RE: [A/S] International Rally and Club Reorganization - Jim Franklin

["Oliver Filippi" <ofilippi@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I think Alcoaprincess is right on.  But I also think there is a way to
change WITHOUT upsetting the current base.

The answer, as I see it, lies in organizing ADDITIONAL events and rallies
that cater to the younger demographics.  When I got into travel trailers, I
first rented a small Winnebago from a co-worker.  Then, my wife, four year
old son and I took it on a two week vacation from San Jose, CA to the
Pacific Northwest and back (including Vancouver, Victoria Island, Banff, and
Lake Louise) to see how we would like it. My wife and I had previously
camped a little with a tent, Coleman stove, ice chest, Jerry can of water,
and sleeping bags.  Bottom line, we liked the trailer. We were particularly
impressed by the ability to take a small child to educational destinations
where accommodations and services were limited or expensive, or not in tune
with a young family. And the little fellow had his own bed every night.

The trip in the rental allowed us to learn first hand what features were
important to us in a travel trailer, and how big a trailer would meet our
needs. Shortly after our return, I located a one or two year old 25'
Airstream which, 28 years later, I still have, and have no desire to trade
for a different one.

However, when I bought the Airstream, the WBCCI was of little interest to
us, because it seemed to be targeted to retired people who could travel for
long periods of time (more than three weeks at a time).  There was no way I
could take that much time off (didn't have that much vacation time) plus a
child of school age.

Now I am much older and retired, so the WBCCI is a more realistic option.

If WBCCI had activities of shorter duration and of interest to a young
family, I certainly would have considered joining then.  I realize that the
relatively high cost of an Airstream probably severely limited the number of
young families who would have been in our situation.

But now, times have changed and an Airstream (or an older one) is a viable
option for a young family.  Financing is available, and hotels and motels
and restaurants have gotten more expensive relative to campsites, and air
travel is not what it used to be either. Hence a camping vacation in a
travel trailer is now an economical option.

With the Internet, it should be possible to organize and draw sufficient
participants from a larger geographic area for shorter trips to places with
activities of interest to younger families.  Thus one could belong to a
local WBCCI travel club, but participate in joint club rallies.  These could
be called the Young Airstreamers or those young at heart. Also, with the
current network of highways, participants could easily converge on a
destination a couple of days away from their home base without a major
problem. In addition, I'm sure some of us older folks wouldn't mind
participating in a younger element rally to provide the kind of assistance
and experience that comes with age.

I think the next step would be to suggest a bunch of destinations and
activities (and representative itineraries) which would appeal to younger
Airstreamers and then see how such trips could be coordinated with several
existing Clubs. Alcoaprincess has already suggested some.

Sincerely,

Oliver Filippi