Skwerly
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Ash Fork, AZ (Freedom)
Alright folks, I’ve accepted a nomination for Chapter President. I wouldn’t say I’m running, per se, but since I was nominated, I’ll do my best to shed some light on what I’d like to see.
More official
events. I like SoCalFest and GoatFest as much as the next Jeep enthusiast, but two events per year for a club this size might be too little. Maybe not, but I’ve always sort of thought so. Throughout my years as a member, I have been on tons of individual runs, as well, and they are a lot of fun. I’m a night owl and prefer the afternoon runs, but I have made it to my share of morning stuff, as well. 
More meet and greets. I have set up quite a few local meet and greets here in Yucaipa, and sometimes we get a lot of folks and sometimes we don’t, but people always show. Of course, I don’t have to set them up here in town, but it’s pretty easy for me that way. I can set them up for Redlands, SB, Foncracka, wherever. Just let me know and I can try and get things going.
I did NOT make it out to Goatfest this year, and I wasn’t happy about it, one single bit. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m all about a good time in the desert. I just had to miss this one because, admittedly, I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was. I was really, really looking forward to going. Such is life, I guess. Next time.
A little about me:
I’ve been a member for what – five years now? – and I love the club. It has literally allowed me to meet most of my current friends, and I’ve learned so much through being a member that it’s ridiculous. I have had some awesome experiences with the club, and I’m rarely in any disputes or arguments. I’m loud around the campfires, I drive my rig hard, and I have a general love of life that keeps me going strong.
I’m 36 years old, and work as a professional freelance writer and author for various platforms and companies. I really enjoy my job, and I’m grateful every day to be able to do something so cool. I own my own home in Yucaipa and I love, love to off-road my Jeep, which is the usual lifted/locked/winched variety. Nothing special, but it trails like a goat.
I would love to be able to help out more with events such as SoCalFest, which is my favorite gathering of the year. Beer and friends are everywhere, stories are told, trails are run, campfires are made and desecrated. I love every second of it.
I have been to a few AAT meetings and greatly believe in keeping the trail systems open, clean, and safe. Well, as safe as they can be. I do not drink and drive on the trail, I do not litter, and I know how to work my rig. I also know most of the legal and illegal wheeling spots locally so if you are wondering, ask me; chances are I’ll be able to tell you.
I figured I’d answer Josh’s questions in the other candidate thread as directly as I know how, so here goes:
1. Why do you feel you are qualified for the Chapter BOD positions?
I’m qualified because I know and understand this club. I have also been an administrator on a gaming site for years, so I know how to keep an even and steady hand when working out problems or planning things. No, a gaming site isn’t a Jeep club, but they have more in common than you might think. The principles of being fair, polite, knowledgeable, and trustworthy all come into play in either arena. Not only have I been a member of for five years or so, but also a somewhat high-profile member: most everyone knows me because I attend a LOT of events and functions. Also, I’m loud as a jet engine after a few beers.
2. What changes would you commit to and deliver on to improve the chapter?
Well, as I said earlier, I’d like at least ONE more official chapter event of some sort. I’d like more involvement from the members, and I’d like more knowledge passed around freely. There are definitely right and wrong ways to do things, and I happen to know most all of them, at least when it comes to Jeeps or wheeling. I try to keep to the right ways. All in all, I feel the club is run spectacularly, and I would be honored to give a helping hand wherever it was needed.
3. What do you like/dislike about the chapter?
The SoCal chapter has always been known for being brutally active. Some other chapters go days and days without a single post, much less an event. We here have wheeling trips quite often, a lot of board interaction and a lot of cool members, as long as their screen name isn’t Casual.
As to what I dislike? Honestly, not much. There are a few high-and-mighty voices in here that get annoying from time to time but again, the bigger the chapter, the more chances there are for the know-it-alls to surface. It’s no big deal. They are on every forum, no matter what the subject matter. I would say my biggest dislike is that we only have two official events every year. Yea, more events will be harder on the pocketbook, but think about how much more fun!
4. What do you feel are the biggest issues with the chapter and what plan do you have to address them?
Really, there aren’t many, and that’s a large part of the reason why I’d like on board. This chapter is pretty professional, by and large, and it has a great cross-section of members, both regular and BOD. I would like to see more red-letter members, and I would like to see WHY the ones who are black-letters don’t want to pay for a membership. Reasons are important to me. I would be willing to bet I could up membership by quite a bit. Noticeably.
5. Do you have time to commit to the position?
Yes. I work for myself and as such, can take days off almost whenever I want. Sure, I have deadlines and I have to be places at certain times, but if planned correctly I can get stuff done. The largest problem for me, as it is for most of us, is the money to make it to events. Jeeps aren’t exactly 50MPG vehicles, and camping gets expensive. Still, I make it to a very large percentage of club activities, and plan to do so in the future, as well. I may not always be in my rig, but I’m there.
Also, I already work on the web, and so I have access to for almost 100% of my work day. As such, I can be a presence.
Anyhow, this thread is more of a ramble, as it turns out, but I realize there are a lot of new users to the club who may not be familiar with me, and so I thought I’d get general stuff out of the way first.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in this thread; I definitely have answers.
