Profile – Mike Jacobsen

Registrar
Mike Jacobsen
Phone: (415) 333-9699
Email

Hi, I’m Mike Jacobsen. I’m a longtime member, going back to 1984. That’s when I answered an ad in Road & Track magazine about a national MGA club. That got me a letter from Ruth Renkenberger, one of the founders of NAMGAR. She told me that I was in luck because the next annual GT was less than twenty miles from my home! Cool, can’t miss that, so I went to Tiburon, California for GT-9. My first volunteer job for NAMGAR was at the GT. The leader for the tour to Jack London’s home couldn’t come, so I got recruited to lead. One of the GT organizers had to ride with me because I had no idea where we were supposed to go.

My navigation skills have improved since then: I’ve been to 23 GTs, driving an MG to 17 of them, always without a GPS unit. My ’60 MGA has been across the country more times than I can remember.

I’m often asked if I’m the MGA’s original owner. (Maybe it’s the grey hair.) I’m not – I was three years old when the car was built – but it was my first car. I got it the summer before my senior year in high school, and before too long I knew I should try to keep the car. It was a big change for me to go from being one of the math geeks to having girls ask to ride in the car, but I managed to cope. There were some problems in keeping the car too, like the time my dad put it up for sale, but I’ve managed to hang onto it for almost 50 years now. To some that may show a lack of sense, but I like to think of it as dedication and perseverance.

In addition to being the NAMGAR Registrar, I’ve been the registrar for the Z Magnette Group for several years, so you can tell that I like the work. The best part is getting to meet more members, through email and on the phone as well as in person.

Remember to let me know if you have any changes in your stable of cars, mailing address, or anything else, so I can make sure NAMGAR has the latest information. I try to attend every GT, so maybe I’ll see you at the next one.