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Setting Up A Local Club
In Ten Easy Steps
STEP TEN - SHOWTIME:
It’s show time! It’s the day before your cruise and all systems are go.
You’ve got good support from the local Chevy dealerships, people are
talking about it on the Chevy Avalanche Fan Club website, you’ve got 17
people on your list, and 10 of them say they will be there, so you’re
expecting seven or eight Avalanches.
Here are the final preparations:
24 hours before: Send out a confirming e-mail to all parties that the
cruise is on. This is very important, especially if the weather forecast
is not cooperating. If you need to make any restaurant reservations due to
the size of your group, do it now.
18 hours before: Check with local sources on road conditions for any
off-road sections you have planned. Work out alternative routes, even if
you think you won’t need them.
12 hours before: Fill up your gas tank, check your tires, all your fluids
and belts and make sure your Avalanche is up to the task. If you’re going
off-road remove any trailer hitch plug you may have now, you’ll forget in
the morning. You should carry the following items with you as the club
leader:
-
Sand shovel, especially if you’re going off-road
-
Tow strap, again especially if you’re going off-road
-
Two 52” long 2 X 4 piece of cribbing, again especially if you’re going
off road
-
A cell phone if you have one – and make sure people attending have your
number so they can call you if they are late or lost
-
Two FRS hand held radios. Radios with two-mile range can be purchase for
under $30 a pair and require no license – spare batteries
-
Flashlight with spare batteries
-
Three of four road flares
-
Jumper cables
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Detailed plan, notes, phone numbers, and maps of where you are going
-
Change
-
Notepad and pen
-
Bottle of washer fluid
-
Camera with spare batteries – and if not digital lots of film
Day of: Plan to arrive at your meeting place 15 to 30 minutes early. Use
the time for talking to allow stragglers to show up. As people arrive be
warm, friendly when you greet them and introduce them to other members as
quickly as possible.
Before leaving make sure everyone is assembled. If you’re missing someone
and you have his or her cell phone number try and contact him or her.
Remember to stick to the schedule; the decision to stay or leave is yours.
Before you leave figure out how you’re going to exit and get on your road
– if it’s going to be difficult for everyone to pull out at the same time
due to traffic lights or traffic, then identify a point where you can
rally together. Assign some one to be in the rear and make sure they have
a FRS radio so the leader can communicate.
The person in the back has a critical job. They need to let the leader
know if the group has been broken up, if some one suddenly stops or needs
to pull over, if the convoy is holding up traffic behind, and they need to
serve as a block (passive not aggressive) for the rest of the group when
traveling so they can pull out.
You also should have a brief safety discussion before they pull out. If
everyone is a registered club member your liability is limited due to the
hold harmless that has been agreed to. Non-members make for a special
challenge because they have no agreement between themselves and the club –
if you feel comfortable it becomes your judgment call. You should remind
everyone that:
· Drinking and driving is not acceptable
· Driving to endanger or reckless passing is not acceptable
· Have fun, be safe
· That participation is at their own risk
If any one has a problem with common sense, if someone appears drunk or
their abilities are impaired it is not their right to attend the cruise.
The safety of club members is far more important than upsetting a member
who could endanger the group.
CONCLUSION:
Congratulations! You’ve followed the ten steps and you’ve set up your
club. After the first meet things get a little easier. You next meeting
should follow in six to twelve weeks depending on the time of the year.
July and August, November, December and January are difficult times to
pull meetings together. April, May, June and October are ideal times.
If all has gone well your club should start taking on a life of its own.
Work with your dealers and set up a new meeting in the database and on the
calendar as soon as possible. If you have photos prepare them at 640 X 480
JPEG images under 50K in file size and send an e-mail to
webmaster@chevyavalanchefanclub.com.
In the e-mail include the name of the club, the date of the event, and any
background information or captions to go with the photos. They’ll get
published on the website.
If your first meeting didn’t go well don’t despair. Try to figure out why
it wasn’t successful, adjust your plan and try again. Don’t treat this
document as a Bible but more as a guide and aid – you may find different
techniques work for you in setting up your local chapter of the Chevy
Avalanche Fan Club of North America.
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