Straight Talk January/February 2026
Straight Talk from the “Mann” Cave
Bruce Mann
Happy New Year everyone! Wow another year went by. We hope your holidays were fantastic and memorable. We are now well into the winter months, and many of us are doing maintenance on our MGAs. If you are lucky enough to be in a warmer climate you may still be driving, if not, you know driving season is just around the corner.
For many of us, planning consumes a lot of our time for the next five-year MG International in Sandusky, Ohio. The dates will be August 24-27 of 2026. By now many of you have seen some great advertising in MGA!, on our NAMGAR website, our social media platform and the other registers’ media platforms. This year’s event has many changes in format that all four registers are very excited about. We are planning a big event on the southern shore of Lake Erie. What a great venue, MGs, water and boats. Now if the weather cooperates like it should in late August this event should be over the top.
By the time you receive this magazine, it is very likely that the MG International 2026 registration will be open, and we have a fantastic agenda for you. Registration will be on all of the register’s websites with links to the council website. The Kalahari Resort, in Sandusky, Ohio will take good care of us and the council has planned a very packed agenda that will be remembered for many years to come. Be sure to reserve a room and get your registration filled out because we are expecting a great turnout for this event.
On another subject, NAMGAR will be holding its annual board meeting in late February. We are planning to have a review of the MG International 2026 plans by the council of MG Registers.
We will also be reviewing our NAMGAR performance in 2025. We also have many agenda items to address for 2026 and beyond. I will be reporting on many of these in the March/April issue of MGA!
Everything went so smooth with the change we made in getting the magazine out to everyone, I almost forgot to mention that little detail. We would appreciate your comments in any form you would like but a letter to the editor might be nice, even though we do not have an editor like NAMGAR has had in the past. This is a first, a major milestone accomplishment, a hybrid as I like to call it. Many board and staff members of NAMGAR assisted with making this issue very special.
Going forward, we will need pictures and articles, pictures of your car to drape our MGA! Cover, centerfold and back cover, and yes inside pictures that go with your articles, of your MGA, and Magnette restoration, maintenance and general things you would like to share.
Remember any letters, article and pictures should now be sent to copyeditor@namgar.com.
2025 was a great year for NAMGAR, celebrating its 50-year anniversary, at GT-50 in Traverse City, MI. We enjoyed a great turnout and are looking forward to the next big event in Sandusky, Ohio. GT-52 will be held in French Lick, Indiana in late May of 2027. Planning has already started by Hoosier A’s. Another thanks go out to the Michigan Rowdies for holding their 5th GT.
We were able to manage with a full board and staff this year. While doing so, we also sponsored a couple of regionals this past year.
We have added some hardware to our regalia section on the website, www.namgar.com and our clothing articles have been updated for 2026. So, look around and if in the mood for some change, please purchase some things for the next year. Of we have enough interest, I think we can offer a discount on some apparel.
I personally would like to thank the board and staff for all their countless hours spent bringing you our members a quality product.
Remember the road to success is always under construction.
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