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[65GT]

It would be interesting to know exactly what was behind this one, my guess is a unit that is merely aging out:

http://sodak.wbcci.net/2009/11/01/south-dakota-unit-bids-farewell/

If not, then I would guess that there just wasn't enough going on in the vacinity to attract new members.  Unit activity as shown in the 2009 membership guide and echoed online at SaveWally's WBCCI Unit Guide was but three activities a year, pre-planned anyway:

http://wbcci.savewally.org/?page_id=640

The South Dakota Unit showed just 14 members in the 2008 elections.  I can tell you first hand, that even in a unit with 30 members it is very difficult to find members that will not only accept the positions, but to perform anything but the minimal duties as well.  Unfortunately it looks like the South Dakota Unit is far from alone these days.

The San Joaquin Unit, also with roughly 30 members, is also publicly facing the same roadblocks, finding members willing to become unit officers.  Their entire leadership will repeat in their positions for a second year.  They have such little interest in member's holding office, they're not even having elections -- if you want one of the positions currently held, just ask for it, and it's yours...

http://sanjoaquin.wbcci.net/2009/10/22/october-2009-presidents-report/

There's a definite trend going on here and a big part of it is not youth unwilling to join clubs.  The biggest change that has happened to the WBCCI since 1955, is the two-worker family.  With two income earners spare time, mutual spare time gets stretched to the limits.  No longer is one 40 hour wage earner, with the other spouse taking care of the household the norm.

Put on top of that an extra-curricular activity, through volunteering, becoming a part-time job is highly undesirable.

You get to the unit level, and there are books, budgets, the IRS, etc., all take a toll on having fun, at least from the officer's perspective.

What the club needs to do is find a way to take the financial burdens away from the units.  I know, impossible they'll say -- but that is likely the way forward.  It's tough enough to find members willing to organize and host continually evolving interesting activities year in and year out -- it's quite another to find half a dozen capable volunteers to knuckle down and become corporate officers for 125+ independent units (6*125 = 750 Unit Officers)...

We have enough trouble finding capable volunteers at the top levels of this club, imagine trying to find 750 capable and willing local leaders throughout the club...

When the club was larger, at least getting the number of volunteers was easier, when your unit gets down around the 30 families range, it becomes a whole lot harder filling ~6 positions year in and year out.  Especially if only half of your unit is what you would consider truly active...

[Pahaska]

Since I have been webmaster of Region 9, I have had to delete a number of units that were active when I took the job.  Most simply went away while one merged.  I expect that there will be more dropout units in the next year or so.  Many of the units are near the minimum membership to be viable.

[WKerfoot]

According to a unit newsletter which I received, it was stated at the Region 11 rally that the Paso Del Norte unit is dissolving and the Colorado West Unit is on its last legs

Bill

[65GT]

We have units full of great members in Region 2 that are slowly aging out.  If you look through SW's WBCCI Unit Guide you can see quite a few units that hold mostly joint rallies with one another, sometimes continual 3-way joint rallies.  You can see others where they hold few to no rallies at all.  These units appear to all be dwindling in size.

A key component to units that simply age out, I think, is lack of recruitment.  It's not easy really.  If we're all supposed to just keep our eyes out for baldie's or rigs peering out over back yard fences, then it's really a tough nut.  Units need to find a way that makes it easier for Airstream owners find them.  Public events, publicity, participation in local parades, etc., raise the visibility of the club, and hopefully make it easier for prospective members to find us.

I've heard from more than a few members in some of these units that are aging out, that even on the rare occasion when younger Airstream owning families happen upon them, the age difference is so big, that the younger couples and/or families find little in common to go forward.  The activities sometimes are out of sync too.

Growth is not an easy task, nor is retention in all instances, but keeping the club or unit visible, with constant recruitment efforts should help create a really diverse unit over time.

For every unit I've seen that merges or folds, the same message is relayed at the end, even though they have members that continue to use their Airstreams, they can't find members willing to be officers anymore.

I think we lost 5 units total last year.  I believe some units merged earlier this year, so the Sodak Unit news just adds to the trend.

[AZFlycaster]

According to a unit newsletter which I received, it was stated at the Region 11 rally that the Paso Del Norte unit is dissolving and the Colorado West Unit is on its last legs

Bill

Sounds like the article that I wrote for the 4CU newsletter. It's a fact that Paso Del Norte will be disolved by the end of the year. Colorado West has a low membership count and needs to add a few more members to stay alive. We wish them well.

