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Message from the CCA Regional Vice President
My name is Keith Wollenberg and I am the current elected Pacific Region Vice President of the BMW Car Club. I am also a 28-year member of the Puget Sound BMW Automobile Club. While in Seattle, I served as technical adviser to the club and as a driving instructor. I have enjoyed the Zundfolge for years and am familiar with the long history of success of the ACA as an independent entity.
When I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, I became involved in the local club here, the Golden Gate Chapter of the BMW CCA. Initially I joined the CCA for the excellent full-color magazine, Roundel. In 1996, when BMW was featured marque at the Monterey Historic Races, I became involved in the local BMW community in a big way, when my wife Kelly and I ended up as co-chairs of the club gathering. Later I served on the board of the GGC, before being elected to the National Board of the CCA. Contrary to what I had feared before I was elected to the chapter board, I found that the loss of local control was far less than I expected, and that the GGC was rarely being told what to do, nor were they much bothered by the national organization. Instead, we were members of a larger community of BMW clubs in the region. We cooperated closely with the LA ACA as well as the other CCA chapters in the area.
When LA chose to merge with the CCA, they experienced an enormous surge in their membership due to the large pool of CCA members already in their region. What was more revealing, and more important in the long run, was that they also experienced a tremendous growth in the rate at which they acquired new members. In the two years since they merged, they have more than doubled in size, and are now the third largest chapter in the U.S. Their growth last year was over 17%. This difference in the growth rates of the two club organizations is one of the major reasons why I think it is in the interest of the Puget Sound BMW ACA to join with the BMW CCA.
Another reason to consider a merger is the desire of the manufacturer to have a single BMW Club organization in the U.S. In 1971, one of the reasons we chose to become an ACA club was for the closer ties with BMW. In the years since, as CCA has grown, their relations with BMW have grown closer, with BMW becoming very supportive and involved with the CCA's major regional and national events. Recently, BMW NA offered a $500 to $1,000 discount on new BMWs to CCA members who have been members for more than one year. Much more of this support is available to clubs affiliated with the CCA than to independent BMW clubs, by BMW's choice.
Finally, by joining with the CCA, more advantages of regional cooperation are possible. Pooling of experience at Chapter Congresses, Newsletter Editor Congresses, Driving Events Congresses, can be of great benefit to the members, as can the sharing of driving instructors and the reduced cost of insurance for club events. In addition, for those interested, the BMW CCA Club Racing Program offers another outlet for having fun with their cars in a safe and exciting venue. In any club, you have some members who are very active, and some who are relatively less so. Those in the latter group tend to be the bulk of the membership. In a merged club, they would get both Roundel and Zundfolge. This allows members to feel a part of both the local community of BMW enthusiasts and of the larger, national community as well.
I am pleased to answer questions about this possible merger, and address concerns you may have. I can do so in the Zundfolge, or in person. I will be at the meeting in March to discuss a possible merger. I know that the Puget Sound ACA has been a vibrant, successful BMW Club as an independent organization. I am proud to have been associated with this club for almost 30 years. I am confident that if the ACA chooses to stay independent, it can continue to be so. However, as a member of the larger community of the National BMW CCA, I think it can grow faster, be more successful, and better serve the interests of the BMW Enthusiasts in the Northwest.
Aus Freude am Fahren (For the Sheer Joy of Driving),
Keith Wollenberg
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