No Rotary Segregation at Rotorstock 7

[clive]

Over the last few weeks we have seen one of the three Rotary clubs moot a possible destabilisation of Rotorstock 7, our Rotary community’s Showcase European main event which maybe possibly be the last of its type as unbeknown to many a review is taken each year as to the direction of the event and also if it is to continue at all.

I have spoken to many people over the last few weeks from all three clubs to gain more of an up toi date insight into “our” Rotary community.

One of the most striking things has been to find that people don’t realise that MRC not only originated Rotorstock but also that Rotorstock is not a Santa Pod event it is actually an MRC event that MRC’s stages to show the Japanese car community the wonderful Rotary cars that we have within our Rotary community for not only looks but also performance.

Going right back to the start of Mazdarotaryclub Glenn, who was co-founder of MRC  and myself wanted a Sevenstock style event, but one that moved on some sort of race track.

I had always said that MRC would be a members club and so in spite of the fact that both of us would have liked RS1 at a race track the members voted overwhelmingly for a Drag Strip and so a Drag Strip it was.

As many of you know Shakespeare County Raceway was approached and it became evident that so we could play and race our Rotaries we would need it to be supported by other Jap clubs because our community collectively simply does not have enough cars to hold a standalone event, just for us.

Very quickly we also knew that as a small club we needed money (the root of all evil) but more of that later.

The easiest way and only way for a small club like MRC to support such a large style event was to get traders on board and so we did, however not only to support Rotorstock but also to help fund things that our members wanted to do with their cars, like track days, free days out, discounted tickets where possible and dyno days etc.

It is at this point I will tell you that from talking to people this is where our biggest problems lies and why aparently people decided to try and instigate a split through our community at Rotorstock 7.

Here are the accusations in bullet point order.

1. Rotorstock and Mazdarotary club are two different things.
2. Clive and Lisa must get money out of Rotorstock
3. Clive and Lisa must get money out of Mazdarotary club
4. Clive uses Mazdarotary club to get all his business for his company.
5. Our moderation is all wrong because we don’t let guests carry out group buys.
6.   Too many rules within MRC

Let’s start with point 6 as it started this latest episode:-

When Mazdarotary club formed, Glenn and I set NO rules as to what was allowed and not allowed and we found our members formed a forum that had no porn or swearing, in other words MRC members made their own rules and so thereafter we try and enforce these rules

The upside is people can view MRC all over the world without fear of getting the sack due to porn or horrible images that can be found elsewhere  should anyone wishes.

It is important that the club keeps a certain income level or it would not be able to assist its members or fund Rotorstock, however if a full club member wishes to carry out a one off sale through a group buy then this is O/K, however if this becomes a source of income because the person wants to carry out more group buys then they would need to become at least a private trader
 
It was put to me that if you were only sounding things out then “what’s the harm”? The harm is that then 5, 10, 15 companies could join up and see what they can sell then it takes no working out that the traders who pay would soon disappear leaving no funds to either help full members or the further Rotary community here and around the world as there would end up being no money even to operate the forum.

I am pleased to say that I have spoken with one of the people who became so upset about the above that he wanted a separate stand at Rotorstock, and he can now see why MRC needs money from traders, however I am sadly unable to talk to each and every one of you on the phone to explain MRC’s position.

Now to point 1:-

Rotorstock.com is owned by Mazdarotaryclub and we redirect this to Santa Pod’s website.

When I sat at the table to discuss RS3 going to Santa Pod I was asked what the club wanted financially and I told them that we were not looking for money as this had always been about getting our event out there and not about money, we just wanted them to operate the event on our behalf and whatever they make is Santa Pods’.

The club nor I have ever received any monies from Rotorstock and never will; indeed Mazdarotaryclub has to book the Rotary stand like any other club.

We have so far spent out £1800 to secure the stand for the Rotary community for RS7 and with the extra ticket discounts we give to our members we expect to lose around £600 from the club’s funds which is why we need traders to supplement Rotorstock and other things that Mazdarotaryclub funds for its members.

I will now deal with the serious allegations in numbers 2, 3 and 4
Mazdarotaryclub is probably in a unique position in that it is a car club that has been investigated for any potential wrong doings by a government agency!

