2005 COUNCIL OF COUNCILS MEETING
Regency Suites
Green Bay, Wisconsin
12 February 2005

Brian Walker called the meeting to order and welcomed the reps.

A motion by Ma of the Northwest Van Council to waive reading of the minutes of the 2004 meeting was carried.

Brian introduced the Council of Councils (CofC) Board. He also noted that the National Truck-in (NATS) Board representatives were also in attendance, scattered throughout the room.

Bucko, chairman of the Wisconsin Van Council (WVC), the host council, welcomed the reps to Green Bay. He noted that the reps had booked 142 of the 224 suites in the hotel.

Brian had the reps introduce themselves during roll call and asked that they give any updates to their council address to Kathy Willis at the break.

There were 27 councils in attendance at the meeting.

Two bids to host the CofC meeting in the Year 2006 were presented.

Left Coast Vanners made a bid to host the 2006 meeting on February 10 - 12, 2006 at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel & Suites, located across the street from the main entrance to Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Room rate = $45.95 (single)/night to $80/night. There is a 15% tax on all rooms. There is a Budget Car Rental agency on site. There are 15 restaurants within 1 block of the hotel. There are shuttles all around, but NOT from the hotel. Left coast will arrange to get vanners to and from the airport.

Aloha Vanners made a bid to host the 2006 meeting on February 9 - 13, 2006 at the Pacific Beach Hotel on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. Room rate is $150/night (2 persons per room). $35/person/night for extra people in room. Under 19 is free. There is a travel desk in the hotel. The hotel is 9 miles from the airport, 14 miles from Pearl Harbor, and there is a Hard Rock Café nearby. Special Polynesian lunch included. There will be an authentic Hawaiian Luau on Saturday night. Typical airfare should range from $300 to $600, depending on your city. The fare from Vegas is $300. Airport shuttle runs $8. Cab from airport runs $30. It is a 10-minute drive from the hotel to the airport. This is the scheduled weekend for the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Ma, from Northwest, noted that this proposal is like the one to England. It takes more than a year to save up for this kind of trip. She asked Joe Madonia (the Aloha Vanners rep) if he would be able to present the proposal for the year 2007, in the event that the bid failed this year. Joe said he would be able to present the bid again in 2006, should it fail at this meeting.

Joe noted that he had contacted 12 car clubs in Hawaii. One guy will help set up a cruise night. Joe hasn’t been directly in contact with a van club yet. There will be raffles, etc. throughout the year to help offset the cost of the event.

Update on this years NATS. It will be held in Summit Station, Pennsylvania July 6 – 10, 2005. Philly, Harrisburg, and Allentown airports are nearby. The event is being put on by Moon Lite Vans and Performance, Inc., NOT the Pennsylvania Van Council. There will be port-a-potties for rent. There will be a collectible swap meet, kid’s D.J. and 24/7 first aid. They are adding more electric. It can be hot and muggy in the daytime in July, but chilly at night.

Be sure to get a fishing license if you plan to fish, since Pennsylvania officials can impound your vehicle if you are caught fishing without said license. There is a trout stream that runs through the campground. Also beer must be bought in a beer store. You can only take two six-packs out. And, of course, liquor must be bought in a liquor store.

Motor Homes. Last meeting the reps were asked to bring back the results from their councils on the question, "Motor homes should be allowed in the Nationals, if they are towing A VAN." After voting, the results were:

Yes = 28

No = 24

These results were presented to the NATS board as an advisory opinion from the Council of Councils.

Gomer reminded the reps of the addendum to the motion last year that stipulated that, after the above vote, the topic of motor homes at the NATS would not be brought up at the CofC meeting again for 5 years. He also thanked all the reps for their input on this motion.

Question on Vannin.com. "How do we help vanning grow and survive?" There were only 11 responses. The summation was to treat newcomers as a welcome friend. No nasty initiations. Also, be sure to introduce newcomers to everyone present. Always speak of the van first, and the party second. Get each person in the club to try and get one new member a year. And, DRIVE your van, so others can see it. Finally, stop griping. Be positive!

Is a Sprinter a van? Yes. Dodge is making vans, namely, a Sprinter. They just quit making the Tradesman.

