Expansion?

[Agent M79]

Here are some thoughts to generate discussion.

We are a somewhat small group. With the discontinuance of the MM, I am not seeing big growth. Maybe as MM's come off lease or get traded we will see some additional interest.

With a number of our schedules, there have been a few occasions now where attendance has been pretty low. This past meet, (if I read it correctly), 2 made it.

Should we just hold steady with things as-is or should we consider exanding the group to include other platform siblings? CVs? GMs? Maybe have a "heavy weights" group of big American name-plate cars?

I hate to see things fade out because of attendance issues. I get tripped up sometimes because I am responsible to a 24/7/365 organization. As long as my son stays active in the sports he is involved, frequently attending his events will conflict with the groups. We have seen others with the same issues.

Should we consider some kind of active recruitment drive and try to find registered owners of MM and send out a round or two of invites, web site address, contact screen names, etc.?

[fastblackmerc]

Here are some thoughts to generate discussion.

We are a somewhat small group. With the discontinuance of the MM, I am not seeing big growth. Maybe as MM's come off lease or get traded we will see some additional interest.

With a number of our schedules, there have been a few occasions now where attendance has been pretty low. This past meet, (if I read it correctly), 2 made it.

Should we just hold steady with things as-is or should we consider exanding the group to include other platform siblings? CVs? GMs? Maybe have a "heavy weights" group of big American name-plate cars?

I hate to see things fade out because of attendance issues. I get tripped up sometimes because I am responsible to a 24/7/365 organization. As long as my son stays active in the sports he is involved, frequently attending his events will conflict with the groups. We have seen others with the same issues.

Should we consider some kind of active recruitment drive and try to find registered owners of MM and send out a round or two of invites, web site address, contact screen names, etc.?
Good ideas AgentM79!! It would be nice if we could get a list of MM owners from Ford / Mercury and contact hem. Like you I'm "on call" 7X24 and would like to attend more events. Maybe having some events half-way between Raleigh & Concord would help? Let's get more suggestions.

[SC Cheesehead]

Here are some thoughts to generate discussion.

We are a somewhat small group. With the discontinuance of the MM, I am not seeing big growth. Maybe as MM's come off lease or get traded we will see some additional interest.

With a number of our schedules, there have been a few occasions now where attendance has been pretty low. This past meet, (if I read it correctly), 2 made it.

Should we just hold steady with things as-is or should we consider exanding the group to include other platform siblings? CVs? GMs? Maybe have a "heavy weights" group of big American name-plate cars?

I hate to see things fade out because of attendance issues. I get tripped up sometimes because I am responsible to a 24/7/365 organization. As long as my son stays active in the sports he is involved, frequently attending his events will conflict with the groups. We have seen others with the same issues.

Should we consider some kind of active recruitment drive and try to find registered owners of MM and send out a round or two of invites, web site address, contact screen names, etc.?
Agent,

I think we have a great bunch of folks, but agree that it would be nice if we had even more. Given the limited production numbers of the MM, not certain how many more MM owners we'd add, but if we look at opening up to CV or GM owners, that would give us a bigger potential recruitment base.

The CV floks have their own site: http://www.crownvic.net may want to check it out for ideas, etc.

SCCH

[Bigdogjim]

Dave I think we are seeing this all over?

One thing I think well help out is get in touch with the local I.M.O.A group. They are older Mercurys but they welcomed us last year at Indy:up:

Web site is www.mercuryclub.com A lot of us have joined their club also.

Good luck!

[Marauderman]

My apologies go out to New members of the Carolina Maraudera--Diana and Chuck Cook, who came to our last meet (there were 3 actually cause Don nor I have spoke up--our bad-)

Diana and Chuck have a '03 Blk stock and she uses it as a daily driver. I met her last year and she hasn't been able to join us till know--and they both were finally happy to meet us-=-

My second apoligies go out to Diana, for she did not get to drive #7 --Chuck however, did and the grin factor lives on!!! _ I suspect there is gonna be some upgrades in the Cook's MM shortly........

Yes, Dave , we are a small group , and I think we should continue as is and invite anyone along that wishes to meet--we do try and do things to spread out ourselves, to Raleigh and mountains and so forth--maybe not enough or as often as some wish--but anyone is welcome to offer up a meet and place to travel for discussion ---

We all of course cannot always meet as you say for many reasons but we set a schedule to hopefull work towards that ...and to that end , I feel we should try to stay with that---I still feel we are very young no matter what--even if one of us has there MM in the shop cause of work or whatever, it doesn't mean we can't meet our friends and talk stuff......

So---an extension of invites ---sounds good to me.... I am currently investigating a ruff running engine and don't plan on using my MM till I have or get her thoroughly checked out --so I/ we may show without # 7 for awhile while this is going on...doesn't drop my attitude towards our gatherings however.....anyway--guess I have rattled enought, right Don!...Ok --

Hope we can all stay together as long as we can.....who knows..we may find others lurking out there still yet!!...Tom

[dok]

guess I have rattled enought, right Don!...Ok --



No comment. :rolleyes:

Although our group is small, I have always enjoyed our get togethers. I feel that I (we) have made some good friends.

