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START A CLUB!
Forming or joining an ATV club may be the
best
thing you’ll ever do for your riding enjoyment
 Let’s
face it. The main driving force behind virtually
every riding area that is newly opened (or saved
from closing) are well-organized groups of riders.
The truth is, each of us on our own doesn’t
really have much of a voice when it comes to
the complicated and drawn-out process of opening
and saving off-highway riding areas. But as
a group, whether through coalitions, state riding
organizations or as local clubs, we have a strong,
unified voice that the movers and shakers in
our communities tend to listen to.
So all right, that’s one very important reason
to join a club. However, there are many more
fun aspects to signing up with the Tri-County
Trail Blazers and meeting every second Wednesday
at the Methodist Church. By meeting and interacting
with other local riders you’ll get the scoop
on all the best ride spots in your neck of the
woods, the best places to camp, the tastiest
Friday Nite Fish Fry on the outskirts of Podunckville.
Plus, ATV Clubs are always planning weekend
trips with groups of people that nearly always
make the riding experience more fun. Even during
the off-season, many ATV Club members have occasional
get-togethers just for the heck of it. There’s
even the aspect of having a huge pool of off-highway
information from the club members such as which
aftermarket parts work best for your quad, who
makes the best trailer, and what’s the latest
hot setup for pickups and RVs.
ARE CLUB RIDERS HAPPIER RIDERS?
From my experience with literally hundreds of
ATV riders over the past 18 years, I’ve found
that the riders who are involved in local clubs
tend to get the most satisfaction from their
riding experiences. There is however, a little
of the old chicken and the egg question here-
which came first; do riders who are really crazy
about their sport tend to join clubs, or are
they drawn even further into the sport by joining
one. I imagine the answer is it’s a little of
both. But I do feel certain about one thing
here. Though I don’t have any statistics to
back me up, from what I’ve seen over the years,
ATV riders who are active in their clubs definitely
seem to go riding more often, have more fun
and more friends, and make an extremely positive
impact on the future of <their> sport by always
practicing and preaching impeccable off-highway
ethics.
BUT ISN’T THERE SOME WORK INVOLVED?
OK, all the fun stuff about being a club
member does involve a bit of work if you want
to reap all of the benefits. Sure, someone has
to be Secretary, Treasurer, President, etc.,
and someone has to make the campground reservations
and be in charge of sign-up, etc., but with
a large group working together as one it’s probably
no more time consuming than planning a big trip
for your family all by yourself. And to keep
your trails open, there will probably be trail
cleaning and trail maintenance days, and auction
fundraisers or carwashes, but hey, those usually
turn into real fun family activities.
WALKING YOU THROUGH STEP-BY-STEP
 So
now that you’re ready to join an existing club,
or start one on your own, where do you begin?
Well, there just happens to be an organization
that will do everything in their power to help
you in this quest, and they’ll do it all for
free. The National Off-Highway Vehicle Conservation
Council (also known as NOHVCC [pronounced No-Vac])
has a stated goal of “Creating a Positive Future
for Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation”. At the
very top of their list is the task of getting
as many riders as possible to join or form clubs.
Why is this? Because they understand what a
big boost every single member is for the future
of our sport. (Plus, I guess, down deep, they
just plain want you to have more fun!)
Joining an already established club is of course
the easiest route for you to help accomplish
this goal. Virtually every state has a NOHVCC
representative who has a master of list of all
the dirt bike and ATV clubs in their state with
phone numbers and e-mail contacts. To find the
club nearest to where you live, simply call
the NOHVCC 800 number listed at the end of this
article and they’ll get you hooked up with your
state rep. There’s also a list of the clubs
on the website Of course not all of us will
be fortunate enough to have an established club
all ready to take us in for $20-$30 a year.
In that case, you and your riding pals may want
to start your own club from scratch. NOHVCC
is very prepared to help you with that task
as well, by offering a proven, and well-used
Off-Highway Vehicle Club Start-Up Kit through
the mail (once again, free of course). In it
you’ll find easy-to-understand, step-by-step
instructions on how to get your club up and
running, as well as tips on maintaining a strong
volunteer infrastructure which is the key to
the more successful and long-lived clubs.
CLUB START-UP RUNDOWN
In the NOHVCC Off-Highway Vehicle Club Start-Up
Kit you’ll find all the details on how to accomplish
the following steps to getting your own club
up and running:
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Getting the word out about your first meeting.
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Setting an agenda for the first meeting
which includes things like introductions,
discussions, nominations/volunteers, identification
of positions which need to be filled, identification
of member’s talents that can be utilized,
education, and refreshments and social time.
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Setting an agenda for the first Board of
Directors meeting, which includes things
like job descriptions, dues, legal issues,
insurance and bylaws.
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Parliamentary procedures.
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Volunteer time records.
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Putting together a newsletter.
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Procedures for cash disbursements and receipts.
If all this sounds a bit intimidating, no need
to worry because you’ll also have personal access
to your own state NOHVCC rep who is available
to help you throughout the entire process if
you happen to hit any snags. Eventually of course,
your state ATV Club will want your new organization
under their umbrella as well, which means by
then you will have accomplished a job well done.
AS EASY AS ONE PHONE CALL
To boost your riding experience up to a new
fun-filled, exciting level by joining or forming
an ATV Club, simply call the National Off-Highway
Vehicle Conservation Council for all the info.
The phone number for their main office in Sheboygan,
Wisconsin is 800-348-6487 and they are also
easy to reach by e-mail at
trailhead@nohvcc.org
NOHVCC also has a website with lots of info
on many other off-highway topics such as building
and maintaining a ride park and trail systems,
dealing with land managers and local politicians
and legislators, where to ride materials, access
to a national network of ATV activists, youth
programs, training programs, safety issues and
education, etc. The address for the website
is
http://www.nohvc.org/.
Good luck, and when you get your new club up
and running drop us a line and we’ll run the
news here on ATV Source!
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