For archival purposes.

[*insertusernamehere*]

Matt you said back in November that people should run for officers next year since the current ones won't get elected again.

Negative, bud. I know exactly who it was that said that, it wasn't me. I'm not sure if it's my place to just drop his name.

[rherold9]

But if I yell louder I win, right? *yells the loudest*. Am I doing it right? Haha
Matt I don't think the officers would not remember that and from who, but I don't even care about that now.

[rherold9]

So, back to the point of why there shouldn't be Co positions or new ones. Heard some valid points. Do other people have anything else to add in?

[*insertusernamehere*]

Yes, Aubrey said ryan needed to quit and we need to re-elect people. I actually defended ryan and said what you see. I told Aubrey to run for office he wants a shot.

[rherold9]

Anthony, that wasn't the post btw. There was one later and I don't think you were intending to defend me at all based on other messages. Please don't try to make yourself look better on the forums. So, can we get back on topic?

[Aubrey_IV]

I don't recall ever being serious except when Ryan rejoined the chat. I voiced my opinion but obviously didn't really want a re-election. Sorry if you thought I was serious Ryan and Anthony next time your gonna run your mouth do it straight to me and don't let me hear it from someone else.

[rherold9]

Well it's okay, like I said it doesn't matter though anymore. I don't even know why it got to this, but would like to hear people's thoughts on adding positions or doing co positions in the possible future

[Senor_Taylor]

Y'all are being ridiculous. Ryan, this is a toxic thread for you. Nothing good is going to come of you trying to get your point across here.

We'll see how to elections go, and have faith in the new officers to take all of the advice thrown their way this year into consideration.

[rherold9]

Y'all are being ridiculous. Ryan, this is a toxic thread for you. Nothing good is going to come of you trying to get your point across here.

We'll see how to elections go, and have faith in the new officers to take all of the advice thrown their way this year into consideration.

Oh I agree with you I don't see why this is even still a thread. Shouldn't have even been brought up imo as all it was going to do is cause issues. But, since it is here I'd like to discuss not argue and point finger blah blah blah crap and get actual points which Joey did well on and I tried to say my opinion earlier.

[JPolen01]

Ahhh yes. It has been some time since the last e-battle on the great forum. Carry on with it now. I'm just getting settled in.

I would like to give a shout out to Jake for bringing the thread back. Bravo sir

[Senor_Taylor]

Yeah, honestly, I trust Jake's judgement on this one.

[rherold9]

Ahhh yes. It has been some time since the last e-battle on the great forum. Carry on with it now. I'm just getting settled in.

I would like to give a shout out to Jake for bringing the thread back. Bravo sir

Lol seriously? What's even the point? Go do something else. I can definitely see what Kaan said with grumpy old Alumni with nothing better to do, but sit on here and cause problems. I thank the other alumni for being helpful though. It seems like a vicious cycle that should stop. If you really want students to communicate and be on here then show it. Don't try to prove some example on here for no reason and try to humiliate someone.

I'm still standing by my side on wanting to help MM. I will assist the officers the best I can and want to. I'm hoping to make the next year great for current MM. I'm done posting for tonight. Looking forward to the meeting next week for elections and wish the officers well.

[Aubrey_IV]

My name was mentioned you'd tried to look like a hero to Ryan lol. I can stay if I want and hears my voice I've been on the forum for 1 day and all I've found is everyone taking shots at anyone's ideas and trying to prove themselves better... This is the most drama filled group I've ever been in seriously need to learn how to take jokes and not look at everything so live or die like.

[Senor_Taylor]

You're in for a rough time, Aubrey

[Senor_Taylor]

You're in for a rough time, Aubrey

[ispoonwithmugen]

-1 Vote for Co-position. Pole Cat tried that with us and did nothing (sorry Jonny boy). It's useless and even if effectively carried out would add another communication hurdle, of which is already an exec problem. I say if you want to help out with whatever is needed be a current member and ask what you can do. Taylor did that exact thing when I was president and I delegated some tasks to him for the car show and he helped out and it worked out great.

[JPolen01]

Damn really? I don't even remember that. Was that like an advisor position? If I didn't do anything that's probably why I have no recollection!

[ispoonwithmugen]

Hahahahhahahahah :lol: Yeah man. It was similar to this position but I think you called it Co-VP/Advisor.

[Senor_Taylor]

-1 Vote for Co-position. Pole Cat tried that with us and did nothing (sorry Jonny boy). It's useless and even if effectively carried out would add another communication hurdle, of which is already an exec problem. I say if you want to help out with whatever is needed be a current member and ask what you can do. Taylor did that exact thing when I was president and I delegated some tasks to him for the car show and he helped out and it worked out great.

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


And yeah, Polen. Someone mentioned you and I was like "Who is this guy?" Then one time I saw you at D-hall and Sam pointed you out and that's the first and last time I ever saw you before the car show this year... and I still didn't introduce myself. Whoops.