More official
events. I like SoCalFest and GoatFest as much as the next Jeep enthusiast, but two events per year for a club this size might be too little. Maybe not, but I’ve always sort of thought so. Throughout my years as a member, I have been on tons of individual runs, as well, and they are a lot of fun. I’m a night owl and prefer the afternoon runs, but I have made it to my share of morning stuff, as well. More meet and greets. I have set up quite a few local
meet and greets here in Yucaipa, and sometimes we get a lot of folks and sometimes we don’t, but people always show. Of course, I don’t have to set them up here in town, but it’s pretty easy for me that way. I can set them up for Redlands, SB, Foncracka, wherever. Just let me know and I can try and get things going. I did NOT make it out to Goatfest this year, and I wasn’t happy about it, one single bit. Anyone who knows me knows that I’m all about a good time in the desert. I just had to miss this one because, admittedly, I wasn’t as prepared as I thought I was. I was really, really looking forward to going. Such is life, I guess. Next time.
A little about me:
I’ve been a
member for what – five years now? – and I love the club. It has literally allowed me to meet most of my current friends, and I’ve learned so much through being a member that it’s ridiculous. I have had some awesome experiences with the club, and I’m rarely in any disputes or arguments. I’m loud around the campfires, I drive my rig hard, and I have a general love of life that keeps me going strong. I’m 36 years old, and work as a professional freelance writer and author for various platforms and companies. I really enjoy my job, and I’m grateful every day to be able to do something so cool. I own my own home in Yucaipa and I love, love to off-road my Jeep, which is the usual lifted/locked/winched variety. Nothing special, but it trails like a goat.
I would love to be able to help out more with events such as SoCalFest, which is my favorite gathering of the year. Beer and friends are everywhere, stories are told, trails are run, campfires are made and desecrated. I love every second of it.
I have been to a few AAT meetings and greatly believe in keeping the trail systems open, clean, and safe. Well, as safe as they can be
. I do not drink and drive on the trail, I do not litter, and I know how to work my rig. I also know most of the legal and illegal wheeling spots locally so if you are wondering, ask me; chances are I’ll be able to tell you. I figured I’d answer Josh’s questions in the other candidate thread as directly as I know how, so here goes:
1. Why do you feel you are qualified for the Chapter BOD positions?
I’m qualified because I know and understand this club. I have also been an administrator on a gaming site for years, so I know how to keep an even and steady hand when working out problems or planning things. No, a gaming site isn’t a Jeep club, but they have more in common than you might think. The principles of being fair, polite, knowledgeable, and trustworthy all come into play in either arena. Not only have I been a member of
for five years or so, but also a somewhat high-profile member: most everyone knows me because I attend a LOT of events and functions. Also, I’m loud as a jet engine after a few beers. 2. What changes would you commit to and deliver on to improve the chapter?
Well, as I said earlier, I’d like at least ONE more official chapter event of some sort. I’d like more involvement from the members, and I’d like more knowledge passed around freely. There are definitely right and wrong ways to do things, and I happen to know most all of them, at least when it comes to Jeeps or wheeling. I try to keep to the right ways. All in all, I feel the club is run spectacularly, and I would be honored to give a helping hand wherever it was needed.
3. What do you like/dislike about the chapter?
The SoCal chapter has always been known for being brutally active. Some other chapters go days and days without a single post, much less an event. We here have wheeling trips quite often, a lot of board interaction and a lot of cool members, as long as their screen name isn’t Casual.
As to what I dislike? Honestly, not much. There are a few high-and-mighty voices in here that get annoying from time to time but again, the bigger the chapter, the more chances there are for the know-it-alls to surface. It’s no big deal. They are on every forum, no matter what the subject matter. I would say my biggest dislike is that we only have two official events every year. Yea, more events will be harder on the pocketbook, but think about how much more fun!
4. What do you feel are the biggest issues with the chapter and what plan do you have to address them?
Really, there aren’t many, and that’s a large part of the reason why I’d like on board. This chapter is pretty professional, by and large, and it has a great cross-section of members, both regular and BOD. I would like to see more red-letter members, and I would like to see WHY the ones who are black-letters don’t want to pay for a membership. Reasons are important to me. I would be willing to bet I could up membership by quite a bit. Noticeably.
5. Do you have time to commit to the position?
Yes. I work for myself and as such, can take days off almost whenever I want. Sure, I have deadlines and I have to be places at certain times, but if planned correctly I can get stuff done. The largest problem for me, as it is for most of us, is the money to make it to events. Jeeps aren’t exactly 50MPG vehicles, and camping gets expensive. Still, I make it to a very large percentage of club activities, and plan to do so in the future, as well. I may not always be in my rig, but I’m there.
Also, I already work on the web, and so I have access to
for almost 100% of my work day. As such, I can be a presence. Anyhow, this thread is more of a ramble, as it turns out, but I realize there are a lot of new users to the club who may not be familiar with me, and so I thought I’d get general stuff out of the way first.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in this thread; I definitely have answers.
