If they want "help" it should be a select few not solicitated in public for a contracted benefit. Or else feelings, favortism, and butt hurt ensues.
I don't see anything wrong with asking public for help with getting a place ready to wheel/make trails/clean up, etc. etc. In my view, and as Jason stated, for those who love something and are so passionate about it, putting in some "free" "voluntary" time into that said hobby/sport/activity/place is nothing short of what I personally see as "the thing to do" and forget about the money and politics and all that nonsense. Why everything always got to be about money??? I don't make a lot of money but I gladly paid for membership at the flats even though I might have only gone like few times...it's the fact of supporting an awesome local place for me to go when I can and know I'm contributing to the availability of it's operation. Yeah it might have closed for now or forever but at least I know I contributed to the help of it remaining for the years that I did.
We all know the "Off Road scene" is already looked down upon by "organizations" and always looking for reasons to shut us down, so parks are more limited than ever these days. A new or existing place looking for volunteers is an awesome way for them and the public/lovers of the sport to connect and work together to build/maintain such place. So what if somewhere in the process things get hazy or drama or even don't work out...that's life. Work, life, family, hobbies everything has problems and drama and issues but we all deal with them everyday and we all have a choice of how we deal with them. For years of attending the Flats and several times at the Shop, it mind boggled me of how much "drama" talking I always overheard ...I just turned the other way and kept going. I'm not there to gossip and get into the "drama"...I'm there to do my passion and have fun doing it and not let anyone take it away from me!!
And a New Park or Existing Park asking for help is not benefiting them, it benefits the users more than anything which is us!! Again, if you love something you make time for it and put time into it no matter who or what circumstances might try and stop/prevent you and you love that sport/hobby so much, you leave the drama at the door and focus on your passion (unless of course something really crazy or must deal with occurs). I'm sure there is "favoritism", "partiality" and whatever other "nonsense" involved with past/present/future Off Road Parks just as you would have with anything else in life but this is supposed to be our thing....our getaway place to escape the world, escape reality, escape stress and burdens and be just you-the woods-and your rig having an all out blast. Life is full of so much crap already so why let that stuff enter in the place where it's supposed to be free from that just for that moment. This should be a time with our rigs and friends/family to enjoy each other and the sport!!! (I will add should not be a time to get drunk at night and act a fool either or drinking during the day wheeling too as I've seen so many do. That's disrespectful to the owner of the Park, and disrespectful to everyone there because if the person drinking did something stupid, got hurt, required medical attention and ambulance/police were called to the place, then since alcohol/whatever was involved would again give the park and community more bad image as it already has, just sayin).
with a
