John - I'm willing to help out.  If anyone else is interested in being part of a group to discuss this, please let us know.

John, is there a Membership Committee, or a Director responsible for Membership growth / retension, because I'm amazed that you seem to be the only one discussing this issue, and you are a Director based in England, and here I am in Australia, not sure how I can help, other than to throw ideas around, it looks like Cat Yellow is possibly in Vancouver, is there no U.S. based Director or Committee member responsible for this area of the Club?

I'm curious, why don't we see ACMOC Directors on here regularly, other than Wombat from time to time? The significant loss of U.S. based members is the biggest threat to this Clubs future right now, and this problem didn't just happen, there has been a steady rush for the exit doors for several years now, and no one has taken ownership of the problem till you stuck your head up.

What I've noticed the past few years, is that the Club has really struggled to even get potential Directors to put their hands up in the USA, and as a result, nearly half the ACMOC BOD is made up of Directors outside the USA, yet international financial members make up what, maybe 20% of the Club?

We have a President and a second Director based here in Australia, a Director (you) based in England, and a Director (Nathan) based in Canada, that's 40% of the BOD, plus you have Neil, a great guy from New Zealand, living Stateside, doing a lot of hard yards behind the scenes on our computer system, that's a lot of foreigners pulling on the oars.

Why aren't the 2,000 plus financial members based in the USA putting their hands up, to be involved, that's what I don't understand, maybe you can educate me. Perhaps that is what explains why nearly half the ACMOC Chapters haven't put a report into the last 2 magazines, many of the Yanks are giving up on helping their Club, other than the few regulars like Rome KG, Juiceman and D4Jim?

There's a thread just been started about offering ACMOC in languages other than English, and in my humble opinion, while we have so many of our traditional U.S. based members walking out the door, we owe it to the one's still with us, to sort this mess out as a priority, so forget trying to add extra complexity to this critical issue, that's a distraction you don't need right now.

The next ACMOC President, if Covid 19 allows, needs to get out amongst the U.S. based Chapters just to see what on earth is going on, to look people in the eye, and shake hands, and encourage them to step up, because if all the Australians hadn't become financial members the past 6 or 7 years, ACMOC would be bankrupt.

I already spend too much time on the phone, and computer each day, talking antique Cats, I'm sure not interested in even more phone calls and emails every day to drive me nuts, but John, if you need help, I'll do what I can, but I'll tell you one thing I learnt from living and doing business in the the USA for 6 years, Yanks might really enjoy having a beer and a BBQ with a non Yank, but they sure don't like being told how to suck eggs by a foreigner, so the path forward needs to be chosen with care, and respect.
Mike

this happens in all clubs and volunteer organisations the sumwunelse mentality that that foreign bloke sumwunelse will put there hand up and do the work. sadly new sumwunelse's dont arrive. and it ends up being the same group of people for yrs and eventually they get burned out adn loose interest or simply quit.

and then everyone runs around like headless chooks for a while yelling waddawedo, waddawedo till it gets figured out or the group goes bust.

I have seen it happen with a church youth group i was involved with mrs chappel was our secretary for all the age groups and her hubby was the church board secretary (we all new he was in name only she did all the work other than attend the meetings and take notes) so when they left the church due to ill health. it was a mad rush to find people to step in to a role she had filled for 30yrs.

I saw it happen with the machinery club that dad founded. he was steering committee president, founding president and then held that role for 7 yrs the same people were treasurer and secretary, we also had a meeting chairman for a number of yrs. when it came to the 8th AGM they all stood up and the chair announced we are not accepting your nominations this year we have done enough, we're going outside so you can decide freely among yourselves who will stand for the positions or i will raise a motion to close the club. well it put the cat among the pigeons and we had new committee members for the other positions and they convinced dad to stand for another year.

maybe to solve the issue of the same group of people we need to have a limit on terms like the US does for president, say no one is allowed to hold any position on the board for more than 3yrs after another 3 yrs they can stand again this way the club gets fresh blood on the committee and we don't have people suffering burn out so much and just simply phoning it in.

and yes part of the solution is probably to get a committee member or two from the continental US

and i second the idea of a director being the membership officer or perhaps that could be a separate appointee and they report to the board.

and heres a fund raising idea what about a suppliers directory put out by the club and the suppliers pay a small annual fee to advertise in the directory you could sign up the dealers and those that make reproduction bits and so on

Mike - I'm in the US, not Vancouver.

It looks like Virginia then, apparently one of the nicest States in the USA, appreciate you being part of the conversation and possible solution.

This is the eternall problem with no easy answer. My 2 cents
Put on the best possible display at as many old machinery rallies as possible and don't just sit there in your own little world. Talk to the visitors ask them if they have a machine share knowledge offer them a cuppa and a chair introduce them to other members ask what area they come from. Don't be narrow minded if they have another make.I have good friends from a very wide area of different makes of tractors. If I find something I think would be of interest I let them know and more than one Caterpillar has come my way through friends that collect other makes.
Final important point; don't ignore their other half if they have one, they pull strings behind the scenes and most make excellent members as well.

Hi, Folks.
To what wimmera farmer said, I would add, and don't forget the youngsters - of BOTH genders - either. NONE of us are getting any younger and they will be the future of the club if it is to continue to have a future.

Try to organize events where the youngsters can get involved, things such as either going for a ride on a machine or 'ackshully' driving one under supervision, depending on age, etc.. Things like that tend to leave an 'indelible mark on at least some of their young minds.

Just my 0.02.

maybe add a forum heading for other brands of equipment or for trucks with cat engines?

I have lurked on this site on and off for a few years, my dad had a few D2's and a D4 and I always had an affinity for the machines. I recently decided to acquire the D4D I posted and am quite happy to be the next caretaker of that machine. From what I have observed, the forum contributors are polite and genuinely helpful, definitely keep in that way. My thoughts on growing membership from a new member perspective are as follows:

Add pages to the site with machine-specific information, basic specs, weights, blade, winch, and other options for the machine. I would also recommend publishing operating/maintenance tips from the experts here and think about video for that too. People are googling to find info on these old Cats, this is a place where they should be able to get that info.
As copyright allows, publish images of old brochures, advertising, etc. again, that is the kind of thing people "dig" when going down the rabbit hole.
Make Cats friendly for newbies. I'm talking basic stuff, how to start it, what the controls are and how they work, what not to do, what won't break it (and what will), checklist for putting an old machine back to work. What sounds are normal. A real-world commentary on undercarriage condition, for example, many of these old gals won't be put to a full working life out of retirement, what kind of wear is acceptable for a rig that will not do much more than take a spin around the "yard", and what you really need to work it at light/medium level.
Places around the country that can provide services and parts. Know a great independent shop that can turn bushings? Let's make a list, that would be helpful to a lot of people like me that may not want (or have the tools) to do it and don't have the connections that can help locate a good shop.
Tips on how to get your Cat hauled, for example to the show.
Restoration parts suppliers list.

These are just some thoughts, and all of them can be expanded, but if we think of the site as a source of information that helps people own and enjoy a Cat I think it would be received positively. My view is that there are a lot of people that would own a Cat but are intimidated by the prospect because they don't know where to start, I'm not there, but I am faaaar from an expert and have a lot to learn.

There is no criticism in my words, I'm new here and have not searched all the threads, etc. Just my first glance observations as a newbie myself. I'd also be happy to help in what way I can.

Kurt