Recruiting worker volunteers...

G

gran racing

Super Moderator
Before this gets lost in the other LRP discussion, thought it would make sense to create its own topic...

“Another important item on tonight's agenda: ideas for recruiting worker volunteers. There is a growing groundswell of opinion that we the drivers should play a bigger role in not only working ourselves once in awhile (perish the thought!), but attracting the volunteers who make it possible for us to pursue the sport. This is your chance to toss around ideas.”
 
-Jake, hopefully you don't mind that I copied this over here-

I know this won't be popular.. But...SCCA racing is pretty cheap considering what you get. Lots of workers, and good insurance. Most, not all, other clubs fall short in one area or the other. Now the unpopular part... there are more and more clubs operating out there. Thye need workers. They pay the workers. "Our" workers. Maybe we should to. At least sometning...what if entries included a mandatory $25 worker fee? Divide up at the end of each day amongst the workers...lets see...25 x 200 = 5000, thats $2500 per day of a two day weekend. A Friday worker would get $50 if there were 50 workers. Details would need to be hammered out, but a slight entry increase would go a long way...and Friday events might be easier to staff.

Jake Gulick
CarriageHouse Motorsports
ITA 57 RX-7
New England Region
[email protected]
 
- Why do the majority of people volunteer?
- For other race organizations, what attracts their "staff"?
- For people that do not volunteer, what are the common reasons?
- What would make people want to voluteer?

I'm not so sure that the motivation is financial.

While growing up, my father and I went to lime rock a few times a year. He contacted a few groups (may not have been SCCA, not sure) about volunteering at their events. Each time he was given the cold shoulder and eventually gave up. I too would have loved to be involved growing up! The point is that there are people out there who would be interested in volunteering, but they just are not aware the opportunity exists.

My belief is that there should be more focus on recruiting outside of the existing SCCA structure. By the way, how many boy scouts were at the last race? ~1,500 (not sure if this includes parents or not) Yes I know, that event is passed but could be a good opportunity. Maybe contact the boy scouts organization itself.

I would hate to see entry fees raised by much more. But I think that $5 - $10 would seen as o.k. as long people realize that this money is being directed towards the workers. Racing is already expensive enough.

Could there be any different levels of SCCA membership created? Why does a person that volunteers and does not race have to pay the same membership fee?

In some ways it is too bad that multiple regions cover the same tracks. For many, the race schedule is dictated by the track not by the region hosting the race. I'll admit that this is the leading factor I personally am not very involved in the NER. Most of my racing is done at LRP which has several regions that run these races. (Not to mention I do not care for NHIS) I am sure the people you could attract to work at LRP would not be as receptive to going up to NHIS and vice versa due to proximity.

Alright, I'll stop now. I realize this will be discussed tonight. Sounds like it will be an interesting meeting - wish I could make it.

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Dave Gran
NER ITB #13
'87 Honda Prelude si
 
Dave, good idea about moving the thread. This is an important topic to discuss now, and is just as important as discussions about the 2005 schedule.

For me, I was attracted to volunteering to get closer to racing. I have always been a car nut, but in 2000, I decided I wanted to do more with cars. Motorsports was it.

So, I joined the SCCA in 2000, with the idea to autocross, and eventually road race. I could not afford to race at the time, so I volunteered to flag to get a close view of racing, to confirm whether I truly wanted to race.

I simply called Russ Horton, F&C Chief at the time, at the number listed on the inside cover of "Pit Talk." I asked what I should wear and bring, and just showed up at a regional at Lime Rock, without knowing anyone. It's not easy walking into a bunch of more-experienced strangers and learning on the fly, but everyone was friendly and willing to instruct, so I kept coming back.

As I said in my post in the other thread, I think the most important thing is to show appreciation to the workers. We can't just assume they will be there every race weekend. I make a point to include $10 towards the worker fund for every race I run. I would not have a problem if we went from a voluntary contribution to a mandatory one.

Second, we can't assume the workers will be there in the sense that they get older, relocate, or find other activities. In that sense, we must continuously try to attract new volunteers: look for people like me, who eventually want to race; find those who just want to get closer to racing; find the "adrenalin junkies" who would be attracted to flagging or medical response.

I think this will require having a presence (through an information booth) at events like Race-A-Rama, spectator events at the local tracks, and scout weekend at Lime Rock. (My brother remembers flagging the races on scout weekend when he was in the Boy Scouts. Can we allow volunteer scouts a chance to work a corner?)

Can we promote the Nickel Tour more? Would allowing track tours after races entice more people?

If we don't find a solution to the volunteer issue, be prepared to start paying flaggers as a regular cost of the entry fee.
 
