Starting a Driving Club, Part II

 Part II, Starting a Driving Club

Written By: Bonnie Marlewski-Probert

In last month?s column, I shared with you some great advice from people who have started driving clubs around the country. In this month?s column, I want to share with you excerpts from an article written by Carole Mercer as well as some sage advice from Lyle Peterson and Pat Ketterer. All of these folks have hands-on experience in starting and running a driving club. If you have ever thought about starting a driving club in your area, you are going to love this column!

Here are some thoughts from Lyle Petersen one of the originators of the Eastern Nebraska Driving Society (ENDS)

"Having a newsletter is absolutely vital, right from the start. In the case of ENDS, I footed all of the expense for the first year or so, then took contributions for the next couple of years. We sent out newsletters to anyone who asked, regardless of whether they paid. I still think that was a good move.

While I don't suppose you can require members to be ADS members, it's really a good idea for the club to be a club member of ADS, and for at least the leaders (whether officially officers or not) to be members. Eventually, as you know, most people "come around".

Pat Ketterer of Lincoln NE, Vice President of ENDS (geopatkett@aol.com) shared some great advice as well:

When asked about the importance of joining the American Driving Society (ADS), Pat said, "I would advise joining the ADS. They have a wealth of information including rules and regulations for pleasure shows and CDE's if this is what the club is interested in."

When asked if there was just one piece of wisdom Pat could share with anyone starting a new club, what would it be? Pat responded, "Make sure new club members feel like they are included even if they do not drive."

Below is part of an article written by Carole Mercer of the Peninsula Carriage Driving Club in San Francisco, California. I am happy to bring you a part of that article with her gracious permission;

"?I thought I would share the origins of this club with others who might be interested in forming a similar group. My experiences have been fun. They have been filled with hard work and success and I have increased my knowledge about both driving horses and people. I wanted to learn to drive a horse and carriage. After one unfortunate driving accident, which was caused by my lack of skill and knowledge of driving, I decided to find some drivers in my area. I began by calling all the local stables within my telephone area code to ask, "Who drives?" I made a list of names and phone numbers. Next I made a flyer saying that a Carriage Club was being formed. I included the following information on my flyer:

FORMING A CARRIAGE DRIVING CLUB

Public Invited to the First Meeting

Any Interested Parties Invited, Drivers Or Not

Date/Time to phone and number

Address (draw a map to the location for the meeting)

Name RSVP (give time to phone the RSVP)

I then hit the phone book and found the numbers of local whips and called them. I explained that I wanted to start a local driving club. I asked the following questions and took notes on theiranswers.

1) Who did they know that also drives?

2) Did they have names, addresses and phone numbers that they would share?

Next I hit the yellow pages of the phone book. This time I looked under tack stores and harness makers. I asked my same questions and of course explained what I was trying to do. I also asked if I could send my flyers to the store and would they please post them and give out the flyers to interested parties. By this time some of the same names began to crop up several times on my list. I could have checked with the local farriers, wheelwrights, and checked several different breed lists; but my list was a good 30 people in the area already. I recorded these names on 5"X8" cards and arranged them alphabetically in a card box. Not only did the name appear on the card, but if possible an address, phone number and also a note about our conversation, if I had spoken directly with the individual. I had contacted between 10-16 people by phone and explained my idea of forming a carriage-driving club. I asked them to contact anyone who they might know and invite them to the organizational meeting. Everyone I spoke with by telephone was also sent a flyer as an invitation to the first meeting. I discovered that people need to have something in their hands to reassure them that such a -meeting is actually going to take place.

