Don't even think about it!! lol!!:no:

 

I come back from Japshow Finale and every thread with club suggestions is deleted and/or closed!!

 

You lot can't be left on your own for five minutes!!! And as for the members....:whistling: Only kidding!

 

Right so, back to the point -

 

For me, it's simple.

 

1. The club bank account grows by "an amount" per year. Fact. the figures are here http://300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=94723 but I can't tell if it's £1,500 or £2,500 after expenses per year. This is great news!!

2. The club account presently has £25,000 of the members money in it. Fact

3. Since the inception of the club there has never been a £25,000 emergency. Fact.

 

What a great position to be in!!

 

We have £25,000 in the bank and we have never needed to use it!!

 

I'm sure we have insurance so it should not be needed anyway.

 

My suggestion is that we stop growing the deposit by what ever it is per year and instead spend the net amount from the previous year on this years members in the way of Japanese car events or events of some description.

 

Let's divide this left over budget into each region and see what events we all want to attend by a member poll. This should result in more localised meets and I expect that each region will want to attend some of the same events such as JAE, Japshow etc. So not only are we doing more regionally but also nationally.

 

As for the £25,000 I would like to see some of this invested in capital equipment such as banners for each region and gas BBQ's. Yes I love my food!

 

What do the REO's think? What does the NEO think?

 

What do the members in each region think??

 

Cheers!

Fair point, Just saying its been highlighted that the current funds wouldnt last long if too many major events where organised and subsidied so an alternative solution would be to restructure the subscription and benefits to help with the funding!

 

LOL! All I'm suggesting to start with is lets agree that any money left over this year is allocated back to the members for events.

 

Rome wasn't built in a day. Maybe then look at using a few quid for kit.

 

Something tells me that if you suggest big chunks of money to be used then the answer will be no!

 

Taking £2,000 out of £25,000 still leaves a very healthy balance that other clubs would love to have! I just know after speaking to other clubs that they would spend it on having a great time!!!!

 

Let's see what Vods comes back with........

Yeah no need to raise the subscription fees any higher. To be honest I've paid £35 since joining up and I kinda feel i've got my moneys worth so far. So i'm not really bothered personally about the £25,000 in the bank which looks like a nice little pension for someone or a group of people.

 

Another child about to be sacrificed!!

 

:scared:

Looks like some v.positive ideas coming through?

 

When will the committe meeting occur??

 

Certainly looks like there are good number of zedders around the thames valley area, so perhaps a good number of meets from us will spark the same from the rest of the uk.

Keep an eye in the Thames Valley section I have alot of plans in motion

Keep an eye in the Thames Valley section I have alot of plans in motion

 

Enough to get you purple again ?:lol:

yeah ill keep holding my breath lol

To be honest mate I can wait a few hours for mine to go live if it means not paying them.

 

I guess the automated action is the winner. Hmm still don't like the idea of paying them so much but hey, never mind.

 

While you're here Andy, I can't figure out how much the account has gone up by on average for the last 3 years from looking at the figures in the link on the first page. What do we have left over each year on average after expenses?

 

I'd have to check the accounts in detail, but taking into account this has run for something like 10 years, we have accrued about £25K. However, for a some of that we paid nothing for hosting and we spent much, much less on JAE (which in reality has become an expensive event now), I'd guess that at the moment we make a profit of about £1k a year, but our expenses are up and down, if we buy a batch of keyrings that's something like £500, a few blocks of stickers comes to a couple of hundred, so you do have to take a long term view of this.

 

Currently we are an adequately supported and funded club, but it is a delicate balance. The subscription fees were a completely arbitrary amount a few years ago, in fact I think the target was to purchase a server on which to run the forum, now we use a hosting company. There is no question of raising the fees, what I would prefer to see is the individuals to attend the events pay a little more to fund that individual event, rather than expect all the people who are unable to attend to subsidise it for them.

Looks like some v.positive ideas coming through?

 

When will the committee meeting occur??

 

Certainly looks like there are good number of zedders around the Thames valley area, so perhaps a good number of meets from us will spark the same from the rest of the uk.

 

we need to do more for every member of the club that has paid a subscription not just those in specific areas, but it does need people to attend.