To get more people involved they need to know about what goes on and its sure hard to atract anyone when they can't come and watch. Sure I know they can come in as over crew, experience standing in line at regstration with limited hours and make sure they understand they will need Id and patience. I don't know why some can't be spectator races at the regional level so people can attend (wonder if is has to do with the current legal climate) How can we promote the sport and involvement if nobody can see us?? I spent from 1979 among the ranks of Volunteers until 2001 when I switched over to truck Driver for My son so He can participate in ITA. I still try and help in Tech when I can. Of course some tracks are not "fan friendlY" and some are. I have suggested that at least at Watkins Glen that at least we have some spectator area like they do for nascar Tire test when they charge $5.00 for access to outside of turn 1. might Help some.
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Tom Weaver: Logistics & Technical Support Manager IE truck driver for 1980 RX-7 ITA #63
"Hemi Haulin' Rotary"
 
Originally posted by tdw6974:
To get more people involved they need to know about what goes on and its sure hard to atract anyone when they can't come and watch. Sure I know they can come in as over crew, experience standing in line at regstration with limited hours and make sure they understand they will need Id and patience. I don't know why some can't be spectator races at the regional level so people can attend (wonder if is has to do with the current legal climate) How can we promote the sport and involvement if nobody can see us?? I spent from 1979 among the ranks of Volunteers until 2001 when I switched over to truck Driver for My son so He can participate in ITA. I still try and help in Tech when I can. Of course some tracks are not "fan friendlY" and some are. I have suggested that at least at Watkins Glen that at least we have some spectator area like they do for nascar Tire test when they charge $5.00 for access to outside of turn 1. might Help some.
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Most of the races ARE spectator races. Thats one reason why LRP's costs are higher. Spectator races require more guards, ticket takers, insurance, etc.

Also, there is a deal for temp memberships (good for 3 months) such that they are FREE, for the first one. If the person also gets a full membership after that, there is a discount, IIRC. This is better than being a spectator, in that you don't have to pay anything to get in, except help out in some area.

With a temp membership in hand, anyone can fill out a form and have a regional license in the area of their choice(s). Try them all! Try T&S on a rain day. Flag in the sun. Work Tech when it is cold out.

The options are there, you just have to use them.
 
Here are my ideas...

People don't volunteer for nothing. In order for a program to be successful there needs to be rewards and not neccessarily monetary.

Here is what I see each weekend as a spectator. When I see corner workers most appear in their 40 and 50's and many times their wife is with them. We must understand that this demographic is part of the baby boomers and it is already starting to die off. Disclaimer: I am young and mean no offense to some of the older people here. I am just talking about what I see. Please do not take offense.

Back on topic, people want rewards when they volunteer and I would vote against a workers fund. Here is what I do suggest!

- A feeder series so to speak for workers. "For every X weekends you work as a worker you will be invited to work at the SCCA pro series weekend. People want to be involved with SCCA Pro, this is a reward.

-How about all the SCCA non worker members pay an additional $5 for dues to cover the workers so that they are free to be a member provided they work a certain number of weekends?

-They are always wearing those white outfits. Are these provided free of charge from SCCA? How about SCCA subsidize it for working x number of races?

-How about SCCA gives them patches to add to the white uniform after certain accomplishments?

-What about at the pro races have a car, any car, give rides at lunch to the worker that was able to work that race because of working x races. Announce his/her name acknowledging their accomplishments!

To close, it's my belief that the workers are not there for the money. What is $50 bucks? Nothing! We need to create an environment that will bring young people into the program. I do not think I have EVER seen anyone under 30 working an event before...

That's it for me. What do you think?

[This message has been edited by VTECAcuraGSR (edited October 16, 2004).]
 
One of the things that EMRA does, is require all racers that are running for seasons points, to work two sessions a year. Not two events, just two sessions. Either as a corner worker, tech inspector, registration, etc. I really like the idea, and I think it gives the drivers a better appreciation of what the workers do.

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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608
 
bill
while i don't think that the two session policy does anything to help getting the work done I think it is great idea to make drivers appeciate what goes into a race weekend.
dick
 
Back in the early-80s I got started with SCCA as a volunteer. I had, at one time, a National F&C license, National T&S license, and I was about to pursue ScruCrew. Those came in handy when it came time to get the "second best seat in the house" for events such as the 1984 Dallas Grand Prix (F1) and the San Antonio Grand Prix (IMSA; ask me some time about the time I drive a Porsche GTP...)

However, my motivations were purely selfish, as my ultimate goal was to drive. I was under the wing of a good guy who channeled my on-street driving aggression to get me interested in autocrossing and F&C; he also knew I would eventually work my way into racing. That is, of course, what happened once the knowledge and finances worked out.

However, I did notice that the vast majority of the folks I worked with rarely had aspirations to drive. Some (especially in T&S, where the only A/C for 150 miles was found) were wives or girlfirends who didn't want to just sit around, others were there just to be there. It's not that they didn't want to drive, it's just that I got the impression they did it for the fun and comraderie as a worker. In fact, there was a pride in and of itself of being a worker, almost as if the drivers were there to provide us with OUR hobby of working races.

This was in a totally different part of the world (SowDiv's Texas Turn Marshalls and Racer Chasers - still have my suit and patches) so the attitudes and motivations may not apply, but I just felt that folks did it because they enjoyed it. Sure, we griped about those elitist drivers (especially the Formula Ford prima donnas) but it was all in fun. We enjoyed the food, the fun, and the friendships.

