DSCC down the tubes????

[terry lee]

What is up with the members of this club?
We use to post here with great regularity, now it's like NEVER.
The DSCC web site isn't getting it done guys!!!!!!!!! WAKE UP!!!!
Is it just my imagination that everyone (with a few exceptions; Robert, Cobra Dan, and myself) DO NOT watch this forum, and/ or not respond to posts on it?
If the club is going to work, I think we ALL need to get alittle more involved.
There's a guy from Chicago looking to buy a FFC in Edgewater. We must have someone in the area who can help this poor guy out. If it was you, wouldn't you want the same? If I was closer, I'd be there in a heart beat! COME ON GUYS, WAKE UP!
Nobody posted anything about the last Gainesville outing - WHY????
I couldn't make it, but now I'm starting to think, why even bother spending 5 hours on the the road up,and another 5 hours back for the next event. We use to stay over on Sat. nite and have dinner, and do a lot of trash talking, and now what? Everyone is gone by 5PM! I don't get it.

OH WELL, just thought I'd chime in and say hello to those who care.
BYE,

TL

[Gregg(What's his name)?]

Terry,

Trailer up the beast and come over to Austin on the 22 - 25 March and join us for a big ol Texas Cobra gathering. That way you can brag to all your friends who watch the forum what a great time you had. usually the smile and the hangover lasts about three to four weeks.

Gregg H

[Brent Mills]

Originally Posted by Gregg(What's his name)?

Terry,

Trailer up the beast and come over to Austin on the 22 - 25 March and join us for a big ol Texas Cobra gathering. That way you can brag to all your friends who watch the forum what a great time you had. usually the smile and the hangover lasts about three to four weeks.

Gregg H

I'll second that! I actually looked at plane tickets the other day thinking I just might try to scoot down there (now is not the right time for me though, which is a bummer to say the least)! I miss all the Texans!!


Terry, sick'em! You might actually look to the Texas folks as a bit of guidance for how to get folks motivated. They really have done a fine job over the years of keeping people together and motivated.

[DaveH]

I was looking for some news of the Gainesville event as well. Even though I was unable to make it I'm still interested to see who's running what. It was rainy most of Saturday where I was, so I'm sure it was difficult conditions, or maybe the event was even cancelled.

[RD31]

The event was an experience in learning how to race on a wet track, in cool temps, and in my case slicks. It was definitely a learning experience. As the day went on we entertained stopping mid-day and getting a partial refund. The weather then broke and we decided to stick it out. We were glad with that decision. I started out on the wet track with times of 1:19, as the track dried out they dropped down to the 1:08 / 1:09 ballpark. These times were equivalent to the last event.

The new website is in prototype stages now. Can't spill the beans until enough of it is in place to make it work correctly. It shouldn't be too much longer.

Terry, man come play with us, we miss you!!!
We are running the event a little differently, it gives us a LOT of track time. Many have been running out of gas. You should have seen Reg's new toy, it was awsome.
Put those slicks back on the car, throw it in the trailer, and bring her down...
The next event is April 28th... be there. :-)

Robert

[terry lee]

Robert,
Thanks for the update on the Gainesville event. Sorry to have missed it. I have spent the last 2 months dealing with my Mom's health issues. Carol is having an ongoing problem with her folks. You know we would love to be there with everyone; but sometimes, we need to "be there" for our parents. Unfortunately, I will probably have to pass on the April event also as I will be in NC. I am suppose to be there right now! PRIORITIES, PRIORITIES!

Aside from all that, we as a club need to keep this forum active. I speak for every member of this club. Most of us joined the DSCC thru this forum. It was, and still is (in my opinion) the most watched and viewed forum available to those of us who have a love for our cars. Thru Club Cobra, we have exposure to every other Cobra owner and enthusiast in the world. Just look at the post from Gregg (what's his name). Like in ANY organization, the members are the links in the chain. The stronger the members, the stronger the chain. If we continue making posts here and helping each other as we have in the past, I view as the key to success.

There is nothing wrong with having our own DSCC web site, but lets not lose sight of how we got to where we are now.