I have no problem expanding the group, but would hate to get too large so that we lose the closeness that I believe we now have. Perhaps we need to have more events closer to the Triangle area so that it is more convenient for those in that area to attend.

[tmac1337]

Sorry to hear, the Sunshine State Marauders are 60 members and growing, 5 just recently.

[Agent M79]

It would be nice if we could get a list of MM owners from Ford / Mercury and contact them. I am sure FLM will not supply such a list. Getting the info may be possible tho since I have received mail from 3rd parties that are at least aware that I have a car in my name now. Warranty offers, etc. May not even hurt to drop off / mail some cards to service managers at FLM dealerships and let them know who we are and what we are about.


Maybe having some events half-way between Raleigh & Concord would help? This we have done and I thought it worked out pretty well. Also good just for a change of venue. Some good planning and plenty of advanced notice works well in these situations.


I think we have a great bunch of folks, but agree that it would be nice if we had even more.I agree. I am not sure where the dynamic of the group changes though. I think most like the smaller group but at what head count does it start to turn into somthing different than we have now? Having never been in a car group before, let alone one that grows into it's 'next phase', I really don't know.


Yes, Dave , we are a small group , and I think we should continue as is and invite anyone along that wishes to meet.I know we are talking about another "Run to the Hills" soon. Maybe a few will appear for that. Last year it was a 'one tank trip' kind of thing, but I can see some people (especially the farther away folks) making a weekend (even a long weekend) out of it.


Although our group is small, I have always enjoyed our get togethers. I feel that I (we) have made some good friends.

I have no problem expanding the group, but would hate to get too large so that we lose the closeness that I believe we now have. Perhaps we need to have more events closer to the Triangle area so that it is more convenient for those in that area to attend.Yep. Just like I said above to SCCH's comment, I wonder what that magic number of people is where things "change"?


One thing I think well help out is get in touch with the local I.M.O.A group. They are older Mercurys but they welcomed us last year at Indy.I don't know if any of our group is in IMOA. I think many joined for the express purpose of enjoying Indy activities. That was the thrust of my endorsement to join, anyway. But, I would say if any of us are, and even if we stay "All Marauder", IMOA did have a healthy spike in '03 and '04 MM membership.



Sorry to hear, the Sunshine State Marauders are 60 members and growing, 5 just recently.Sorry to hear what?

As for my part, I am of the mind that we should continue on for the time being as the Carolina Marauders.

We may want to look into inviting some more people through means other than mm.net like a mailing to FLM dealers service managers. Maybe frdwrnch could get me a list of contact info for them. Some phone time and a few letters (with intro info or something) takes little time.

As far as when is too big just too big, I don't know. The oldest larger group we've occasionally associated with (but don't like admitting publicly due to the shame it brings :D ) is the Atlanta crew. They are quite a bit larger in size and seem to keep things friendly. And as far as I know, they are not burdened by formal structures (treasurers, secretaries of this and that, etc.) and are still a friendly group.


Here are some thoughts to generate discussion.Guess that worked. I am sure there is more. Share your thoughts.

[SC Cheesehead]

Agent,


Heck, I have fun every time I get together with you guys. Your question, "how big is too big" is a good one. Part of our challenge is geographic area covered; you figure I'm 2 hours south of CLT, we've got folks at least 2 hours to the north, northeast, and east (i.e. GSO, RDU, FAY) so we're pretty spread out.

I'm all for another "run to the hills", maybe we ought to look at a "run to the beach", I'd be up for that as a weekend run for sure.

SCCH

[Butch]

I like things the way they are now, but we should ALWAYS invite ANY other car lover to our meetings.

I'm always asking some of my other car freaks along, but most can't make it for one reason or another. I don't care if they drive Ford, Dodge, Nissan, Chevy, or anything else, as long as they are nice, and like cars in general, they are welcome to come along with me, and bring their own car if they like, especially if it is something that the rest of the group would like to see.

Most of my friends are like Agent, and have to work screwed up hours, so they don't get to come with me, but they enjoy the pics I bring back.

I think we should keep things the way they are, but make sure that each of us always try to invite someone along. Who cares what they drive. We are getting together as friends. It is just nice when there are a bunch of MMs there at the same time, but it isn't always going to happen. There isn't enough of them in the Carolinas.

[FordNut]

I like things the way they are now, but we should ALWAYS invite ANY other car lover to our meetings.

That's what we do in ATL, sometimes we have some 'stang guys show up, sometimes some Impala guys, maybe a 'vette driver now and then. But if it's just us, that's fine too. And if it's 5 of us or 25 of us that show up, that's what we deal with.

[Proudcop]

Even though I have only been once, I really enjoyed meeting everyone. Ive had to work all the Saturdays that our meetings have been planned for. Im always dissapointed when I cant make it. I think expanding is a good idea, even though different cars could be around, I would enjoy seeing them. I hope to see everyone soon!