 

I like a few of the ideas that have been brought up by this thread, lets not get side tracked with pay pal fees, you can pay via a few means anyway, as long as you let Andy know with details so he can turn you green, or even pay with pay pal via gift if the fees bother you that much.

 

Things im liking the idea of so far though are.

 

- Regional banners

- Regional BBQ, doesnt have to be very big even a small portable one that fits in a zed. most regional meets tend to be small so a pilot scheme might be in order, unless someone has a small BBQ they don't mind taking with them.

- Few more of the big car events

 

I like the idea of running a yearly Zed calender, this might be one for Kim, where there is a poll put up and everyone votes for the cars they would most like to see in the calendar, the top 12 cars get in the calendar and to make it fair, those that were in the calendar one year cant be in the calendar the following year but can the year after, also, people entering their cars can only do so with recent pictures rather than old ones. with a small bit on the calendar that gives a small mention to the best parts of their zed, the one thing though for that would be cost, yes we could do it out of club funds, but to be honest it would be better as a merchandising thing like the club T-Shirts.

 

Other areas i like the ideas off are competitions, with prises like calendars, T-shirts with names on for winners or even JAE tickets (these are just ideas and not going to happen unless voted for by committee)

 

I know we have our yearly competition for the JAE turn out, but those who cant or do not wish to attend JAE i feel are being left out here. its ok spending money on meets to make the members have a good time, but not everyone who subscribes goes to meets or can even make it due to either work commitments / car off the road or generally cant be arsed with all the fif-faf lol

 

The other idea i liked was the pod tent thing, imagine how good JAE would be if we not only had the marquee that JAE supplies but can also stick on the side of that our club ones, hell we might even be able to get 300zx.co.uk embroidered on the side of the pods with the regions on as a meeting area for the club representatives to hold a yearly meeting to discuss things. (even though we can already do that using the forum, there is nothing better than having a chat face to face)

 

Just a few ideas.

 

A lot of these are one time items per year, so not going to cut into the budget that much, but please remember what ever comes out will eventually have to be put back in to balance everything and so we dont run short so things stop happening. last thing we need is getting carried away with things for now and ending up not being able to do anything due to cash constraints. things do need to be looked at on a long term plan rather than the short term. so start small and see where it goes from there.

we need to do more for every member of the club that has paid a subscription not just those in specific areas, but it does need people to attend.

 

I like a few of the ideas that have been brought up by this thread, lets not get side tracked with pay pal fees, you can pay via a few means anyway, as long as you let Andy know with details so he can turn you green, or even pay with pay pal via gift if the fees bother you that much.

 

Things im liking the idea of so far though are.

 

- Regional banners

- Regional BBQ, doesnt have to be very big even a small portable one that fits in a zed. most regional meets tend to be small so a pilot scheme might be in order, unless someone has a small BBQ they don't mind taking with them.

- Few more of the big car events

 

I like the idea of running a yearly Zed calender, this might be one for Kim, where there is a poll put up and everyone votes for the cars they would most like to see in the calendar, the top 12 cars get in the calendar and to make it fair, those that were in the calendar one year cant be in the calendar the following year but can the year after, also, people entering their cars can only do so with recent pictures rather than old ones. with a small bit on the calendar that gives a small mention to the best parts of their zed, the one thing though for that would be cost, yes we could do it out of club funds, but to be honest it would be better as a merchandising thing like the club T-Shirts.

 

Other areas i like the ideas off are competitions, with prises like calendars, T-shirts with names on for winners or even JAE tickets (these are just ideas and not going to happen unless voted for by committee)

 

I know we have our yearly competition for the JAE turn out, but those who cant or do not wish to attend JAE i feel are being left out here. its ok spending money on meets to make the members have a good time, but not everyone who subscribes goes to meets or can even make it due to either work commitments / car off the road or generally cant be arsed with all the fif-faf lol

 

The other idea i liked was the pod tent thing, imagine how good JAE would be if we not only had the marquee that JAE supplies but can also stick on the side of that our club ones, hell we might even be able to get 300zx.co.uk embroidered on the side of the pods with the regions on as a meeting area for the club representatives to hold a yearly meeting to discuss things. (even though we can already do that using the forum, there is nothing better than having a chat face to face)

 

Just a few ideas.

