OMVA - Frontenac Show

[James P]

Mr. Fedak, the Chief Communications Officer for the Kettenkrad Owners Club of Canada (Ottawa) has authorized me to reply to your post in total agreement and support. On a side note as Volkfest seems to not be on are you interested in doing a car show in Barrhaven that day ?


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[Ryan Harriman]

The FMVA merged with the OMVA for a number of reasons. For me it was mainly due to insurance and liability. Last years event was technically the SFRC Military Vehicle show on paper as I had the insurance for my company extended to cover the event. As my company does numerous off site activities I can't extend it to all of them as I am limited to the number I do per year.

The FMVA membership, who I have been a member since the second year if my memory serves me correctly, has always done an great job organizing the events, shows etc but we grew to the size that we either needed to merge with another group or become an official real organization. What started as an informal gathering of friends tossing money into a hat to pay for a BBQ and a location to gather once a year grew into something much bigger. I am thrilled that everyone's hard word paid off and we created an awesome event that people from the east coast to Alberta attend. The side effect was that we created something so big that we had too, has mentioned above, merge or create our own independent group.

I wouldn't say that politics is the death of every hobby. The death of a hobby is the success of your hobby. When your hobby grows past a certain point, which our group did, there are certain liabilities, legal issues etc that come with it.

My company started off as a hobby, now I am one of the largest independent sporting goods stores in the country. I know all about the extra issues that arise when your hobby grows.

As to the comment about the FMVA reaching out for help from someone and being told to fend for themselves, I am not aware of this and I have been a member since the second year. I do know I have asked the OMVA exec for advise over the years and they have always been helpful. Everyone I have asked from any group has always been helpful. We're all here to make the hobby grow, make new friends, have fun and drive our old green vehicles around.

Ryan

Originally Posted by chris vickery

Personally I thought it refreshing that a new group was created and doing their own thing, and very successfully at that (FMVC)
Seemed to me that much of the strife that had or was happening elsewhere was gone for once. I know that the Frontenac group had reached out for help and were essentially left to fend for themselves...
Such a shame to end up with the old “if you can’t beat them, join them mentality”, as it seems the current management has simply waited it out until the viability of the new group waned.
Politics, the death of every hobby.

[Ryan Harriman]

Now that we've dealt with all of that, onto the most important issue, FOOD!

I anyone coming has any dietary issues...ie no red meat, no meat, or something like that please message me.

I'm going to pick up some veggie burgers as well in case someone doesn't eat meat.

We'll have hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, some smoked brisket, pop, water, chips, salads, etc. Basically something similar to the BBQ's we've had other years. It is usually a pretty good feast.

Bring a lawn chair or two if you can, we always seem to be short on those.

We look forward to seeing everyone at the event. If you aren't able to bring a vehicle to display and just want to stop by the BBQ Saturday night you are more than welcome too. Just toss $5 in the bucket to help cover the costs of the food.


Ryan

[Ryan Harriman]

At this time we plan to continue holding the event in Odessa unless it becomes a non viable location for some reason. It has a canteen, bathrooms, camping space and room to drive around. Now that we have merged with the OMVA insurance is not an issue.

We haven’t posted on Facebook as much as usual lately but there is an event listing for the show. I am running a Facebook promotion for it which will end up costing me about $1000 that my company covers each year. So far 17,500 people have viewed the post and 515 have indicated they are going or show interest in going. 110 people have shared the post as well.

If you haven’t done so I would ask that you share the event on Facebook and invite your Facebook friends.

Ryan

Originally Posted by Stuart Fedak

Ryan,
Thanks for all of the clarifications!

It sounds to me from your perspective, that going forward that there would be merit in having this annual event, on your property.

This would have several major benefits:

There would not be a requirement to pay for the venue, as you already own the location and have the required space. You would probably be able to use your current liability insurance as it is on site, and would not use up the off site limitations. It would also reach out to the your clients in the established sporting goods area of your business. This is a great population that may be interested in the hobby. As you already have an Internet presence and a web page, you would be able to co-market this event. All of the above seems to be a win-win for the hobby. I remember that in the past you had reached out to OMVA to host some web based information.

The Facebook page of the FMVA has been underutilized and this "free" social media site would be of interest to the younger Historic Military Vehicle folks.

So looking forward, the event may experience some changes in venue and methods. I have always been impressed with the ability of the folks in the FMVA, now the OMVA Frontenac group to put on such an amazing event. That was why I joined in August 2015.

It sounds like to me that things would work best for everyone moving forward to explore various options to commit to change; look at the pros and cons of the current venue; and increase the use of social media/Internet.

Your thoughts?

[Terry Witiuk]

All is being said Respectfully and in Good Spirit. Over the years I’ve read numerous posts/responses here on MLU threads that tell me there are many folks out there who care about our hobby/interest, even at the expense of possibly being the target of negative thought when posting such responses on a public forum such as MLU or even Facebook. I’m one of them. We all want to move things forward and make this hobby/interest better for everyone. It’s very easy to read tone and thought into someone’s public comment/post…one of the risks of doing this via the internet but we all care.

