1986 COUNCIL OF COUNCILS MEETING

Minutes of COUNCIL REPS MEETING:

Meeting called to order by Greg Cooper, N.O.V.C. Chairman at 9:50 am with the introduction of the N.O.V.C. Officers for the meeting and the representatives of the 18 Councils present.

The minutes of last years meeting was read by Brian Walker, with no corrections or additions.

Greg Cooper (Coop) stated that the purpose of this meeting is to inform one another, and discuss ways to improve vanning.

The following Van Council reports were given-

• COLORADO VAN COUNCIL: 5 member clubs, down from last year.
• FLORIDA VAN COUNCIL: increase in numbers since starting club flyers in-Jan. 86, now have 22 clubs & 300 members.
• NEW YORK CITY VAN COUNCIL: 3 clubs and holding; having problems finding decent locations for events with good prices.
• D, C. VAN COUNCIL: 9 clubs & looking up with many local truckers in the area to draw upon.
• NORTH CAROLINA/SOUTH CAROLINA VAN COUNCIL: problem with too few events in their immediate area and problems with expensive campgrounds.
• HEART OF AMERICA VAN COUNCIL: on an even keel now, represents six states.
• HOOSIER VAN COUNCIL: been dormant, have 3 clubs interested, hoping to build.
• SOUTHERN OHIO VAN COUNCIL: 19 clubs, young & growing with many events in southern Ohio area.
• ALABAMA VANNERS ASSOCIATION: 11 clubs now, up from 5; also having trouble with finding grounds.
• MARYLAND VAN COUNCIL: 28 clubs, up from last year, still sanctioning only van-ins & rally's.
• SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA VAN COUNCIL: smaller number of clubs in council, campgrounds are expensive and hard to find.
• WEST LAKE ERIE VAN COUNCIL: holding steady at 5 clubs, plans to have a. newsletter in the next few months.
• DOWNSTATE ILLINOIS VAN COUNCIL: 6 clubs and holding their own; have 290 pre-entries for this years Nats so far, 75 responses from ad for the Nats in Vans & Trucks magazine.
• WISCONSIN VAN COUNCIL: 11-12 clubs, down from 17, no growth in sight, trying to get a newsletter out 4 times per- year to help organize things.
• NEW ENGLAND VAN COUNCIL- 32 member clubs expecting to pick up 16 in March.
• NEW JERSEY-VAN COUNCIL- holding own with 30 clubs, TRUCKIN INTA SUMMER at Englishtown gone after 11 years.
• N. S. V. A. -U. K. - U. S. Rep has info on overseas vanning.
• NORTHEAST OHIO VAN CONGRESS: 43 clubs presently, expecting 60' when re-ups all come in.

Topics discussed:

Discussed Council of Councils meeting held at last years Nationals. Agreed that this meeting needs more organization such as an agenda, specific place & a limit on Council of reps present. Downstate Illinois Van Council will chair the meeting this year to be held Saturday afternoon at 2 PM. 1 council rep per council to be in attendance, National Truck-in reps to be included.

VENDORS: The number of vendors is down, van parts/shops are hard to find & prices are high for the vendors to travel to events. Suggestions made for wholesale prices to vanners.

NEW MEMBERS: Get advertising back into vanning and magazines, flyers on vans, give membership info to truck dealerships, maintain interest in vanning ourselves & promote a positive image of vanning. Bring the van back as the focal point of vanning, using inside mall. Shows, parades, etc. D.I.V.C. reported that the average age of pre-reg vanners for Nats at 28-42 years of age.

Discussion arose regarding liabilities of the clubs hosting events. For each club to investigate legal ramifications in their particular state, to plan the events accordingly & police ourselves.

Host club for next years Council of Councils meeting is the Southeast Virginia Van Council.

Meeting adjourned at 11:40 am.

Minutes of afternoon General Meeting:

Introduction of the 18 Council reps, who were seated at the head table. Minutes of the AM Council reps meeting were read by POORMAN. 1 addition was requested. (1 council rep per Council to be in attendance at C of C meeting at Nats, National Truck-in reps to be included also).

