Creating a group

[MATBird]

The following is a thought/idea stimulated by an article I read in a recent T-Bird publication. I thought that it may be good for your/our discussion. Whether positive or negative I just thought that it was worth putting out there since we usually connect daily:
Back on 9-17 JustinS posted, that anyone with 10 members could create a group.
I am a member of CTCI, as well as probably many others here, and just received my lastest issue of their magazine, the "Early Bird". On page 23 there's an article from a fellow in Westerville, Ohio requesting the CTCI Officers revisit their by laws and allow the 2002 and newer T-Bird owners to join.
Today, we are 170 people strong and we are nation wide. Someone wrote not too long ago that we don't need another T-Bird club. But they didn't say that we couldn't request to be part of an existing club.
With our activity that is developing via the web we could be the "American Thunderbirds" as part of a national organization that gets a lot of attention from Ford.
Many of us may already be members since we own or have owned early birds.
Certainly any comments are welcome and it may provide for some healthy discussion. Your thoughts?

[Blue Heaven]

MATBird,
I agree, I think it would be great if we could become members of such an established organization as CTCI, or perhaps a new T-Bird chapter of their club. In lieu of that, I have played with the idea of trying to get something going with new 'Bird members in MA, CT and RI (kind of a New England thing).

[YLO BRD]

MATBird, I just joined VTCI a few weeks ago, after hearing about the great welcome and fun times that the Route 66 people had at the CA convention this year. They sent me all my membership information already, the group has a seperate section for judging new birds. Their magazine "The Scoop" is very informative, and I'm looking forward to meeting lots of members next June when they have their convention here in Michigan to co-inside with Fords centennial celebration.

[03bird]

There are two main T Bird clubs
Classic Thunderbird Club International (CTCI) devoted to 55, 56, 57 Birds. ctci1@msn.com
Vintage Thunderbird Club International
devoted to all Birds 55 to present
www.vintagagethunderbirdclub.org
It sounds to me as if the new birds are already included in the VTCI
Dick

[15AGAIN]

I joined the CTCI club, Tulsa Classic Thunderbird Club, because they are the only active club in this area. I have been welcomed from the word go. I am not interested in showing the new Bird, so I do not care if that is not allowed. I think they will add the new birds in the future. As someone else stated, some of the owners of the old birds, also have new birds. Anyway join one of the clubs out there and enjoy the fellowship.

[Steve Legel]

Ironicly, in a past Early Bird issue (of the CTCI), one page was devoted to denying membership of new bird owners to the club..(diluting the purity of Classic Thunderbirds, etc) and the adjacent page had an editorial lamenting the greying of the hobby and loss of membership to death and retirement. The Early Bird welcomes and prints many articles and press releases dedicated to the new bird.

[Skip]

I agree wholheartedly with Steve. But let's not forget the International Thunderbird Club. (ITC). It is open to owners of all year Thunderbirds, with a special interest in attracting owners of the "new" Birds. There are chapters throughout the US. The Mid-Atlantic Thunderbird Club (MATC) is a charter member of ITC. In addition to scheduled meetings, shows, and other events,, we met informally at the Boulevard Diner near Baltimore the 2nd Sunday of each month (see calendar). We have had good showings of new Birds at these get togethers, and other club events. If you are in the Balto/Wash/SoPA/No Virginia area, why not check us out?

Skip
Red/Red/Red Premium #1768:pbj:

[Gobird]

This past spring I joined the ITC, International Thunderbird Club, and MATC, Mid Atlantic Thunderbird Club, this is a branch or chapter of the ITC. They accept all years of Birds. There are a lot of nice people in the MATC but it is an aging membership. I think Skip and myself are some of the younger members in the club so that will tell you something about the age thing. Skip has tried to set things up for New Bird owners but things are moving really slow on that. I'm sure when he checks the forum he can give you a lot more information on this then I can.

Sorry Skip, I guess we both posted about the same time and I didn't see yours till I put mine up.

