Holding Elections, Casting Nominations and other Administrative Issues

Deciding how to handle elections and other similar issues for your collector’s car club can seem like a nightmare at times, but if you work on organizing these events ahead of time, it really is not so bad. It is also very important to ensure that you have all of the policies and guidelines for elections noted down in the clubs bylaws to ensure that everyone is well aware of the process.

When you are deciding to start electing officer it is very important to decide what officers you want or need. Most clubs at a minimum have a President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. Some clubs may have additional officers as well, but this is the general list of officers. Additionally, if your club is very small then you can omit the Vice President; however, this is typically a matter of personal preference and the choice of the club itself. There are no strict and hard fast rules that must be followed.

Most clubs opt to make it public knowledge exactly when election time is, and they also tend to encourage all members to appear. This is generally when the club will offer prizes and raffles as well for those who attend the meetings that determine the officers for the next year. These is not always effective, but it is generally very helpful in encouraging additional members to attend meetings.

Another consideration that you need is to decide when club officers will take office. Many clubs have members taking office around the first of the year, but hold elections in the fall time before the holidays are a major concern. However, other clubs have decided to do elections and instatement of new officers in the summer and fall to completely avoid the holiday hassles. Look to the input of your members if you are completely unsure about when to hold the elections, but always be sure that elections are held at the same time each year for easy remembering.

It is also a wise decision to have some guidelines about who is allowed to serve as an officer. This is usually just based on the minimum age of 18, as well as a period of required membership before someone is eligible to hold an office. The exact requirements that you stipulate can depend on your circumstances and you may choose to add additional requirements as well depending on the needs of your club.

Look to other clubs that are similar if you need some ideas about exactly what you do and do not need. You may discover if your club is very large that only 3-4 officers cannot handle all of the tasks for the club without severely cutting into their family time. If this occurs, it may be necessary to create additional officers as they are needed to ensure that everyone is able to do their job effectively without cutting into other priorities that they have.

It is also important to ensure you make arrangements in the event that someone is not able to fulfill their office for any reason. Determine what will be in place to fill the emptied position, will someone be appointed, or will the members of the club hold a special election to fill the position. Having all of this information readily available is important to ensure that everything is open and everyone is aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Great Places to Hold Meetings

Car clubs are always tons of fun, but part of the problem with meetings is deciding where to hold the meeting. Very few car clubs have the ability or resources to rent or build their own building to handle all of their members who attend the meetings. This leaves you with the problem of deciding where you can hold meetings. Of course, you need a place with enough room for all of the members, as well as plenty of room for parking to ensure that everyone can attend who wants to.

This can sometimes be a problem, but with a bit of creative thinking it is possible to locate the space that you need. Many car clubs look to places such as libraries, schools, churches, and even some restaurants for space to meet. There are some benefits to looking around for space at these types of places and there are some disadvantages as well.

If your club plans on meeting during dinner hours it may be a convenient idea to meet at a local restaurant that has space. This would allow people to eat while the meeting is going on and help save some time. Peoples’ lives are very busy lately and being able to save a bit of time can be a huge help and is a great way to be considerate of the time that your members have. It is also important to consider the type of restaurant. Choosing a nice restaurant may sound appealing, but it is important to choose something that is enjoyable by the majority of people and also a reasonable price. Choosing the most expensive steakhouse in town is not wise since it may be outside of many people’s budgets. Additionally, if many members like to bring their children look for a place that can offer foods that kids will like.

If you choose a school then you have the benefit of having a playground available for those who bring their children to meetings. This can be a huge help especially for younger children and you can usually use the space for free so that you are not using up any of the clubs resources on meeting spaces.

Some of the other options that are available include car parts stores, meeting centers, and even local parts when the weather is nice. Look to ensure that regardless of where you choose for meeting locations there is enough room for everyone that you think will be attending. Choosing a small local restaurant that can seat 20 people is great, but not so great if you anticipate 100 people showing up for the meeting. Additionally, ensuring that there is plenty of parking is an essential process. Most people drive their prized cars to meetings; they do not want their car damaged while in a parking lot so you must ensure that there is enough space for everyone to fit comfortably.

Once you have found a great place to hold your meetings it is probably a wise idea to use the same location the majority of the time. This will help to reduce the confusion that members have over the locations of meetings and also allow you to work out a good routine with the location so that meetings can go much smoother and be a great event that is tons of fun.

Giving Car Club Memberships as a Gift

Holidays and birthdays are all just some of the times when giving a gift is the tradition. Yet what can you really give to someone who already has almost everything? If the person you are trying to shop for enjoys cars, you have the option of giving them a membership to a collector’s car club. These are great, especially for those who are interested in cars, and particularly for those who have a suitable car.

Of course, this is a gift that may take a bit of effort. After all, you would not want to give a membership to a club they already belong to. Additionally, you would not want to give a gift to a club that is essentially useless to the person. An example would be giving Uncle Fred a membership to the Ferrari collectors club when the closest car he has ever owned was a Buick.

Additionally, it would be a wise decision to avoid car clubs that require members to vote on membership. The person you are giving the membership to may not want someone voting on them without their knowledge. This might upset the person greatly. If you are looking for just a general membership type car club you should be able to avoid this problem and still purchase a membership that is for a general style club.

If you are careful about selecting the club, you can also find some specialty clubs that allow general membership. This would allow you to still give the car club membership as a gift. If you ask the club officers who handle membership, you may be able to even get a certificate that would make a great present to announce the membership. If the club does not offer something to be used when it is given as a gift, you could usually purchase something from a store, or even design the certificate yourself on the computer.

As a creative gift a car club membership is a great option since they are not something that is always considered a gift. Another great benefit to car club memberships is they are usually very helpful for people who already have almost everything you can possibly think of. Aside from being a creative gift, they are also very adjustable because you can purchase either a single membership or a family membership.

The majority of people really enjoy receiving a car club membership. This is a very affordable option and with a wide range of clubs available, you can find the club that will be perfect for the person you are shopping for. Additional things that accompany a gift membership beautifully are some of the clubs merchandise such as the sweatshirts, a t-shirt or even a hat. It is very important that before you purchase the membership you ensure that there are no specific time requirements that are expected from members. If you make a mistake and purchase a membership for a gift that is given to someone who does not have time to fulfill the membership requirements you could be looking at a potential problem, rather than the perfect gift that you had in mind.

Creative and unique gifts are sometimes hard to come up with, picking out something as great as a collector’s car club membership shows that you put a lot of time and thought into your gift and is sure to be a winner no matter what the occasion. For Christmas, birthdays or even anniversaries it is an ideal present for any car lover in the family.