Jeff,
I know money is always an issue, ( Hell I’m retired and I had to send the wife back to work so I could play with you guys ) and we do have members in our club that could have sponsored this entire event all by their self, but they are not going to be at our 3rd. annual meeting either. Everyone knew about this event a long time ago and should have been able to plan for some time off from work and also put some money away for this weekend. As far as this being a kiddy park, Jeff and Spiderman on Jan. 11-12, 2003 Silver Springs held the 9th annual Ford Mustang gathering and there were around 1,000 cars in attendance (only about 900 in 2002). They started off just as I had attended by holding our 3rd event at a place where the whole family could attend. For sometime now a large Ford Parts Supplier hands Silver Springs a check for $20,000 so that the 1,000 cars and attendees can come for a weekend for free and Silver Springs takes care of every thing. It is just too difficult to try and have racing events and our annual meeting on the same weekend. If you follow the posts of our club you will see there are racing events such as Gainesville and the Willis 100, etc. during each calendar year. All kidding aside I will be at the Silver Springs gate early Saturday morning selling tickets for this event.
Dan

Jeff,
No need to get defensive and no one is asking for excuses. You have to understand why Ed said what he did. The DSCC is supposed to be a club, not just a registry of owners and enthusiasts. His statements were not meant to ostracize you or anyone else specifically. With more than 300 members on the list, nearly half of which are resident in Florida, it should not be this difficult to get at least 50 members to commit to attending our only annual event. Certainly, there are valid reasons why individuals can't, or choose not to attend. That's a personal choice and no one has a right to question it. But there is also a certain obligation to support the club's existance. BTW, the annual meeting is intended to be a gathering for the sole purpose of electing new officers and discussing club business. Dan, Ruble, Ed and others have tried to make it as family friendly as possible in order to boost participation. For anyone to criticize their efforts is beyond contempt.

I don't have a matress full of cash either, so I can understand your dilemma, but I try to support the club organizers any way I can. I borrow or rent a trailer when I need one. I even drove my car to McDonough last year in the rain.

Also, I wouldn't be too quick to agree with Spiderman on anything. I've never met him, but from the posts I've read, I'd say he's probably unfit to be out in public without supervision....:LOL:

Mike :MECOOL:

While the last part may by true, the guy is a legend in motorsports. At least in his own mind
:D And his pit crew is to die for (think Hooters girls only less inhibited). :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

Well Dave, then I guess that makes him my hero....sort of....at least as far as motorsports (?) is concerned!!!! :JEKYLHYDE :3DSMILE:

Mike :MECOOL:

This is starting to sound like the whiny queers clob. The Zimmer golden Spirit club goofed and had a meet at aquaworld, and I got everybody to follow me to dinner at Pub 44 in New smyrna for a bit of cole slaw reseling and man, it was a gasser. Nobody even made it to the meeting the next day trying to get the entertainmennnt home .
If you miss it your a loser, period.
Neely, as long as you got your health, quit complaining. Just rent a car and get the extra damage waiver. were with you man so you aint broke, you got us.
A bunch of idiots in mustangs doing something in a parking lot does not make it sexy baby, but CobraDan we like what you done for the club.
looks like a bunch of people are coming to me, I've got to go.
Some of us don't have a family to bring. That might be part of it.

Dan and Ed - I'll be at Silver Springs on Saturday with my wife and Cobra. The Cobra will be at Hunter's display so that Randy can show the Ford suspension and FIA body options that my car will have. It won't be finished, but it will be in its first show.

I'm sorry that the response to this year's meeting is not what it should be. There seems to be a different reason for each member who is not attending. Silver Springs is certainly a great location, better than last year's as far as family activities and things to see, although I did enjoy seeing Southern Automotive's shop last year. The most common reason for not attending seems to be the distance to travel and the time, trouble, and expense to do so. It may be that the DSCC includes too much geographical area and the travel issues will always be a problem for many members who live more than a few hour's drive from any meeting or function. Perhaps breaking the DSCC into three or four smaller clubs would solve that problem for most people. Members in the Atlanta area get together regularly, and Florida members turn out for events in Florida, but they don't want to drive a day to get to each other's states for this meeting. Maybe it's time to split the club into states rather than try to cover the "Deep South". Just a thought. Otherwise, the DSCC may well evolve into just a registry of members and nothing more. Many of us may not like that to happen, but you can't make people do things they don't want to do, unless you are the government, and every event or meeting can't be within a short drive of every member's home when the territory is so large.

That's my take on the situation. It may be time to deal with the realities here and do what is best for those of us who want a group of participants rather than a list of members.

Bumpster and Mrs. Bumpster

Bumpster,

I had heard rumors that Randy was coming to show off his new 4 door Cobra. Randy Hunter was at our 1st and 2nd annual meeting and when no money came in for the 3rd, I thought he was just to busy putting Viper engines into his Cobras. I saw this creation at Turkey Rod Run last November. Todd, I guess I will have to change you from an enthusiast to a Hunter Cobra owner. As far as our club, many things are going to half to change to keep us as a club and not just that registry of Cobra enthusiasts in 8 states. As far as distance is concerned we have people who live almost next door to Silver Springs and will not be there. Mr. & Mrs. Bumpster it will be nice to see you both once again.
Dan & Jean

Jeff,

Is it true you have your D0VE block? What are your thoughts on it?

