Straight Talk May/June 2025

Straight Talk from the “Mann” Cave
Bruce Mann

Drive your MGA day is now behind us and the warmer weather is upon us. We are now closing the first half of 2025, and we have several things to report.

We had a very productive board meeting, completing all the agenda items submitted by all members of the board.

I would like to thank Mike Jacobsen for submitting our registrar statistics that are in this issue.

Dave Gribler, our treasurer, reported that we are a very healthy register. We are leaving your NAMGAR dues the same going forward. We have not raised our dues since 2008, which is quite remarkable considering inflationary trends. While costs have risen, we have increased revenue while reducing operating expenses.

I am happy to report that we have a very good advertising base that supports not only our MGA! Magazine, our website and our GT’s. As our editor states we dedicate almost eight (8) pages in MGA! to our advertisers. Quite amazing when you think about it. But without their support many things we do today would have to be looked at differently. We appreciate their support, and we want to provide them with a dedicated advertising manager. We found it necessary to separate the communications role into two positions as it was prior to 2022 with an advertiser manager position and a communications manager. This will help in allowing us to focus and concentrate more heavily on the strategic side of the business. We have found that we do an excellent job with tactical issues but are not as good on the strategic side of the business. We feel this separation will allow more time for the development of our website and enhance the features that our membership would like to see.

We have a new Advertising Manager, Jay Edel, a member of the Michigan Rowdies. Jay comes from a very solid financial background and will be also a good candidate down the road as other functions become available with the NAMGAR team. Jay and his wife Debbie have two grown children, and live in Findlay, Ohio.

Jay will be replacing Greg Poffenbarger who filled that role along with the Communications position for well over one year. We thank Greg for volunteering his time to NAMGAR and we are sorry to see Greg move on as he settles into retirement.

Some of the highlights that were achieved at our board meeting were the addition of four (4), additional car classes for our GT’s starting with GT-50. The four car classes added were MGC, separating from our older MGB/MGC class, we have also added a T class for all the precursor classes of MGAs. We added a Midget class, and what we call an other MG class to make sure the MMM cars were represented as well.

We are wrestling with a membership directory that can provide all of us with some advantages while traveling in other cities and states, where you may need to call on another NAMGAR member to assist with your travels. This membership directory has been drawn up and may be available later this year for printing. We think this will be a printable version that a member would access and print whatever they need to carry with him on their journey. We are visualizing that this would be a carriable version laid under your car seat.

NAMGAR’s national event GT-50 is just around the corner. Many of us will drive to Traverse City, MI for a week of fun in the sun. This years Michigan Rowdies will host the 50TH year celebration of NAMGAR’s get togethers.

This will also mark the 70TH anniversary of the MGA. If you haven’t registered yet, there is still time.

See everyone at GT-50!

The road to success is always under construction