1995 COUNCIL OF COUNCILS MEETING

Ramada Inn

Columbus, Ohio

February 11, 1995

Brian Walker called the meeting to order at 9:30 AM and welcomed the reps. A motion to dispense with the reading of the minutes of the last meeting was carried by voice vote.

Brian introduced the 5 member board of the Council of Councils (CofC). The host council, Northeast Ohio Van Congress, introduced their reps. They made a request not to stick flyers, etc. to the walls. That all has to be cleaned up.

Next there was roll call, with introductions of the reps from each council. There were 30 councils in attendance.

Brian read the bids to host the 1996 Council of Councils meeting. Florida Van Council (FVC) made a bid to host the meeting in Atlantic Beach (Jacksonville) on February 16-18. Wisconsin Van Council made a bid to host the meeting in Manitowoc (in Eastern Wisconsin) on February 8-12. Ontario Federation of Vanners (OFV) made a bid to host the meeting in Toronto on February 9-11. The current exchange rate is $55 Canadian for $42 U.S.

Joe Madonia asked if there were any questions regarding the NATS Board and its operation.

Kathy Willis made a $100 donation to the NATS Board from Misty Mountain Vans to help out with operational expenses.

Southern Ohio Van Council (SOVC) discussed this years NATS in Chillicothe, Ohio. The Show N Shine will be outside the campground. There will be a diversity of music and a parade in town. Will have a Mardi Gras ("Party Gras") theme, including a Party Gras parade. Bands outside. Will have activities for the kids. SOVC passed out a goodie bag package of pre-reg and NATS information to each rep. There will be a kids curfew. They have 334 pre-reg to date.

New York Van Council said that we should have a mix of music. It is very difficult to accommodate everyone's musical taste but we should try.

KID'S CURFEW. M.O.V.E. noted that it is the parent's responsibility to enforce a reasonable curfew for their kids. It was noted that the curfew problem occurs mostly with teenagers. FVC said that no host club or council can dictate a curfew. You need to go to the parents of the problem kids and get them to fix the problem. FVC uses the older, responsible kids (and pays them) to help watch the younger kids. New York said that they have activities, including hayrides, to help solve the problem. There was a suggestion that each kid have an ID (that can't be taken off) put on their wrist when they come in the front gate. The ID would have the kid's name and club affiliation. Wisconsin said, "Your kids are YOUR responsibility."

New York Van Council noted that you should keep dogs on a short leash. A dog on a long leash can still be a problem. If the dog is in the campsite alone (no owners there) on a long leash he can still bite passers by. Wisconsin noted that, if your dog bites someone, there is a quarantine period. You could spend an extra week at the event location waiting for your dog to get out of quarantine.

Colorado Van Council brought up the idea of a mid-week NATS. They said that vanners fell into three groups:

o Those who went to Los Banos

Bev (from the UK) said that the majority of people who go are local and only go from Friday to Sunday. They currently attend, but wouldn't attend if they had to take vacation time to attend a mid-week NATS.

VAN JUDGING. FVC asked what qualifies people to judge vans at events. They said that the host club should be sure that the judges are qualified. New York said that they get people who know how to judge and they train the other judges. Howard said that the NATS Board has a standard Nationals classification guideline.

COUNCIL OF COUNCILS. OFV said that we need a database for the CofC. They will ask many questions of Ohio and put it in a database. Items that a prospective host council need to know are:

o What size meeting room

o How many meeting rooms

o How many hotel rooms

It was noted that this year's meeting utilized 180 out of 210 rooms available. Also, the main meeting room needs to accommodate 100 to 150 people.

Brian was asked how the Council of Councils is run. He noted that last year he gave every council officer in attendance a complete packet of information that covered the history of the CofC, how it is run, guidelines for the meeting, bid sheets for hosting a CofC meeting, etc. He noted that it is important for the council officers to pass that information on to new officers when the council has elections.

Northwest Van Council requested a list of what is and what is not a van. Paul saw a Willys jeep listed as a panel. It's time to decide what is and isn't a van. A van isn't a Class D motor home or a twenty foot step van.

Joe Madonia suggested that anyone who has a doubt as to whether his vehicle is considered a van should send in a picture.

In July, everyone will get a vote on what is and isn't a van. We have accepted panel deliveries and sedan deliveries as vans because the term"van" (as regards automobiles) didn't exist until 1961. Wisconsin noted that the new "fat" station wagons are listed as vans. The guys from the UK said to please consider that they are obliged to rent a van (long distance) before they leave England. They might end up with something that doesn't classify as a van. After all that, Woodstock (of SOVC), said, "We didn't get anywhere."

