Things they should have at KFOCI Meets

[pnw_oldmags]

Hi KWZ -  In Oct 09 I ran a little survey of the members in the PNW that subscribe to the Traveler(our little newsletter).  This link will provide you with the survey results and a feel of our demographics.  There are some as young as you but normally ... not so young.  http://circlekf.com/pnwkfoci/default.html
This was about half of our PNW membership responding.

[KWZ]

Yikes, I wonder if those demographics hold true for the entire club.  I would really like to see some younger interest in KF cars.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spending time with any KF person, whether they are 30 or 90, but I worry it might just be me and maybe two other guys by the time I'm 60. 

[Jim B PEI]

Not only young, but with impeccable car taste too! In my defence--I'm 57--I like to think I have impeccable taste too, but just not the pocketbook to afford a 51 convertible and a 49/50 Virginian 

[KWZ]

Not only young, but with impeccable car taste too! In my defence--I'm 57--I like to think I have impeccable taste too, but just not the pocketbook to afford a 51 convertible and a 49/50 Virginian  

Thanks!  One at a time is how I'm doing it.  I aquired the '51 convertible 10 years ago and spent over six years restoring it.  I have been looking for a Virginian forever.  I had to take an emergency (does it qualify as an emergency?) loan to get the Virginian.  I keep telling the wife it is an appreciating asset.  I don't think she cares.  

[Logan]

KWZ, it looks like you got me beat by a year (35), so there are some other younger guys here, and I also developed the KF interest on my own, well, with some help from my KFOC member neighbor.  Yeah, we need to generate interest in younger people, but that does seem tough.  I don't have any good answers for you.

[Fid]

Well, I turned 50 last summer and I've been active in this hobby for the last 10 years and whenever I meet someone in the hobby invariably their first reaction is "Wow, you're so young."  I hear that a lot when I speak with people on the phone and the topic comes up. Or when I tell them to call me in the evening because I work during the day I often hear "Oh you're still working?" It goes with the territory.  It's good to know there are some younger folks out there who enjoy these cars. I try to give everyone in the hobby as much encouragement as I can. The one thing that will always be true of the hobby is that we have some unique and interesting cars.  When you take one to a local cruise night or rally you can usually rest assured you'll have the only one there and people will stop and ask you about it. That's always fun.

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

Over the years, I have found that a lot of younger people (under 37 or so) stop in their tracks when they see K-F products, especially 1951-53 Kaisers, unless they are deeply into hot rods or customs.  The fact that a number of members do NOT go to general car shows with their K-F products limits exposure. 

Remember that in a way, we are all Kaiser-Frazer dealers these days.  When people ask about the cars, we need to tell them a good and truthful story about availability of parts, prices, etc to show them that the cars are affordable (at least compared to many other cars of the period) and parts can be found (with some exceptions, of course).  When you do go to general car shows with your K-F product, take along a couple past issues of the Monthly Bulletin to show interested people prices and availabilities.  People who are interested in the cars and possibly interested in ownership need to see that there are others in an organized group that could act as a support net if needed.

[KWZ]

KWZ, it looks like you got me beat by a year (35), so there are some other younger guys here, and I also developed the KF interest on my own, well, with some help from my KFOC member neighbor.  Yeah, we need to generate interest in younger people, but that does seem tough.  I don't have any good answers for you.

Well then, at least there are two of us!  My interest in KF cars started when my parents got me the Old Cars Weekly compendium for Christmas, 1982 (I was six, loved cars, and could read).  There was an eight page spread on KF and I became addicted.  About six months later, I met a neighbor- club member Gary Micanek, who owns 20 KF cars, and it was all over.  I agree that we are ambassadors of the hobby, and need to attend all-make shows with our cars. 

[Fid]

I agree that we are ambassadors of the hobby, and need to attend all-make shows with our cars. 

I too agree.  I really regret that I had to miss Iola in 2009. I had a room booked and trip planned, car ready to go but had to cancel due to a death in the family.  I haven't made it to a KFOC event in almost 5 years and I don't foresee getting to one this summer with 3 weddings coming up and getting two daughters home and back to college my summer is full.  I may try to duck into the Omaha meet in May but not officially attend.  I have a lot of family in Omaha and may be there for a visit that weekend. If I can slip away for a hour or so, I'll try to stop in and see the meet.

[Aeroman]

Very important that we get more members into the club. I've always thought of myself as one of the younger members in the club, but after 32 years of membership and at the age of 57, I guess I'm deluding myself.

Jim Betts, could we get a survey on-line or, better yet, thru the monthly newsletter that has been tailored for the international membership? It would be good to have a handle on the clubs demographics.

The Studebaker Club has mounted an advertising campaign to gain members: "We Started Cool" and other color ads in various hobby publications like Hemmings Classic Cars, etc. Maybe we should consider this.

Gordie, we DO need to update the constitution or by-laws to change the voting to a mail-in vote like every other old car club does. Voting by the members on-hand at the business meeting tends to focus the results on the choices of the "locals" for the most part. Ballots should be distributed thru the monthly newsbulletin.

Has anyone sent these ideas in to Mike Knittle for inclusion in the next business meeting?

[Bulletin Editor]

what is the size of the KFOCI current membership? 

As of today's date, and according to my label list, there are 1,094 active/full members - this does NOT include associate members. 1044 live in the US, 27 in Canada, and 23 in other foreign countries.

FYI:  when I started as the Bulletin editor, 1500+ copies of the Bulletin were mailed each month; 1022 copies of the April 2011 issue will be mailed. 72 members receive their Bulletin by email only.

[Gordie]

Wow!  We are losing members.  If this survey gets done it would be interesting to know how many KFW vehicles each member has.  I have about 35 vehicles that are not KF related and I'll bet that many members have cars that are not Kaisers and Frazers.

[pnw_oldmags]

Correct me if I am wrong Barbara but your first issue of the Monthly Bulletin was December 2005!  Scary statistic!!

[ben-tex]

The membership numbers are bad news. That's a huge drop from back when I was doing the Quarterly. I wonder how the numbers are for other clubs and if our numbers are due to some problems that could be corrected?

[joefrazer]

Yes, membership numbers in most every club are down. The economy is the single biggest culprit...folks are tightenening the belt anywhere they can. We, however, have seen a slightly higher loss than the others due to problems that have been addressed by a dedicated team of folks who've worked hard at solving them.