[Lynn]

It can be tough to maintain or recruit members in some areas. West Texas and western Colorado are not heavily populated areas, and they have really good units nearby (e.g., 4CU, DenCo, to name just two) that draw members in.

Lynn

[WKerfoot]

According to a unit newsletter which I received, it was stated at the Region 11 rally that the Paso Del Norte unit is dissolving and the Colorado West Unit is on its last legs

Bill

Sounds like the article that I wrote for the 4CU newsletter. It's a fact that Paso Del Norte will be disolved by the end of the year. Colorado West has a low membership count and needs to add a few more members to stay alive. We wish them well.

Richard,

It was your article.  Thanks for the information and I hate to see units dissolving.

Bill

[Mud Dog]

The Manitoba unit is also disbanding, leaving just three units in Region 7, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The total membership of Region 7 remains about the same since most of the South Dakota unit joined North Dakota, and a few Minnesota.   Separately, Wisconsin picked up 22 new members this year.

The fundamental difficulty of all three units is that people are spread mighty thin in all of those units territories.  North Dakota and South Dakota both have populations less than a million. 

[DFDureiko]

I'll probably get crap for this but I'll go ahead:)))
the US arm of R1 has 4 units: Cape Cod, Charter Oak, White Mountains and New England.
Quite frankly I think a southern and northern New England would suffice, but no one wants to give up there name and charter to the bitter end?
at least that's what I'm seeing. several of us have broached the topic of combining or disolving, but we are still hanging on.........
I do think some units are way past there relivance ie, some are not doing internet or email, and don't even get back to new member inquireies!
I'm working ot help this transition, but hope we can all make it happen!
Dan
Dan

[ByamCaravanner]

Dan,

Thanks for your "report from the front."

Nearly half of the units in my region 7 have dissolved this year and it is only mentioned offhandedly , buried in the Presidents message, in the fall newsletter

[65GT]

(Currently at 35K' over Nebraska on Virgin America SFO to JFK -- the only way to fly!)

So what message could all of this continuing bad news telegraph to the ENTIRE IBT?

Maybe that there simply is no turn-around short term, or even near term that is going to increase revenues to fund their bloat.  Time to change the dynamic and populate the top with members fully capable of operating this club without that $125K nut.  Time to move this club out of the dark ages and get on with membership fun and abandoning celebratory figurehead leadership.

The time that it takes for membership driven initiatives to get past vanity driven 3-digit past and presents is far longer than the number of years this club has left under their white tux state of minds.  If any of the Int VPs believe this club needs to move more quickly, where are their voices in the mix?

[Wheel Interested]

Can we get a report from region presidents?  For such catastrophic numbers in these regions,  I wonder how the others are doing?  The IBT needs to cut their losses and pull up fast, while there is still some club.  Waiting is not a viable action any more.

On the old WBCCI forums I had hoped we could get all unit presidents to post and unify and strengthen the club direction but few participated online then. If only we could work together as a group now,  perhaps more could be accomplished together than individually.

[40LN]

As someone who has belonged as an associate to a good number of units and has attended unit and region rallies across the USA, I can tell you the picture is not rosy.

We were 25 year members of region 4.  There may be one healthy unit in the region.  The rest are not.  At age 65, my wife and I were some of the younger region members.   Our club has relatively young members, but no one wants to be an officer.  And it is under 20 units!

A couple of years back, we joined a unit rally in TX.  Only the officers came and they were all our parents age!

The slope is getting steep!

[ByamCaravanner]

  Our club has relatively young members, but no one wants to be an officer. 

At 49, I guess I am young (relatively  ) I'd certainly consider putting my name in the hat for an officer position, but for one fact... the requirement to attend the International rallies.

[65GT]

Attending International is NOT a requirement for anyone.  Traditionally the Unit President might make it to the International, but as units shrink, working members increase in numbers (as a percentage this has happened with our unit), many members, and hence officers don't have the time to dedicate 3+ weeks to go back and forth to an international.

If you've got a good unit, and you can SEE 5+ energetic hard working other volunteers in your midst, then being an officer isn't so hard.  More than anything your unit needs hosts and co-hosts for events as those folks are really what makes your unit interesting, attractive, and relevant year in and year out...