OCA and NAOCA

[Guest rwmerz]

Anyone have info on future Olds club and Antique Olds club of America National meets for 2013 and beyond

thanks

RW Merz

[Oldsfan]

Thinking ahead, are we?

The 2013 NAOC meet will be held in Elmira, NY. That is really all the information we have at this time. Probably in June, the week after Father's Day. We probably won't have much more information than that until around this time next year. We do not have a destination for 2014 yet. Are you interested in hosting????

From what I understand, 2013 OCA will be in Springfield, Ill. Most likely at the Crowne Plaza. That is where it was held the last time. I do not know dates. I believe a presentation was made for the Cinncinati area for 2014, but I do not know the outcome.

Paul

[Guest Joe_Varley]

Yes. 2013 is in Springfield, IL. 2014 will be in Cincinnati, Ohio, near my hometown of Dayton.

Joe Varley

OCA Pacific Southwest Zone Director

OCA #1448 (Old guy)

[Guest Joe_Varley]

Here is more exact info on the 2013 and 2014 OCA Nats:

2013 Nationals

The Illinois Valley Oldsmobile Club and the Archway Oldsmobile Club are working with the Crowne Plaza in Springfield, Illinois to complete plans for a National Meet that is scheduled for July 23 – 28, 2013.

2014 Nationals

The Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Oldsmobile Club has initiated planning for the 2014 OCA National Meet which will be at the Holiday Inn Express Eastgate in Cincinnati. Preliminary plans are for the 2014 National Meet to be held during the last week in July 2014.

[D Yaros]

On a related topic, I am having trouble wrapping my head around the logistics for the 2012 OCA Nat in Des Moines, IA. No host hotel (3 separate places of lodging) and not being able to drive my car in the evenings.

How are folks supposed to be able to get together when scattered hither & yon without any means of transportation, I wonder?

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

On a related topic, I am having trouble wrapping my head around the logistics for the 2012 OCA Nat in Des Moines, IA. No host hotel (3 separate places of lodging) and not being able to drive my car in the evenings.

How are folks supposed to be able to get together when scattered hither & yon without any means of transportation, I wonder?

Me as well! I also wonder why three years running the Nationals are in the Midwest. Last time I checked OCA membership spans the entire 48. Wonder why club participation and new membership is on the wain? The board might want to think on it a bit! Shooting yourself in the foot always hurts!

[bmlvu97]

It all depends on chapters stepping up and offering to run the National Meet. When the 2013 Nationals originally went up for bidding, nobody wanted it - eventually Illinois and Missouri stepped up to the plate and are co-hosting it. The board only approves where a National Meet is - it is up to the chapters to step up to the plate to offer to host

In general, the best attended national meets are in the midwest - I remember Seattle in 05 had only about 225 cars. We are anticipating 500 cars in Springfield in 2013.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

It all depends on chapters stepping up and offering to run the National Meet. When the 2013 Nationals originally went up for bidding, nobody wanted it - eventually Illinois and Missouri stepped up to the plate and are co-hosting it. The board only approves where a National Meet is - it is up to the chapters to step up to the plate to offer to host

In general, the best attended national meets are in the midwest - I remember Seattle in 05 had only about 225 cars. We are anticipating 500 cars in Springfield in 2013.

Brian your response speaks directly to the problem I mentioned in the other thread, an aging membership. Too many of the local clubs suffer from burnout so to speak and the aging membership is unwilling to take on all the work involved in holding Nationals. The latter may also speak to a leadership problem at the National level and eludes to essentially off loading the event to Regions and local clubs. I would suspect most folks over 65-70 prefer to be attendees, not workers.

It is certainly understandable that any event held somewhere approximating Mid America is most likely to have a greater participation than one held 1,500 to 2,000 miles away from a significant portion of the membership of any club. The event in Springfield will have something going for it that could only be shared by larger cities like St. Louis, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Amarillo and Albuquerque. It's on Route 66 which gives many potential participants an opportunity to visit "The Mother Road" on the way to or from the Nationals.

