As most board members are aware, there has been a LOT of activity in the Communications Committee since I took over just before Christmas. The webmaster and one member of the Committee have tended their resignations and rather than being in a state of distress, I believe we are finally able to take the website and the Communications function into the 21st century and this, at a pace that assures us we will stay one step ahead of the competition.

The website is now being managed by our committee, with Pascal Gademer of the South Florida Jaguar Club doing a magnificent job as webmaster. From the east coast we have Mike Frank, Adam Owens, Warren Hanson and Ginger Corda on the committee and from the west coast we have Steve Averill and Allan
Mandell. All in all a great team who are all willing to work hard contributing material and doing the "grunt" work required to make the website a success.

My plan was similar to that famous Hollywood movie line: "If you build it they will come". Well, as of this writing (February 22nd, 2002) we have built most if not all of it and they ARE coming!

And just what is it we have built or are building? The list includes the following:

• An on-line affiliate club membership application form that will allow visitors to the JCNA website the opportunity to join a local club while at the same time respecting the different dues structures and membership processes.
• An on-line catalog of JCNA regalia complete with photographs and a printable order form.
• Creation of a news library of Jaguar Cars corporate and racing news that can be used by club editors and webmasters instead of simply using press releases.
• An image library for use by club editors and webmasters. 
• Technical, originality, JCNA issues and general discussion forums.
• An expanded club news section.
• An expanded calendar of local events which will include non-sanctioned events organized by local clubs.
• Further development of the on-line event result and standings pages for all three programs: Concours, Rally and Slalom.
• A photo album where JCNA members can show off their "cats".
• Tools, tutorials and resources for clubs to get on line either thru the JCNA website (free) or under their own domain name (at low costs)
• An expanded and more user friendly free forum for listing car and parts for sale/wanted.
• Working on a database of containing the email addresses of every member of JCNA for potential news releases pertaining to the website and the Jaguar Journal. Also can be used to appeal to the membership for help with specific tasks and projects ie: job postings.
• Electronic cataloging of all JCNA documentation as it pertains to event organization, awards management, by-laws, judging rules, seminar transcripts, technical publications etc.
• The on-line availability of a "starter kit" for potential new clubs who wish to seek out JCNA certification.
• The possible use of web-based tools to allow members to vote on-line in Regional Director elections (in addition to traditional methods) and  potentially the ability to renew memberships on-line.

With all this potential now in place, the challenge moves from one of content to one of communications. WE MUST GET THE MESSAGE OUT TO ALL JCNA CLUBS AND MEMBERS THAT THIS NEW RESOURCE IS AVAILABLE TO THEM.

This is the initiative we are working on now. Our club faces heavy competition from many sources, not the least of which is Jag-Lovers and the international reach of several UK-based clubs. It is not too late in the game to stage a comeback and give members the combination of local content overlaid with national content which will both retain existing members for a long time and interest new ones enough to entice them to join.

Daniel Thompson
Communications Committee Chair

 

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