[Jake]

Okay okay okay. I spent today in meetings, partially convincing a team of developers to do their jobs, and I'm not really in the mood to convince anyone here to do their (volunteered-for) job.

With that said, I think there are a few things to be addressed and a few things to be focused on.

1. Focus on where we are now, and where we can go... not how we got here
Look, we've had some great administrations and we've had some truly shitty administrations. This past year has not been either of the two. I think we have a crew of students who are excited about the year to come, and want to give what they can, and improve upon the past year or two as best they can. I think every thread in this sub-forum has some really great points about the year-in-review and how to improve, as well as some new ideas, so let's focus on that. Please and thank you.

2. But speaking of how we got here...
I think there has been a common theme with all of the "low point" or "less than stellar" administrations. I am not calling out the past year's officers in particular, but it's just something I've noticed. None of you are willing to ask aluMMni for any fucking help. There are some things you have to realize about running for one of these positions. I told the gang who was elected in after me/Joey/David/Cabell and they didn't take it to heart... and they largely were not successful.

So, the highlights of what to expect, and what is expected of you:

• Yes, this is an unpaid, volunteer position, but for the club to be truly successful, you must treat your position as a part-time job.
  
• You cannot sit around asking what everyone wants to do. My few years of leadership were successful because we all were enthusiasts who wanted to do things, so we'd coordinate and invite the club along. Someone's gotta want to do track weekends, or autocross, or a bang-up car show, or an off-road day, or whatthefuckever, because without that passion, you will not attract students in your wake.
  
• You have to be friends first. As an officer, it is your j-o-b to cultivate friendship. I don't care if you think someone is weird or doesn't fit in or LOLBMW or whatever your reason is for being cliquey. David Goodspeed, DJ, Ryan Thayer, Mike D'Amico and countless others made it their job to make all of my freshman/sophomore class feel extremely welcome and inclusive. They got me to come out of my shell, got me to every event before I even had a car, and made me feel like I had this group of 20-some insta-friends. That was a HUGE deal as a college freshman who came to JMU unsure of his interest in his marching band career, his major, or hot single women. And, well, see where I am now... it kinda worked out and that's why I'm so passionate that y'all not suck.
  
• Plan early and plan often. Those meetings the first week back to school are not really optional. Sit down, look at SCCA and NASA schedules, pick a car show date, and send an email the following week to students and alumni. I know some of you do not plan ahead much, but for those of us who are out of school, we live and die by our Outlook and Google calendars. I already know what I'm doing on December 4th.
  
• This club does not actively run itself. You must be invested and involved every day, every week. It doesn't have to be much, but you are one of four faces that the school, the students, the alumni, the race groups, and the Harrisonburg community will recognize as "running that car club thing." Live it up.

3. The elephant in the room.
So, why did I screen-shot Ryan's thread? And why did I post it again? Clearly I did it to provoke some discussion.

The thread stayed up on my phone when Joey and I were working on his M3. I screenshotted it because I couldn't believe someone would have the gall to post a seemingly-legitimate thread about running for an office, even one that didn't really exist, and then retreat and delete said thread the instant some actual, intelligent questions were asked of that individual and their past leadership, and their continued plans for leadership.

Look, I know you guys are students and you're all off in JMU-la-la-land where the beer is free, the women are gorgeous and "bad traffic" means it took you an extra 6 minutes to get to Copper Beech on a Friday night. But you have to be willing to face reality here. You have to be able to accept your failures and learn from them. You have to be willing to ask for advice, and take it, from those of us who have been there before. You have to recognize that when you get out of school and into a real-world job, your boss won't think everything you do is perfect and wonderful, and you can't sit there and tell him that in fact, you believe it still is. If you do not heed that advice, reality is going to smack you across the face like a dead fish the instant you start your first internship or job in the 9-to-5 world. And it's going to suck.

I don't hate anyone, I have really enjoyed seeing the club age and progress in the four (holy balls) years that I've been out of school. I respect every single person who has stepped up to the plate and led MM, because I've done it, and it's not easy. But some people pull it off better than others. Some are more "natural" leaders, whereas others have to learn as they go. And you can't fault a single one of us alumni for trying to help any of you grow or do things better. I'm turning some fairly competitive lap times at VIR and Summit... but when DJ or Cobetto or other seasoned drivers start chatting me up and then offer some coaching in my car, I thank them for the offer and eventually get them to ride shotgun and offer some advice. I don't get all huffy and walk away. I know that I could be running a 2:05 lap at VIR and still get good advice from whoever rode with me.

This thread was posted because 1) I care about the continued success of MM and 2) I fully expect past and future officers to be held accountable for their actions. Let this be a lesson in "the internet never forgets," lest any of you think it's wise to Snapchat your naughty bits or something.