[Skip]

Thanks to Gobird for the post re: MATC/ITC. We are working hard to get new Bird owners in the fold. I hope that these postings, as well as some other tricks I am trying, will get out the word. I figure there are 12-1400 new Birds in the Balto-Wash area alone, so we have a large base to work from. I still see few cars on the road in the area, but I know they are out there. Two of us were actually stopped at the same traffic light last week- a first! Spread the Word!

Skip
Red/Red/Red Premium #1768

[5bird7]

speaking of an encounter - came across a blue one parked at my local Walmart - out in the boonies of the lot of course and only about 1.5 miles from my house. Left a card on their door. Thought they needed some help from this group as the black soft top had recently seen a white towel.

[Lady 007]

Ok You Texans, there are enought of us to do a club...dot???

[5bird7]

cmilesrn,
There are more than enough but trying to get them together is another thing. 56birdman has been trying to recruit in the Houston area.

[tr cruiser]

I'm not trying to start a controversy here, but what do people think of forming a club just for the new T-birds? I've met with members of a couple of the established national and regional clubs and got the impression they were ambivalent about letting new bird owners join their ranks.

On the one hand, they recognize we're a potential source of new members, but they want to maintain their focus on the classic and vintage T-birds. They're largely into restoration and maintenance projects. Our emphasis is more on organizing group events for 2002-3 owners and customizations of the new birds. Maybe I'm misreading it, but I'd rather get in on the ground floor of a new club than be a second class member of an existing one. Sounds like a question for another poll...

[Silentfoxx]

well tr if you do, it can be sponsored by TBN??? That would boost the site up....

[tr cruiser]

Unless people are interested, it's probably a little early to talk about sponsorship. :rolleyes: I'd like to get some feedback and discussion of what might be the next step.

As for organizing a group, I'd have to defer to someone with more experience in that area since I don't even belong to one of the existing clubs. I'm ready to do my part, if it looks like there's support for the idea.

[Blue Heaven]

tr,
I'm with you 100%. It was my intention to try to start a club for new bird owners up here in the New England area. As you stated, it is difficult to make our way into most existing clubs, and those that will accept us do not really have the same interests we do. If we were to start a club, regional chapters could be created to make it easy for local groups to get together on a regular basis. It would be great if we could get all Nest members together as a club (similar to Destin), but distance is a factor. I'm new to this club organization thing, but would be willing to do what ever I could to help.

How does everyone else feel??

P.S. I think Justin has a good idea.

[MATBird]

I am glad that I approached this subject. It has created a lot of healthy discussion both pro abd con. One of you simplified it by saying that a lot of these clubs are into restoration and/or for classics, of which we are not, as yet.
So to avoid confusion, and stepping on others toes, another way of looking at it is to say that this forum IS OUR CLUB!. After all many events, such as Destin, will be started by the people and postings here. In fact another worthwhile suggestion was made by Blue Heaven, starting a reagional group for New England. Since I'm in the Boston area, I'd support that. In addition, many of us are members of the various other T-Bird clubs so we would benefit from both anyway.
Therefore we would probably be the first internet only auto club. If not, certainly for the new T-Birds anyway.
Thanks for the excellant discussion, I'm sure this post will add more for us.
Happy T-Birding,
MATBird

[Joybird]

I'm with Tr, the last club event I was at we were only allowed to 'Show", but not be judged. And this club said they accepted us with open arms. So I am alittle gun shy on any other existing club.

[Golf2day]

I think we have already begun a "internet" club just for retro birds, and have shown we can organize by the Destin event. I am willing to help anyway I can even though I have no experience.

[Silentfoxx]

tr, i think i may have said it wrong, not sponsored but, maybe a branch? or somehow affilatated with the site? I think TbirdTim has already done the hard part, getting all the new T-bird together, maybe just make his trip into the club over time??

[tr cruiser]

Most of us here are T-bird owners and members of the forum, so in that sense, we're already an "association". If that's as far as people want to go with it, we're done now. I think thunderbirdnest plays a key role as our newsletter and "clubhouse" but there are limits to virtual gatherings.