Event Insurance. One club said they insured the club, but just didn’t tell the insurance company that they hosted the event. Southeast Virginia Van Council said that they just add a rider to the campground policy. Some campgrounds and fairgrounds don’t have a policy. Instead, they insist that the host provide the policy, and attach the campground as a rider. Kathy Willis noted that, in California they can attach a rider to the fairgrounds policy for $40 to $150 for an event.

Another rep noted that it is virtually impossible to combine insurance all across the U.S. and get one policy to cover all of us. The laws vary from state to state. Joe Madonia noted that the NATS Board tried the "whole country" approach, but, when approaching any outfit big enough to handle such a policy (Lloyds of London, etc.) they wouldn’t touch it. They only do it on a state-by-state basis. Last year we were hoping to get one insurance company to insure all participating councils with an annual blanket policy, and each council/club having a rider to that policy.

The basic problem is that each state has its own insurance commission. It was suggested that a better approach might be for all the clubs in a state to band together and get a statewide policy, with a rider for each club event.

Trophy plates not received from 32^nd NATS. A letter from VCAM to NATS Board was read aloud and VCAM thanked all who attended the event. Alas, 4 of the trophy plates got left in the car, but they will get to the folks for their trophy. VCAM also gave special thanks to Chooie for his help during the NATS. A round of applause was given to the NATS Board for their help during the Show N’ Shine. VCAM also presented a special mug, which will be given to Tank’s widow.

Vanner Memorial. Please fill out the back and make corrections, please send photos of the vanners, if you have them. Many of the vanners have a name only, no photo. Please send photos to:

Dan & Sandy Thomas

22 Pioneer Road

Waukegan, IL 60085

superpolehrv@aol.com

There is a link to this on vannin.com.

Hot Rod Power Tour. Chooie said the vanners who participated last year had a lot of fun, but more should have attended. This years’ tour starts in Milwaukee and ends in the Kissimmee/St. Cloud area of Florida. He said that we need to get some of our show vans that belong on the road, on the road, where they can be seen. If it’s a matter of finances, maybe each council or club could chip in $20 to make it happen. Exposure for the vans is necessary. He also noted that we ought to start making runs to non-vanning events. Joe noted that his mid-model always gets noticed when he drives it around.

Another way to advertise is to put your van club name first when subscribing to a magazine, etc. Say "Easy Living Vans c/o Chooie", for example on the first and second lines of your name and address, when corresponding to magazines.

Judith and Cari invited all the vans in this years Hot Rod Power Tour to come to St. Cloud to the FVC meeting on Saturday, after the tour is over, on Friday.

Truckin Magazine Coverage. Chooie noted that we can get better coverage by writing politely and positively to these type magazines. Instead of bitching about not getting coverage, why not send a nice note saying that you really enjoyed a vanning article that you saw in the magazine. One rep did this and actually got the picture of the vans reprinted, only larger. Also, be realistic, don’t call Ford or GM and expect to get a van free for a raffle. Although, this did point up that we might get more if we had a single point of contact (the same person every year) like the NSVA does with Ford in the UK. Joe concluded with the vans are hot again, just like they were 25 years ago. We need to be excited and strike while the iron is hot.

Recruiting New Vanners. Joe made up 1000 postcard-size information cards to put on any custom van you see in the parking lot. It lists vannin.com and has a place for your name and contact information. He passed out 25 to each council. Gomer noted that we shouldn’t forget the kids of vanners. Midwest made vans out of six-pack cartons at one event and let the kids decorate them. They had a kid’s Show N’ Shine and gave the winners adult trophies. New England said, using a radio flyer wagon, you can have the same sort of thing – a radio flyer van wagon Show N’ Shine. One rep said you could also let your kid help you detail your van for the show to get them interested.

The lunch break was taken at this point in the meeting.

What Vanners Want at a National Event. Gomer said we need to make sure that the NATS is ALWAYS in the calendar of all major magazines. Most magazines require 6 months lead time, but you should try to get the information to them as soon as you can. He said that should be a requirement of the NATS host.

Bucko reminded the reps that they need to keep First Aid a very high priority. Make it VIP; keep it VIP.

Bev (from NSVA UK) suggested that we should have a survey at each NATS (card at the front gate, or in the goodie bag) to ask the attendees what they want. Cinnamon said the survey is only as good as the response. A suggestion to hold the goodie bag until the card is filled out was shut down as impractical. Besides, you might really want the input at the end of the event, not at the beginning.

