Breaking news from APBA HQ

[ryan_4z]

Propeller Magazine sucks and Hydroracer has done nothing to grow our sport, which is dying. I, for one, am glad to see my organization taking a pro-active effort to evolve for our benefit. Our current methods are out-dated and failing. It's about time to try something else. These people are professionals, let's see what they can do for us before we start bashing this idea. Also, anyone who wants to suggest that Richard Hearn is getting rich of of this is just nuts. The Hearn family has a rich tradition of service to our sport. I may not agree with them on every issue, but their motives cannot be questioned.

[Bill Huson]

If I had a dime for every time I get a call from someone who is going to give me 30% more business exposure by optimizing the internet, I ask them the cost...So, my counter offer is simple....They give me 30% as they say, I will pay double at the end of the eyar...If they fall one percent short, I get their service free....Got any idea how many of them take me up on my offer?

When I had a bizz I would do something that with "charitable" organizations. Show me a P&L sheet, like how many $$$ you receive and how many $$$ actually go to charitable work rather than "administrative/advertising" expense. In 15 years only ONE place gave me the facts, and I made my contribution. Their score 98% of $$$ doing good, a mere 2% to cover their 3 person office where the pay scale was reasonable.

[Bill Huson]

cool

That is part of the final evolution of the Crown Partners plan

With Richard as APBA CEO? That might work. At least Richard knows that without viable racing there is NO NEED for the APBA, so my bet is he would bust hump to get racing membership back on track.

[Hutch06]

Propeller Magazine, part 2

To start, I do believe that Crown Partner's and Richard has the best of intentions for APBA and Outboard Racing. I believe that the right idea is there by further evolving the sport through technology, we NEED to get out of the dark ages and make our product more presentable.

Ryan,
I don't disagree with you that we need to try something else.
There is a lot of moaning and complaining from folks on hydroracer which, yes, in ways give people a bad taste of Outboard racing. But for those who are looking for equipment, interested in race details/scheduling, and truly committed on learning about the sport, it is a great portal that people look at often. Hydroracer is how I got in contact with good people from MHRA and BSOA who "sunk and hooked me".

During racing season, I don't think Propeller sucks. With some great color pictures of racing action, it will draw people to flip the front cover open.
During the November/December -March months, the magazine is very scarce besides banquet pictures, rule changes, and Hall of Champions/Winter meeting info. Not exactly going to draw the outsider in.

Is there an option to print monthly April-October, and cut down winter operating costs? I don't know, but I think it's something worth considering.

[Mrs blueskyracer]

Propeller Magazine sucks and Hydroracer has done nothing to grow our sport, which is dying. I, for one, am glad to see my organization taking a pro-active effort to evolve for our benefit. Our current methods are out-dated and failing. It's about time to try something else. These people are professionals, let's see what they can do for us before we start bashing this idea. Also, anyone who wants to suggest that Richard Hearn is getting rich of of this is just nuts. The Hearn family has a rich tradition of service to our sport. I may not agree with them on every issue, but their motives cannot be questioned.

I strongly disagree with the fact that hydroracer.net has done nothing to grow our sport. If it wasn't for this site Mike and I would never have gotten involved with stock outboard racing, so right there that statement is incorrect. It helped us to not only find a club, but find equipment. Since then we have purchased hydroracer, purchased the old MJR business and brought additional new people to the sport. We have numerous novice rookie drivers this year that are joining the sport in Eastern Washington/Idaho/Montana so it is growing, perhaps not as rapidly as we are loosing older racers. Perhaps we need to work on member satisfaction and retention as well as attracting new folks.

I know there are sometimes people who are vocal about their discontent with the sport but all sports have that, I don't care which sport you want to discuss. We choose not to censor those posts because no one would believe what they read if it was all sugar and honey. BRF and Hydroracer do a lot for the sport even if it is only keeping folks in contact with one another. I am sure that the APBA site will do the same.

