Thank you for a thorough and positively deep analytical article about troubling aspects of naturism today. Kudos to you for the work you put into this. I firmly believe in naturism and the benefits of it, through my participation in it. I have submitted brief articles to The Bulletin (AANR) for publication and have financially contributed to AANR and associated causes. The issue of naturism is too important to us to ignore.
At the risk of sounding like some type of weirdo, there is a trend I have seen, for several years, in men's locker rooms that is not a positive sign for naturism. What I am referring to is that everyone has become super modest and walk back and forth to the showers wrapped in towels or wearing shorts. Initially I thought this was a custom at the specific gym I belonged to. However, I moved to another state and see the same trend in my new gym. It just strikes me as odd that even in a men's locker room people seem to be going to extraordinary measures not to be nude in front of other.
My feeling is that part of the reason for the closure of a dozen camps is partly due to the business model of the camps. Since many of them were started a generation or so ago without any thought to a successor to own or govern them, several closed when the owners passed on without a mechanism for handing them over to a group of investors. One way to ensure the perpetuity of a naturist camp, like any other business, is to establish it in the first place as a corporation, with officers, a succession plan, stock holders, and a larger group of financially responsible caretakers who are willing to be part of a larger entity. This is a tall order but would go a long way to ensure the survival of a naturist camp after a single owner or original group of owners passed on or became unable to continue the management responsibilities. This also raises the issue of a naturist campground organization beginning to train, supervise, and include a new younger generation of stockholders or partners who are prepared to take over. The succession of any business through the "passing the baton" of one generation to the next is always a stressful transition period in any business, but one that would ensure the survival of the business. Therefore I would suggest that the AANR develop a business-training program to assist club owners in preparing for this transition in case they don't already have a plan. Unfortunately, many owner will look at the situation as a time to "cash out" and give the proceeds to their heirs. While this is their right, this situation could have been avoided if a different business model were put in place initially. Many naturists don't concern themselves with these details. However this would help secure the longevity of a naturist corporation. Again, the successors would be groomed well ahead of time and become familiar with the running of the business including taxes, maintenance issues, payroll, expenses, promotion, and state, county, and local governmental relations.
Hi Charles, Shirley Mason (aka, "Mother of Haulover Beach") here. Very good article. It's always good to learn some new information about things you're familiar with. I would like to point out three things that you may want to research and cover in a future article.
1) Florida free beach naturist groups and organizations have taken a different approach to creating safe, well managed clothing-optional beaches and pushing the envelope by successfully challenging anti-nudity rules, local laws and assumptions from government authorities (and the public). It's called the Haulover Model.
2) What has AANR, TNS (since Lee's departure), TNSF, NAC and NEF done proactive to grow nude recreation for either landed clubs and/or c/o beaches?
3) Since our c/o beaches are the natural locations for growing membership in organizations and visitors to privately-owned facilities, what has been done to support these sites and market to skinny-dippers who frequent these locations?
BTW, in my former role as President of South Florida Free Beaches and as executive director of B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation, I have personally tracked the number of visitors to the c/o beach at Haulover and its parking revenue since SFFB established this beach and compared it to the Miami-Dade County's other and much larger textile beach-park. Knowing far too many long-standing historic c/o beaches has been lost and Gunnison Beach at Sandy Hook, New Jersey and Little Beach in Hawaii are being poised to go textile post haste.
Thank you for a thorough and positively deep analytical article about troubling aspects of naturism today. Kudos to you for the work you put into this. I firmly believe in naturism and the benefits of it, through my participation in it. I have submitted brief articles to The Bulletin (AANR) for publication and have financially contributed to AANR and associated causes. The issue of naturism is too important to us to ignore.
At the risk of sounding like some type of weirdo, there is a trend I have seen, for several years, in men's locker rooms that is not a positive sign for naturism. What I am referring to is that everyone has become super modest and walk back and forth to the showers wrapped in towels or wearing shorts. Initially I thought this was a custom at the specific gym I belonged to. However, I moved to another state and see the same trend in my new gym. It just strikes me as odd that even in a men's locker room people seem to be going to extraordinary measures not to be nude in front of other.
My feeling is that part of the reason for the closure of a dozen camps is partly due to the business model of the camps. Since many of them were started a generation or so ago without any thought to a successor to own or govern them, several closed when the owners passed on without a mechanism for handing them over to a group of investors. One way to ensure the perpetuity of a naturist camp, like any other business, is to establish it in the first place as a corporation, with officers, a succession plan, stock holders, and a larger group of financially responsible caretakers who are willing to be part of a larger entity. This is a tall order but would go a long way to ensure the survival of a naturist camp after a single owner or original group of owners passed on or became unable to continue the management responsibilities. This also raises the issue of a naturist campground organization beginning to train, supervise, and include a new younger generation of stockholders or partners who are prepared to take over. The succession of any business through the "passing the baton" of one generation to the next is always a stressful transition period in any business, but one that would ensure the survival of the business. Therefore I would suggest that the AANR develop a business-training program to assist club owners in preparing for this transition in case they don't already have a plan. Unfortunately, many owner will look at the situation as a time to "cash out" and give the proceeds to their heirs. While this is their right, this situation could have been avoided if a different business model were put in place initially. Many naturists don't concern themselves with these details. However this would help secure the longevity of a naturist corporation. Again, the successors would be groomed well ahead of time and become familiar with the running of the business including taxes, maintenance issues, payroll, expenses, promotion, and state, county, and local governmental relations.
Hi Charles, Shirley Mason (aka, "Mother of Haulover Beach") here. Very good article. It's always good to learn some new information about things you're familiar with. I would like to point out three things that you may want to research and cover in a future article.
1) Florida free beach naturist groups and organizations have taken a different approach to creating safe, well managed clothing-optional beaches and pushing the envelope by successfully challenging anti-nudity rules, local laws and assumptions from government authorities (and the public). It's called the Haulover Model.
2) What has AANR, TNS (since Lee's departure), TNSF, NAC and NEF done proactive to grow nude recreation for either landed clubs and/or c/o beaches?
3) Since our c/o beaches are the natural locations for growing membership in organizations and visitors to privately-owned facilities, what has been done to support these sites and market to skinny-dippers who frequent these locations?
BTW, in my former role as President of South Florida Free Beaches and as executive director of B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation, I have personally tracked the number of visitors to the c/o beach at Haulover and its parking revenue since SFFB established this beach and compared it to the Miami-Dade County's other and much larger textile beach-park. Knowing far too many long-standing historic c/o beaches has been lost and Gunnison Beach at Sandy Hook, New Jersey and Little Beach in Hawaii are being poised to go textile post haste.