Getting back to what started this thread; How about someone in the Edgewater area helping to check out the FFC that is for sale. It not only helps the buyer, but also the seller (who probably is one of us).

Enough for now - BUT LETS TRY TO WORK TOGETHER - EVERYONE!

TL

[Murphy]

I am just about on the road after working through some details on my car and was looking forward to the events you put together. Keep it going, I'm in for the April event even if I have to push the car around the track.

[deadbeatle]

I'm new to the group, just picked up my BDR #461 from Reg last week. It's too new for me to run in Gainesville, but I am looking for some South Florida owners to get together with. I just joined DSCC this week also. Is there any regular events in the South Florida area? I will look for any excuse to drive the car.

BDR #461 Titanium/Indigo Blue
Roush 402 TKO 600

[cbreez]

I have mentioned this before...it's nice to read this forum, but this club is only offering track events....not much more... that I can see. I don't think, (and from what I read, it seems to be backed up by the numbers at the events...) that the club officers are NOT providing what members want. I would have a REAL problem contributing to this club if ANY of the proceeds of members went to SUBSIDIZE those that want to race, and no one else. It seems that happens, and correct me if I am wrong. Those participants should subsidize themselves...I have raced real cars much of my life, and you should pay your own way, that's the way it should be. Also, a BIG thing, not everyone wants to beat on their car at a "walter middy" race weekend. What about car shows or other gatherings? It seems the club meets once a year at the reptile round up that's it. The reptile round up is an unadvertised cobra people only event for the most part, no showing off to the rest of the world! During the rest of the year, no meetings, breakfasts, caravans to events, or any place to show off these cars. I bought my car and expected to participate in some events, but all track events , no way. Give some other options to a member!
Cbreez

[CobraDan]

Terry Lee, Murphy, Deadbeatle, Cbreez,
I have been with the Deep South Cobra Club from the beginning as Vice President, then President and I’m not interested in racing my Cobra either as those days are long over. We are still in 8 states but are basically a Florida club as others have actually started the own more local clubs. I have started a local group which we have named the Deeper South Cobra Club and I live in Cape Coral Florida. In snowbird season for the past two years we have tried to get together for a monthly gathering and it is like pulling teeth as we have over 30 names on our list and this past month we only had 3 participate and I was one of the three. In April I will be at a Jazz Fest in New Orleans so nothing is happening in April and May would normally be the last month as June brings us back into the rainy season. We are always looking for people who would like to get together and meet other owners and all of you are welcome to join our little group my new email address is dfwulff@comcast.net so if you are willing to travel and would like to join us send me an email.

[Murphy]

I had 65 & 66 mustangs and it was always a treat when the Cobras showed up at the mustang car shows. The thought by the Mustang people was that the Cobra owners were too regal to participate. I know the Tampa mustang club guys would welcome Cobras.

[Gatorac]

Originally Posted by cbreez

I have mentioned this before...it's nice to read this forum, but this club is only offering track events....not much more... that I can see. I don't think, (and from what I read, it seems to be backed up by the numbers at the events...) that the club officers are NOT providing what members want. I would have a REAL problem contributing to this club if ANY of the proceeds of members went to SUBSIDIZE those that want to race, and no one else. It seems that happens, and correct me if I am wrong. Those participants should subsidize themselves...I have raced real cars much of my life, and you should pay your own way, that's the way it should be. Also, a BIG thing, not everyone wants to beat on their car at a "walter middy" race weekend. What about car shows or other gatherings? It seems the club meets once a year at the reptile round up that's it. The reptile round up is an unadvertised cobra people only event for the most part, no showing off to the rest of the world! During the rest of the year, no meetings, breakfasts, caravans to events, or any place to show off these cars. I bought my car and expected to participate in some events, but all track events , no way. Give some other options to a member!
Cbreez

The last Reptile Roundup had 2 days on track and 1 day of off track things to do. Lots of people participated in the track event. Few people showed up to the car show, poker run and banquet. I can't stand to sit all day at a car show. But I came, I sat and I supported my club. Where were the waxers? I put many hours, miles and money into coming up with a poker run route in an area that seems completely devoid of interesting roads. What did you do?

