Something about Cnickgo

[Cnickgo]

For those who don't know me or would like to know me better.

I am Nick Whitehead (24) of Cary, NC. I have been living in Cary for the last ten years. Before that I lived in Harrisonburg, VA, and born in Chapel Hill, NC. I have been in the SEC my entire life and love it. I currently work in Construction Management, and plan to be back in school for LEO or EMT within a year.

I have owned my XJ for 4 years now, and have been a member the same amount of time. In that time there has not been a bolt on that Jeep I haven't touched. has been there to guide me the whole way. What started as doing my own mechanical work to save money opened me to a community and friends that still manage to amaze me daily. Other hobbies include camping, hiking, backpacking, fishing, shooting, leatherworking, etc. Anything that gets me outdoors and enjoying life.

I have had leadership roles since high school lacrosse and the BSA, On through the majority of the jobs I have held, most recently moving from a laborer to field supervisory to an office position in less than 6 months. I enjoy working with others and utilizing individuals strengths to build the best possible group.

I am interested in the SEC President position utmost because I want to give back to the community that has given me so much. I plan to uphold and grow the camaraderie of the members, the events of the chapter, and land use contributions. I believe there are opportunities to grow our membership through participation in events and outreach to XJ owners. I think that the Crawl and Flog are run very well and want to continue those traditions, and I want to play a more active role in organizing smaller local events that get more members involved. As some people are aware, Tim and I have worked hard to support the efforts of Friends of Uwharrie and promote positive land use of the trails in the Uwharrie National Forest. I plan to continue these efforts and evaluate the needs of other public lands in the SEC.

Enough talking about me. Please feel free to ask me, here or privately, anything else you would like to know. What's more important to me is to hear from you. What would you like to see? What would you want me to do as President? Thank you for taking the time and reading this.

Throttle fixes everything.

 

[FlexdXJ]

Nick good luck to you man! I will bow out because I am not an SEC member but I will say that you are a very smart guy who is dedicated to keeping the SEC as great as Ed, Glenn and Mark have done! :cheers:

 

[High2by]

Thanks Nick!!!!

 

[PacificEd]

Thanks for taking on the challenge.

How do you feel about a calendar of events for the year even if it can be difficult to do all the items planned?

Do you feel any changes need to be made with the Crawl such as time and location?

 

[Lowrange2]

Nick, I have a question for you. It sorta goes along with Ed's second question if you read between the lines.

The SEC is a large chapter that covers a LOT of miles. Most of the SEC Membership is located in the upper SEC states. I can think of 3 active members in South Carolina. How do you plan to get the folks in the lower states more involved?

Thanks for running, Man.

 

[043500]

Being in one of the 'lower' states... I hate to think of a split BUT I know if there was almost a chapter within the chapter it may make us down here able to be a bit more active.

I've been to 2 Crawls myself in Tellico (2005 and 2006) and loved wheeling and camping with all of you. And I WANT badly to go to Harland...but it's so far away and our money tree farm down here isn't doing so well. Plus it's far enough from me it's hard to get that much time away from the farm as it were (we don't have a real farm but lots of animlas) since we have to plan an extra 1 to 2 days round trip for travel.

There are a LOT of XJ's down here in Florida and I'd wager just as many in GA. There are a fair few MJ's down here too. (I'm not trying to leave any states out but we are the southern most in the SEC.

Having a more southern activity may help. I am in no way saying move the Crawl or anything of that magnitude unless it's a chapter based decision and everyone agrees...hell I am already figuring out along with my best friend here how to afford to get both tow rigs, jeeps, and families to Harland next year. But a more southern (say southern GA event...even if small) may help. It seems there's the Crawl, then the Flog which take place in the summer and fall respectively. What about a late winter or early spring deal somewhere here? Even if it is just a meet'n'greet/campout. I'll admit there isn't much wheeling here other than mud and sand but we have miles of beaches and plenty of places to camp/cookout. I have room for several folks to park and camp on my 3 acres just to get something sparked up if need be. I'd love to wheel somewhere in north FL or south GA but I don't know where to go to get away from a mud/sand only ride... BUT would be willing to travel 2-3 hours to get there as would others I know for a weekend event. Then there would still be the BIG event being the Crawl.

Just some thoughts.

Congrats and good luck.

 

[Cnickgo]

Thank you guys for the questions.

To answer Ed's first question, I think a calender is beneficial even if items don't follow through, for the simple odds and numbers. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Many times people say they don't attend an event because they didn't have enough advance. Even if the calender is nothing but rough estimates, it gets the ball rolling and gets people thinking.