If you are saying what we are doing now isn't working, how will adding another boat racing forum make it any better?

Will they be as open as BRF and hydroracer..... only time will tell.

[ryan_4z]

Don't get me wrong, I think Hydroracer serves it's purpose. I have been a long time member here and I thank both Dan and Mr and Mrs Blueskyracer for providing us with the site. I understand that some people have come to the sport through the site and that it provides us all with a portal for information and news. I stick by my statement, however, that Hydroracer has not grown our sport. The fact is that my statement is really irrelevant however, because this point of conversation is not about the sport, it is about validation for Hydroracer, and a fear that an APBA forum will obsolete it.

[ryan_4z]

Missing the BIG Picture

I think you all are missing the big picture here. Maybe you should go back and re-watch the video, focusing on the other six minutes. What they are proposing is much more than just a message board. As a matter of fact, it was pointed out early in the video that the website and message boards were not even amongst the highest priorities. The fact is, APBA does not want, nor have they ever wanted Hydroracer to be the official portal for their organization. Attempts have been made to this affect in the past and were rejected. That being said, I will reiterate--an APBA message board does not seem to be the focus of this project. What they are offering are things that none of us, including our esteemed webmasters, are able to offer. Namely a professionally organized advertisement campaign and sponsorships. This could be our chance to get mainstream coverage, or, at very least, grow the sport enough to keep our heads above water. So, I will say again, let's give these guys a chance before we start badmouthing them with immature, unfounded ridicule.

On a personal note, I would like to extend a warm thank you to Richard for his efforts. Please know they don't go entirely unwelcomed. First round is on me at Dudley's.

[Graham]

Promoting Boat Racing

Great idea. It's about time. Let's hope this thing flies.

Sincerely,
Don Graham

[sam]

Ryan, like Jake said on BRF, you only get one chance to make a first impression ... and its done.

[Mrs blueskyracer]

If the goal is indeed about advertising Outboard racing on a national scale, and seeking sponsors to help promote outboard racing then that is great. I watched the video without knowing what it was about the first time, then I watched it again. I did not take that away from the video. Perhaps I was somewhat distracted by the quality of it. Perhaps it is the copy of a copy of a copy and the quality is diminished. We do wish APBA the best, something is certainly broken and that has been recognized so the first step has been taken. If what the video is truly about is, as Mr. Runne said, a national advertising campaign and seeking sponsorships great. As we all know change is a difficult thing for some to accept, time will tell on this one. I am hoping for the best Mr. Runne.

[Big Don]

What amazes me is there was/is a large group of people that complain that APBA is doing nothing to stop our decline in membership. So they invest in technology/marketing etc. and those same people want to complain... I just don’t get it.

Here is what Mark Weber wrote in his column if you missed it.




Many of you heard—or heard about—Richard Hearn’s presentation during our
National Meeting in Detroit in January. (You may read a summary in this issue.) I don’t think I have ever heard such a timely, targeted message to this Association.

We are very fortunate that Richard is willing to share his expertise with us. He is a world-class business consultant who has helped turn around other organizations. He is also a trusted member with a long family
history with the sport—and APBA’s interests at heart. His motivation is simply to help APBA change course so that we can not only survive, but grow.
In part, Richard said what we’ve known for years: the APBA is shrinking. And, as a membership organization, we cannot afford to keep losing members. If current patterns continue, APBA will cease to exist.
I, for one, won’t let that happen without a fight. I’m sure you agree.
For several years, APBA has dealt with shrinking membership mostly with modest belt-tightening. We have cut costs and trimmed employee and member benefits. We have also instituted driving schools and relied on club and category publicity efforts. However, we have not come up with a broad strategy to turn the organization around and start growing again. APBA has
a lot to offer. We just need to make sure people hear about us.

