MARCH/APRIL 2016, VOL 41 NO 4

As the first quarter of 2016 is rapidly passing, here is some information about NAMGAR that bears telling. NAMGAR currently has 57 Chapters located in 28 states, three Canadian provinces, and one international chapter in Norway. We also have seven Special Interest groups; two who are very active, the Z Magnette Group and the MG Vintage Racers. We do have a slight problem, as our membership is getting older and we currently have just over 1900 members; we seem to lose slightly more members each year than we gain.

I’m mentioning this as currently we are operating within our budget; but there is concern that in the future this may become a problem. So what can we do about it to ensure that NAMGAR continues to exist for another 40 + years? One way would be to have every member reach out to someone they know or meet that owns one of our Register’s cars and encourage them to join the NAMGAR family. Along those lines, the Board has extended the Membership Incentive Program which gives each member a one-time opportunity to extend their membership six months by bringing in a new member (a person who has never been a member) until the end of 2016. It had been designed to expire at the end of April.

A second opportunity to expand our ranks is that if you sell your car or pass it down to one of your offspring that you include as part of the deal a one-year membership to NAMGAR. Now once we get a new member what is necessary to keep that member, you may ask? Well, I’m thinking that we need to make sure that a new member feels welcome and included. So when you are at a GT or other NAMGAR event, be sure to be on the lookout for those folks who may seem to be a bit overwhelmed or are on the outskirts of the group; draw them into conversation (find out where they are from and what they are driving, everyone loves to talk MG after all). This is even more critical this year, as the all MG meet has so many more people attending; and those who are new, or those who haven’t attended a GT in a while, may feel a bit lost.

The NAMGAR Board met in the middle of January and accomplished the astounding feat of actually coming up with a balanced budget for 2016. That’s tongue-in-cheek, as everyone knows a budget is a guideline; but I’m happy to report that we are on schedule to have another good year. The Board was surprised to find out how much is actually spent to produce and mail our award winning MGA! magazine; it comes to $27.72 per U.S. member, $45.72 per Canadian member, and $67.08 per Overseas member. What does the rest of your dues get spent on? There’s insurance for all Chapters, which covers their events; plus a second policy for directors and officers liability. Both policies are paid entirely by NAMGAR. Besides the insurance, we have a website to maintain and update. Members can network with each other via the NAMGAR Facebook page; this is being used by our members more than Twitter. Chapters hosting Regionals get a monetary donation from NAMGAR to help with the cost of their Welcome Reception. Each Chapter may also nominate a member to receive the Renkenberger Spirit Award once every three years; NAMGAR provides the award at no cost to the qualified Chapter or Interest group. There is also the cost of stocking and shipping regalia items. I’m sure there is still a long laundry list of various other items; but you can begin to get the picture.

The final item I need to bring to your attention is that the Board has revised the Chapter Recognition Award that is given out at the annual GT. There will now be a point system and I’m sure it will need some tweaking as we try it out. Here’s the start: every Chapter is eligible to compete for a $100 award to use as they desire. Points will be awarded as follows:

• 10 points for hosting a GT.
• 5 points for hosting a Regional.
• 3 points for having a complete chapter profile on www.namgar.com.
• 3 points for providing an annual report to our Chapter Coordinator, including number of NAMGAR members and total number in the chapter by December 31st.
• 2 points for submitting chapter newsletter to NAMGAR.
• 2 points for GT attendance with greater % of chapter membership.
• 1 point for article submission and publication of an event or activity (other than GT or Regional) to either MGA! or the website (maximum of two per year).
• 1 point for each new NAMGAR membership.

This will go into effect for the award presented starting with GT-42 in 2017. So I’ll end with saying, “Good luck to all chapters!”