Did you go to the 12 hours of Sebring? Rob Ginn secured the best parking place at Sebring for the DSCC. Just a place to get together and show your car, not to race. How many members showed up? I did and it was awesome. We had a great time.

The DSCC tried to put together something for the historic races at Sebring for us to meet at. Just a place to get together and show your car, not to race. Nobody wanted to go so it was dropped.

The track events have been the only source of income for the club. That income has helped pay for other things. Not the other way around. None of the track guys have said stink about subsidizing other things with their track fees. If that money wasn't there the club would have already failed.

The officers of the club are not compensated for the work they do. We have, what, 4 officers? You want those 4 people to put together car shows and cruises all over the Southeast? Gee, what would they do in thier spare time. It is up to the members to help put together events that interest them in their area and the club will give it's support. Ask not what the DSCC can do for you, ask what you can do for the DSCC.

Every year at the annual meeting some asks "we want a car show or get together in our area". The club answers back, "great, let's do it." "Now who in your area wants to work at getting it set up?" Chirp chirp chirp.... No volunteers. This isn't the Porsche club where we have a major manufacturer putting up tons of money to organize an event. In the past DSCC officers have even had to take money out of their pockets to put down deposits on food and a hall to eat it at. They have put out the money for postage and envelopes to send out information packets.

So I ask, what have you done lately to make the DSCC the club you want it to be?

[RD31]

If anyone would like to setup a get together or local event, the officers can communicate the details to local members. Unfortunately we do have jobs and may not be able to attend all events. Our current policy restricts us by not allowing members to have access to the personal information of other members. Sometime in the future the club hopes to be able to offer members the option of sharing their information with other members in their area. If the club is able to afford the development of this option for the website it will be considered. Only members who have selected this option will have their info accessible (i.e. email address). It is hoped that features such as this will assist members in holding local events and get togethers.

It may seem as though we have only track events. In the Tampa area we get together approximately once each month, especially during good weather months. In fact there is a get together planned next Saturday night. We tried to contact many in this area, but if anyone in the Tampa area wishes to join us, please send one of the officers an email (before April 4, please). We have tried to organize numerous non-track events over the years that get very limited attendance. Also these events do not bring in any funds to the club. We had one member organize a cross country charity event this last year. I believe there were 2 or 3 members joining him with that experience. Let me assure you that contributions to the DSCC go to running the club, not in sponsoring track events or activities. The owners attending track events are currently (and the entire history of the club) financing not only these events but the entire running of the club at the present time. If it were not for the track events the DSCC would have no funds available for organizing the Roundup event - now the largest Cobra replica gathering in the Southeast. At the last annual dinner our members were in fact requesting more large track events. We are attempting to make these a possibility for our members through co-ordination with other clubs and track events. Since, for safety reasons, track events require facilitators, officers must be present to manage the event. It is one of the responsibilities as an officer to provide this service to the club. The offices have gone to a number of track events with little, or no track time in order to make sure the event runs smooth and safe.

The DSCC has been hindered by website issues over the last 8 to 12 months. We are actively working at fixing this. We have hired a professional web designer (yes we have paid a considerable sum to get this work done) and spent many hours of our time to help our club run better. The designer we have contracted is providing a great service at a competitive price. All this stuff costs. Once we get the new website running communication will be much better and our members will be able to sign up for events through the website. We are hopeful that the website will be up and running within 2 weeks.

Hopefully this helps to understand more about our club and how it functions. We are continuing to grow and will be glad to listen to ideas from our members. In fact, the annual dinner during the Roundup has a session specifically for that purpose. If there is a better way for the club to assist in helping local members setup an event please let us know. We have tried radio advertisement in the past at a significant expense with very little response. If an members have access to media advertising (magazine, radio, or video) for any of our events this could help encourage attendance.