That is where Mr. Hearn can help. He has suggested ways to reach out to new members and draw them into the organization. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter will definitely be part of that process. A dynamic
and functional website will be part of the change. New software to handle membership, sanctions, points and publicity is another component.
Some changes will be low-cost—even free. Some will require a significant financial investment. Your Board of Directors and I were listening. Intently.
At the National Meeting we voted unanimously to move on Richard’s suggestions. I appointed a Finance Committee and a Technology Committee to determine feasibility and map our way forward. Unlike other sweeping
changes proposed in the past, this process has involved the Board at every step. We are working together toward a digital transformation of the APBA.
Since the National Meeting, we have had a number of conference calls, and the Finance Committee met face-to-face in Chicago. The Board again voted unanimously to accept the challenge, and to hire Richard’s company, Crown Partners, to help us move into the 21st century. These are big changes, and there are big risks involved. We want to make sure this is done right. The
future of our Association is at stake.

I have often said, “Doing nothing is not an option.” We are absolutely convinced of the need to grow the APBA, and believe that we must invest in technology to achieve growth. We want to keep our current members
happy while gaining many, many new members. I promise to keep all of the members informed as we progress. We may occasionally have to ask you to be
flexible and open to change. I hope we can count on your continued support.
If you look at the history of IndyCar, you will see that it is possible to turn a motorsports organization around. If IndyCar can do it, so can APBA. We have a wonderful sport and an excellent organization.

[RyanWarner]

Propeller Magazine sucks and Hydroracer has done nothing to grow our sport, which is dying. I, for one, am glad to see my organization taking a pro-active effort to evolve for our benefit. Our current methods are out-dated and failing. It's about time to try something else. These people are professionals, let's see what they can do for us before we start bashing this idea. Also, anyone who wants to suggest that Richard Hearn is getting rich of of this is just nuts. The Hearn family has a rich tradition of service to our sport. I may not agree with them on every issue, but their motives cannot be questioned.

Agreed.

[RyanWarner]

Crown's proposal is great for boat racing. APBA needs a renovated website with updated results / points easily accessible. Ad revenue from the site could help fund and promote the sport. Crown is trying to help save boat racing but some are opposed because Propeller will be available on line? It doesn't make sense. Even if Propeller goes electronic (like every other major publication in the world), I'm sure a hard copy will still be available. With Propeller online millions of people have the chance to read it everyday. Finally, Crown's proposal does not mean the end to Hydroracer. Most action
'extreme' sport have several message boards. For example, motocross has an AMA sanctioned website but has many non-AMA affiliated forums as well. APBA should have a forum to reach racers and fans directly.

[Shep]

The way I have interpreted the information present to me is this:

Our current computer system is a patch work system of dated programs and hardware never designed to work together.

The hardware at HQ will be replaced with equipment more compatible for growth.

The miss matched software used to run APBA operations will be replaced with more efficient software allowing for reduced staffing and expenses.

These two changes will help facilitate growth on the web. Which will allow advertising opportunities and promotional opportunities through social media.


My questions are this, who will be responsible for advertising sales? Crowne partners or APBA? Who will be promoting APBA? Crowne or APBA?

I think that we are building a wonderful tool and it can serve us well, but this is kind of like a wheelbarrow - it can do bunch of work but somebody has to pick up the handles and push it once its loaded.

Change is needed for our survival. I don't know if this is the right change but I think it is.

[ryan_4z]

Ryan, like Jake said on BRF, you only get one chance to make a first impression ... and its done.

I don't know Jake, but, we are not the ones who need to be impressed. They are not advertising to us. Would it have been worth our money to have some high production value video containing the same information. It think not. Richard Hearn and Crown apparently impresses the BOD multiple times enough to get them unanimously on board with this. Now let's see what they can do for us. Additionally, and I could be wrong here, but I believe I read somewhere that Propeller will be coming out on a quarterly basis in print. And for those of you who like it, I'm sure once the organization is making some money they will consider bringing it back. That being said, neither the magazine, nor a competing message board are important enough issues in all this to dismiss the effort entirely. There is much more at stake.