Hello fellow Jeepers! I am a Michigan native that only recently returned home to Michigan after 15 years in Joplin, Missouri. In that time, I've owned 4 Jeeps including 1 ZJ and 3 TJ's (a 99, an 03 Rubi, and currently an 05 LJ Rubi). my real name is Erick R., but most friends call me Rook.
While in the south, I became a part of a very close family also known as the Brush Beater Jeep Club. I served as an officer in that club for 11 years and also ran and continue to run the website. Sadly, 700 miles distance between me and the club left me without a Jeep family close enough to wheel with regularly, so I stepped down as an officer, although I will always be a lifelong member of that family.
While living in Joplin, MO, on May 22, 2011, an EF5 tornado ripped through my town leaving my wife and kids mostly unharmed while I was installing a long-arm kit on my Rubi 10 miles away. Our home and nearly all our possessions were lost, but we consider ourselves blessed as we were uninjured and well insured. We built a brand new home on our property and moved in 4 months later.
A string of incidents in our lives brought us to Michigan not long after. Life is finally starting to settle down and I started looking for a local Jeep family. What I have found is a lot of either mostly defunked clubs, or ones largely populated by the kind of people that tend to give the Jeep community a bad reputation.
I think a clubs reputation is everything and needs to be closely guarded. Membership should only be requested or offered once it becomes clear that a prospective member is not only a good fit for the club, but the club is a good fit for a prospective member. Maybe I'm a bit too critical in this regard, but I don't join a club for the "stickers".
A few weeks ago, I posted an introduction on a couple Michigan Jeep Facebook Groups and asked about local clubs. I liked what people had to say about WLBJC. A few weeks after that while going through the Michigan DNR ORV Safety Instructor Academy, I met Paul Hiddie. We talked a lot about the Jeep community and WLBJC. I like that your club supports UFWDA and GLFWDA while adhering to Tread Lightly principles. I'm looking forward to getting to know more of you in time. I'll be celebrating my wedding anniversary on July 12, so I'll miss that meeting, but I'll try meet more of the club soon and often.
Until then, happy and safe Jeepin'!
While in the south, I became a part of a very close family also known as the Brush Beater Jeep Club. I served as an officer in that club for 11 years and also ran and continue to run the website. Sadly, 700 miles distance between me and the club left me without a Jeep family close enough to wheel with regularly, so I stepped down as an officer, although I will always be a lifelong member of that family.
While living in Joplin, MO, on May 22, 2011, an EF5 tornado ripped through my town leaving my wife and kids mostly unharmed while I was installing a long-arm kit on my Rubi 10 miles away. Our home and nearly all our possessions were lost, but we consider ourselves blessed as we were uninjured and well insured. We built a brand new home on our property and moved in 4 months later.
A string of incidents in our lives brought us to Michigan not long after. Life is finally starting to settle down and I started looking for a local Jeep family. What I have found is a lot of either mostly defunked clubs, or ones largely populated by the kind of people that tend to give the Jeep community a bad reputation.
I think a clubs reputation is everything and needs to be closely guarded. Membership should only be requested or offered once it becomes clear that a prospective member is not only a good fit for the club, but the club is a good fit for a prospective member. Maybe I'm a bit too critical in this regard, but I don't join a club for the "stickers".
A few weeks ago, I posted an introduction on a couple Michigan Jeep Facebook Groups and asked about local clubs. I liked what people had to say about WLBJC. A few weeks after that while going through the Michigan DNR ORV Safety Instructor Academy, I met Paul Hiddie. We talked a lot about the Jeep community and WLBJC. I like that your club supports UFWDA and GLFWDA while adhering to Tread Lightly principles. I'm looking forward to getting to know more of you in time. I'll be celebrating my wedding anniversary on July 12, so I'll miss that meeting, but I'll try meet more of the club soon and often.
Until then, happy and safe Jeepin'!