Two years ago Gary Marks complained officially to the Trading Standards Agency and a four week investigation took place about anything and everything about me, my company and the club with the accusation that I was gleaning monies from the club in many different ways.

I went through four weeks of not being even able to tell even our moderators that this was happening as they found out why and how MRC was constructed, what happened with money etc, even sending our websites away to some government department for checking.

While other company’s and people not connected with MRC warned me that  the Trading Standards Agency always find something to at least comment about  and at least make recommendations on something,  just to exert themselves

They ended their inquiry into any irregularities with NO action being taken anywhere so the next time false accusations are made anywhere please contact Glenn Jermy, who is the Principle Trading Standards Officer at Kent’s West Malling office, in other words you don’t even need to take my word for it that the things being said are not only untrue, deeply offensive to myself and Lisa but also libellous.  
 
With all this now said going back to the top, we have never had any segregation at any previous Rotorstock events, so let’s have a good happy potentially last Rotorstock and Showcase our great cars with our wonderful engines together.

I am pleased to say that FDUK have not booked a stand after a poll was carried out asking its members where it wanted to park.

The biggest reason for NO segregation from Rotorstock 1 onwards has always been that a lot of people are in more than one Rotary Club and to make them choose one over the other in my eyes is just plain wrong.

[Rex_FTW]

Nice post Clive
 
Just my personal opinion... I have seen moderators jump on guests in the past.
 
I think this alienates guests and stops them from joining.
 
Moderators are meant to be fair and unbias, however this can\'t be said for all the moderators on here.
 
Good luck with RS7.

[peterwolds]

Nice post Clive
 
Just my personal opinion... I have seen moderators jump on guests in the past.
 
I think this alienates guests and stops them from joining.
 
Moderators are meant to be fair and unbias, however this can\'t be said for all the moderators on here.
 
Good luck with RS7.

sorry dont agree about mods as they act in agreement with the others (behind the scenes) before making judgements except if its likely to cause a quick bun fight then they act instantly & post in the mods section for discusion.some guests behave in an inflamatory way presumably in some cases to cause an argument.
agree nice post from clive.

[leggysrx7]

My experience of this forum has been nothing but 1st class. I am a member of around 10-15 different forums and this one is by far the most helpful and inviting with all members whether they be established or newbies being treated with the same respect.

No question i ever asked was answered by a \'here we go again\', or use the search option or whatever it may be. This forum has been a great source of information thoroughout the 5/6 years i\'ve been a user/member and guest.

Hoping to come back into the rotary world very shortly.

Clive/Lisa and all the mods keep up the good work :mmmm

Leggy

[Rex_FTW]

sorry dont agree about mods as they act in agreement with the others (behind the scenes) before making judgements except if its likely to cause a quick bun fight then they act instantly & post in the mods section for discusion.some guests behave in an inflamatory way presumably in some cases to cause an argument.
agree nice post from clive.

Fair enough if that\'s your opinion.
 
I never said all moderators.. as some act fairly in all cases.
 
However there are some that do not.
 
Just wanted to clear that point up.

[clive]

.
 
Just wanted to clear that point up.

No worries because we actually need feed back to help us get it right as well because all we end up with is untrue Chinese whispers that I have addressed above otherwise ,

None of us will ever get it right all the time and with moderation many times these are dealt on an individual basis, collectively.

I will say that in cases where trading is involved Kevin, our Chairman ultimately handles these, as in many cases it would be unethical for me to be involved,

[fil_auto]

Great post and read was that... Nice to know a little more of the history behind RS and MRC....:Thumbs-up

Personally, I opted / voted for one big rotary stand as IMO that\'s what it\'s all about!

Looking forward to the viewing spectacle too! Should be amazing! :cheers :burnout

[M@r]{]

Hi Clive

There are a number of members of FDUK that are not members of MRC.  In some cases are suspended or banned I believe?  Therefore unable to use the shop?  

Can you tell me the best way to go about these guys getting tickets and stand passes?

I\'ll then pass this info on

Cheers

[clive]

Hello Mark,

Thankyou for offering to relay info back to FDUK.

