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greg brillus

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VOC Member
I briefly saw the picture of the you-tube video even though I did not watch it........It reminded me of a scene from a local Bingo hall.......And therein lies your problem........a bunch of "Old Folk".........ok no offence meant by this, but it is the truth........Not confined to just this club but anything of a similar nature. I know because I've spent a great deal of my life working with older people........very smart, very knowledgeable, very stubborn, and who don't like change, and don't like being told what to do if they think they are right........ I also know because I am slowly becoming one of them (so my wife keeps telling me).......I use to enjoy watching two old blokes arguing about something.......In they end, they would "agree to disagree" and that was the end of it.........as an onlooker, I could agree with the one i thought was correct, whilst the other one was "A silly old fool"........Personally I have left several clubs due to club politics, or comments/treatment that I would not put up with........People need to work out for themselves if it's worth it or not.......... We've seen some pretty savage things here in Australia that are VOC related and some of it quite recently as well. Once again, mostly political, things that were done for years has been changed, and members don't like it. Our section up here in Queensland has escaped much of this unrest I feel due to the section being quite young, so the long standing opinions have little effect....... I think we are just happy to see each other once in a while, to catch up and just hear what everyone has been up to........ Nothing to get hostile about really.
 

Martyn Goodwin

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
As I understand things one must be a VOC member to attend an International rally. Therefore those who really want to attend the next International in California (bugs permitting) should not quit the club. This club rubbish will pass in time.
I attended the International Rally in Italy and can assure you there were at least two folk there who were NOT VOC members - again one rule for most, stuff the rules for others!
 
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Magnetoman

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
It's been famously said that academic politics is so vicious because the financial stakes are so low. People who believe that should study the dynamics of volunteer-run motorcycle clubs.

My alternative explanation to Greg's 'grumpy old men' theory comes from having taken part in at least a thousand meetings in the academic, physics, art, and motorcycle worlds (I hate meetings, so I'm not proud of that number -- I agree with the statement that the most productive meetings consist of three people, one of whom is sick and the other who forgot to come).

My observation is the collective IQ of any committee typically is lower than the lowest IQ of any of its members. Even absent malice, stubbornness, or other such factors, groups of smart people are quite capable of making un-smart decisions. However, egos do get involved, both on the part of committee members as well as "outsiders." I've seen more than one case where reactions to decisions have been far out of proportion to the consequences of the decisions, which is unfortunate.

Other than time off for good behavior during the '00s, I've been a member of the VOC for nearly 30 years. Trying to keep what I know, or think I know, about the present situation in perspective, the VOC is only a motorcycle club, run by a group of volunteers from a wide variety of backgrounds and without any professional training in running meetings. As for the consequences of decisions those volunteers make, they're far from those of a group of doctors charged with making life-and-death decisions, the UN trying to figure out how to stop genocide in a country, or an earthquake emergency response team deciding which collapsed building to work on first. Despite the stakes being quite low compared to any of those examples, it's clear emotions of some people are running high. But, they're certainly entitled to their feelings, and to expressing them.

With the above in mind, and although the VOC is only a motorcycle club, I've enjoyed my time in it these past 30 years. Speaking only for myself, I look forward to enjoying as many future years as a member of the VOC as my biological clock allows.
 

Debbie Kemp

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
And that, my dears, is why the Club needs to be careful. Once bad behaviour and broken rules are “out there” they remain public forever, no matter who tries to delete them. Any potential new member who “Google’s” the Vincent HRD Owners Club discovers the supposed Lumley scandal which is not a great advert but cannot be helped because it is an unfortunate part of Club history. I fear this latest addition will go the same way.

Personally I am all for meetings being recorded and placed online so that those who can’t attend can catch up later and still feel part of the Club, particularly as we are fortunate enough to have a large contingent of international members on differing time zones. Hopefully the accessibility of future meetings would reassure members that the current video doing the rounds is not an indication of usual meeting practises.
 

Albervin

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Debbie, as I understand it, all the zoom meetings have been recorded by the assistant secretary of the VOC. These videos have not been published anywhere so the point of them remains for the sole purpose of making minutes of the meeting. On the point of the minutes; I have seen some minutes of recent meeting and I wonder if there was another meeting as the minutes seem to be a modified, sanitised and redacted version of what actually occurred.
 

Debbie Kemp

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Debbie, as I understand it, all the zoom meetings have been recorded by the assistant secretary of the VOC. These videos have not been published anywhere so the point of them remains for the sole purpose of making minutes of the meeting.
Yes, that reasoning is true given that for everyone else the ability to record the meeting was turned off. However someone clearly managed to get round that and has put it on YouTube for all to see. Whilst this may be handy for members, it does not do the Club any favours when this is the only meeting footage they see. I cannot help but feel very sad that all this has happened and still, no-one seems to take any responsibility for what was essentially a shambolic meeting.
 

Albervin

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
The recording was made by a very clever person for their own use. Due to the time difference they didn't want to stay up late into the night. When they saw what happened (the next day) they thought other people should see the disgraceful behaviour of some of the participants. The motive was not malicious but so people who did not attend could understand some of the devious machinations of the executive.
 
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