2001 COUNCIL OF COUNCILS MEETING
DoubleTree Hotel
Colorado Springs, Colorado
24 February 2001
Brian Walker called the meeting to order at 9:40 AM and welcomed the reps.
Glen Simmons of the Center for Protection of Domestic Violence discussed the aims of their organization (Power and Control; Children up to the elderly) and thanked the group for allowing a fund raising event during the weekend.
There were 29 councils, including Norway and Australia, in attendance at the meeting.
Colorado Van Council welcomed the reps and passed out plaques to each council.
A motion by New Jersey to waive reading of the minutes of the 2000 meeting was carried.
Brian introduced the Council of Councils (CofC) Board and the Colorado Van Council officers.
Brian asked each rep to say a few words about vanning during roll call.
There was a moment of silence to remember Jim McCleaf (who died just after last years meeting) and all the other vanners we lost during the past year.
There were three bids to host the CofC meeting in the Year 2002.
Northeast Ohio Van Congress made a bid to host the meeting on February 22, 23, 2002 at the Four Points Sheraton in Columbus, Ohio. Single = $69/night; Double = $79/night; Triple = $89/night; Quad = $99/night.
Midwest Van Council made a bid to host the meeting on February 22, 23, 2002 at the Sheraton Gateway Suites just outside of Chicago, Illinois. $85/night.
Left Coast Vanners (a coalition of the Northern California Van Council, the Northwest Van Council and the Southern California Van Council) made a bid to host the meeting on February 22, 23, 2002 at the DoubleTree Hotel near the San Jose, California airport.$89 to $94/night, up to quad occupancy.
A motion to vote immediately on the bids for next years meeting was tabled because the reps wanted to discuss the bids during the lunch break with their council members who were not in the meeting.
A presentation was made and questions were fielded regarding this years NATS in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. There are 5 showers on the grounds and busses will be provided to other showers nearby. The liquor store will deliver to the grounds 4 times a day. Additional information is available at www.vannats2001.com.
There were no agenda items suggested by the reps in advance.
In response to some internet information he had seen, Brian gave a quick recap of the origin of the CofC Board and asked the reps if they were satisfied with the way the Board was running the meetings. By a show of hands 21 councils said they were satisfied. Kathy Willis put in her two cents worth by noting that Brian, John, and all the Board members are volunteers.
The reps weren’t too concerned about what folks who didn’t attend the meeting have to say. Midwest did make one suggestion that we might consider; having one extra rotating member on the Board. The extra member would be voted in for a one-year term. Midwest said they think the Board does a great job.
It was noted that the rules governing the CofC meeting are being put onto the CofC website. That website is http://www.vannin.com/cofc/.
New York Van Council discussed setting up another national event (similar to the NATS) that allows pickups, etc. to attend since vanning has declined. There were only 800 vans at the last NATS. They noted that these vehicles are allowed at many of our van rallies, etc. but not at the NATS.
There were several discussions about the fact that some folks only want vans at their events and others want to allow vans, trucks, and 4x4’s because the number of vans is down. Kathy Willis noted that, if someone wants to host a van/4x4/pickup event on a national level, then we can’t stop you. And we wouldn’t do anything to fight it unless it caused a date conflict, or otherwise degraded the current NATS. New England said that, if you want to go to large mixed events, go to Carlisle and support it, rather than start a new one.
One rep noted that the reason for the decline is that vanners don’t do much anymore. We don’t drive and show our vans anymore. We have other priorities as we’ve gotten older. Judith noted that the NATS Board is looking at the possibility of letting you tow your van to the NATS with your motor home, park the motor home outside so you can sleep in it, and park the van inside to party from. So, let’s try to work together and support each other, like a family. This prompted a comment from Midwest that even brothers and sisters fight at times.
One suggestion was that the NATS be held at the same place every year. We’re the only ones who have a rotating national event. But, most of the reps said that they liked the idea of traveling to a different location each year. That way they get to see more of the country.
Joe Madonia said that we shouldn’t be ashamed of having an attendance of 800 like-type vehicles at a national event. Besides, we met each other in the first place because of the van, not a pickup or 4x4. Midwest said they learned their lesson in 1982. When we support mixed events, we lose our hard-core vanners.
Peter, of the NSVA UK, said they allow cars into their national event, and 2 of the folks got so excited about vanning that they sold their cars and bought a van. They are now two of the most excited and active new members of NSVA UK.
Connie noted that we should support “Van In Times”.
There was also a round of applause for Astro for what he’s done for vanning on the internet.
There was a break from noon until 2:10 PM.