Robert Donehoo
Vice President, DSCC

[CobraDan]

Terry is right, as this thread is the most internet interest we have had at club cobra in a long time. First off I want to apologize to Gatorac (Jim) and the club as 2006 was my first visit to Reptile Roundup without my Cobra in a long time and I only came on Saturday. I heard that your poker run route was very interesting and because I talked my brother into coming along we didn’t stay for the banquet in the evening either. As far as a car show goes sitting in a lot with Cobras all over is not a car show, and as far as being a waxier my Cobra has never seen wax, you’re lucky I wash it. In 2006 the love bugs ruled and this is why you lost your attendance to the poker run and banquet after the waxier display where it actually was hard to see the Cobras through all the bugs, people split early and I don’t really blame them. As I said before we have 8 states to represent as the Deep South Cobra Club. I have not listed the states with their actual membership numbers in a long time so here goes.
AL-32, LA-16, SC-30, FL-399, MS-2, TENN-24, GA-81, NC-31. As you can see Florida is really the only state growing and out of the 399 listed members I’m sure that almost ¼ of the names should be removed because they no longer own a cobra and have no interest in being on our membership list. Brent has 19 clubs listed at club cobra and one of those listed Atlanta Club Cobra was our second largest state and they are having the same problems as the DSCC see the thread below.

Does anyone still own a Cobra in Atlanta?

What should we do to make things better let’s try and get people in our club to come back to the internet and make suggestions as we did in the past? This is where it all started and if you want it to continue you have to include the entire membership not just the officers of our club.

[Rickd]

I sold my Unique FIA in January and have an ERA FIA on order, that will hopefully be ready by Sept. The most fun I have ever had was the 2 day 'high performance driving school' at the Reptile Roundup in Gainesville in 2005. Absolutely amazing to be able to learn you car's limits (and your own) in a safe environment, along with a group of men and women sharing the interest in these great cars.

We have a couple of cobra owners here in Miami that would like to be able to do some sort of a 'one day' cruise each month (at least during the Nov - April period - 'the winter'). We would like to get some 'north of Miami' participants as well (i.e., Fort Lauderdale, West Palm).

With the high population density in SE Florida, one of the nicer cruises (starting out EARLY in the am to beat local traffic), is to take a tree lined Old Cutler Road south, down into Homestead, pass by the Speedway, and take the Card Sound Road (the back way) to Key Largo. Based on time and your schedule, you can have breakfast in some waterfront cafe, then cruise down a couple of more 'Keys', and return. I have done it, ostensibly leaving the house in Coral Gables to go for a cup of coffee at the local Starbucks (4 blocks from my house), and have ended up in Key West!!

There must be some nice cruise routes in WPB and Fort Lauderale areas, and possibly hooking up with some cobra owners in the Naples area to maybe go to Marco Island???? If anyone in South Florida is interested, send me a PM or email, and I will put together a NOTIFY LIST and see if we can get something structured on a monthly basis, and maybe on a Quarterly basis do something a little more involved, like a week end trip (we did a weekend trip to a little bed & breakfast 35 miles NE of Orlando last year, to Deland, a skydiving center, and had a great time with early morning drives, dusk drives to the skydiving spot that had a nice little bar and patio to watch, and I did jump, much to my wife's chagrin. Then you can also do 'the loop' which is a really nice road from Daytona meandering through forests and inlets, up to Flagler Beach).

Keep in Touch!! Rick Durkin, Miami, Florida

[Gatorac]

First off I want to apologize to Gatorac (Jim) and the club.....

Dan

You certainly don't owe me or the club an apology. You are among the top ten contributers to the club since it's inception. You've done the work and understand what it takes to put on an event.

As far as a car show goes sitting in a lot with Cobras all over is not a car show

This statement intrigues me. It is highly possible that the racer attitude of the majority of the current participants (me included) has missed some important aspect of putting on a Cobra show. I'm sure that help and input in that area would be appreciated.

My concern is that once the current president decides not to continue in his role that the Reptile Roundup will cease to exist. It takes a substantial amount of work, risk and coordination to put on such an event. The event is the high point in my Cobra activities for the year.

BTW, the application of wax, or lack there of, does not make you a waxer. It's what's in your heart that counts...

If anyone in South Florida is interested, send me a PM or email,

The DSCC has put together a Yahoo email group to help out with contacting other members. If you send an email, all members of the group get the same email. All of the replies also go to all members. It's a great way for the members to keep in contact with each other and organize local events. I'm sure once the new website is up there will be detailed instructions on signing up to the email list.

