The Auburn Jeep Club, Since 1951. The oldest Jeep only club in the country!
The Auburn Jeep Club is a non-profit club based out of Auburn California. We serve the community by volunteering at various charity events, school functions, veterans events, and by supporting local youth programs. Additionally we have been a champion of responsible Jeeping and use of the outdoors. We proudly partner with organizations such as the Rubicon Trail Foundation and our local governments to ensure our trails stay open for everyone. In order to support these and other causes and events we hold two major fundraising events every year, our Crab Feed in January and our Rubicon Trail trip in July.
So that's the official side of who we are and what we do. Now for who we are in everyday life. Today the Jeep club has 40 members and several life members. In the beginning it was a smaller group of around eight who were looking for an adventure. The war had ended and Jeeps were plentiful. Around 1949 some friends decided to take a trip across the mostly abandoned trail to see what it offered. After a successful trip they went a couple more times before officially deciding to start the club in 1941. At that time it was just friends and family out having fun but the group was growing and they began to include games, meals, and entertainment. More and more guests began joining the group and the annual event was well established. Also, a couple of years later, in 1953, the Jamboree trips started which seemed to mimic what the club was doing. What's that old saying about imitation and flattery? In 1959 the members decided to get a little more serious and formed the non-profit we operate under today. Along with that came rules and organization, board members, elected officials, member dues, and of course taxes. The trips kept growing and so did the membership numbers. What was eight became 15 then 20, then more. As part of the by-laws membership caps were implemented to where today we have a max of 40 active members.
We are often asked what it takes to join the club. Our answer is always participation. We hold several public events a year which gives perspective members the chance to introduce themselves to our members and learn more about what we do. Once we get to know you and you participate in enough events, if there is an open spot you can ask someone to sponsor you and submit an application.
Our members come from all walks of life, store owners, bankers, utility workers, government employees, construction workers, mechanics, dentists, just about any industry you can think of in the area. Besides Jeeps we share many things in common most important of which if family first. We are, above all, family.