Ballots were collected after the break, and, after counting it was announced that the 2002 CofC meeting will be held at the DoubleTree Inn in San Jose, California on February 22, 23, 2002.
Victoria Van Council (from Australia) noted that they would like to bid on hosting the 2004 CofC meeting in Australia within a week or so of their Australian Van Nationals, but it would have to be in March, during their Easter vacation. The reps liked the idea, but the airfare is $1200 or so. More than 20 reps raised their hands to indicate that they are interested in attending a CofC meeting in Australia.
A few details were discussed. The travel time from Los Angeles to Melbourne is 14 hours, and it would be summertime down under. The temperature would be around 90 degrees, instead of the usual 30 degrees we’re used to. Also, rental transportation is very expensive, so we might have to charter busses. Peter Lee noted that we would need a rep from Australia to come to the next meeting and give us the particulars on airfare, rental transportation, etc.
Peter noted that the NSVA UK made $5000 for charity during the 2000 CofC meeting in Brighton, and thus met all their charitable goals.
This ended the “reps only” portion of the meeting.
OPEN DISCUSSION:
Joe Madonia had 4 topics to discuss.
1. A vanner from Cleveland said he would like to see a Vanner Art Show, or exhibit at events and/or the NATS.
2. Joe is trying to chart the location of all previous NATS, winners of “Show N Shine”, etc. for the past 30 years. He has already collected a lot of information, but would appreciate any additional information he could get.
3. Cruisin’ Style magazine. They have put in a number of van articles already. If you call them, they’ll send you a camera. You can write the article as you take the photos, and you may get the article published in the magazine.
4. NATS vendors. By supporting the vendors you are supporting the host club and the event.
Midwest noted that they would like to work with an organ donor to be able to get the appropriate information on the internet for vanners who are interested.
Coop noted that there are no official bids for a NATS for next year. The NATS Board will work on something. There WILL be a NATS next year, but there are no details to report at this time.
Maryland said that there were no bids because people hosting the NATS are taking a financial beating on the event. Coop said that not all NATS hosts have suffered a loss on the event. Ma, from Northwest, said that California made money with only 300 vans in attendance, so it’s really a question of understanding how many vans to budget for. Likewise, Texas made a profit with only 600 vans in attendance.
Joe Madonia said that our NATS has a problem in that every year a new group has to start from scratch with no funds from the last NATS for seed money. Making profit on an event is not a dirty word.
Judith noted that the NATS Board has had, for the past 5 years, a booklet on the expenses, etc. for the previous NATS. She has it, and it is available (except for this past years NATS). A number of reps suggested that we get commercial sponsorship to pay for the NATS. Coop said this whole conversation is refreshing, because, maybe we can now accept the idea of commercial sponsorship. Just because of the bad time in the past with Fast Buck Freddie, we turned completely away from commercial sponsorship, and that was not necessarily a good thing. We may have actually hurt ourselves.
Peter Lee noted that, in the UK, they have had excellent results in the way of commercial sponsorship, but the trick is that they don’t change personnel. The same people from NSVA UK continually contact the same people at Ford, etc. and have built a rapport with them. It’s much easier to get “freebies” and other support if you maintain the same contact person. Initially NSVA UK had to ring up these folks for support, and now they’re ringing up the NSVA. The sponsors have now given $30K in free giveaways, unsolicited. In addition to maintaining the same contact person, you need to be sure to build a relationship with your sponsors. And you should also be sure to give them appropriate credit for their support and let them know you appreciate it. Send a letter that the items were received and thank them for their support.
A suggestion was made that a separate group be formed to work with the NATS Board to get commercial sponsorships. Several volunteers said they will give their names to Judith after the meeting.
New Jersey made a motion to adjourn and the meeting was concluded.
ATTENDEES AT THE 2001 COUNCIL OF COUNCILS MEETING:
A.L.I.V.E.
All In One Alliance
Colorado Van Council
Corn Belt Van Council
Downstate Illinois Van Council
Florida Van Council
Heart Of America Van Council
Hoosier Van Congress
Maryland Van Council
Midwest Van Council
M.O.V.E.
Missouri Van Council
National Street Van Association - UK
New England Van Council
New Jersey Van Council
New York Van Council
Northeast Ohio Van Congress
Northern California Van Council
Northwest Van Council
Pennsylvania Van Council
Scandinavia Van Council
Southeast Virginia Van Council
Southern California Van Council
Southern Ohio Van Council
Texas Van Federation
Van Club Association of Michigan
West Lake Erie Van Council
Wisconsin Van Council
Van Council of Victoria