Purposeful Volunteerism: Pushing Beyond Holding Our Ground
Only by escalating to more offensive strategies will we win the battles for
access.
Do not just volunteer; but rather up-purpose your
volunteerism! In today’s world when we are all torn in many directions by
multiple jobs, kid’s school games, community involvement, paying bills, family
commitments and more, we must stop wasting our precious volunteer time. Too many of us have become trapped into the
status quo of losing ground in the long run. Herein I will explain purposeful volunteerism
and how we need to push beyond just holding our ground when it comes to access
to responsible motorized recreation.
First of all, we must embrace the
concept “think globally; act locally.” If you want to
up-purpose your volunteer time, I suggest you always consider the big picture
before you invest your time. Ask
yourself, “in the big scheme of things, will this project I’m about to
undertake make a difference worth my time invested?” If it will, then do it. If it won’t, then don’t do it – find something better to do with your
volunteer time. But it must start with a
serious and purposeful consideration of the global picture – the overall future
of motorized recreation in America.
Working Association Events:
Yes, I believe that working (volunteering) at state association or club
events does make a difference in the long run to the big picture. When the event is geared towards raising funds
to help the association/club accomplish its mission, you are helping the global
cause by being involved. The extent of
your involvement is not as important as the purpose of your commitment. If all you can do is run the sign-in table at
convention, which frees up other people to do more complicated jobs, then smile
proud and do your job! You are helping
the global cause.
Curing Toenail Fungus:
No, I don’t think investing my discretionary off road time and money
into curing fungus among us is the right way to be a purposeful volunteer for
motorized recreation. Even if you do
cure the fungus, you’ll be lucky to get a 1/16 page blurb in the newspaper and
a fleeting thank you in some newsletter/website that people might remember for
a week. You will not be curing our loss of
lands and access with this supposed image-enhancing effort. The trick here is to invest your time in
events and causes that MOSTLY support off-road recreation and also to a smaller
extent support a feel-good cause. There are exceptions to every "rule" and please don't be offended if you are supporting or working one of those events dedicated to a particular cause that really makes sense to you.
Being a Club or Organization Leader: Yes, for sure I believe that taking on a leadership role in a
club or association is a key factor in being purposeful in your volunteer
efforts. The entire motorized world does
not have enough people with the time to invest in being a leader. So if that is you, jump all over it and do it
with gusto – but also do it with the global picture always forefront in your
mind. Ask yourself, for example, if
being part of an ego squabble is the right way to protect our access future?
Play your own “devil’s advocate” and challenge the actions you are taking or
about to take. Will your next step
really help the big picture – are you being purposeful in your
volunteerism? As a leader, this is a key
component to inspiring others to do the same.
When you can influence the actions, beliefs and productivity of several
other volunteers, then you have become an unstoppable force in the future of
motorized access.
Taking it to Court: Only by escalating to more offensive
strategies will we win the battles for access.
This means we need a war chest that will allow us to take it to court
when needed –to go legal and go strong!
Those who oppose our way of life have the funds and legal teams to file
lawsuits at the drop of a hat. They tie up land management agencies in fearful
legal engagements and threats that tie up our access in the meantime and many
times in the long run. We must get ahead
of this curve and be preemptive where needed. Donating to legal efforts like
those of the BlueRibbon Coalition is the primary thing we can all do to take it
to the next level – or at least be willing, prepared and able to go on the
offensive.
Joining and Donating: There is nothing more fundamental to
up-purposing your involvement than joining, renewing or donating to everything
you can afford that helps protect recreational motorized access. If you do nothing else, an on-going donation
program or an annual contribution on top of your renewing memberships is
globally significant! We must unite our
voices and build our access forces, as well as our war chests if we are to win
these battles.
JOIN -- VOLUNTEER -- DONATE -- SUPPORT
Summary: Continually ask yourself if you are making
progress to the global picture, or just staying trapped in the status quo of
losing ground. Remember to be purposeful
in your volunteer efforts by investing your time where the payback is worth it
to the big picture of keeping our access to responsible motorized
recreation. And let’s go beyond just
holding our ground!
More on
ShareTrails.Org/BRC legal program: http://www.sharetrails.org
More on
volunteer/leader training: http://www.rltc.biz
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