 

A lot of these are one time items per year, so not going to cut into the budget that much, but please remember what ever comes out will eventually have to be put back in to balance everything and so we dont run short so things stop happening. last thing we need is getting carried away with things for now and ending up not being able to do anything due to cash constraints. things do need to be looked at on a long term plan rather than the short term. so start small and see where it goes from there.

 

 

Cool! the regional banners don't have to have the region printed on them by the way. I'm thinking something like this instead of the massive flag poles.

 

This is from the guys at HJC last weekend. It was quite small when folded down and packed away. Four stakes in the ground and it's nice and solid.

 

I like the smaller sign too but nothing beats the bigger flag for getting noticed from a distance !

 

I went to modified live at Knockhill not that long ago and nearly every club had the flag style banners and when we just had our small banner tied to a railing we stole from the car park.

 

I'm not saying there not good but the bigger flag banners give more presence to the club.

No point buying a server for a site this size, you then need to support it and update it and replace parts as they break. It would save you next to nothing if anything at all. I have about 3456654 Dell ones right on the backbone but we get economies of scales as we have heavy traffic stuff.

 

Is the 25K real money.. what i mean by that is it in an account somewhere or just on a notional balance sheet after the owners have taken it out?.

 

Castle Coombe is a good idea, I would renew my membership for at least one thing that is not up north and it is a good show.

but what about member's like myself who doesnt attend many meet's, ive payed every year since i joined and im not really fussed about meet's as they are usually on a sunday and im either working or hungover lol

 

what would i get out of any new change's to the club?

 

i know your going to say "well get yourself out to a meet" but if i dont want to it mean's i miss out?

 

some good idea's for bigger meet's like jae and so forth which im more than happy for my contribution to go toward's if it help's the club and it's member's but as for spending a lot of the money on just regular meet's then not so much

 

if the club were to host a couple of bigger event's themselve's as a club rather than individul region's then that would be great

 

just a suggestion like the rest so dont go shooting me down

but what about member's like myself who doesnt attend many meet's, ive payed every year since i joined and im not really fussed about meet's as they are usually on a sunday and im either working or hungover lol

 

what would i get out of any new change's to the club?

 

i know your going to say "well get yourself out to a meet" but if i dont want to it mean's i miss out?

 

some good idea's for bigger meet's like jae and so forth which im more than happy for my contribution to go toward's if it help's the club and it's member's but as for spending a lot of the money on just regular meet's then not so much

 

if the club were to host a couple of bigger event's themselve's as a club rather than individul region's then that would be great

 

just a suggestion like the rest so dont go shooting me down

 

lol sounds like you need to have a word with your Reo fella lol

I like the smaller sign too but nothing beats the bigger flag for getting noticed from a distance !

 

I went to modified live at Knockhill not that long ago and nearly every club had the flag style banners and when we just had our small banner tied to a railing we stole from the car park.

 

I'm not saying there not good but the bigger flag banners give more presence to the club.

 

Fair point. Just thinking of transportation issues. Not that I think they don't fold down just wondered how small?

 

Someone on here will know how big the ones from JAE are...

but what about member's like myself who doesnt attend many meet's, ive payed every year since i joined and im not really fussed about meet's as they are usually on a sunday and im either working or hungover lol

 

what would i get out of any new change's to the club?

 

i know your going to say "well get yourself out to a meet" but if i dont want to it mean's i miss out?

 

some good idea's for bigger meet's like jae and so forth which im more than happy for my contribution to go toward's if it help's the club and it's member's but as for spending a lot of the money on just regular meet's then not so much

 

if the club were to host a couple of bigger event's themselve's as a club rather than individul region's then that would be great

 

just a suggestion like the rest so dont go shooting me down

 

Guess the question for you chap is what do you want to get for your money??

Seems like the majority want to get to more meets and actually get there cars out of the garage! The whole point is to get people out and enjoy shows, Not trying to be funny fella but if thats not what you are here for then, now's the time to get your ideas down for the few who dont attend shows.

No point buying a server for a site this size, you then need to support it and update it and replace parts as they break. It would save you next to nothing if anything at all. I have about 3456654 Dell ones right on the backbone but we get economies of scales as we have heavy traffic stuff.

 

Is the 25K real money.. what i mean by that is it in an account somewhere or just on a notional balance sheet after the owners have taken it out?.

