Hi Gary.
Thank you, I'm glad I could help clear up some of the mystery! Much of this information is contained in the official raffle rules, but because they are very detailed, they haven't been printed in the Mania. Realizing that the membership would wish to know this information, we did mail a hardcopy of the rules to ALL active members back in September. We also tie a link back to the rules anytime the raffle is mentioned in print (like in the Mania). Here's a link to them:
http://seatoseasafari.com/?page_id=1254
As far as the Facebook page, No, that's not a part of the Manx Club, but a FB page that event coordinator Bob Hunter developed after he left the Manx Club Board of Directors. Much like Mark and his RBC site, Bill and his DSB site, and me and my Burro site, there are a lot of competing internet activities that vie for the attention of buggy folks. That may be why it's not up on that site.
The club is an open book, and we're happy to share information about the finances and minutes of our meetings. We can certainly get those to you, and I'll talk to our Treasurer Tom Icaboni about doing so.
We understand that the club membership trusts those they have elected to run the club on a day-to-day basis in faithful accordance with the bylaws, and we, the Board of Directors take that responsibility seriously. The decisions we make are always with the long term goals of promoting the dune buggy hobby, and to reach an ever increasing circle of enthusiasts. It was not easy to set up the raffle initially, but we kept hearing from members that they would love to see a Manx kit raffled off. We took that a step farther and built a turnkey car because it seemed appropriate to do so for Bruce Meyers' participation in the Sea-to-Sea Safari, and the 50th Anniversary of the Meyers Manx.
I guess the underlying comment about "what will the club do with $120K", or whatever amount we bring in, seems like an odd question to me. As if we are somehow bringing in a bunch of money the club doesn't need. The money is used by the club to promote and further the club. Mailings are expensive - a minimum of $2,000 per event flyer four times a year to active members, up to $4,000 per mailing when we include a flyer to those who subscriptions have expired in hopes of bringing them back into the fold. Mailings of renewal notices, while not as expensive as event flyers, are also done monthly. Both of these mailing activities we've tried to convert to email notifications, but time-and-time again when we ask (last time at the Big Bear run in 2013) if people would agree to stop the renewal and event flyer mailings, they raise their hands against it. Insurance costs per event are thousands per year, D&O Insurance to protect the individual Board Directors against personal loss (and I've heard we've had Directors resign because of the real fear of losing everything they own if someone got hurt) is expensive, but is also a "must have" item if we are to continue to attract volunteers who will lead the club. The Manx Mania has grown in the past two-years to a sixteen to eighteen page full-color publication. Again, a tremendous expense to layout, print, and mail.
The Manx Club is a mutual-benefit non-profit organization. What that means is that we must still file tax returns and pay income tax because we are not formed for a purpose that is meant to benefit the general public, but rather to provide an association of people with a common benefit. The common benefit is the ability to have access to the website and forums for communicating with other members, the ability to have access to and attend fun run events, the inclusion on event mailings, the issuance of a membership card that provides a discount from some of our vendor sponsors, and a subscription to the Manx Mania quarterly. You may also save a bit of money if you sign up for the three-year membership at a reduced rate. That's it. That's what your $30- investment returns to you as your "common benefit". If you ask those of us who have done the work associated with keeping this club moving down the road, it is a heck of a bargain.
It doesn't mean if the club brings in $120K from a raffle it will be concerned with finding a way to distribute extra earnings back to its members. It means the club directors have the obligation to be fiscally responsible in ensuring the money is used to keep the club financially sound, moving ahead with promoting the fiberglass dune buggy sport, and giving people a chance to meet and communicate with each other in an environment which they share a common interest. Let's build a new website, let's improve the Manx Mania, let's develop some new fun runs, develop new club products, and on and on. It also means if you think the club's goals are not aligned with your needs, you can either become more involved to change it, or stop your subscription. I love the club, and I'd love it just as much if it takes another direction. I think I've been pretty vocal about stepping down when this term runs out. At that point, I will have been working on the Board for 6 of the 7 years it's been membership-ran. I'm sure we can benefit from some new ideas. My feelings won't be hurt at all.
Contrast that to the RBC and Burro Buggies site. The benefits are free to anyone wishing to belong to them. There is no corporate structure, no gavels, board meetings, money to be managed, publications, mailings, or insurance to be purchased. It is a loose-knit communication all done via email, some runs open to anyone, others are invitation-only runs. We trust those that come on our runs won't sue us if something goes wrong (and kid ourselves that saying "you're joining us at your own risk" somehow shields us from liability.)
Which do I prefer? BOTH! I love the RBC run through Moab, and I lead the Burro run through Mojave Road. These are small gatherings of good friends that cover huge distances that would be impossible at a Manx Club run given the numbers of attendees. The Manx Club runs are enjoyable because there are so many buggies to admire, and people to meet. And, its the added fun of showing those new to our hobby the capabilities of these amazing cars which all of us are passionate about.
I know Mark has shown a great concern for the future of the Manx Club, which he demonstrated when he led the Board through its infancy after Bruce and Winnie passed the Club onto it's members. Gary, you too, have an obvious interest in the inner-workings of the club. Please remember that we are always seeking nominations for new Directors yearly. I encourage you to step up and help us make the club a continuing success in the next election. We can certainly use the help!
