Q-Club Expenses..Track Events et al...(long)

[Paul_Royal@idx.com]

Dear Listers,

     I am a member of QC-USA and I had became troubled by a lot of the
rhetoric seen
on this list with particular regard to the clubs financial position and
history.  I joined QC-USA
on the advice of someone I met, who I quickly came to trust as a gentleman
of honor and a
friend.  I have come to know some other people who are members of the
Northeast Chapter
and I have also found them to be friendly, honest and forthright.  The
result of my association
 with these people has found me at a winter rally as a competitor, made me
the registrar for
the Mount Washington Hillclimb Q-Event, and an eager participant in future
gatherings that
are planned by the Club.  As I have become more involved with the Northeast
Chapter I
 wanted to satisfy myself that I should not be overly concerned with my new
relationship
with QC-USA as the questions of inpropriety arose.

     In order to find out for myself what I thought I needed to know I
talked to other people
who are actually involved with QC-USA and/or its chapters and anyone else
that I believed
had legitimate and useful information.  After I had tried to educate myself
in this manner I wrote
to the Executive Director of QC-USA to make further inquiries.  I was not
satisfied with the
inital response I received, so I wrote again.  Last night I received a call
from Bob Houston
 who is the President of QC-USA (I was not home and called him back) and we
talked for
nearly an hour about my concerns and I have come away from that
conversation satisfied
 that the current  business of QC-USA is on the straight and narrow.  My
feelings about this
are not only based upon my conversation with Bob Houston, but also from my
personal
knowledge of other people in the Northeast Chapter that are now involved
with QC-USA
such as Tom Ciesla who I feel is an excellent representative on our Board
of Directors.

     I do believe that some questions do remain about the Club's early
history, but I am very
nearly satisfied that the early history of the club now has very little to
do, if anything, with
 the Club's current business and membership.  I would like to know more
about that history, but I no
longer feel that I have been "stonewalled" or kept in the dark about "those
rumors."

     It has occured to me that while I enjoy participating on the Q-List
and have made friends
here too, it is probably not the best forum for conducting Q-Club business.
While many of the
"Listers" are indeed members of QC-USA and its chapters, many people are
not.   This list
is a convenient and valuable way to call out to the QC membership at times
(such as inviting
all Audi owners to participate at Mount Washington even if they are not
Club members) and
am grateful to Dan Simoes for its existance and maintenance.

     I am not convinced that open letters to the directorship or officers
of the club in this
 forum are an appropriate way to deal with what is really official club
business.  I am not
criticizing those who have, and I am not trying to squelch your efforts to
receive full disclosure,
but I am suggesting that the fact finding might better be done within the
club.
     The officers  and members of the club have an established forum which
is the
Quattro Quarterly in which  is also published the personal phone numbers
and addresses
of club leadership.
     It is my "belief" that QC-USA does not regularly participate on this
list in any official
way since it is not a forum all members have ready access to, and also does
not pay the
freight on (the VFW doesn't usually meet at the "Union Hall").

     This brings me to my final points which are about many of the letters
to the list about
the cost of Club events.  There are many, many factors which go into the
final cost of
participating in a Club sanctioned event.  There is the cost of insurance
(always much, much
higher for a young club), whether or not you have paid corner workers or
have volunteers,
 t-shirts, and the number of participants, to name but a very few.  Part of
the cost of
participating in a Club event is BELONGING to the Club which is running the
event.  Ladies
 and Gentleman, this is a sports club like any other that actually expects
you to belong to it
 to participate.  This is hardly unusual.  If an annual membership fee of
$40 for receipt of the
Quattro Quarterly, parts discounts, voting rights, and access to events
across the country is
 too much, I'm suggesting that a sports car club may not be for you
{especially a German
car sports car club:-)}.  What was the last organization you belonged where
you loved
everybody and every little thing.  I don't like Clinton or Congress much
these days, but
I have a deep and unfailing love for my country....it's a car club for
crying out loud!
     One final point on expenses.  I haven't seen one comment (complaint)
here
(maybe I missed it)  that has suggested that being a participant in a
legitimate
sports car club of any  kind might  include a commitment to making it work,
helping to make it stronger, and possibly  reducing expenses down the road.
 At every track event or auto cross or gathering of enthusiasts are  many
Club
 members behind the scenes who contribute time, energy and hard work to
help
ensure that the participants have an enjoyable and safe experience.  Would
you be willing to use your home as an office for track event preparation as
some folks do?...or pull out your  gold card and plunk down 6 or 7 thousand
dollars of your own money months in advance of reinbursement with no
guarantee of its return?
     I fully understand and appreciate the comparisons that have been
made here  to the costs of other club's events, but most of the time we are
talking about the cost of a decent lunch.  Much of the higher cost is
attributable
 to the relative infancy of the club as  compared to some of the more
established
 marque clubs.  While this might mean that  you've got to part with an
extra
 few bucks over the course of a whole weekend,  it might  be viewed as an
opportunity to be part of a club that is young, still fairly small, and
where
you can make a difference.

     This letter is not intended to be a lecture, but to merely point out
some things
 which you may or may not have considered, especially if you've not been
involved with
a club like this before.  I am sure that there will be dissenting opinions
as these are only my
opinions.  My letter is laced with some hard facts and I point those out
only in the interest
of gathering real knowledge and not rumor or conjecture.

     I am hoping to continue my enthusiastic participation with the
Northeast Chapter
of QC-USA. I invite others who would like to belong and contribute to an
active
 membership in a legitimate sports car club designed expressly for Quattro
enthusiasts
 to join me.

     Paul W. Royal
     Quattro Club USA Member #3367