Rider90
05-16-2005, 08:48 PM
Good Evening Guys,
Before you guys choose or elect me as Club President, let me atleast present some ideas that I feel will make this club move forward. For those that took a look around the Chicken Run Event on Sunday, it may have crossed your mind that The Windy City Marauders isn't just a few Marauder owners gathering around salivating for good chicken. This has the potentional to be something larger, more eventful, and could turn into something we keep a few Sundays free out of the season. For those like me, well, more than "a few sundays." Keep in mind, Dave said there were 3 more Marauder buddies of his (With Marauders) that were supposed to show up, and Bradley G and Lou were also not there.
I run the Midwest Panther Alliance (www.midwestpanthers.net) with 34 Members, actually 36 due to two more member submissions this evening. Before M.P.A. I ran another club, for Crown Victorias only that I passed to another member and eventually he ran it into the dirt. A very important key to getting this going is money, and that should not be a shocker. Before I started M.P.A. I had 22 people sign up on a mailing list agreeing that they would pay atleast $15 to join when I got everything squared away. When opening day finally came for the club, I didn't get anyone to join for a week, and I was in the hole $200 dollars (Still am) but I kept it going, it is growing, and a few nice people have thrown money in the hat so I can recover from what I lost.
For any club to survive, profit or non profit, money still needs to flow through it especially if you are planning to be on the internet. If you guys want a website, thats $30/year for the domain name (www.windycitymarauders.com) and $20 setup fee + 10$/month for the server at no profit for myself, and I intend to keep it that way. If no one wants to pay that, I can do http://windycity.midwestpanthers.net for free. One big difference is since it is a Sub-Domain, you can no longer type in "www" to get to it, it just won't work. I guess when Al Gore made the internet he left something out.
I'll make a website for free. I'll organize events for free. Any other suggestions you have, I'll probably do it for free as long as I have the time. The only time it will cost anything is if I need supplies that are just out of my hands and thats where you guys, as a group, come in. The more people that are involved in this club the less everyone has to pay.
You have the options:
- Website
- T-Shirts (More?)
- Small Stickers
- Car Information Signs for each member (More info on this below)
- "You're Invited" Cards in the mail for each meet w/ meet info and WCM Graphic on front
- Others?
I'm sure our buddies Slowpoke and Mark can get us into some of this stuff, or give us a figure on price. If not I'll do as much research as I can to see what we can do.
This is going to take some money. The more that show interest, the less money for each member. If you are willing to sign up for this, say so in this thread and you can either say how much this is worth you (As in, how much $$$ you would give to the cause) or Private Message me so I know where we are at and if we can pull this off. This is at 0% Profit to me. I know what bills will ensue, I've done it with MCVO (Midwest Crown Victoria Owners), M.P.A. (Midwest Panther Alliance) not to mention Web & Graphic Design experience since 1998 along with setting these things up for clients, starting at the age of 12. In case you are wondering why I am out of that, It is more time consuming to find the customer than to do the work, that is why I have a job because time is money and I can't gamble when I have bills to pay.
Now these "Car Information Signs" I was talking about are simply something I think we should display on our cars when we park them. This way we know who's it is, no longer is it "The Black Marauder Over There *pointing*" and it is a small way to represent our club for those taking the drive to Marauderville and parking. Under the wiper or on the dash inside the car (Probably best) it will display our car club name, your member name, and optionally a picture of your car (Any Picture) and/or "Mod-List." For those that select a Mod List, there are a few members who should just have two pages or really small writing...but I'll figure something out that looks good.
On to the examples:
#1
http://midwestpanthers.net/infosmall.jpg
#2
http://midwestpanthers.net/info2small.jpg
#3
http://midwestpanthers.net/info3small.jpg
#4
http://midwestpanthers.net/info4small.jpg
#5
http://midwestpanthers.net/info5small.jpg
These are just ideas, if you like the "idea" but not the results I came up with then I'll head back to the drawing board with your suggestions. If you like what you see and want one, I will charge $10/Each due to the amount of ink used and these will be printed on Glossy Photo Paper with page protectors over them. The printer being used is an HP Photosmart 8450, one of the best on the market right now. The $10 goes towards ink, paper, page protectors, and the use of this photo-printer. After printing it will need to dry for atleast 8 hours, I usually leave them to dry over-night (I'll do this for you) I do not suggest lamination due to the paper and the ink, since ink does not absorb in glossy photo paper like it would any regular paper and may make a mess in the extreme heat from a laminating machine. If you want to laminate, I will use a different paper. Just let me know.
Now on to the website:
http://midwestpanthers.net/websitesmall.jpg
This is the current design I have made for The Windy City Marauders. If you want a light look I'll make a new design or invert what I've made already. I chose black for the "Badass" factor. For the current beta of the website, visit http://windycity.midwestpanthers.net. The website will include a front page with club updates, a members page with each member listing + car info, an Articles page regarding the unique mods done to some member's cars (Vents, LEDs, Badgeless-ness, etc..) Our own web forum if you like, or we can work off MercuryMarauder.net which seems like a better idea due to the great amount of traffic running through there, a Pictures page with past event pictures, did I miss anything? All of you, if you choose to have the website, will also have an E-mail forwarding alias such as "SergntMac@windycitymarauders.c om" that will forward any mail sent to that address to your regular e-mail address inbox eliminating the need to check two email accounts.
This is the thread that will develop this club if you wish to do so. Click "Reply" and take a few minutes to let us know your thoughts, yay or nay. I look forward to this coming together. Thank you for your time, my hands hurt, I'm out of here.