I will gladly donate some web space on my site until the DSCC site is up and running for instructions on signing up to the email list. If it would help let me know.

[CobraDan]

The largest crowds always show on Saturday and park their Cobras in a field and sit around and BS. At the first Reptile Roundup we were in a parking lot in a Strip Mall and we gave out a few trophies possible the closest we came to a car show but it rained most of Saturday always a bummer. At Don Garlits we were back in a field without any shade but we had Don’s Museums to visit but after seeing the Museums more than once it’s back to sitting in a field. Ok I will start with ideas for a Saturday for our largest one day group each and ever year. Since most come with their personal cobra and some people like participating in a car show lets have a few trophies to give out, best paint, peoples choice, furthest traveled etc, we could have a club with in a club as to who brings the most attendees. Maybe we could also have a scale model show of Cobras for the adults and any of the kids who would like to participate. I don’t think you will be able to find a street to drag race up with passengers for charity as is done in London Ohio each year as this is even illegal in London. A charity does bring more exposure but also many more problems and very time consuming plus maybe not even a thank you if you pick the wrong charity. Rather than trying to sell raffle tickets to a new Backdraft maybe we can just get Reg to drop his price to make anyone thinking of a new cobra a deal so good he can’t pass up the offer. A ticket for this cobra could be included with your Reptile Roundup package price of $100.00 for the Friday night Bar-B-Q, a Dash Plaque, Poker Run, T-Shirt, Car Show Trophy, Scale Model Show Trophy, and the Dinner at the Annual Banquet and DSCC meeting. Any one actually interested in a Cobra purchase would put his ticket into a barrel for the drawing to be chosen later. Of all the Cobra gatherings I have gone to I still think one of the most interesting was the one held at Silver Springs Park, but just make it for one day Saturday only. This one is good for the wife who tags a long as most have seen all the Cobras they have ever wanted to see, its also great for those with kids. I know having food at the source is also a good thing. Alright with close to 600 members lets start the ball rolling with other suggestions for Saturday.

[RD31]

Dan, those are some really good ideas for future Roundup events. I agree, the love bugs put a serious damper on the Saturday events last year. After working with Ed for the last 3 events I can testify that to plan a Roundup like we expect is 10 times the amount of effort you imagine. In order for us to grow this event we need to have these good ideas, the think-tank process is very time consuming especially if we follow "rabbit trails". We can also use the help from members of the DSCC to help plan and organize various parts of the event. Jim and Lori Pomroy spent a great deal of time and gas to discover, document and plan last years poker run. Please don't feel offended if we aren't able to follow through with all of the good ideas. We are time and resource limited. It gets tough for 2 people to do this in their spare time. Am I hearing that we have a volunteer for organizing and running the car show? :-) I think the model car event is a good idea I just don't have the time to assemble a model I'm proud of (even though I already have one that is unopened). In fact I have even thought of having a "pinewood derby" with cobra replica models. It takes equipment and a lot of planning, organization, and setup/teardown to pull off something that will possibly be not very well supported.

Also, so we all know where the money is going and coming from, the Friday night Meet and Greet has been fully financed by DSCC funds and not added to the cost of tickets/admission. As previously stated, the bank account currently is almost entirely funded by track events. Fortunately the last Meet and Great received a vendor contribution making it possible to pull it off.

Silver Springs was the backup plan in case we didn't get enough support for Sebring last year. Fortunately we were able to make Sebring happen. It's also an option this year since we can not book Sebring. What makes Silver Spings a challenge is their strick rules for entry and exit. All cars must be in by a certain time and no cars can not leave before 5. This rules out things like a Poker Run held later that day. There are still ways to work with this limitation but it means extra thought and planning to keep things interesting for the entire event.

Keep these ideas coming...
Chime in to elaborate about more ways to make a car show more interesting to all... Baldest tires? (I think I can win that one). :-)
We would really like to get the general public more involved with our "car show" event also. The club really doesn't have the finances for a mass media campagne. Any good ideas? Flyers at local auto part stores? But we will need local member support to pull this off.