By now I had allowed three weeks to plan the first meeting. You should figure to invest about $100 as "seed money" on flyers, postage and phone bills combined. Look at the money spent as part of your hobby. Your money and your time will be well invested in a club you will enjoy for years to come. Do all mailings about three weeks before your first meeting. Send the flyers to everyone on your list. I made the flyer like an invitation because people like to have this piece of paper in their hands to let them know that this club is really going to organize. I also said on the flyer that it was "ok" to bring a driving friend or friends. I sent the flyer to all tack stores, harness makers, stables within a 50-mile radius of my location. I asked them to post it and to hand out the extras. I sent about 10 extras to each place. By now you have covered your area. Expect your telephone to start to ring off the hook. Be sure you included a time to phone on the flyer. People keep different hours and your spouse or roommate may not like hearing the phone ring at all hours of the night and very early morning. People will have lots of questions. DO NOT turn away someone who does not drive already, does not own a horse or maybe drives a donkey. My most helpful member and ultimately the vice president of our club trained her own donkey by the way of knowledge gained through her membership in this club. Be prepared to defend your idea as well. You will receive calls from people who may say that no one can organize a driving club in the area or that someone tried it before and it didn't work. DO NOT listen to them. Invite them to come and see what is planned and send them a flyer. DO NOT become discouraged. You are on to something big! Good planning and a positive mind set will serve you well. So does a large dose of humor. I held our club's first meeting in my home. I sent out over 100 flyers and 25 very interested people appeared in my small family room. Some knew one another and others of us were total strangers in the group. The first meeting is extremely important The group meeting must choose what night is a good evening to meet. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are usually good evenings for a meeting. Our club meets the third Thursday of each month.

The time your groups meets is important too. Start your club gathering time at 7:30 PM and plan to begin your business at 8 PM sharp! At your first meeting, nametags are a must. Then about every 4th meeting, have nametags again for the benefit of new members. Everyone should wear a nametag ? long-time and new members. Put someone in charge of nametags and have several pens and pencils handy. Include this information on the nametags: name, equine type, and areas of interest. Also put this same information on 5"X8" cards which all members fill out. I added some questions for members to answer on their cards: name, address, phone number (listed or unlisted ? can number be published in the roster? Also:

1) Do you drive, and if so, how long?

2) Do you have an equine, if so, what type?

3) Special skills, talents,

I served coffee and doughnuts at our first meeting. I'm not a cook and not too interested in food, but food breaks the ice and gives people something to hold onto when they first arrive. People didn't mind sitting on the floor due to overcrowding. They were glad to see so many other people interested in carriage driving.

Here are some organizational points to cover at the first meeting:

1) Start business meeting at 8 PM.

2) Introduce yourself and state your purpose ? you wish to form a driving club.

3) Hand out a membership form with the reason for your club on the form.

4) Give your background in driving.

5) Ask everyone to introduce him or herself.

6) Ask what others want from the club.

7) Have some objectives for the future: learn how to harness; pleasure drives and locations; shows; fun days; combined driving events; etc.

Be certain to ask for someone to take notes or minutes of the meeting. These notes will become your first newsletter which will be sent out to all people present, several of the tack stores and stables that were helpful in recommending drivers. I cannot over emphasize the importance of the newsletter. I did our first one and not very well. In fact, it was so poor that someone volunteered to do the following ones and set the standards that our club has followed over the last four years.

This group of driving people has grown from the first meeting of 20 to a mailing membership of over 75 whips. We have met once a month and have received a monthly newsletter without fail for the past four years. We have put on clinics, pleasure drives, fun days and combined driving events. I fully expect this group to continue in its fine pattern.

One of the most important concepts we set forth at the first meeting was that this was to be a "group of inclusion, not a group of exclusion." That motto has served us well. I recommend it for your group which you are about to form. Enjoy,"

Carole?s nuts and bolts approach to starting a club should prove invaluable for any reader who is considering starting their own driving club. If you have any other questions about starting or running a local driving club, shoot me a note.

I want to hear from you! If you have any questions, comments or suggestions that you would like to share with the rest of us, drop me a line at:

Bonnie Marlewski-Probert

P.O. Box 548   

Yellville, AR  72687

Or you can contact me directly on the Internet at BRMP@AOL.com