SOMETIMES I WONDER …

… and other times, I’m sure.

I’ve been involved with Healey clubs as a club officer and magazine editor since 1984.  During that time I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing the membership, trying to understand what they want in their club magazine, and beyond that, what they want from their club membership.  It’s not as obvious as you might think.

The cover of the 2021 Austin-Healey Club of America calendar.  

You see, most members never participate in any club activity or function, and by “most” I mean about 80 percent.  I finally concluded that they just want the club magazine, they probably like just knowing that they’re in the club and could call on it for help, and maybe they have it in the back of their mind that someday, when the stars are all aligned, they’ll come to a club function.

Now in the case of the Austin-Healey Club of Oregon, which hasn’t published a newsletter in several years, you have to wonder why these people continue to pay dues at all.  I guess the occasional email from one of the officers promoting an upcoming activity, and perhaps the other occasional email with a brief (very, very brief) report on the activity, gives them a feeling of security that the marque is alive and well and they could, if they really wanted to, participate.  I guess that’s enough for 80 percent of the members.

But still, sometimes I wonder.