Dan - I'm sure there are members who would not attend even if the meeting was in their front yard. Things happen and circumstances sometimes don't allow us to do what we might like to do. That's understandable, and this thread wasn't started to criticize those whose can't make it to Silver Springs or simply chose not to. It's still a free country. The problem remains that many members won't drive or tow their Cobras more than a few hour's drive from home, and in an eight-state area, that spells poor attendance at meetings and events. I would rather have a well organized state club that people would support than a large regional club that isn't supported because of travel distance. Personally, I am not in favor of change at this time because my Cobra will be finished in June and I would love to drive it all over the Southeast to attend meetings and track events, but that's just me. If only a handful of other members are willing to do the same, then the events won't be worth attending. I have no idea as to how to get more people to attend our events and annual meetings, and I'm not sure there is a way. Those attending the meeting Saturday night are the members who are willing to do the traveling, and their input may not help. The question needs to be answered by those not in attendance this weekend as to what would make it more attractive for them to attend. You've gotten a few answers as replies to this post, and more such input is needed.

Again, I'm not advocating a radical change to the DSCC at this time. I would like it to grow stronger and better so I can attend events in my Cobra. Hopefully, we can come up with a way to do that at the meeting Saturday night.

Bumpster

You don't have to bring your Cobra to the annual meeting. You don't need a trailer, tow vehicle or a $50k toy to attend. We need the support of the members. Without the members we have no club.

I made the 8 hour drive last year just to support the club. I didn't bring a Cobra. I'm not bringing a Cobra this year either.

If money and time is an issue, please come for the meeting. Heck, you have to buy dinner even if you stay at home.

At this time I want to thank all my Cobra friends, Cobra enthusiasts, Cobra owners, Cobra sponsors, and non Cobra owners for signing up and coming to our 3rd annual event Rain or Shine.
THANK YOU

Dan

This banter is good. It really is. A lot of this stuff needed to be said and I bet a lot of you probably feel better for having said it. Candid discussions such as this are important if we want to make our club better. Not all issues are easy to discuss. But the more difficult discussions often result in the most profitable results.

As the forum moderator and the current DSCC VP (at least for next few days), I'm obviously paying very close attention to this thread. I wish to invite others to chime in with their comments, if only to say everything is fine.

So please continue the banter (continuing in a respectable tone) and let's get those opinions out in the open.

Keith :)

Keith,
I think one of the biggest problems is the fact that a lot of people who once posted are no longer posting. They are also not lurkers either. If you don't post and only lurk we can't get your opinion on anything. This is also the way to keep a post on top and get even more people interested in what the post is all about. We can't make every post a stickey.
Dan

Is the date written in stone ?

Spyderman,

That ankle bracelet isn't too tight, is it?

Cant Stay...
 

Ed. Dan. Gonna come but my number came up and I'm working SAT till 1500L. Told the wife to clear the calender and that we are going. BTW... ENGINE RUNS!... YEA HOOO!

Rich

I'd love to attend, but my Cobra is far from finished, and an 8-10 hour road trip with a 3 month old baby just doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun. I will try my best to attend next year when my Cobra and my baby are both old enough to travel.

Pete

PSB,
Fort Walton Beach to Silver Springs is 352.8 miles, estimated total drive time is less than 6 hours. I have two children of my own and if you think traveling with them at three months old is bad, wait until they can talk and all they ask is, are we there yet?:LOL: At three months you shove a bottle in their mouth and they usually sleep. I'll put you down for next year, the 4th annual meeting. I have no idea where it will be as of now.
Dan

I think that their was some discussion on where to have our event late last year but it died as fast as a hog at a BBQ.I attended last years event in all of the rain and had a good time.But for me a long drive over 6 to 8 hours just for a club gathering? I can see why a lot of people from way off are not attending.So as was said before that x% of our members are from Florida and if they don't show up for a gathering in their own state lets then try to have it in a more central location or divide the club into sections.
Just my take on the situation.

Eric

Eric,
Yes we discussed where we should have the 3rd annual event and I got one person who said they would run the show in the Atlanta area, where this person lives. I told him this would be fine except living 9 hours away from the Atlanta area that I would not be able to help out much. I have to travel 3 1/2 hours myself to go to Silver Springs towing my Cobra. Next month I'm going up to London Ohio for DVSFIII, I'm not towing the Cobra up as I did last year because all the driving is on me 1,100 miles each way. I'll be leaving on Thursday and getting in Friday and back on the road again on Sunday. Four days on the road for 1 1/2 days of fun. The main reason I'm going back to Ohio for a 3rd time is because of all the people I have met and become friends with, I don't think seeing them in person once a year is to much trouble. I planned our event for an entire weekend and without rain, a first if it holds up.:LOL:
Dan