Now, about the Crawl. First off, I do not want to change the location of the Crawl. I believe it is the best suited facilities and trail system for our largest event, that provides multiple levels of accommodations and trails. I am happy with the date, however if the majority of the participants want to change it, that's fine by me.

Here is this big one. I want to preface this, that it's been an issue that I have taken personal interest in and have been working on with Tim in NC. I'm ready to use what we have learned in the whole of the SEC, especially the lower states. I want to use our biggest resource, our members, to make that happen.

I understand (at least partially) the difficulty to get around our large chapter. Even the 6 hours to the Crawl takes months of planning and saving for me. Someone in Florida has a D44 that fits my needs perfectly, however I can't justify the diesel and time to go pick it up. I would love to go camping with Stump, GA is a haul for a regular weekend. I don't believe that we will ever be able to completely close these gaps. There are some wonderful times that we get to meet people from distant lands. I met Shorty when he dropped everything to come down to Carolina Beach for the day. I met Tanasi when Tim and I traveled to Knoxville for Doug's surprise birthday party. I saw Dave for the first time in years at the URE Jamboree. How did all of these happen? Through smaller local events put on by regular members. It is up to us to make it happen. This forum is the greatest resource for communicating before and after events, small or large. My goal is to assist members in whatever way I can to put together local events, get the word out and make it happen.

There was a movement in the past to make local Coordinators. Someone willing to step up in an area and be a liaison to the rest of the SEC, as well as plan and execute events. This is something I want to reconsider. I have seen many people say that they want to help the SEC, but can't devote enough time to a BOD seat. This could be just the ticket.

Tim and I have also talked about ways to reach out to people that do not know about , or for one reason or another have chosen not to join . I come from a state with a very prominent local offroad forum and community. There are so many XJ/MJ owners in that community that do not participate with us. Most of them just don't know we exist. Some have a negative opinion. There are other XJs I see on the road everyday that have no club stickers. How do we contact these people? One thing could be a business card, Nice XJ! Come say Hi. The more local events we have to invite these people to, the more likely they are to participate in our community. The more people interested in the area, the more local events will happen. It's the circllllle of liiiife! (sorry I needed some humor in all this serious talk).

Finally, 043500, I think you have a very interesting idea with a 3rd, more southern event. This is something I want to pursue and converse with the chapter to build ideas as to what to do and where. Thank you for this great suggestion. You should go RED! Thank you for your contribution and interest, we will be in touch

So to sum up now that my fingertips are raw. Our larger events work well and I do not want to change them. I want to use the resources and knowledge of the whole SEC to support and assist members in starting and building smaller local events to build participation in all areas of the chapter.

I'm Cnickgo, and I'm running for President, I'd really appreciate your vote (in the voice of Pat McCoy radio commercial).

 

[PacificEd]

:thumbup:

Keep the Crawl as is, where is.

 

[stumpXJ]

Dang Nick... I swear we didnt confer with each other before our separate replies, but its nice to know we agree about it all!

 

[Cnickgo]

Dang Nick... I swear we didnt confer with each other before our separate replies, but its nice to know we agree about it all!

No kidding man! Good stuff.

 

[Team Willys]

Glad to hear this... I'm down!

 

[043500]

You should go RED!

I just renewed.

 

[PacificEd]

Do you think events like the Flog will shift east?

How do you feel about having dual events like the Flog? Ghost did this several years ago. One Flog was in TN (Windrock) and the other in NC (Uwharrie)?

 

[Cnickgo]

I don't see moving the Flog east to be beneficial to the chapter. I like the idea of a dual Flog in Uwharrie and/or a third event farther south.

 

[PacificEd]

Do you believe using the Chat feature on is a good way to communicate with the membership?

 

[PacificEd]

When you become President, can we expect Cobbler Chris to attend all SEC eating functions?

 

[stumpXJ]

LOL... I second that. I think we should pitch in for his plane ticket from Michigan!

 

[Cnickgo]

My secret weapon for chapter participation!

 

[PacificEd]

LOL... I second that. I think we should pitch in for his plane ticket from Michigan!

Did he move? I thought he was from NC. Maybe just going to school in NC?

I like that he is of definite interest to the BOD.

 

[Cnickgo]

Did he move? I thought he was from NC. Maybe just going to school in NC?

I like that he is of definite interest to the BOD.

He is in Michigan at Oakland U. for his phd. He is in fact flying home for the holiday next week and we are in charge of dessert...