May be of interest to some here.

[Bud]

Vince Winkle, MOA Media Director was let go yesterday. He had been at the MOA for 8 years. He changed the face of the MOA via changes in the Owners News and expanded the use of electronic media (including the up coming release of the Anonymous Book in electronic format.

 

I've been honored to call Vince a friend. The change appears to be due to adjusting expenses during a time of decreasing revenue.

 

I wish Vince the very best and hope he ends up with something even better.

[Uncle Beemer]

Bud, I've read on the MOA site the current thread about this but I did not come away with the feeling that it was financial. I can see where it might be related but, firing the Editor seems like a poor response. But what do I know? Still no official announcement from headquarters.

[racer7]

I didn't know Vince but I do know folks who think well of him and wish him the best.

 

Organization changes are never fun for those who must do them- whether for personnel or economic reasons. Any manager with a conscience feels responsibility for employees even while recognizing its limits.

 

The MOAs media strategy is way behind the times probably due to its aged membership (like me), board, and staff. Like all membership groups these days, especially those with an older demographic, it is and will predictably face tougher times- the younger generation are not joiners, don't home entertain and are in many other ways different from my generation. There are virtually no S1000RR owners who are

MOA participants, for example. MOA needs a modern media strategy that uses all the tools to help alleviate future problems.

 

Until the past year or so I thought the MOA mag was very substandard (I used to edit for a member mag for another organization)- especially when compared to the BMW car club mag or recent issues of OTL which suits my personal tastes better anyway. Hope Vince was involved with and got credit for the recent improvements. Also hope he got a fair severance deal that adequately recognizes his years of service and contributions, something all too often provided only to execs.

 

[Bud]

Official announcement.

 

We’re Building a Better MOA

 

Author: Ted/Thursday, January 09, 2014/Categories: BMW MOA Club News

 

The employees and staff of the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America are reorganizing to better align their job functions with the needs of club membership. Bob Aldridge, Executive Director of the MOA, is leading the change that will bring a greater focus to membership as the core product as well as developing additional benefits for BMW MOA members.

 

Historically, the media department was its own entity and member benefits were organized as a separate product. The website and social media feeds are also aligned with the BMW Owners News to deliver the latest news stories. This structure produced tremendous news content and a fantastic magazine, the BMW Owners News, but the recent dip in membership totals reveals the need to provide a greater effort against not only media, but membership as a whole. Our goal is to improve member communication opportunities, develop additional member benefits and offer a more responsive MOA while expanding our existing media assets.

 

The MOA’s media functions, including the BMW Owners News, bmwmoa.org and social media outlets are being placed under the direction of Ted Moyer, BMW MOA Director of Membership. The Editor-in-Chief position, previously held by Vince Winkel, has been eliminated. In addition, Bill Wiegand has been appointed as Deputy Editor replacing Rebecca Clark. Bill comes to the MOA with an extensive background as a photojournalist most recently with the News Bureau at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a dedicated motorcyclist and MOA member. Karin Halker will continue as Art Director and Chris Hughes will remain as Director of Advertising.

 

The MOA is also adding a resource in the Business Development function. Ken Englemann will be joining the staff as Director of Business Development. Ken will be responsible for managing business relationships with MOA vendors as well as developing member benefits with business partners, such as BMW dealers and MOA Chartered Clubs. Ken joins the MOA from RoadRunner magazine where he was Associate Publisher for three years.

Please join the MOA staff in extending a warm welcome to our new teammates.

[TEWKS]

Geez, hope it wasn't something I said! Kidding aside, sucks when anyone loses a job.

 

Pat

[Bud]

Geez, hope it wasn't something I said! Kidding aside, sucks when anyone loses a job.

 

Pat

 

Having been there on more than one occasion, it does suck.

 

I wish Vince the very best. He is a rider, a good guy and improved the Owners News greatly.

[moshe_levy]

I read about it on FB. I veered away from submitting pieces to ON pre-Vince because the editing was atrocious. When he got on board, things got back to normal and quality went up. I'm hoping things stay at least at the level he left it - I've got two articles in the hopper there right now with a 3rd on the way.

 

-MKL

[Bud]

Looking forward to more of your articles.

[moshe_levy]

Thanks!

 

-MKL

[mbelectric]

Sometimes change is a good thing.

 

Vince's addition was certainly for the better. Thanks to him for improving BMWON.

 

Hopefully a new direction will be assumed. I am tiring of the same old format and contributors. Tech articles have become a revisit/replay of previous issues. "Picture this" has one spot reserved each month for the same rider...let's give someone else a chance to have their pic featured. Issues have the feel of "old home" monthly, and a lot of content is reserved for the "inner circle" members. Def a younger direction is needed.

 

Sometimes you pull the "goalie" when a change is needed, not 'cause he did a bad job.

 

MB>

[UberXY]

I wish the new editor the best of luck.

 

I've been a member if MOA on and off for 28 years, largely for the magazine. Pre-Internet, it really was the best, if not only, reliable source of info about our bikes, and vendors selling stuff for our bikes. There was a time when I really looked forward to the magazine arriving in the mail, and I read every word, cover to cover.

 

In the last decade or so, sometimes I have failed to renew just because the magazine doesn't seem to be worth $40 year to me anymore. Can't really put my finger on the reason...could be the quality, could be me, could be the fact that magazines in general have sort of been diminished in informational value by the Internet. No offense intended to the MOA, but I find more information I need and want here on this board in a week than I find in a year of the magazine. Same deal with car clubs and their magazines vs a few good Internet forums.

 

I hope Mr Winkel quickly finds another situation.

[Bud]

I wish the new editor the best of luck.

 

I've been a member if MOA on and off for 28 years, largely for the magazine. Pre-Internet, it really was the best, if not only, reliable source of info about our bikes, and vendors selling stuff for our bikes. There was a time when I really looked forward to the magazine arriving in the mail, and I read every word, cover to cover.

 

In the last decade or so, sometimes I have failed to renew just because the magazine doesn't seem to be worth $40 year to me anymore. Can't really put my finger on the reason...could be the quality, could be me, could be the fact that magazines in general have sort of been diminished in informational value by the Internet. No offense intended to the MOA, but I find more information I need and want here on this board in a week than I find in a year of the magazine. Same deal with car clubs and their magazines vs a few good Internet forums.

 

I hope Mr Winkel quickly finds another situation.

 

You comments are common to many. The challenge for the MOA is how to add enough value to membership to attract new members and retain current members.

 

The MOA is working on those challenges now. I think by the end of the year, most parts of the puzzle will be in place and then we will see if the implementation produces the desired results.