TOPICS DISCUSSED:

Old vanners back, why did they quit? How did they quit? Reasons- not growing as a lifestyle; be selective about events your kids go to and tell your new people what happens after 8pm at the events. Put more emphasis on the 2% attitudes.

14th Nats: 290 pre-apps, free t-shirt offer extended to next weekend. Lake on grounds, very deep, no boats, swimming on one end. Camping fee $5/van which goes to campground if you're there before event starts. Vendors fee if food or anything such thing is sold. Send flyers, etc., for goody stuff welcome. Confirmations will mailed out beginning May 1. Are working on a van to be given away.

Discussion on National Truck-in in general:

What is participation trophy based on, playing in games or number of vans? No consistency.

Uniformity in show judging. Draw up a uniform judging sheet. Already done for the Nats by Rocky Mountain Vans.

No national corporation to sponsor 1986 Nats. With vanning numbers down every year company's just not interested.

Be honest and straight forward about accomodations.

Host club for Nats must be visible and informed. Maybe differentiate with armbands, headbands etc. One member from host club at info center with info on certain events. T-shirt identifications.

Why have conflicting events with a Nationals? Why have other events called Nationals? Answer(?): for people who can't make Nats. Needs discussion.

N.B.V.A. - no members here to answer questions.

New England Van Council wants calendars of events in & out of New England. If you publish something about an event, publish all the important stuff, leaving out something like VANS ONLY can and has caused problems.

1987 Nats will be in New England by Mass Transit Vans the 3rd weekend in July.

Vanpoon subscriptions extended & will be published soon.

Keywords for Future: COMMUNICATION, ORGANIZATION -& EXECUTION:

Comments were made regarding vanning dying off - i.e. Camel's articles in National Magazine.

Young members in vanning: hard to get off work, increasing cost of vans, must get public opinion on our side, lay some groundwork, have some self-respect for appearances.

The pass on head was presented to Bob Rowland of the S. E. V. V. C..

Meeting adjourned at 3:25pm.

Addresses of Councils present:

COLORAD0 VAN COUNCIL 2756 West 39th Ave. Denver, CO 80211

FLORIDA VAN COUNCIL 6148 Glen Barr Ave. Orlando, FL 32809

NEW YORK CITY VAN COUNCIL 301 Sutter Ave. Brooklyn, NY 11212 or 376 Bainbridge St. Brooklyn, NY 11233

N.S.V.A.-U.K. US Rep c/o Joe Madonia 30238 Woodhouse Dr. Warren, MI 48092

WISCONSIN VAN COUNCIL 1115 Dillingham Ave. Sheboygan, WI 53O81

NEW ENGLAND VAN COUNCIL c/o Ken Latham 47 Church St. Spencer, MA 01562

NEW JERSEY VAN COUNCIL c/o Kathy DeVincenzi 100 Catherine Ave. Saddlebrook, NJ 07662

SOUTHERN OHIO VAN COUNCIL 5640 Honeyleaf Way, Dayton, OH 45424

ALABAMA VANNERS ASSOCIATION P.O.-Box 1483, Cullman, AL 35056-1483

MARYLAND VAN COUNCIL Rt. 4p 992 Highpoint Dr. Annapolis, MD 21401

SOUTHEAST VIRGINIA VAN COUNCIL 5e9 Old Post Rd. Va. Beach, VA 23452

WEST LAKE ERIE VAN COUNCIL c/o Larry Lilly 1879 Central Ave, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N8W-4H6

DOWNSTATE ILLINOIS VAN COUNCIL c/o Robert Hollenkamp P.O. Box 90, Pierron, IL 62273.

D. C. VAN COUNCIL 4003 Webster St., N. Brentwood, MD 20722

NORTH CAROLINA/SOUTH CAROLINA VAN COUNCIL c/o Steve Blankenship P.O. Box 10674, Winston-Salem, NC 27104

HEART OF AMERICA VAN COUNCIL c/o Cathy Smith 959 Hackmann Rd, St. Paul, MO 63366.

HOOSIER VAN COUNCIL P.O. Box 76, Oakford, IN 46965

NORTHEAST OHIO VAN CONGRESS c/o Brian Walker 638 Prospect Rd. Berea OH 44017