I know that in 2012 I'm not going to anyone's Nationals, I'm headed to the Route 66 Fun Run. Plus, I have distinct recollections of it being 114 degrees in Springfield in July of 1956, or was it July of '57.

[Guest BJM]

The Buick Club of America's BOD has taken this role in house. The BCA had reached a point where chapters were not bidding to host National meets. ---> aging memberships felt they had done their parts and just wanted to kick back.

The BCA's team that now handles National meets has decided on Concord NC (greater Charlotte NC area) for 2012, I believe Indiana in 2013 and Portland Oregon for 2014 - thereby moving it around geographically.

BCA is about 7500 members presently at last look. Obviously our BOD would know more on membership numbers.

The BOD sub-group bids locations against each other for the best deals, that sort of thing. Most convention bureaus bend over backwards for our kind of money. That's forward thinking leadership in the BCA.

And another reason to get the NAOC and OCA together for more strength in numbers and creativity.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

The Buick Club of America's BOD has taken this role in house. The BCA had reached a point where chapters were not bidding to host National meets. ---> aging memberships felt they had done their parts and just wanted to kick back.

The BCA's team that now handles National meets has decided on Concord NC (greater Charlotte NC area) for 2012, I believe Indiana in 2013 and Portland Oregon for 2014 - thereby moving it around geographically.

BCA is about 7500 members presently at last look. Obviously our BOD would know more on membership numbers.

The BOD sub-group bids locations against each other for the best deals, that sort of thing. Most convention bureaus bend over backwards for our kind of money. That's forward thinking leadership in the BCA.

And another reason to get the NAOC and OCA together for more strength in numbers and creativity.

This is exactly the level of leadership I was eluding to above. There may have at one time been enough of an ego trip for car club regions to bid on having nationals in their neck of the woods, but that simply does not seem to be the case now, plus it also lead to nationals often being repeatedly in a given part of the country.

In my less than humble opinion, the brand clubs having large memberships would be much better off having three nationals across the country. East, Central, and West. Using the BCA as an example, it is very unlikely there will be many participants from the East coast going to Portland, as nice a place as it is, simply because of distance. I'll guarantee that few if any will be loading up in mid to South Florida to make a trip to Portland, just as few if any from Seattle would be likely to rush to a like event in North Carolina. Why is it necessary for clubs to shoot themselves in the foot? As a further example it is roughly 1700 miles from my location in South Central Texas mid way between Houston and San Antonio and I would think long and hard about such a trip. On the other hand, a 500 to 700 mile trip is not an automatic negative. If a location of a National should take over two days travel time to get there, it is automatically a forget it!

Isn't it a much better idea to have several hundred participate in each of three Nationals than to have a few hundred show up in one location? It may even be a better idea for some brand clubs to join forces when those brands were/are from the same corporate entity. Many of us in the hobby own vehicles of several brands produced under the same corporate umbrella and often from multiple corporate entities. Logically we cannot be headed to three or four nationals based solely on brand. So, we have to pick and choose, or maybe just choose to not participate in any. Not good for the hobby!

Times have changed and the clubs within the hobby have to change with them.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Jim_Edwards (see edit history)

[D Yaros]

Jim,

Your comments make a lot of sense. Plus, B-O-P has been affiliated in a lot of aspects over the years. Seems like a natural fit. I certainly would not be offended by having a Buick or Pontiac parked next to my Olds.

[Guest Jim_Edwards]

Jim,

Your comments make a lot of sense. Plus, B-O-P has been affiliated in a lot of aspects over the years. Seems like a natural fit. I certainly would not be offended by having a Buick or Pontiac parked next to my Olds.

Nor would I. I think it would make for a much more interesting event for everyone. For those into judging events, I would see no problem in each brand having its own set of judges and awards. Nor would I see a problem with a Best of Show car being of a make other than what I might bring. There are very few examples of automobiles that are without attribute regardless of make.