With the success of the 20th anniversary event, also the realization of the Performance Division’s potential, the first club elections coming up, and soon to have 2 years behind us, this seems to be a proper time to invite you to join CFOGi.
We’re not perfect, there have been some rough times, and we have made some mistakes. But the desire to do the right thing is still what drives us. The fact that we have less than 200 active members tells me a lot of you don’t understand what this club is about. So this is not to announce some cheesy membership drive, or a discount on dues. I’m just bringing you information.
This is not about money. In fact, I had wanted membership to be ridiculously cheap if not free, but life’s realities caused us to set a minimum of $25 for annual dues. And until the new downloadable “e-zine”, most of the dues were going to newsletter printing & mailing. Many of the few promotional materials we have were made possible by the sacrifice of our staff. Banners, hats, signs, buttons, event materials… made possible by the generosity of individuals on the Board who believe in CFOGi. We’re not here to get something from you; we’re here to bring something to you.
It’s not about a big event once a year. When we put on a large event, we intend to do it right, but a major annual event is not at the top of our priorities. If you think that’s all we are here for, you simply don’t understand our purpose.
We’re not here to replace the local clubs, Pennock’s forum, or any email group. We want to do whatever we can to help the local clubs, not to divide them. Just this week, we began hosting an email list for the club presidents and various leaders, for the purpose of sharing ideas and information. PFF and the e-groups are invaluable communication tools. We have a banner ad on PFF, and one of our Directors is co-moderator of the big Fiero Yahoo group. CFOGi is not another communication medium; rather, we support the ones that already exist.
If your question is “what’s in it for me”, then you’re missing something, and CFOGi’s purpose is unknown to you. The question should be, “what’s in it for all of us”, because that’s what we’re after: the prosperity and promotion of the community.
The motto I use to describe CFOGi’s purpose is “to unite and represent”. To unite means to serve all the different types of Fiero owners. Whether you’re into the shows, or you like to customize & modify, or you’re fixing & selling, collecting, racing, building a rebody, or even if you’re struggling to keep your car on the road, there should be a nucleus at the center of this community. What do I mean by “represent”? Let's say you're an outsider, knowing nothing about Fieros or the people who have them. When you think of Fiero enthusiasts, would you expect them to be organized and working in cooperation with each other? Or would you be surprised to discover that they are just a rag-tag bunch with no plan for what they're doing, no concern for what others think about Fieros, and no thought for ensuring the future enjoyment of their cars? Here is a car that was only made for 5 years, yet it was not cancelled because of anything wrong with it! Only 370,000 were made. It was, and still is, an affordable way to have a sporty car with excellent handling, surprising interior room, timeless style, and which is easy to customize. We know that the public's perception of Fieros is full of myth and mystery, yet we show little cooperation amongst ourselves!
Representation is displaying our unity. If I were back on the outside looking in, that's the least I would expect from the dedicated owners of a fine automobile. A global club puts a face and a name to the entire body. It combines our separate voices into one. And in reverse, when a company or group wants to contact all Fiero owners, they can know whom to address. Representation is also looking for opportunities to reach out to the other types of car clubs & enthusiasts. For example, we are inviting owners of all two-seater automobiles to a show-n-shine at the annual state gathering of twins in Texas (if successful, I hope to do it at their national meet in Twinsburg, Ohio). And we promote the Indy GTO Association’s Day at the Track at the Indy Speedway. We are looking for ways to be more visible, and to encourage people to talk with us and learn about our cars.
Is it possible you don’t know how we operate? Our Board is made up of Directors from the various regions, each given authority to appoint Deputy Directors. There are the offices of Treasurer, Secretary, Webmaster, P.R. Director and Editor. The Vice President mostly handles “internal” issues, while the President mostly handles “external” issues. Additionally, there are currently two specialty divisions: Performance and Kit Car/Rebody, each led by a Director. All of those Board members contribute equally in the decisions of the club. There are plans for other new positions, as well as the desire to segregate certain functions among committees. The opportunities for participation are many, but the problem has been to find enough dedicated people who will do what they say they’ll do, and communicate the status of their assignment to the rest of us. We have too few people doing too much of the work. It takes a lot of communication – daily – to make the wheels turn in an organization like CFOGi.
The Members Only section of our website includes a forum for conducting club business by way of polls, discussions and announcements. We have a quarterly newsletter available as an e-zine, and a black & white hardcopy will be mailed to those who request it. BTW, we are currently in need of someone to assemble the articles & photos ("layout"). Plus, nearly weekly I send an email to inform all members of the latest developments.
And have you noticed that we aren’t only serving the members of our club? Besides the email group for club presidents, we are hosting a contact list of all Fiero clubs on a web page available to everyone. Our events calendar is available to everyone, not just to read, but also to submit your own events. We’ll provide a free link to your business or whatever, regardless if you're a member.
Have you noticed that we have no ads on our website or in our newsletters? It’s not that we refuse them; we have just been too busy to seek such business partnerships. Plus, we need people on our Board who have the right contacts, and who know how to negotiate and make the arrangements. The point is: we have done so much in two years without sponsorship or corporate support! Imagine what we could do if we had that kind of assistance.
So, we’re not just looking for you to be a member, handing over your dues. We’re hoping you will volunteer your experience, talents & abilities. Help us be more productive and efficient. Help us with new ideas. Help us find ways to unite & represent the Fiero owners overseas. Help us get to the next level, so that by this time next year, the state of our community will be surprisingly different, more like a big, happy family. Did you like what you saw at the 20th anniversary? That could be the just the beginning of what is possible.
Some of you think we will be here, doing what we do, whether you join or not. But we can’t do squat without peoples’ commitment. And yours is needed. Please don’t relegate us to only being here for putting on a “national” event. We want to be here for everything you can imagine, that isn't already being done by PFF or your local club.
http://www.cfogi.org/application.htm
Chuck Hodges
CFOGI president
No Director should ever be "abrupt" with their membership. 