Brian noted that the CofC Board members were wondering last night, "Just how do we get things accomplished?" Charlotte noted that we get things accomplished because we discuss them at the CofC meetings. It may appear that nothing is accomplished (as Woodstock said) because we don't leave the meeting with an edict, or a law, or a resolution, but the meeting has an impact. For example, items that are currently happening as a result of past discussions in the CofC meetings are the curfew for kids and Vanners Night Out.

Howard agreed. He said we're not a governing body. We just exchange ideas. The only thing we actually vote on is where the next meeting will be held.

BEHAVIOR AT COUNCIL OF COUNCILS. Kathy, from Missouri, noted that we're responsible for our kids, let's be responsible for ourselves. We need to consider what is harmless fun and what isn't. Don't do anything in the hotel that you wouldn't do in your own home. You can't expect people to respect you if you don't respect them and their property. It is possible to have a good time without doing any damage. If you see someone doing something that is inappropriate and you don't want to say something to them at least tell the host council. Inappropriate behavior reflects badly on all of us. It's not the people in the meetings that we have to worry about, it's the people who just came to party.

On that point Brian noted that we have used 180 rooms at an average of 2 people per room. That comes out to 360 people, but there are only about 120 people at the meeting. Obviously 240 people didn't come for the meeting. We shouldn't advertise this as a winter party, it is a business meeting. Brian specifically asked FVC not to put on a Pajama Party Friday night. That sets a party tone for the weekend. We should set a business tone for the meeting and then have a good time Saturday night after the meeting is over.

A suggestion was made to have a big meeting room. Have it for the parties, tradeable session, meeting, hospitality room and keep everything in one room. SOVC said it would be impossible to clean up the room for a meeting on Saturday when the Friday night party lasts until 5 or 6 AM Saturday.

Betty Moore, from the hotel, said, "We're just having a ball with you!" She was asked how many maids had quit because of the mess. None. Then she was asked if we had done any damage. None. She also noted that we hadn't done anything she didn't expect because the host council had worked very close with the hotel advising them of what to expect.

Chris Paige said that the fancy hotels are not our style; this one is. Wisconsin said you should bring someone from the hotel for next years meeting to this years meeting so they know what's coming down.

It was suggested that there be a nominal registration fee to cover the cost of the meeting rooms. Howard made a motion to set a registration fee, not to exceed $10 to attend the next CofC meeting. The motion was seconded. Someone noted that it would be nice to have coffee and donuts for the reps during the meeting. Several points were raised during discussion of the motion. How do we know that the registration money is spent wisely? Previous hosts of the CofC meeting said that they held raffles in advance for 1 year to raise the money required to host the meeting. They stated that if you negotiate properly with the hotel then the meeting rooms are free. If you charge a fee, then you lose control, need to have extra accountability (which would take up time during the meeting), etc. Kathy noted that the CofC Board needs money to cover printing, postage, phone calls, etc.

Brian noted that postage for the CofC Board has come out of pocket, but now comes out of Vanning Now. Copying is currently taken care of free. The way to help out is to subscribe to Vanning Now and get advertisements for the magazine. As of January there are 777 paid subscriptions to Vanning Now. At this point the meeting was adjourned for lunch and the tradeable session.

The meeting was resumed at 2:15 PM.

Brian noted that a better way to handle the matter of expenses for the CofC Board was to "pass the hat" during the meeting. The monies collected would go to Vanning Now to help defray the cost of the Council of Councils Board expenses. In Howard's absence a motion to withdraw Howard's motion was passed by voice vote.

North Lake Erie Van Council noted that the noise made late at night by generators at events was a problem. One person asked what's the difference between a big speaker playing loud noises you don't want to hear and a generator. Lynn said it's up to each of us to use common sense with generators and loud music.

What is everyone doing to recruit new vanners? Raul said he put flyers, etc. to no avail. New England said we need to get more vans in parades, etc.

Maritime Van Council suggested that we have name tags for everyone attending the CofC meeting, not just for the meeting, but for the whole weekend. The reps having ID badges is nice, but it would be better if everyone had some kind of name tag.

One individual noted that he has a promotional tape to promote vanning. It is 45 minutes long and is called "Vanning USA" and he offered it at cost for anyone to copy or use. It is PC (politically correct).

