sunsalem

Besides, I wouldn't want to belong to a club that would have me as a member....

owc6

Nay.

Standing around and talking about Vettes is what I do here. I don't want to do that in person.

crawfish333

I have been a member of 3 Corvette Clubs in 3 states, including the one I belong to currently. Clubs are like any other group, some are better than others. For example, the club I belong to now has a high focus on competition: I.E. autocross. We also have an annual show which is a charity fundraiser car show and they also sponsor some local cruises. In the past other clubs have focused on the annual shows, eating out, and cruising. The clubs are as good or bad as the people in them. Most clubs allow non-members to visit and even attend an vent or 2 before joining. This is an opportunity to get to know the members.

Kevin A Jones

I've never been a member of a Corvette club in my 40+ years as a Corvette enthusiasm however am currently considering my local club if they will have me.

blackmagicZ

My wife and I belong to River City Corvette Club of Sacramento. It just turned 40 years old. It's more of a social club now that most of us are in our 60's and 70's. We have officers and dues. I also hang with a large group called the JJ's, (Jaw Jackers). No officers or dues and no politics. The JJ's go on runs and go to Thunder Hill and get on the track. Good people in both groups.

Stan0324

I belong to the No Rules Corvette club in Connecticut. We have No meetings, No membership fees, No mandatory events. We just get together for a lot of Corvette fun.

Always Red Dave

I am a one man club my club!!!

DrDyno

I joined a local Corvette Club three years ago after I purchased a '96 Collector Edition. Although I had owned a dozen or more C1's, C2's and C3's in years past, I hadn't had a Corvette in 30 years. I thought joining a club would offer me good information on the newer generations and allow my wife a greater sense of participation. Wrong! Turns out the local Corvette Club, with the exception of one decent, annual Corvette show... is really a culinary club!

Most everything they do revolves around food, not cars. I still pay my $30.00 dues every year but very, very (two very's) rarely attend their meetings and "dine outs."

joemessman

If you are a people person they are good. It's a good atmosphere to get to know people. But as others have stated, with the advent of the Internet clubs are online now. I know before the Internet I was in computer clubs, but when the Internet started they slowly went down hill as far as participation. It all depends on you and what you enjoy. Best to try a couple out and see how you feel about it. I tried a couple myself, but I went on some drives with them and....well let's put it this way.....can you spell S L O W ? I like to drive fast and hard so that wasn't for me. Within the law you understand.

kenw

Joemesseman you are correct it helps if you are a people person. A club is like any group including family you are involved in. Some you like more than others some you tolerate. Some you will find become close friends and you will do things apart from the club. If you get involved it becomes part of you life, what you DO. There is something special about going somewhere with 8, 10 or more Corvettes in a line, all different colors. To see the look on peoples faces, especially kids.

I do enjoy Cars and Coffee events and attend several often. You do see lots of cars and talk to a lot of people which is enjoyable but not like a club.

I joined our club when I was 42 and I will be 60 this November I do not regret in any way my investment in this club, is it perfect no if for no other reason than I am in it. But I look forward every month to our meetings and hope to stay in the club and in a Corvette as long as I can crawl in and out.

My wife and I have been in long enough to see people get "to old" to continue and some have dropped out. Our club secretary's husband is losing his eyesight to macular desegregation. On our last overnight we hit a rainstorm and he was all over the road. We stopped and one of the members had his wife drive their car he drove Les's car for the remainder of the trip. That's what club members do.

Frosty

My wife and I just moved to a new area and I want to meet some people with similar interests or things in common. I see joining a club as a way to accomplish that.

Heidemarie

Exactly; If you want to meet like-minded vette people, then do this; we were fortunate to have and check out 2 clubs in our area prior to joining and decided that the Stuart Corvette Club (Founded in 1988 and Charter Member of NCM) met more of our needs/desires (1. Hosting 2 car shows /yr. fund raisers and benefit Corvette Shows) 2. Monthly events including area car shows,poker runs, picnics and several holiday parties, and one annual 3 day out of town stay in Daytona ) 3. Monthly Nightrider dinner run and various brunches/cars and coffee. 4. Bi-monthly Board meetings (which are open to all). Make sure your club of choice has also a good sponsor, who supports the club and gives discounts to members.
Mostly enjoy the new friends you meet.
Heidi
Save the Wave

Frosty

Thanks Heidi! Although I won't have my car until probably late December, we are attending the 14 September monthly dinner mtg of the Indian River Corvette club as that would be our "local". Will see how it goes. Your local club sounds great!

newskatercat

Club wife, and I belong to, Corvettes On The Gulf, offer monthly caravans, dinners, and meetings. Sponsor two car shows, and participate in parades. None of which is mandatory!

pickleseimer

I have a low tolerance for anything political, and clubs eventually wade into that in some form. Clubs by their nature have schedules and calendars and I can't seem to plan anything more than a week out.

I prefer the two-rule philosophy of the informal get-together. There is a couple groups of a half-dozen or so that get together when we feel like it, usually at a number of different places - sometimes breakfast, sometimes a cruise-in or show, maintenance parties, or just sit around. Corvettes abound, but there is also a Shelby GT500, a few rock-crawlers, classics, and some eclectic stuff. A lot of times the place is in my shop where there are lifts and plenty of room to spread out, grill a few burgers or other road-kill someone brought, tell some tall stories, watch the sun go down, and leave when they want. Good stuff.

That being said, there is one club in the area that puts on three great shows per year in terrific venues. Although I have no interest in joining, I make sure we support their events by showing up, paying their entry fees, participate in the raffles, silent auctions etc.

Mike Campbell

I belonged to "argueably" one of the oldest and largest Corvette Clubs up in PA, the Corvette Club of Delaware Valley. It had at that time over 600 members and we went on cruises, dinners, shows and road & drag racing.
They did a Club show every year which was the oldest show in the country to raise money for several charities. They also sponsor a Scholarship program for a student every year to attend a credited tech school for Mechanics & Technicians. My wife, when we first got together joined to meet new lifelong friends which we still have to this day. Then we moved to Florida and I joined the Corvettes of Naples Club, the largest in the state. We do cruises, and shows and several events every year and donate money and time to several charities. We also made friends down here as well. The point is, like everything else, Corvette clubs do have cliques and people who can tend to be a little stuck on themselves. But I've found that we get to do things we'd never would have done on our own and learned where to get our cars serviced, along with all sorts of useful information. IMHO it's a great way to open up all sorts of opportunities. Just saying.

Geewhiz

I joined a local club for one year. Super nice people. Generous and raised money for charities. They loved their corvettes but I joined to see if members worked on their cars and helped each other that way. The social aspect is fine but I wanted more than just cars shows, trips, and ice cream. Meetings were always about funding events and charity. Again, that's wonderful and I supported that too. Just nobody wanted to turn a wrench.

Frosty

In addition to camaraderie, I am also interested in tech sessions.

Mike Mercury

when joining Corvette clubs back in the 20th century, sadly too often it went like this:

you: "I'd like to join your Corvette Club..."

club Pres: points to another member, "give him your dues". points to another member, "and this person will tell you when & where to volunteer to work our events"

club Pres then turns around to his VP/board member and whispers: "we got another sucker to do our menial tasks for us"



Seems lately this scenario is happening less and less.




.

stillcrazy

My wife and I are members of the Santa Clarita Calif. corvette club . We have a blast with our club. Our club does two things really well, we drive and we eat. We do have dues and requirements but we love the fun and meeting people and traveling to new places and seeing new things.