A8OC - Your Club Needs You

A8OC – 2011
To all our members, we are working to make the year 2011 the year where the A8OC really does take off, and offer something really tangible to its members.
To this end, we want you, the members, to voice what you want to see from the club over this, and coming, years.
Propositions from the club management are as follows:
1. All memberships will be brought into line with the financial year for the club, which will start from 1st March each year. In order to do this, the following will be put into place:
a. All members who signed up in 2009 will be asked to renew for 2011 before 1st March. For those who wish to, we would welcome renewals that haven’t been collected for the year 2010, but will leave that for each member to decide.
b. All members who signed up in 2010, will be requested at the renewal date to pay a pro rata amount to maintain membership until Feb 28 2012,
2. All proceeds from club members will be reinvested into the club in the following ways:
a. Club merchandise. In the future, all club clothing will be dealt with through a specialist agent. This is still in the process of being completed, but is being discussed as we speak. More merchandise will be added to the catalogue of offerings, so if there’s something you’d like to see, let us know.
b. Offering discounts to paid club members at A8OC official attendance events. These will include, but not be limited, to:
i. A8OC Annual Meet
ii. Audi Driver International
iii. GTi International
The types of discounts we anticipate offering at these events, would include:
Entrance discounts
Event activity discounts
c. The club will offer to organise event travel arrangements. Whilst not particularly relevant for most of the UK events, it is definitely an advantage for those events where hotel stays and/or ferry trips might be involved. The two most likely candidates for these benefits are the Annual Meet, as well as the meet in Germany. This will, of course, mean that where members wish to book in advance, that deposits will be required if deposits have to be paid.
d. Raffles/prize fund. It is the intention of the club to provide at all events, raffles, and awards which we hope to encourage more members to attend.
3. Regional representatives. We would like to introduce to the club, regional representatives who would help promote the club, and arrange local meet events. If you feel you would like to volunteer your services please don’t hesitate to let us know.
4. A proposed linking is on the table of the A8 Parts forum, and A8OC forum. This would take the form of using the A8OC social side, and the A8 Parts technical areas using a common front end. Hopefully this would provide the very best of both worlds and give us the flexibility to forge links with other online resources.
5. All fully paid members, will be re-issued with membership cards with unique numbers. This will allow us to push forward with increasing membership, and provide benefits to our membership that arise from joining the exclusive A8 owners club.
6. The club will still work towards agreeing benefits with suppliers, but the existing offers, will be reviewed, and renegotiated/removed as appropriate. If there’s something you’d like us to get a discount on please let us know.
7. The intention from the management is to ensure you, the members, get more bang for your buck when you part with your annual fees. It is our desire to make the infrastructure self financing from merchandise sales and all the money you put in, to go back to those that attend events and those that use the discounted services negotiated for you.



Many thanks for your time,
The A8OC Management

Tony,

Nice to see that you (and the team) have plans for the A8OC and can hopefully move it forward

Looks like the list you have put together is a comprehensive on.

Regards

Andy

Looks like a good plan...

Thanks for the responses guys. We need more feedback from the rest of the membership, so we'll leave this a closed post for a few more days, then we'll open the subject up to those non-members out there

I've a couple of points to make.

Membership- I thought the original members were given 6 months
free? If so I'll be happy to pay for the 6 months I owe and the
the 12 months for 2011.

Merchandise - nothing springs to mind here but I don't think
we should be producing merchandise just for the sake of it
I'd ask the members to think carefully about what they want.

Linking the Forums together is a great idea. I don't know about
everyone else but I think there are too many forums and
if it makes my life easier I'm all for it.

Discounts - With the steering rack problems some of us seem
to be having could you look at possibly sorting a deal with
a remanufacturer of products. As the cars get rarer and Audi
start to discontinue parts I think this may become a problem
for all of us.

Hopefully we may have more responses as well.

Steve

Steve,

Some good points raised

Andy

Trying to write a lengthy post with this fecking phone is impossible.

I'll put it in the right order when I get home

I actually don't know when my membership expires and was expecting an e-mail saying "Oi pay your bloody membership or you'll be outcast" or something similar. I also thought i didn't matter when you joined the club in the year but the membership would only run for that year, whatever the A8OC year runs.
Now that the year will run March - March i think it will be a lot easier to control. Would a direct debit work better?
Is it the intention to issue just one membership card or issue them anually? If they were done anually it would be obvious if subs were due and control non members benefiting from member discounts. (He says not sure if he's a paid up member)

Merchandise wise the only thing that springs to mind is window stickers and i know thats in hand. Ha Ha i said in hand.

I personally haven't used any of the discounts by being a member but wouldn't expect any membership cost back as i paid up to be a member of the club. I do however think it's good that you're commited to providing a fair membership deal.

I would like to get more involved with the club but with work commitments away from home and a youmg family when i get home i don't think i could be of much use and possibly not fair on other club members, However if there is anything i can do please don't think twice about asking. I can always tell you to FRO.

I think linking of the sites is good idea too.

Great responses guys, and I hope we get some more. After all the club is here for YOU (he types looking furiously for a finger pointing smiley).

I think we have to give it a few more days, and hope that we get more responses. I know that Neil wants to offer his views, and I'm going to have a chat with him over the next day or so.....hopefully full communications facilities will be restored then.

But we want your club, to offer you something that you want.

Great to see you guys stuill up for this. I know there have been a few problems but the '8 community is pretty good and you've made '8 ownership possible for me - I'd never have kept it running without all the help and advice over the past few years.

I'll line up behind the linking of forums - too many to keep a track of. But can we find a way to keep those nasty rumour mongers out?

And a couple of ideas:

1. A card or similar that we can place on the windscreen of all the '8s we see parked up to give them the url for the A8OC.
2. A bit longer on the forum before you get timed out (perticularly bad on A8 Parts Forum - loading a photo can be a nightmare)
3. OC meets timed so they don't clash with school holidays. June was great, but July is holiday time

Thanks loads - Jim

Load of good ideas and I'd like to add one:
Since AVP Ben has morphed to Revo Ben, how about a cub discount with Revo?
By the way. I haven't the faintest when I paid up. Don't know whether I'm up to date or lapsed. March makes it simpler
Cheers
Was the tunnok kid now tonupkid

I'll call you tonight Tony - sorry its all been a bit crazy at work!!

Guys, this has now been moved to the open forums to gain some feedback from those owners who have never joined the club.

We want the club to be successful, we want the club to provide its members with something that they want to be a part of. So please do offer your opinions, if you wish to do it via PM, then please do. But please do give us your input.....the club is there for you, the A8 Owners

Hi Tony, sounds all good to me!!
sorry for being away for some time!! became a dad in the mean time :D

Greeting for Holland

WickedS wrote:became a dad in the mean time :D

Greeting for Holland

Congratulations

Thanks