JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015, VOL 40/NO 3
Under the Bonnet
2015! Yes, it is 2015, or at least will be by the time you get to read this. Four years ago, I became the NAMGAR Vice-Chairman and what followed has been four wonderful years of serving our membership. I had the opportunity of getting to meet and know quite a number of our members. In a very short time, this opportunity will be taken on by a new Vice-Chairman and I hope you will welcome Jeff Becker as he takes on these new duties. Jeff has been a long time NAMGAR member and you may have met him at some of the many GTs he has attended. Thank you, Jeff, for stepping forward to serve the membership in this role. I am looking forward to working with you and getting to know you better. I urge the membership to be sure to take some time to say “hello” when you see him.
2015 will present some exciting events for members. GT-40 will be held in Frankenmuth, MI hosted by the Michigan Rowdies. The dates are June 15-19, 2015; so be sure to mark your calendar, book your vacation time, and make your room reservations as you definitely don’t want to miss this. Our host hotel is the Bavarian Inn with a nightly rate of $115 for a standard room; call 1-888-775-6343 and mention the group number 11J4HW. You’ll find more information at the GT website, www.gt40.namgar.com and in the GT article found in this issue. You may want to arrive early as Frankenmuth will be celebrating its annual Bavarian Festival the weekend before the GT and our room rate is good starting on June 12th.
Another thought to keep in mind is that the NAMGBR and NAMGAR annual GTs will not only be a week apart in time, but also a short distance apart from each other. NAMGBR’s MG 2105 will be held from June 8-12 in Niagara Falls, Canada, which is the week before NAMGAR’s GT-40 on June 15-19 in Frankenmuth. Allen Bachelder and Alan Magnuson are looking into planning some events for the days in between for those wishing to attend both events. If this is something you think you’d like to participate in, please drop Allen a line at bachldrs@comcast.net. I’m sure he’d be excited to keep you informed of their plans.
The NAMGAR Board will be discussing the results of the Membership Survey that was conducted from mid-October to mid-December at our annual Board meeting. You speak and we listen; sure hope that you were able to express your opinions in the Survey. This is one way that you, the membership, can let the Board know your concerns. Another is through your Chapter Contact, and Chapters will be playing a vital role in our organization this coming year. We’ll be entertaining some new ideas with the NAMGAR Chapter Coordinators (Ed Sass and Colleen Quinn); I’m sure they will be bringing some new perspectives to their role. So if you are your Chapter’s contact person be on the lookout for correspondence from them; the Board appreciates your help in making the relationship between NAMGAR and its Chapters beneficial to both parties.
At this time, there is a Fall Regional scheduled for the eastern part of the United States. There are still opportunities for more Regionals in either the Spring or Fall; the only requirement is that they occur at least two months apart from the annual GT. Please let Jeff know if your club or Chapter would like to host a Regional in your area of the country. His email will be vicechair@namgar.com. He’ll be happy to assist you.
So to our members in the southern or western part of the country that get to drive their cars all year round, have fun and be sure to send in articles of your adventures, as our editor loves to receive them. For those who have put their cars under wraps until springtime, you’ll have to settle for reading, planning, and waiting for signs of warmer weather. Of course, there’s always the NAMGAR Facebook group to keep you entertained.
As I end my term as Vice-Chairman, I’d like to thank each and every member, as you have made my job both pleasurable and easy. Safe travels!
