjoyed by fellow
collectors and public alike. The "World War II Club" is not a sense that I
get at all.
That all said, my own MVPA membership has lapsed as of a couple of years
back now. There are several reasons for that. I'd say "Supply Line" used
to be *the* resource for parts and vehicles in the hobby for a decade or
better until they started restricting this, that and the other thing in
terms of listings and drove people away into the waiting arms of the
competing/complementary "Military Vehicles Magazine". If I'm subscribing
to something for...40 bucks a year...I don't want one and a half pages of
classifieds out of a magazine that runs 20 pages or better. Secondly - I'm
busy, and truth be told - somewhat disorganized. I'll renew my bloody
subscriptions when I get around to it. When I do, I want a year's worth of
publications from the date I renew, and not, like last time, exactly three
publications for my $37 and change before getting my renewal notice for the
next year on their fixed "renew when we tell you or too bad" timetable. No.
I'm a customer, and the tail is not going to wag the dog.
The MVPA is a good umbrella organization and does lobby on behalf of the
collectors in terms of those dreaded Bills which seem to want to restrict
ownership of the private Green Fleet, and had I remembered back in the dying
seconds of 2004, I would've renewed for this year despite my "Supply Line"
misgivings. But I didn't. When I thought about it, it was May, and I knew
I'd be back to three magazines for $37, so I said "sod it". Out loud as I
recall. I'm sure there are those of us who are sitting back thinking that
despite all, $37 seems a paltry amount in order to support the Hobby - but I
do that in spades by showing up to as many events as I can; staying up all
night to do Club website revisions, and burning off two nice, expensive
colour cartridges making up handouts at 2 am for events taking place at 0800
the following day.
If the MVPA wants to boost flagging membership, I suggest:
a) Actually responding to people who want to have their major events listed
in "Supply Line" (especially since the 'every other month' schedule doesn't
permit too many "oh, I didn't see that..." mistakes before the event's
already been and gone.)
b) Scrapping the fixed renewal/pro-rated policy for membership/ magazines
c) Revisiting the "Supply Line" issue and retooling whatever's necessary to
stay competitive with "Military Vehicles Magazine."
d) Encouraging more Post-WWII content in "Army Motors".
e) Doing a no-frills mailout to all lapsed members 2001-2004 letting them
know all the above has come to pass, along with a "what the MVPA does for
the hobby..." precis.
I would suggest that a lot of us support the MVPA even if we aren't current
members. Address some of those issues above, and I'd further suggest we
will gladly become members once again.
<flameproof suit zipped up appropriately>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Fri Oct 28 2005 - 22:47:27 PDT