Robert

[Engineer Ed]

Terry,
Greetings old friend.
Down the tubes???? Man that hurts!
I guess I owe you and other members of this club an apology for not posting more information about the previous track events. I've found that raising my son is more demanding and time consuming than I thought.
Can you believe he is 10 yrs old this month? Wow, he's growing like a weed!
The amount of time I have to post on this forum has waned and I will try harder to improve my attendance.

True, Saturday evening dinner (after racing) has been lost and I too have been leaving early. I was saving up for my latest toy and deleting one additional nights hotel costs was one of the ways to save a few clams.
I tried driving home one evening after dinner and almost fell asleep at the wheel. That changed my mind about staying for dinner.....
Well, the new toy has been purchased so hotel rooms no longer needed.
Post track event dinners are back on for Renee and I. Napolitano's anyone?

I think Jim and Robert have given enough sufficient justification as to the reason we as officers do not spend more time organizing local events.
These tasks are up to the local members in their own areas. Organizers are needed…. As usual!

As a means for DSCC members to contact each other we setup a Yahoo DSCC eGroup. I think to date we have had zero events planned using this media. OK, this isn't working....

Personally, I think in order for us to easily communicate with each other our privacy policy should be made an option when registering.
If members are open to having other Cobra owners in their area contact them about local events, we will add this option when registering. Hopefully this will aide in promoting local events.

This is a thought that I will convey in our next DSCC newsletter.

Again, this means members need to take it upon themselves to organize local gatherings; a process that has lacked enthusiasm for many years.
This was one of the main reasons I started the Reptile Roundup 5 years ago.
At present time, any member wanting to organize a local event only needs to contact me or any one of the DSCC officers.
We will be more than happy to pass on event information to members in their area.

I am hoping our new web site will strengthen our club and make communication easier.
The site should go live in the next two weeks. Cross your fingers.

Per Terry's request, this forum may also lead to more guys becoming interested in attending events. I'll make more of an effort to post.

I love this club and I hate to see members upset about my efforts to promote our cars and member camaraderie.
I have given countless hours of my personal life to organize events that cater to racing members and non-racing members.
If I have failed you as your leader, I am sorry.
I have a full time job, a full time family and limited resources in our treasury.
We (the DSCC Officers) are learning as we grow. We are trying new things this year and I hope we are able to make more members happy.

Stick with us a bit longer and continue to send us your thoughts.
Members like cbreez are vital and I'm glad he has the guts to post his opinion. Without them we wouldn't know where we need improvement.

It’s late…. I’ve got to be to work in 4-1/2 hours.
Oh damn…. I hate it when there are too many projects and not enough time!


I’ll post more soon.

Ed

[CobraDan]

Now that we have the main officers our President and Vice President posting and with 837 views at this time we have a lot of readers but still no one posting, come on guys we are asking for your help. May be we should have our new secretary send out an email to all DSCC members with this URL post attached so we would have even more views and then possible some members actually posting. As far as Silver Springs, and an attendance for a Saturday only event, when I set it up the first time I went along with in before the park opens and no exit until the park closes, you run over a lot less people in the park this way. If we had a similar set up with entrance to the park before it opens and let them know that we would need a 3pm departure for a Poker run and the parks help came to escort us out so we didn’t drive over any one this might be arranged. With a great admission price and a lunch included and possibly having them hold our dinner banquet later, our Saturday would be mostly planned for none racer members and even those that have raced earlier in the week. I don’t want to throw my hat into the ring yet as a volunteer for anything until we discuss here what our plans for the 2007 annual event are. The only other problem with holding it on Saturday at Silver Springs is if they can have us on the weekend dates picked, so this would be best resolved as soon as possible. With the popularity of Sebring you have already found that even with a years notice many dates are taken. I know a lot of people might think that having our Saturday event at Silver Springs might not be a great idea so if people who did come to Silver Springs would chime in I think we might change some skeptical mind thought on this. I know that my brother–in-law that came to our cobra event was sold a ticket because of the great prices I got and has asked me more than once as to when we would be back at Silver Springs as I know one couple who will purchase this pass.