 

Castle Coombe is a good idea, I would renew my membership for at least one thing that is not up north and it is a good show.

 

I think 10 years ago a server would likely have been the best option and likely could have been run of a small broadband line.

 

Nowadays of course hosting a site can be done for less than £15 a year!

i like the idea of leaving the money in for a rainy day lol

 

but as has already been said, a couple of small competition's within the club would be fun and get memeber's involved that dont get out much as long as it's only small prizes and not gonna cost a fortune

 

ive only mentioned not attending meet's as a bit of devil's advocate, if your wanting to spend all the cash that has amassed it must be spent in way's that can be catered for everyone that has contributed over the year's not just on meet's

 

not meaning to argue as there are some good point's, but like i said everyone must be catered for

but what about member's like myself who doesnt attend many meet's, ive payed every year since i joined and im not really fussed about meet's as they are usually on a sunday and im either working or hungover lol

 

what would i get out of any new change's to the club?

 

i know your going to say "well get yourself out to a meet" but if i dont want to it mean's i miss out?

 

some good idea's for bigger meet's like jae and so forth which im more than happy for my contribution to go toward's if it help's the club and it's member's but as for spending a lot of the money on just regular meet's then not so much

 

if the club were to host a couple of bigger event's themselve's as a club rather than individul region's then that would be great

 

just a suggestion like the rest so dont go shooting me down

 

Not sure what point you are making mate. You could still be on the site and not pay your subs if you don't feel you are getting anything out of it but then that (according to the constitution) would mean that you couldn't be a moderator. So I'm guessing that the main reason you pay your subs is to continue being a moderator because you enjoy it.

 

What DO you want out of it?

 

You've kind of answered your own question. Get yer arse out and be sociable!!

 

Oh yes, sell the BMW and but another Z!! Then you will feel better about driving your Z and meeting up with everyone for burgers and beers and laughs!!

I think 10 years ago a server would likely have been the best option and likely could have been run of a small broadband line.

 

Nowadays of course hosting a site can be done for less than £15 a year!

 

Oh!

 

There seems to be a lot of money going out of the account on "Web Hosting" or "IT Services" something?

i pay my sub's so the club survive's, people have mentioned before about mods and comittee not paying, but i think that is wrong, we should all pay

 

im not fussed about the money being spent at all, but if the member's insist that it be spent then everyone is entitled to a piece of the pie so to speak

 

more thing's like the comp'S would suit me, it's just trying to get some idea's of comp's and get people involved, you cant go saying get yourself to a meet or dont bother paying your sub's

 

as for the zed, will see what next year bring's

i pay my sub's so the club survive's, people have mentioned before about mods and comittee not paying, but i think that is wrong, we should all pay

 

im not fussed about the money being spent at all, but if the member's insist that it be spent then everyone is entitled to a piece of the pie so to speak

 

more thing's like the comp'S would suit me, it's just trying to get some idea's of comp's and get people involved, you cant go saying get yourself to a meet or dont bother paying your sub's

 

as for the zed, will see what next year bring's

 

Only ribbing you because you drive a beemer!!

 

Fair comment, not everyone has the same wants.

I only pay the subs so i can sell parts as this is the better place to sell them however i didnt know there was this pot of money sitting around

Yeah agreed £15 per year hosting package would more than run this site no problems at all.

I think 10 years ago a server would likely have been the best option and likely could have been run of a small broadband line.

 

Nowadays of course hosting a site can be done for less than £15 a year!

 

If you look at the bottom entry on the bottom page here http://300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=94723 we paid £1425.60 for online/internet service in May! Ouch!

 

And £1395 the year before in May???!!!

 

Who are we paying this kind of money to every year?

 

I have no idea about IT costs so over to the experts - MadMax - what's your input?

Yeah agreed £15 per year hosting package would more than run this site no problems at all.

 

Going to back track on this one a bit !

 

Although you can get hosting for say £15 a month, a lot of services may be very basic and do not provide a lot of bandwidth or storage.

 

I've no idea how much the club pays for hosting and storage or who the club is hosted with, but an active site like this can accumulate a lot of storage and bandwidth which could cost more if the site needs a stable viewing speed for its users.

 

Last thing we need is to run the site on servers that can't cope with the traffic.