Having said this, please remember that the purpose of the initial post in this thread…OMVA Frontenac Show or Bivouac 2019 is to remind everyone of the event and encourage all to come out, meet likeminded people, participate, show off your vehicle and most importantly….have fun!

Call it preserving history, having fun or whatever you want…none of it is fictitious and there’s a cost in doing this. As already pointed out by both Les and Ryan, the membership fees that we collect pay for things such as liability insurance, event venues, BBQs, trophies, CMP Magazine and all things that make these events and/or contribute towards making our hobby a success in Ontario. Car shows or similar type events that I’ve attended where vehicles are displayed with no charge to the vehicle owner are usually in the parking lot of a plaza (static display) or perhaps an event where a corporate sponsor or some other organization has covered the cost/arranged for the venue. These are great and certainly worth supporting/attending. OMVA events such as Georgetown/Acton, Coe Hill, Milton, Aquino and Odessa are our initiatives and have costs associated with making them happen. Again, it’s the membership fees we collect that cover those costs.

We encourage everyone to come out, have fun and consider the benefits of being an OMVA member. We’re sincerely doing our best to answer your questions and concerns but it’s difficult to do this accurately when not speaking face to face or responding via an internet public forum.

[Robin Craig]

I am an OMVA member and am going if possible.

Events have costs, I am happy to help support that financial burden if asked.

The FMVA to OMVA transfer is ancient history as well detailed by Ryan.

No one is singled out as not paying, it is a shame if we all don't chip in but that is the reality of life and should not be the reason not to attend. The more vehicles and people who attend in as many different flavours adds to the event.

Hope to see as many people who make up this hobby as can attend. A great little event carried off the backs of a very few people who deserve our gratitude for doing all that work.

Thanks to Ryan Harriman and Rob and Paul Hudson and Gary McCurdie and all those whose names I forget for doing all the work and making us feel welcome.

[Ryan Harriman]

This years event, BBQ, advertising, etc was paid for by a portion of last years gate fees, dues, etc and next years event will be paid for by those things as well. For the most part this is how we have always paid for the event. Some years we have only put a deposit down for the venue and paid the rest with the next years funds.

Everyone acknowledges the hard work that the FMVA and other groups that attend the Odessa event have put in. The members from Quebec have been instrumental in growing the event as well....they bring some really cool stuff as well. Jonathan Brawshaw brought his Vickers tank reproduction from Alberta last year...that's a lot of mileage to put on a vehicle to attend. Everyone donates their time and resources to make this event happen. I'm not going to list each member but everyone brings something different to the group and helps out in some way.

There are no issues with the event rental etc. The insurance certificate has already been provided to them and all is good. All people have to do is show up, have fun and eat lots of BBQ Saturday night.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the show,

Ryan

Originally Posted by Stuart Fedak

I agree. In the case of Odessa Bivouac 2019, the cost of the venue for this event was paid for, by the members of FMVA out of their own revenues in 2018 from previous events. I and the majority of FMVA voted to have the merger with OMVA. I and the majority of FMVA members, also voted to make the significant cash investment to book the venue for the Bivouac 2019 event. It is my understanding that a check was cut in August 2018 to pay for the venue being used. This was done to ensure continuity.

I am not aware that OMVA has, through fees collected by current/past members of FMVA, paid for the venue. Please confirm. The cash value of the venue far exceeds the financial value of the liability insurance. Unfortunately in the transition from FMVA to OMVA, communication has not been optimal.

I believe, in the interests of transparency, that OMVA should acknowledge the hard work of the current/past members of the FMVA who paid for and organized the venue to carry on the tradition of this event in 2019.

I will make some assumptions. FMVA paid for the venue in August 2018. The contract for the site of the agricultural society was with FMVA. OMVA issued/or had issued the Insurance Liability certificate to someone or group. According to previous information, it was FMVA. Now it is said that FMVA does not exist. This is problematic.

I am sure all of these issues will be worked out, and Bivouac 2019 will be a fantastic event.

Cheers!

Addendum: I found the FMVA minutes from August 2018

FMVA MEETING MINUTES
Date- August 18, 2018
Location – Odessa Fairgrounds
In attendance – Names deleted....
• This meeting was a special session with the sole purpose of conducting a vote to determine the path forward for the FMVA.
• Considerable debate took place by most members debating the merits of the latest proposal in a “round table” discussion. It became apparent that individual interpretations of the proposal were widely varied.
• Ryan Harriman then read out the latest proposal from the OMVA for those members who were not familiar with the details.
• The vote then proceeded; this consisted of marking individual selections by using a marker on a white-board.
• The final tally was 7 votes to remain “as is”, and 16 votes were made to join the OMVA. XXXXXX and YYYYYY were forced to leave early and their votes were cast by Peter Duggan.
• When the results were announced, there was a call put forward by Peter Duggan for a volunteer to sit on the OMVA executive board to represent our interests. Ryan Harriman volunteered for this position and was selected by general acclamation.
• The meeting was then closed.
Note – This will be my last official communication as a result of our new structure. This year’s Bivouac was the most successful to date with over 35 MVs in attendance. Gary McCurdie, was able to pay in full the 1,500$ fee to the Odessa fairgrounds for 2019. See you there.