New BCA Chapter in western Wisconsin?

[Mr Buick]

Hello, Can anyone tell me how to go about starting a BCA chapter in Western Wisconsin? Would anyone be interested in joining? I know there are alot of us BCA folks in west and centeral Wisconsin and the closest chapters (only chapters) are in the Madison/Milwaukee areas and in the east near Green Bay.

We could be HQ'd in Eau Claire, La Crosse or anywhere in between. I am in Neillsville about an hour from either city.

Your help would be appreciated.

Thanks, John Simonson BCA #33582

JSimonson@TDS.net

[Guest my3buicks]

Hi John,

Give me a call or email me your number and I will be happy to go over all that you will need to start up a new chapter in the BCA. Always happy to help ANYONE that wants to further the reach of the BCA.

kbbuick@connecttime.net

724-898-1967

[Guest BJM]

Keith is certainly the man to contact for this interest BUT keep in mind that it takes critical mass (numbers) to have a good chapter. I speak from the experience of trying to support and grow a Walter P Chrysler Club chapter in the WHOLE STATE of Iowa, and it could not get traction.

I would love to be an hour away from one of the chapters you mention. That's about my commute to work one way! If it was more like 2 hours to attend a chapter function, then I would definitely understand wanting to form a closer chapter. I'm sure Keith is better prepared to discuss on this then I am but I wanted to share my experience in case it is of assistance.

[JohnD1956]

Hi John, I might be able to give you some information here. Before I start, let me warn you that this may sound negative. However, it is very satisfying to see a Chapter come together.

My qualifications come from taking the initiative to organize the Upstate NY Chapter one year ago. In January I drafted a letter to be sent to members listed in the last roster from the BCA. I sent that letter to 40 people and also to a few people driving Buicks at our local cruise in's. Out of that number, approximately 35 people showed up at the meeting to sign the petition. This was the easy part.

In the last year, we have had to launch a newsletter, pick initial executive board members, create a web site, draft two budgets ( last year and this year), organize monthly meetings, run one election, open a bank acct, devise a bookeeping system, and have some events with the cars, plus approve a set of by-laws. We had a picnic meeting and our first Holiday party. Now we are working on a logo, and hosting a car show in 2007.

I cannot take credit for all of this. No one person can do it alone. Thus when Jake says you need critical mass, there is a lot of truth to that. However critical mass alone is not asa important as a group of members who share the vision and are willing to put small parts of their personal lives on hold for the benefit of the rest of their club. We are extremely lucky to have a lot of people willing to do this.

Considering the list of things above, here is what I recommend:

1) Do the initial letter thing. The members in the roster are looking for friends local ( or semi Local) to share experiences. Don't count on this site for members. If you peruse the thread about who is on this site you'll see many active posters are directors of the various chapters they are involved with.

2) Pick a restaurant that will allow you to have lunch and then hold a meeting. We went for a Sunday afternoon ( 1-4 pm) because that is a gap period for many restaurants here. The ones we have gone to have been very generous in allowing us time to hold our meetings.

3) Before signing petitions to ask for a Chapter, try to make sure you have that core group of members I spoke about. Start a by law project, and discuss what posessed the people to show up at the first meeting. If you can meet these expectations, then sign the petition. If you can't, you'll know. don't kid yourself. If you start this, they will be looking to you to organize and bring them through the first critical years.

4) Immediately do something fun with the cars. Tour to local museuems, or cruise nights, or a sports event. Bring the spouses into the mix too. do something that appeals to them. A Chapter is not just about the cars, it is about friendships. When I see these Chapters together for 20-40 years, I am sure it is because BOTH halves of the relationship are respected and considered.

5) Drop most everything else in your life. As I stated when I started this response, the work is time consuming. But the rewards are out of this world. I'm happy this Chapter got off on such a good start. And I was heartened to see the comaradie when we celebrated our first year anniversary this weekend.

Think this through, and then have a blast. To me nothing is finer than seeing a long line of Buicks traveling together... Keep us up to date on your efforts.

Good Luck

JD