NATS Board. Judith, who is chairman of the Board, announced that Paul Wacko is now a member of the Board. Don Noone is an alternate. She noted that there were 509 vans at the last NATS. Also, starting next year the NATS Board will host a seminar on "How to host a National Truck-in". Attending this seminar will be a requirement for hosting a NATS. Gomer noted that the NATS seminar will probably be in two parts, one on how to host a NATS, and a second part on "How to Build a Show Van". Cathy Smith said the CofC Board might also consider making it mandatory that all host councils attend the seminar on "How to Host a CofC Meeting, as a requirement to host that meeting.

Judith noted that, all golf carts driven during the NATS must have a light and be driven responsibly. We have had too many close calls in the past.

She noted that the 2006 NATS will be held in Virginia. One rep complained about not being able to "rope off" an area for a club or council. Pennsylvania has a "no roping" policy. Boski suggested that the clubs get together and drive to the NATS together so there won’t be any need to rope off and area. Gomer said it all boils down to:

1. Communication

2. Common Sense
3. Courtesy

Cathy Smith said we might also consider a "club" package. If a club registers with 15 vans, you get a $5 discount and a special ribbon that is just long enough to rope off an area for 15 vans. The first person in the club to arrive would then be able to use that ribbon to rope off whatever area he can that can be roped off with that special ribbon.

Charlotte noted that we are preaching to the crowd. The people who rope off way more space than they need aren’t here at this meeting. Geoff said that the reason for bringing up the topic here is to plant "roping off’ ideas in the host council’s mind.

Chooie was somewhat concerned that the CofC wasn’t recognizing Hard Core as a council. Brian explained that, while Hard Core and other vanning organizations made up of vanners who belong to van councils provide a great service; they are not recognized as a council by the CofC Board for the purpose of voting on matters before the council. If these organizations were allowed a vote, it would not be right, since they also have a vote via their regular council reps at the meeting. He reminded the reps that a council must have 3 van clubs and represent a defined area to qualify for the purpose of voting at the CofC meeting. At this point Geoff noted that this topic can’t be brought up again for 5 years.

Ballots were passed out to determine where the 2006 meeting will be held. After counting, it was announced that the 2006 CofC meeting will be held in Anaheim, California on February 10 - 12, 2006. Ma and several other reps asked Aloha Vanners to present the Hawaii bid next year. Geoff said, "Why don’t we think of working our way West. First California, then Hawaii."

One member noted, to a round of applause, that there should be a time limit on each topic. We spent entirely too much time on some topics.

Judith Pilon noted that, starting with the 2006 CofC meeting, the seminar on how to host a NATS will be held on Friday at 2:00 PM.

Boski noted that the NATS board insists on maintaining the red-white-and-blue color scheme, but it would help the host organization out if there were a sponsor. He also thought that the host of each CofC meeting should ALWAYS put an ad for the upcoming NATS on the outside back cover of the CofC meeting bible.

Gomer wanted input on seminars at the CofC meeting. Maybe each council could have a survey on items such as the topics for seminars and the times seminars should be held.

Wacko asked the members for donations of vanning memorabilia to take with him to the upcoming Australia Van Nationals. All proceeds from the sale of the items will go to a children’s hospital.

The American Van Enthusiasts are hosting an event to promote vanning. They don’t host truck-ins, but promote vanning at non-vanning events.

It was requested that the host council for each CofC meeting post the details of pajama parties, seminars, tours, etc. on the web site. That would help everyone out. Especially, if they need to come a little early for their favorite seminar. Judith noted that Bucko said there would be no seminars this year. Brian noted that there will be seminars next year.

Joe Madonia noted that there are no clubs on the back burner for upcoming NATS. He noted that it takes two years of commitment to put on a NATS. Last years event took $40,000 to put on. So, it’s partly needing commitment, and partly needing cash. Boski noted that it would be nice to have one sponsor (preferably the same one) for each NATS. Joe noted that he is creating a trophy for "Best of Show" for each NATS.

Wisconsin gave out appreciation plaques to each council in attendance and each CofC Board member. Wisconsin then handed the "pass along" plaque to Left Coast.

Missouri Van Council made a motion to adjourn and the meeting was concluded.

ATTENDEES AT THE 2005 COUNCIL OF COUNCILS MEETING: