President’s Column January 2012
Posted by David Brighton on December 23, 2011 · Leave a Comment

In every special interest club, there are always the 10%ers. That is, in any organization that exists because of the single common interest in something, only about 10 % of its members are actually active in its clubs activities. This is also true of our club. With more than 500 members of the Iowa BMW CCA, only about 50-60 are regular attendees of our planned events and activities. Some members only attend one event a year. Why is that? We have just concluded our Annual Planning Meeting and had several members attended that had not attended any event before. These first timers gave us some input for our activity calendar for next year. So, what is holding you back?
When I was a new club member about 10 years ago, I was initially slow about attending my first event because I would not know anybody. But the members at my first event greeted me and were happy I was there. Therefore, I have been coming back ever since. So, what is holding you back?
In the fall of 2010, we had two brand new members attend Oktoberfest at Road America in Wisconsin as their first club event. They had a splendid time attending the many activities provided at O’fest, and since then, they have also attended the 2011 Fall Colors Drive and had the same wonderful time. So, what is holding the other 90% back? We have attempted to publicize our events via our newsletter Newswerks, via our Facebook and Twitter accounts and also through our email announcements. So, what is holding you back?
We are just a little over a month away from our signature event of the year, our Annual Dinner and Awards Banquet. For the first time in our history, the banquet will be held at one of our primary sponsors facilities on the showroom floor at BMW of Des Moines.
The site of 2012 Oktoberfest has just been announced which will be at Mid-Ohio Raceway from September 17-22.
So, what is holding you back?
If you have some direct insight as to what keeps you away from events, or what could attract others, let us know. Email me at president@bmwia.org.