When I suggested a club for new birds, I was thinking of it in the usual sense - a group of enthusiasts who exchange information about their hobby, occasionally meet and participate in group activities. That kind of organization exists for older T-birds - the CTCI, VTCI and others. Why not for ours?

It could evolve on its own starting from a local, then regional, then national level. But there are some people who would be left out for reasons of geography or regional indifference [Californians seem to be preoccupied with other things :sad: ]. If we do nothing, that is likely the way it will happen. At some point local groups will band together and there will be a larger club that everyone can join. But it could take a long time. I was hoping we might accelerate the process.

Can those with experience in other clubs tell us about the benefits? I can think of a few things like car meets, group discounts, recognition from Ford, etc. Perhaps it could be a discussion topic at Destin. Is it worthwhile forming a nationwide newbird club and if so, how should we go about it?

[MATBird]

I am in CTCI which is a national T-Bird organization that is dedicated to the "early birds", '55 to '57.
I also belong to The early Ford V-8 Club, dedicated to '32 to '53 Fords, which is a national club and has regional clubs as well.
The national groups have good publications and usually have a national meet somewhere in the country every year.
Since my affilliation with this group, I will say that this forum shows a lots of activity in sharing information which is why I am here.
Let's stick with it and share what we hear from our other memberships. And, as Blue Heaven posted, have more activities like Destin.
She wants to set up a New England meet. That would be good even if we met somewhere convenient to all for a short introduction.
I guess, to sum it up, if these type of events are successful then setting it up formally would be the next step.
Destin is the first test

[Blue Heaven]

tr,
Back in my Pontiac Trans Am days, I belonged to a regional club that was recognized by Pontiac dealerships in our area. They would sponser show-n-shines, events (car washes etc.) and offer parts discounts. We often held these events for a specific charity and donated all proceeds from the sale of food. We even got to parade pace laps around a local Nascar track (Stafford Springs) in CT during a race with the help of one of the larger dealers in the area.

There was nothing like getting members together and taking a trip together, 30-40 T/As going down the highway was quite a sight to behold! I would love to see that many T-Birds flocking together.

[Skip]

Not to be redundant, but the Mid-Atlantic Tbird Club, an affiliate of the International Thunderbird Club, Is welcoming new Bird owners with open arms, as other chapters of the ITC in general should be. Most participants at our monthly informal meets have been new Bird owners. We are willing to plan events to include, or be specific too if necessary, the new(er) cars. The more regulars we get to show up at the informal, and formal, events, the more leverage that we have. Give us a try. Our next informal meet is Sunday October 13th (see calendar).

Skip
Red/Red/Red Premium #1678

[Gobird]

This may be a good idea, I like the Tbird Club I'm in right now but there seems to be no real interest in the things that WE want to do with the 02's. I realize that these people may not want to drive their Birds all the time like we do and this is the sticking point with established clubs. Right now this site and Destin may be a place to talk about this subject. I will stay with the club I am in but I think there may be room for something for the New Bird owners because we , at this point in time are not interested in showing our cars, just driving them. The showing part may come up in a few years but till then what can we do? :sad:

[TBird02]

I would really like to see a "Newbird" specific club. If none exists, I am all for organizing our own. This site has an abundance of enthusiasts with apparent endless energy when it comes to enjoying their cars.

It seems like we have a national group assembled here already, with the need to break that up into regions to enable more localized events. Just my 2 cents.

[MATBird]

Chris:
I have re-read all of the posts and it appears that many members here are in clubs that are T-Bird specific but not '02. There is great interest here by all who post and the numbers will grow in time. Therefore, I think that as of now, this is the club. Nothing stops us from getting together in our individual regions and getting to know one another.
We drive more than the antique Birds and we can benefit from the members in those other clubs by communicating here.
So when the springtime comes, get out and organize a spring drive. I will try one in New England this spring.
Happy T-Birding