JCB

[stevencory]

:thinker: We're missing too many of the get togethers on account of timing.
(Saturday morning and afternoon is usually taken). I do plan to
attend in the future. It's also a matter of weather and what the plans are.

I must admit, the crusing and cookout/luncheon is really fun with this bunch.
They are more open and friendly than most folks and I appreciate that a lot.
We hope to still be invited and look forward to what is on the agenda.
Can we suggest to plan as far out as possible. Might help us to sync up.
:cool4:

Thanks,
Steve and Jean

[Bonedriver]

Hey Guys, I'm not a MM owner, but am in a club based out of North Charleston. At a carshow this past weekend I spoke with our Club President and he would love to participate with your club. We were thinking of something along the lines of a Cruise or Poker Run. Our club has I think almost 200 members.

Check out www.southernmustangandford.com (http://www.southernmustangandford.com/) and contact our president.

We have a club meeting Tomorrow (I know it's short notice - sorry) and you all are welcome. Directions are on the site above.

We are always looking to do stuff with other clubs, heck we even are pretty tight with the local corvette club...:P

[Marauderman]

Hey Guys, I'm not a MM owner, but am in a club based out of North Charleston. At a carshow this past weekend I spoke with our Club President and he would love to participate with your club. We were thinking of something along the lines of a Cruise or Poker Run. Our club has I think almost 200 members.

Check out www.southernmustangandford.com (http://www.southernmustangandford.com/) and contact our president.

We have a club meeting Tomorrow (I know it's short notice - sorry) and you all are welcome. Directions are on the site above.

We are always looking to do stuff with other clubs, heck we even are pretty tight with the local corvette club...:P

Love the thought of going to Charleston--alot of ties there--you know your getting older when I say I was stationed there 8 yrs before you were born... got married there and, oh well....anyway--was in the 437 Fire Dept from '66-68-
Thanks for the invite--we have been known to take trips --although they are day trips and Charleston is a 4 hour 1 way thingy-----something we probable wouldn't do except for a BIG, BIG event--like a drag event or something--sorry--speaking for me and BUTCH only likely from our club ( we're S/C'ed)-anyway---

Thanks again for the info and we enjoy all car folks here as well---if ever up close to Charlotte--give a heads-up notice and we can meet sometime---
........Tom

[SC Cheesehead]

Love the thought of going to Charleston--alot of ties there--you know your getting older when I say I was stationed there 8 yrs before you were born... got married there and, oh well....anyway--was in the 437 Fire Dept from '66-68-
Thanks for the invite--we have been known to take trips --although they are day trips and Charleston is a 4 hour 1 way thingy-----something we probable wouldn't do except for a BIG, BIG event--like a drag event or something--sorry--speaking for me and BUTCH only likely from our club ( we're S/C'ed)-anyway---

Thanks again for the info and we enjoy all car folks here as well---if ever up close to Charlotte--give a heads-up notice and we can meet sometime---
........TomHey marauderman, Agent, dok: speaking of meetings, when are we planning to hold our next one?

NOTE TO TOM: What's the latest on #7, did you get the rough idle, etc. resolved? Hopefully nothing too serious.

SCCH

[Agent M79]

Hey marauderman, Agent, dok: speaking of meetings, when are we planning to hold our next one?
I've been out of the loop lately and I forget if this is the mountain cruise month or if that is next month.


NOTE TO TOM: What's the latest on #7, did you get the rough idle, etc. resolved? Hopefully nothing too serious.
That's another good question.

[Marauderman]

Hey marauderman, Agent, dok: speaking of meetings, when are we planning to hold our next one?

NOTE TO TOM: What's the latest on #7, did you get the rough idle, etc. resolved? Hopefully nothing too serious.

SCCH

I would expect next meet to be May 14th at the usual place....since nothing else has been said yet....and I'll have all the info on my MM then.....Tom

[SC Cheesehead]

I would expect next meet to be May 14th at the usual place....since nothing else has been said yet....and I'll have all the info on my MM then.....Tom
Tom,

Any idea on who's planning to attend? Agent, is soccer over or is your son still playing on Saturday's? Frdwrnch, do you have off on the 14th? How about dok. you going to be able to make it? Are Butch or Proudcop planning to drive down from Greensboro?

Ms. CH and I are planning to drive up, so we'll see you guys next week.

SCCH

[Marauderman]

Tom,

Any idea on who's planning to attend? Agent, is soccer over or is your son still playing on Saturday's? Frdwrnch, do you have off on the 14th? How about dok. you going to be able to make it? Are Butch or Proudcop planning to drive down from Greensboro?

Ms. CH and I are planning to drive up, so we'll see you guys next week.

SCCH
.........ALL GOOD QUESTIONS---!!!! Oh announcer.....announcer.....wh ere is our announcer for our meets---cough...couch...he is usually so on time with these things......:lol:.....

[Agent M79]

.........ALL GOOD QUESTIONS---!!!! Oh announcer.....announcer.....wh ere is our announcer for our meets---cough...couch...he is usually so on time with these things......:lol:.....:sleepy: ...wha?... :eek: ... Oh... yeah... consider it done. :cool: