A Message From The SFWDA President

J.C.

J.C.

Volunteer
Moderator
Joined
Apr 18, 2005
Location
Greensboro, NC
A Message from the President
Southern Four Wheel Drive Association
March 5, 2014

In the first few days of my new role, it is clear we have many challenges as an association. First, we as a group of volunteers have spent many years building relationships, friends and growing our families around the many SFWDA activities.

As I shared at our 1st Quarter Meeting in Tracy City, TN, we must respect our past but prepare to move forward with a positive commitment to nurture all 4x4 enthusiasts and stay true to our core mission values of “Conservation, Education, and Recreation.” As an association, we fought a very hard battle with our friends at the Blue Ribbon Coalition (http://www.sharetrails.org/) to save Upper Tellico OHV area. However, we lost this war to the USFS and the Federal Courts.

Now is our time to re-purpose this association, our message and refocus our energies. Your association is in the process of shifting our thought processes and communications to reflect the following:

We are the Southern Four Drive Association, a non-profit organization of 4 wheel drive clubs and individual members in the southeastern United States. Our association is dedicated to promoting four wheel drive recreation on both public and private lands, off-road education, responsible land usage and OHV trail conservation. SFWDA proudly supports Tread Lightly, Blue Ribbon Coalition and the United Four Wheel Drive Association.
The primary strategy to create a “New” SFWDA is to reach all 4x4 enthusiasts and support both public and private lands. We need tools to achieve these goals and the first step is the creation and introduction of a new SFWDA logo. Your association is in the final steps of this project and will be introducing this to all of you soon.

Second, we have beat to death the web page ineffectiveness and now we are in the final beta testing steps of a newwww.sfwda.org. These will allow our member clubs and individual members to communicate more effectively and achieve our common goal…RIDE. We exist for one purpose and that is to share family moments with both our old friends and also our new friends. Each of us can be an ambassador of these values and breathe new life into SFWDA.

Another point of our forward looking strategy is to engage the many Facebook and virtual 4x4 enthusiasts and share our passion.

Additionally we will look to create viable long term partnerships with private lands that many of use. We will continue our engagement in key public land use arenas such as the work being done by Carolina Trail Blazers at the Uwharrie National Forest OHV (NC), Georgia Bounty Runners at Beasley Knob (GA) and the Red River Gorge (KY). We need to share and link all groups to support such events 4 Wheeling for a Cure benefiting St. Jude’s Children Hospital, hosted by Rattlerock Club onApril 12, 2014 at Windrock Park (TN).

We need to look beyond our immediate worlds and reach for all 4x4 enthusiasts. Everyone is welcome in our “New” SFWDA.

As we move forward, our actions must reflect a change of attitudes. I ask each of you to share your passion for this 4 wheeling thing we love and touch every 4x4 enthusiasts we can in 2014. We can be true to our core values as we spread the wings of the “New” SFWDA and start down this path of open communications and re-purposing of your association.

Upcoming Events
Uwharrie OHV Jamboree, April 5, 2014 UORTC, Troy, NC
https://www.facebook.com/UwharrieOhvJamboree

4 Wheeling for the Cure, April 12, 2014, Windrock Park, Oliver Springs, TN
http://overlysoffroad.com/

Mud 4 Blood, April 12, 2014, Georgia Bounty Runners, Smyrna, GA
http://www.gbr4wd.com/

SFWDA TrailFest, May 2-4, 2014 Adventure Offroadhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventure-Offroad-Park-Nature-Center/153095141499864
Registration: http://sfwda.org/events/

15th Memorial Day Bash, May 24-27, 2014, Damn Locals, Tracy City, TN
https://damnlocals4x4.com/

SFWDA Summer Meet and Ride, June 14, 2014, Hosted by Georgia Bounty Runners,
Beasley Knob, Blairsville, GA
http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/conf/recarea/?recid=10533

Also look for upcoming news on our events at Trails Training Center,
Sequatchie, TN and SFWDA Dixie Run, Golden Mountain Park, Sparta, TN.

Please join me on this journey. I welcome all your critical thoughts and ideas. Let’s build something that our children and grandchildren can enjoy in their lives.

Thank you,

Ray Stanley
President
Southern Four Wheel Drive Association
ray.stanley@sfwda.org
 
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John I hate to say this but seems like to me Mr. Stanley could make a dang good politician. I read a lot of words but nothing of substance.

What I want to know is what the words support, engagement, partnerships, and commitment really mean when the rubber hits the rock.
 
Rome wasn't built in a day and you can't expect SWFDA to transform in one day. What I gather from his message is an acknowledgement of the problem and a desire to fix it. As he stated, we must all be ambassadors of the sport and contribute.
 
Well Southern has thirty years of heritage and I've been paying dues to them for six of those. They shouldn't have to relearn how to take care of their members.
Maybe someone else can chime in and correct me but the only thing in recent memory they have done for NC is to loan us a couple pieces of wore out equipment to use at URE. Oh and they blew enough money losing Tellico to buy a piece of property.

I just want to know the facts before I give them another years dues.
 
Maybe a better question is what exactly would you have them do?

I don't claim to know the answers but he is acknowledging what everybody said is wrong with SFWDA. I hope you didn't expect him to have these things fixed following his first meeting as pres.
 
The proof will be in the puddin' but for the first time in a long time they are saying the right things.

I dont know Mr Stanley personally but people who I do know and trust know him well and say he is the right person to lead the organization...so Ill give him a shot.

But the proof will be in his actions, no matter what he says good or bad.
 
I feel like this surge of energy from Southern is good but I also think it's kinda like the honeymoon phase. In the beginning everyone's happy and has nothing but the best of intentions. Then as time goes on people get comfortable and the stress gets to them. Next you know they're slipping around and doing dirty things with the Forest Service and somebody ends up with a mess of crabs they have to explain to their constituency.

I'm going to go with "cautiously optimistic" for $800 Alex.
 
I will be honest and say that I have not heard or read a single thing SFWDA has done since I posted that beyond holding their annual Trailfest and Dixie Run events. I couldn't tell you who the leadership is at this point. If I had to guess I would say it's probably the same group of people with several of them repeating as Southern president.

It reminds me of where I used to work. They keep trying to change the culture and hit the reset button but it's never gonna happen because the same group of people are still calling the shots and as long as that never changes neither will it.
 
McCracken said:
I will be honest and say that I have not heard or read a single thing SFWDA has done since I posted that beyond holding their annual Trailfest and Dixie Run events. I couldn't tell you who the leadership is at this point. If I had to guess I would say it's probably the same group of people with several of them repeating as Southern president.

It reminds me of where I used to work. They keep trying to change the culture and hit the reset button but it's never gonna happen because the same group of people are still calling the shots and as long as that never changes neither will it.
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This about sums me up as well.

Stated in my words.
I havent heard anything from them to change my mind, in fact I haven't heard anything form them period.

If things have changed they havent done so in a radical enough way to be apparent nor have they reached out to a former member to re-engage me.

I'll own my share of the lack of effort blame as well though.
 
If I could somehow be president of the SFWDA I would radically change it in a way that would do wonders for the off road community. But, I’d be fighting years and years of a soiled name that most don’t trust and misuse of funds. So it would seem easier to form something completely different, as I mentioned in that other thread.
 
77GreenMachine said:
If I could somehow be president of the SFWDA I would radically change it in a way that would do wonders for the off road community. But, I’d be fighting years and years of a soiled name that most don’t trust and misuse of funds. So it would seem easier to form something completely different, as I mentioned in that other thread.
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We tried to start something over on pirate years ago. It was a separate entity that would work with private parks and help fund their operations. At the time, Southern claimed they could not do that because of their non-profit status. How that prevented them I'm not sure it's been many years so the details are fuzzy. That was when Roger Theurer (sp?) was the president. I attempted to run against him but if you've ever been to a Southern election it's nothing more than an apathetic group of people just wanting to get it over with so they can ride. I was the editor of the newsletter at the time and after I wrote a column about reaching out to the online community using his own words against him I was replaced without notice.

IMO you'd be better off starting your own. You'd have growing pains but at least you wouldn't have the anchor of the Southern name hooked to you. You'd have to build relationships with the Forest Service, which is tough because they talk out of both sides of their mouth and they generally only like dealing with one group. If you do decide to get after it I'll help any way I can.
 
Wow, Jay Bird aka The Ice Cream Man is the president.....again.... what's that make it now, like six times? I'm not joking either. This is what I'm talking about. Granted I recognize none of the others except Walter. He seemed like a pretty cool guy but I never got to know of him well enough.
 
McCracken said:
Wow, Jay Bird aka The Ice Cream Man is the president.....again.... what's that make it now, like six times? I'm not joking either. This is what I'm talking about. Granted I recognize none of the others except Walter. He seemed like a pretty cool guy but I never got to know of him well enough.
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Alan has been around the boys club also
 
Ron said:
Alan has been around the boys club also
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I saw their IG page and it looked like Gary Parsons is still in the mix too.

I'll just say this, if @77GreenMachine is serious then prepare yourself for some long hours. This was the reason I couldn't commit to it when we came up with the idea. Me and another guy named Gary were the ones who were on Team Ramrod. I built the web page and a few other things and then I just had to hand it over.
 
Gary Parsons is a good man. I can not tolerate Ice Cream Man. I haven't read the other post y'all are talking about so I'll catch up. IMO SFWDA rode the coat tails of Tellico and the ranger who was there forever. As my status grew around URE with Scott Fields and Jake Cebulla (URE Ranger) I began noticing how bad Tellico was being maintained. Being the new guy on the block I didnt raise much of a ruckus because I thought they had it handled. Turns out it wasnt so... It was VERY obvious once the Ranger retired and the outside influences started hammering on Tellico. Southern was WAY outclassed! Many trails at Tellico were way beyond repair in the early 2000's, and by beyond repair I mean sustainable enough to keep erosion out of the waters and keep the powers at be happy with our efforts.
And as said already the FS is a two headed snake. I've lost my flame to fight that fight anymore. but I'll follow and cheer y'all along!
 
@McCracken and @Ron i assume you saw the condensed details of my vision in the other thread? It would be an entirely different approach.

As for forest service, screw that. No interest in helping a government ran park. I know that rules out URE and maybe even Harlan. But I think more of the stuff like Gulches, AOP, The Ranch, Choccolocco, etc. Could we have saved GMP? Could we purchase a portion of Callalantee? Could we acquire new land and appoint a park manager under payroll? Could we expand parks like Gulches, The Ranch and more?

All from people who are passionate about off roading and willing to commit to a $5-$7/month membership. A lot could be done with that money. And the more people saw actually results being done with said funding, the more people would get on board.

But as you said handsome face, the hours out in being the suck. I have a family I love spending time with, and demanding her flexible career and inside that flexibility I sure do love actually going wheeling. I’ve got the heart for it, but I get bogged down in forming the non-profit and don’t know about the time commitment.
 
77GreenMachine said:
@McCracken and @Ron i assume you saw the condensed details of my vision in the other thread? It would be an entirely different approach.

As for forest service, screw that. No interest in helping a government ran park. I know that rules out URE and maybe even Harlan. But I think more of the stuff like Gulches, AOP, The Ranch, Choccolocco, etc. Could we have saved GMP? Could we purchase a portion of Callalantee? Could we acquire new land and appoint a park manager under payroll? Could we expand parks like Gulches, The Ranch and more?

All from people who are passionate about off roading and willing to commit to a $5-$7/month membership. A lot could be done with that money. And the more people saw actually results being done with said funding, the more people would get on board.

But as you said handsome face, the hours out in being the suck. I have a family I love spending time with, and demanding her flexible career and inside that flexibility I sure do love actually going wheeling. I’ve got the heart for it, but I get bogged down in forming the non-profit and don’t know about the time commitment.
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WHAT OTHER THREAD?
 
77GreenMachine said:
@McCracken and @Ron i assume you saw the condensed details of my vision in the other thread? It would be an entirely different approach.

As for forest service, screw that. No interest in helping a government ran park. I know that rules out URE and maybe even Harlan. But I think more of the stuff like Gulches, AOP, The Ranch, Choccolocco, etc. Could we have saved GMP? Could we purchase a portion of Callalantee? Could we acquire new land and appoint a park manager under payroll? Could we expand parks like Gulches, The Ranch and more?

All from people who are passionate about off roading and willing to commit to a $5-$7/month membership. A lot could be done with that money. And the more people saw actually results being done with said funding, the more people would get on board.

But as you said handsome face, the hours out in being the suck. I have a family I love spending time with, and demanding her flexible career and inside that flexibility I sure do love actually going wheeling. I’ve got the heart for it, but I get bogged down in forming the non-profit and don’t know about the time commitment.
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The reason I say the USFS is because for some (or at least it used to be this way) that's the only ground they have to wheel on plus being able to help keep it open keeps public lands open to the public. It also builds good PR and when the feds / state come knocking at other private parks they are much more willing to work with you than against you if you have a professional relationship built. Other than that, I completely agree. They're bad two faced and will use you until that a time when they feel you are no longer of use to them.

I'd say if you could get some buy in from the fam you may have a better shot at it. Hey kids load up we've got to go give a check to an offroad park and shoot a short video for our IG account. While we're there let's ride. You may also find that it starts slow so the majority of your time will be getting the paperwork together at the house. The big thing is transparency. It's a cool buzzword that politicians like to use but never put it into practice. That was a big gripe I had back in the day. Southern would not tell you where the money went and how it was being used. I was there when we started the online meetings. It may have been partly my idea. I just remember asking someone where the money went and was told that they would not discuss that on an open forum like online viewing. They claimed that the "other side" might be watching and find out what they were up to :rolleyes: sorry, ran off on a tangent but you get the point.

It sounds like you've got some support here so if it kicks off I'm sure it won't be too much burden if you can spread the load. Many hands make light work or something along those lines. Handsome face, out 😘
 
If a group of folks decide to go it alone and do something new I highly recommend it being UTV/SxS centric. And finding a sponsor like Polaris or Mahindra or even Honda. I hate it, but that’s the future of off roading. Especially now that the street legal bill passed. The uninformed public has the impression that SxS’s are less invasive on the environment. You’ll meet less resistance than when they Conjur the image of a 1980s stye f-100 on 44” boggers ripping through a mud hole when you say “off road”
 
Reid said:
If a group of folks decide to go it alone and do something new I highly recommend it being UTV/SxS centric. And finding a sponsor like Polaris or Mahindra or even Honda. I hate it, but that’s the future of off roading. Especially now that the street legal bill passed. The uninformed public has the impression that SxS’s are less invasive on the environment. You’ll meet less resistance than when they Conjur the image of a 1980s stye f-100 on 44” boggers ripping through a mud hole when you say “off road”
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I disagree completely. If anything I see the SxS crowd as getting a much worse reputation than wheelers ever did. I've met assholes before and even been one. I've yet to find a bigger bunch than those that ride SxSs. They rip shit up, speed excessively, create spider trails, and blast bro country, which should be punishable in some form. IMO they give offroading a terrible name. Now if you're looking to drum up some dollars maybe you do reach out to them but I would put my energy into something for everyone.
 
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