You will find that anyone can access the on-line shop above without even being registered on MRC,
 
But to try and help even more, if you copy the link below it will take anyone straight into the shop for Rotorstock tickets

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/shop2/shopping_cart.php

[M@r]{]

Thats great, thanks for clarification Clive, i\'ll pass the info on to our members  :Thumbsup!

[Dan Norton]

I will now deal with the serious allegations in numbers 2, 3 and 4
Mazdarotaryclub is probably in a unique position in that it is a car club that has been investigated for any potential wrong doings by a government agency!

Two years ago Gary Marks complained officially to the Trading Standards Agency and a four week investigation took place about anything and everything about me, my company and the club with the accusation that I was gleaning monies from the club in many different ways.

I went through four weeks of not being even able to tell even our moderators that this was happening as they found out why and how MRC was constructed, what happened with money etc, even sending our websites away to some government department for checking.

While other company’s and people not connected with MRC warned me that  the Trading Standards Agency always find something to at least comment about  and at least make recommendations on something,  just to exert themselves

They ended their inquiry into any irregularities with NO action being taken anywhere so the next time false accusations are made anywhere please contact Glenn Jermy, who is the Principle Trading Standards Officer at Kent’s West Malling office, in other words you don’t even need to take my word for it that the things being said are not only untrue, deeply offensive to myself and Lisa but also libellous.  
 
With all this now said going back to the top, we have never had any segregation at any previous Rotorstock events, so let’s have a good happy potentially last Rotorstock and Showcase our great cars with our wonderful engines together.

I just dont know how you put up with it and find the motivation to carry on with it all Clive.

That above, is horrendous!

[TiddlesRX7]

I totally agree with one big Rotary stand. The more cars the better (saves walking so far!).
On a side note Clive, How big is the stand this year? as last year it was as you know packed full. I was one of the lucky ones that managed to get parked at one end so could move the barrier to get the car out and onto the track. If there had been another stand next to ours I\'d have been stuck and got no strip time. Im just trying to think ahead as this year there may be more people wanting to be in and out.

Ade

[probedb]

I\'m with Ade on this, are you going to make sure cars can get out? I tend to get there early but leave mid afternoon so I don\'t want to have to wait until others go before I can go?

Maybe a bit of marshalling? But looking forward to this as I missed last year!

[clive]

I suggested a revised layout this year that will give a bigger stand, I have seen the map and asked for a couple of alterations.

Hopefully I will have the Rotorstock map back to post up tomorrow.

[clive]

I just dont know how you put up with it and find the motivation to carry on with it all Clive.

That above, is horrendous!

OJ is to blame !

After the first Rotorstock  I did not have any desire to hold organise another, then OJ wrote me an e-mail !

I had worked with the promoter of the track for 8 months so that Rotorstock would be the first meeting in Europe to stage proper "head to head" Drag Racing for Japanese cars and had done my best to get all the fastest together for their first Championship.

Come race day the promoter backed out, afraid that he may lose his race license if he ran the "race" meeting, so MRC did !!.

We lined the cars up and held our own eliminations but without a mike the crowd got ugly as they did not know what was going on plus among other things I even had three guys who wanted to fight me because they could not run their Volvo at a Jap only meet, we even had them block the entrance till the promoter paid them off.

After having three days of crap at the track I then came home to find people moaning and groaning selfishly that they were not catered for personally, indeed you will even find tonight on FDUK that people still use Rotorstock to grind the Axe for their own personal agendas.

NO I did not want another Rotorstock !

Then two or three weeks later OJ (Archbish) wrote a long e-mail explaining that I had missed something crutial.

Where I had spent 3 days dealing with problem after problem to make sure Rotorstock could function and only seen crap, the bit I missed was lots and lots of people really really enjoying Rotorstock, and so here we are 6 years on going into another Rotorstock !

At last years Rotorstock I thanked OJ profusely for the last 6 years of pain, suffering and general crap that Lisa and myself have endured to try and bring the Rotary community the best event outside of  Aus, NZ and Japan !!

It is far too simple for some that we have put on this event to make people happy, no hidden agendas, no making money, no nothing, just to see people going home having enjoyed Rotorstock was enough.