Before you guys choose or elect me as Club President, let me atleast present some ideas that I feel will make this club move forward. For those that took a look around the Chicken Run Event on Sunday, it may have crossed your mind that The Windy City Marauders isn't just a few Marauder owners gathering around salivating for good chicken. This has the potentional to be something larger, more eventful, and could turn into something we keep a few Sundays free out of the season. For those like me, well, more than "a few sundays." Keep in mind, Dave said there were 3 more Marauder buddies of his (With Marauders) that were supposed to show up, and Bradley G and Lou were also not there.
I run the Midwest Panther Alliance (www.midwestpanthers.net) with 34 Members, actually 36 due to two more member submissions this evening. Before M.P.A. I ran another club, for Crown Victorias only that I passed to another member and eventually he ran it into the dirt. A very important key to getting this going is money, and that should not be a shocker. Before I started M.P.A. I had 22 people sign up on a mailing list agreeing that they would pay atleast $15 to join when I got everything squared away. When opening day finally came for the club, I didn't get anyone to join for a week, and I was in the hole $200 dollars (Still am) but I kept it going, it is growing, and a few nice people have thrown money in the hat so I can recover from what I lost.
For any club to survive, profit or non profit, money still needs to flow through it especially if you are planning to be on the internet. If you guys want a website, thats $30/year for the domain name (www.windycitymarauders.com) and $20 setup fee + 10$/month for the server at no profit for myself, and I intend to keep it that way. If no one wants to pay that, I can do http://windycity.midwestpanthers.net for free. One big difference is since it is a Sub-Domain, you can no longer type in "www" to get to it, it just won't work. I guess when Al Gore made the internet he left something out.
I'll make a website for free. I'll organize events for free. Any other suggestions you have, I'll probably do it for free as long as I have the time. The only time it will cost anything is if I need supplies that are just out of my hands and thats where you guys, as a group, come in. The more people that are involved in this club the less everyone has to pay.
You have the options:
- Website
- T-Shirts (More?)
- Small Stickers
- Car Information Signs for each member (More info on this below)
- "You're Invited" Cards in the mail for each meet w/ meet info and WCM Graphic on front
- Others?
I'm sure our buddies Slowpoke and Mark can get us into some of this stuff, or give us a figure on price. If not I'll do as much research as I can to see what we can do.
This is going to take some money. The more that show interest, the less money for each member. If you are willing to sign up for this, say so in this thread and you can either say how much this is worth you (As in, how much $$$ you would give to the cause) or Private Message me so I know where we are at and if we can pull this off. This is at 0% Profit to me. I know what bills will ensue, I've done it with MCVO (Midwest Crown Victoria Owners), M.P.A. (Midwest Panther Alliance) not to mention Web & Graphic Design experience since 1998 along with setting these things up for clients, starting at the age of 12. In case you are wondering why I am out of that, It is more time consuming to find the customer than to do the work, that is why I have a job because time is money and I can't gamble when I have bills to pay.
Now these "Car Information Signs" I was talking about are simply something I think we should display on our cars when we park them. This way we know who's it is, no longer is it "The Black Marauder Over There *pointing*" and it is a small way to represent our club for those taking the drive to Marauderville and parking. Under the wiper or on the dash inside the car (Probably best) it will display our car club name, your member name, and optionally a picture of your car (Any Picture) and/or "Mod-List." For those that select a Mod List, there are a few members who should just have two pages or really small writing...but I'll figure something out that looks good.
On to the examples:
#1
http://midwestpanthers.net/infosmall.jpg
#2
http://midwestpanthers.net/info2small.jpg
#3
http://midwestpanthers.net/info3small.jpg
#4
http://midwestpanthers.net/info4small.jpg
#5
http://midwestpanthers.net/info5small.jpg
These are just ideas, if you like the "idea" but not the results I came up with then I'll head back to the drawing board with your suggestions. If you like what you see and want one, I will charge $10/Each due to the amount of ink used and these will be printed on Glossy Photo Paper with page protectors over them. The printer being used is an HP Photosmart 8450, one of the best on the market right now. The $10 goes towards ink, paper, page protectors, and the use of this photo-printer. After printing it will need to dry for atleast 8 hours, I usually leave them to dry over-night (I'll do this for you) I do not suggest lamination due to the paper and the ink, since ink does not absorb in glossy photo paper like it would any regular paper and may make a mess in the extreme heat from a laminating machine. If you want to laminate, I will use a different paper. Just let me know.
Now on to the website:
http://midwestpanthers.net/websitesmall.jpg
This is the current design I have made for The Windy City Marauders. If you want a light look I'll make a new design or invert what I've made already. I chose black for the "Badass" factor. For the current beta of the website, visit http://windycity.midwestpanthers.net. The website will include a front page with club updates, a members page with each member listing + car info, an Articles page regarding the unique mods done to some member's cars (Vents, LEDs, Badgeless-ness, etc..) Our own web forum if you like, or we can work off MercuryMarauder.net which seems like a better idea due to the great amount of traffic running through there, a Pictures page with past event pictures, did I miss anything? All of you, if you choose to have the website, will also have an E-mail forwarding alias such as "SergntMac@windycitymarauders.c om" that will forward any mail sent to that address to your regular e-mail address inbox eliminating the need to check two email accounts.
This is the thread that will develop this club if you wish to do so. Click "Reply" and take a few minutes to let us know your thoughts, yay or nay. I look forward to this coming together. Thank you for your time, my hands hurt, I'm out of here.