One thing that I do remember we coveted was the occasional lottery for track riderarounds in race cars. Guys would put seats in their cars (I remember a GT-5 Nissan specifically) and during lunch and/or between breaks the winners would get to ride in a real race car and see what it was like. Another "thank you" item was when a larger team would pay for surprise goodie bags that were passed out during the noon hour to each corner station (we stayed on station during lunch), with items such as team spiffs and/or food, water, and snacks.

Of course, there was the beer parties afterwards where we'd get together and swap stories of the stupidest move of the day. It was also nice to see the drivers there, introducing themselves so we could put a name to a face. We do that up here in the NE, but we as drivers tend to be anonymous; maybe some name tags with driver and car info?

Food for thought.

GA
 
Dave,
Thanks for starting this thread again. I've tried getting discusion on it for the last 9 months!!

My opinion, I know workers aren't totally motivated by money, but I think offering $50 a day to flag can help. If I was a 20 year old really into cars, $50 would get me up to LRP to help out!! And isn't that the age we would be targeting for more help??

How about working with some of the area car clubs that are geared towards the import crowd for recruiting??? Or local tech schools that have large auto shop programs??

I am more than willing to help out to solve this problem, 'cause it could have a serious effect on all of us!!
 
Good topic!
One of the things EMRA *just* did was to institute a $50 per-day payment to all pre-registered flaggers (and non pre-registered flaggers will still go in our "workers lottery" and may get a few bucks that way).
We all know that $50 isn't much....but at least it recognizes that flaggers have some out-of-pocket expenses. This helps defray those expenses; flaggers have said that they appreciate this.
For more info on this topic (and contact info, in case you wish to flag for us) go here:

http://www.pliner.net/appmb/74cd5/119061
 
At the Friday Club Racing Board meeting, we discussed worker recruitment extensively. A couple of board members, including hard-working Dick Patullo, volunteered to put together a framework for doing recruiting sessions in New Hampshire (that's where our big problem is worker-wise; at LRP, we get volunteers from many regions).

I'm sure we will hear more about these plans.

HOWEVER, my fear is that this news may cause us drivers to say, "OK, so *that's* taken care of," and go on our merry way. And frankly, that's not good enough. The recruiting effort described above is another case of the same volunteers who always do everything piling yet another task on their plate. We drivers need to appreciate the effort (and then some!), but we also need to help in a more direct way.

Here is what we at Flatout are doing: we hereby vow to recruit at least one solid, dependable, long-term worker for the 2005 season. By this we don't mean sending a crew member out to work Grid one weekend (not that there's anything wrong with that). We mean that we will think hard about family, friends and acquaintances, and put on a full-court press to get them deeply involved with SCCA.

Naturally, we hope to draft more than one person. But one is a start.

In addition, we are throwing down the gauntlet to all the multi-car teams out there to do the same -- and we extend the challenge to everybody on this forum. The drive is on for racers to DIRECTLY recruit workers in the Northeast.

Steve U
05 ITS
Flatout Motorsports
 
It is too bad there is no simple way to provide transportation to younger potential recruits. (i.e. high school students or even college students who do not have access to transportation)

Has SCCA ever done much at local colleges to recruit workers?

The track drive-arounds is at least something extra. I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to find drivers that would be willing to take people out.

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Dave Gran
NER ITB #13
'87 Honda Prelude si
 
Originally posted by gran racing:
The track drive-arounds is at least something extra. I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to find drivers that would be willing to take people out.
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Or make sure the new recruits get stuffed in the back of the pace car for at least one session. Maybe a lap or two to check the track for dirt and stones or oil.

Spending a day in the car is boring, but the IT guys could make it interesting by getting a full course yellow. Not that the IT groups have ever had one of those...
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for the record it is Paul Giblin and Peter Perrault that are working up a recruiting event near Nhis, not I. I think they are looking toward a open house type format event.
dick patullo
 
I know this thread is kind of old, but I feel compelled to comment, because I think I'm the demographic that you guys are trying to target. I'm 32 and I'd like to race someday, but with a 3-year old daughter its hard to find the time/money for that kind of thing right now. For now I've been half-heartedly autocrossing, and I keep thinking about maybe spending more time working races.

Two years ago I did volunteer to work F&C for one weekend. I had fun, even though I had to stand in the cold/wet weather all weekend long. One thing that really made it worthwhile was a brief ride around the track in the pace car. I'd never been on a race track like that before, so it was a big deal to me.

I haven't been back to flag since then, but I've been considering doing it next year. If I knew I would get paid, I'd be there in a heartbeat. It wouldn't even have to be a lot. Conversly, the party on Saturday is a nice gesture, but I've got to get back to my wife and kid, and I've already been away from home all day long with plans to do it again the next day. I just can't stick around for a party like that, sorry.
 
$50 was a figure I'd seen earlier in this thread. That would be enough to tip the balance towards me comming out to flag at NHIS next season. It would cover gasoline, and allow me to take my wife out to dinner in the evening to "make up" for being away from home all day!
 
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