Bluegrass Vanners noted that they are promoting the sport of vanning to attract the 20-year olds.

In response to a request from the floor Brian introduced the staff of Vanning Now (to a round of applause) so the reps could see who is responsible for the magazine.

In response to a question from the floor Brian restated that, if a CofC Board member needs to be replaced, the remaining board members replace him. The Council of Councils Board is a corporation, with members, in order to protect the logo. As with many other corporations there are no elections.

Brian recognized reps from "On The Trail" magazine. They said thanks for the subscriptions and they would try to cover as many vanning events as they can.

Raul donated the first copy of the latest Vanner's Yearbook to the CofC Board. He noted that the format of the yearbook will change. Every other year the book will not have photos, etc. It will be a soft back with names and addresses of the councils. Please send updates. The yearbook will only be as good as the inputs.

Howard thanked the reps for withdrawing his motion. By "passing the hat" we got $198 US and $20 Canadian to help cover the CofC Board expenses. He noted that we should promote the events. He gave away 35 pre-reg to the reps. He showed custom official Illinois license plates that effectively advertised Midwest's event. The license plates are legal to use on the van for 60 days prior to the event.

OPEN DISCUSSION:

Doc introduced people from "Armature" magazine. He noted that we need to explore new avenues to get vanners.

There was a personal question about why are we having a debate about what is a van. The title and registration mean nothing. In some states a full-sized van is classed as a station wagon. Vanning is a state of mind, not a vehicle. The Show N Shine is different, the vehicle does matter. Some reps said we need to let in Aerostars and things that look similar to a van if we are to attract young blood into vanning. Joe Madonia made a passionate plea, "Why are we throwing away the van; just to get help supporting our events. The van is our common bond. That's what got us together in the first place." Henry asked what's wrong with a Class C motorhome, that at least looks like a van in the front. Raul said that's better than letting in a 30-foot motorhome that takes up 3 van spots. Brian suggested a side meeting to discuss what is a van.

Truck-in magazine brought out their best of 25 years edition. Jeff Johnston, who writes the Van Scan column, said he needs input. He gets newsletters, but would like to get photos along with a phone number and name. He can build an article around that. He would like more input on what you would like in the column. He also noted that the column is a good way to get info to potential new vanners and old vanners who dropped out. Also, send in updates, but please remember that the magazine is published 3 months ahead so you have to get input about upcoming events in early. Don't send articles to the magazine, send them directly to:

Jeff Johnston

P.O. Box 1002

Elkhart, Indiana 46515

Van Tees said we should change the NATS from the National Truck-In to the National Van-In. Joe Madonia said that the NATS Board could consider doing that, now that they have control of the logo. He said that the transition would have to be slow. Several reps said, "No! Do it now!" Coop said it should be easy to do and the NATS Board will discuss the matter.

OFV noted a few things about "Customs Claustrophobia". Canadian customs officers are polite. They don't meet you with a gun, like U.S. customs officers do. He asked how many reps had been to a Canadian event. There were a lot of hands raised in response. He said he tries to go to a least one event a year that the has never been to.

Peter Lee (from the UK) was getting a signed copy of the latest Vanner's Yearbook to raffle off and give the proceeds to Vanning Now.

Brian concluded the meeting by announcing that Florida had won the bid for the 1996 meeting and he would see us there.

ATTENDEES AT THE 1995 COUNCIL OF COUNCILS MEETING

1. A.L.I.V.E.

2. British Columbia Van Association

3. Colorado Van Council

4. Corn Belt Van Council

5. Council of Presidents

6. Downstate Illinois Van Council

7. Florida Van Council

8. Heart of America Van Council

9. Hoosier Van Congress

10. Maritime Van Council

11. Maryland Van Council

12. Midwest Van Council

13. Minnesota Organization of Van Enthusiasts

14. Missouri Van Council

15. National Street Van Association - Britain

16. New York Van Council

17. New Jersey Van Council

18. New England Van Council

19. Northeast Ohio Van Congress

20. Northern California Van Council

21. Northwest Van Council

22. Ontario Federation of Vanners

23. Pennsylvania Van Council

24. Quebec Van Council

25. Southeast Virginia Van Council

26. Southern Ohio Van Council

27. Southern Van Council

28. Van Association of New Zealand

29. Van Club Association of Michigan

30. West Lake Erie Van Council