ED4: A Helping Club
Over many months of being a prospectus member, I noticed a theme I have seen repeatedly in the time I’ve been considering joining the club. The theme is how the club helps its members and others in the community. This quality really makes the club shine as compared to other groups that are more social in nature and do not have a mission to help the off-roading community. My first trip that was with Esprit de Four was in May of 2019. I attended the safety clinic as a student with my stock 2015 JK Wrangler Sport along with my son. We camped out Friday night and got to know some of the club members at campfire. Unfortunately, it rained during the clinic cutting things short, so I didn’t get to know everyone. In order to complete the clinic, we attended the next safety clinic camping out again in September of 2019. I was able to meet almost all of the club at this event and learned of other events that club members attend.
After two clinics, not only was I much more informed at being safe on the trail, but I was also hooked on off-roading. I wanted a more capable rig than my stock JK but didn’t know what or how. My son was about to get his license and while I wanted to have him drive the Jeep, I wanted to upgrade. During the September safety clinic, CJ and I discussed this situation. We got to talking about “projects” vehicles that would be good for dads and sons. I proceeded to buy another Jeep (an under-loved 2003 TJ Sport) with the intent of working on both Jeeps with my son. Due to the club’s help, I learned directly from those who have been through similar upgrades before. This person to person help is so much more valuable, responsive and personal than watching YouTube videos or reading websites.
I decided to attend King of the Hammers in February 2020. The club told me where to find them in the mass of 60,000 attendees. They offered me a windbreak for camping out in my Jeep, dinner, and friendship taking me to some of the key events of the week. It was here that I really talked about what I could do with the “new” 2003 TJ. The group really took the time to share with me their deep knowledge of the learnings they gathered over the years.
Over the course of the summer, the TJ got bigger 35” tires, beadlock wheels, a long arm lift and full armor. Meanwhile, my son and I learned how to make small repairs. We redid brakes, added a winch, replaced wiring, and belt drive accessories on the TJ. We swapped out the radio and added a backup camera on the JK. During these upgrades and repairs, the club helped on Facebook, via email, and volunteered to stop by to assist with modifications. This in turn helped me and my son to have a project during the 2020 pandemic.
In December, we participated in the toy drive where the club donated eleven rigs worth of toys to Toys for Tots.
In February I started to pay the help forward, guiding another prospectus around on their first trip to Hollister in their new rig. I was also able to help with the May 2021 safety clinic. Even though I was a prospectus, I had been to enough events that I decided to volunteer. I was able to arrive early on Thursday and saw the hard work the club put into preparing for the event. Magnus provided us all with dinner - Chicken/Sausage de Four - which gave us great energy for the work ahead. On Friday, I was able to assist with repairing the obstacles getting them ready for clinic attendees. Kelly, Bruce, and others did the hard work of moving boulders to fill in holes that would have tripped up new drivers. On Saturday, my son and I were able to help attendees get checked into their groups and then later spot the ravine crossing and hill climb with Rick.
During the clinic, the club helped two vehicles that were in Hollister, but not part of the clinic. On Friday, two club members provided tools and expertise to fix a disabled pickup truck on the obstacle course getting a family home. On Saturday, towards the end of the clinic, the club provided emergency communications to help rangers get immediate help to a roll-over. Later once everyone was safe, the club performed the recovery of the rig. These repairs and assistance were clear demonstrations of what drew me to this club early on. Esprit de Four is always there to help other off-roaders not only with education, but with needed help making sure no one is left behind.
Over the months of these events, I attended club meetings and saw how the club members helped each other - sometimes loaning out equipment, sometimes bringing tools and themselves to help repair each other’s rigs - other times just being there to lend thoughts and prayers for challenges club members were having in their lives. During these meetings, Dennis and the club spend time talking about what support the California Four Wheel Drive Association needs to ensure all of California off-roading is well taken care of.
I look forward to being part of Esprit de Four helping others over the coming years.
-Andrew Spyker (prospective member)