NAMGAR 51st GT Banquet Remarks
Good evening, everyone!
I hope you have all had a wonderful time thus far at this very special at MG international 2026. I know there have been plenty of miles driven, stories shared, cars admired, and, hopefully, a few MG adventures along the way and lots more to come.
For those of you that I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, my name is Bruce Mann. I am Chairman of NAMGAR, and in my third year and I can tell you that it is both an honor and a privilege to serve in this position.
Tonight, it is my privilege to welcome you to the 2026 international MG event and NAMGAR’s 51st GT.
On behalf of the NAMGAR Board and Staff, I want to begin by thanking all four Registers for the tremendous amount of work, dedication, and cooperation that went into making this All-MG event such a success.
Events like this simply do not happen without volunteers who are willing to step up and make things happen. So, to everyone who played a part large or small thank you!
And, of course, the Mark of Friendship represents the four Registers that make up the North American Council of MG Registers: MMM, NEMGT, the MGB Register, and the MGA Register.
That symbol that you see in our award-winning MGA! magazine and on our website stands for something very important to all of us our friendship, our shared passion for MGs, and the fact that while we may drive different MG models, we are all part of the same family.
I hope each of you will leave this GT with some great memories, some new friendships, and maybe a few stories that will get better every time you tell them!
Remembering Those We Have Lost
Before I introduce our Board and Staff, I would like to take a moment to remember those members and friends we have lost over the past year.
One person especially close to NAMGAR was Charles “Chaz” De Bourbon, who served as the print designer for MGA! magazine. Chaz was an important part of our magazine team, and his unexpected passing was a tremendous loss to all of us. Not only as a friend but a good man that helped us with our magazine when we were in dire straights after the loss of our long-time editor Mike Tooke who retired after 13 years and the passing of Steve Mazurek, a previous editor that came out of retirement.
Our hearts and prayers go out to Charles’ wife, Kim, and to the entire De Bourbon family.
Kim has graciously stepped in and taken over all of the responsibilities Chaz handled the past year and a half, including laying out MGA! for printing and helping with copy editing.
We are extremely grateful to Kim for continuing that work and helping keep Chaz’s contribution to NAMGAR alive.
Kim, if you would please stand up we would like to recognize you.
Your NAMGAR Board
Now, I would like to introduce the people who make up your NAMGAR Board.
We have six Board members, and I am pleased to say they are all here tonight. I am going to ask each of them to stand and remain standing until everyone has been introduced.
First, from the Chicagoland MG Chapter, our Vice Chairman, Dean Hickenlooper, and his wife, Kerry.
Next, from the Southwestern Ohio Centre MG Club in Dayton, our Treasurer and Secretary, Dave Gribler, and his wife, Lois.
From the MG Car Club of Western New York, we have Dan Suter, NAMGAR’s Communications Manager and Historian.
Dan also contributes to MGA! magazine. His feature, “Looking Back,” highlights GTs from 25 years ago and gives us a wonderful connection to NAMGAR’s history.
Next is Larry Pittman, representing the Michigan Rowdies. Larry serves as an Advisor to the Board and is also the Webmaster for the Michigan Rowdies
Our Registrar Mike Jacobsen, and his significant other Elaine Chan from San Francisco are also here tonight. Mike is a member of the MG Owners Club of Northern California.
Many of you know Mike very well. He has served as our Registrar for the past seven years, doing a tremendous job handling all our registration needs and much, much more. Mike is certainly a go-to person and has a great knowledge of how NAMGAR works.
Unfortunately for us, this is Mike’s final year as NAMGAR Registrar. Mike, we want to thank you for seven years of outstanding service, and we wish you and Elaine a very happy retirement. Any time you want to come back just pick up the phone and give us a call. We will all miss you that I can promise.
And finally, I would like to introduce my wife, Willie Mann, who serves as the Chapter Contact for the Michigan Rowdies. Willie has been a tremendous supporter of myself and of NAMGAR, and I certainly couldn’t do what I do without her.
Let’s give all our Board members and their spouses a well-deserved round of applause!
NAMGAR Staff
Now I would like to recognize the members of our NAMGAR Staff.
Ed Sass and Collene Quinn, our Chapter Coordinators from the Texas Register.
Kevin Childers, our Regalia Chair from Memphis, Tennessee. Kevin is also President of the Memphis British Sports Car Club.
Dave McCann, better known to many of us as “Famous Dave,” from Springfield, Ohio, and a member of the Southwestern Ohio Centre MG Club.
Dave handles our visual aids, media information, car show statistics, and a whole lot more. If there is something that needs to be seen, counted, displayed, or figured out, there is a pretty good chance Dave has something to do with it!
Theresa Gaffney, our Document Control Coordinator.
Theresa has the challenging job of keeping our NAMGAR documents current as changes are made and making sure those changes receive the proper review and approval from the Board.
Theresa was also recently appointed President of the Peachtree MG Chapter in Georgia.
Ken Nelson, columnist for MGA! magazine, where he writes “At Leisure.” Ken is also the newsletter editor for the Michigan Rowdies. And, of course, we must recognize his wife, Kathy, as well.
Bob Shafto, our Technical Editor, is now in his third year of bringing us outstanding technical articles. I think we all appreciate Bob’s passion for detail and his willingness to dig into the technical side of keeping our cars on the road. Bob is also a member of Michigan Rowdies.
And finally, Jay Edel, our Advertising Manager, who lives in Findlay, Ohio. Jay is a member of the Ohio Buckayes
Let’s give our entire staff a big round of applause for everything they do for NAMGAR!
Our Past Chairmen
We are also fortunate to have a couple of our past Chairmen with us this week.
Tom Meeden, from Washington State, served as NAMGAR Chairman for five years. Tom is the Chapter Contact of MG Car Club Northwest Center in Washington.
And we also have Bruce Woodson and his wife Carol with us tonight. Bruce served as Vice Chairman and Chairman for nine years. Bruce was also the technical editor for NAMGAR for many years.
Bruce lives in Richmond, Virginia and is a member of the Central Virgina British Car Club
It is always great to have our past leaders back with us. Their contributions helped build the organization we have today, and we appreciate their continued support.
First Timers
Now, let’s recognize some of the people who are helping write the next chapter of NAMGAR. Would all our first-time GT attendees please stand and give them a nice round of applause.
We had over 100 first timers registered and in attendance this year! And to all of you first-timers welcome to the family. We hope this is the first of many GTs you will attend. If you are not a NAMGAR member yet we will be more than happy to get you signed up. Just see when of our other members and I am sure they can guide you to the right person to help.
A Little NAMGAR Business
Now, I promise I won’t turn this into a Board meeting!
But I do want to share a few things about the organization we all support.
NAMGAR is a nonprofit organization, classified as a 501(c)(7). The good news is that financially, NAMGAR is in very good shape.
We have not increased membership dues in many years, and there are currently no plans to do so.
That is something we are proud of, but it doesn’t happen by accident. It takes good stewardship and volunteers who are willing to give their time.
And that brings me to a little advertisement.
We need volunteers!
We need people willing to help with Board and Staff positions and with the many things that keep NAMGAR moving forward. We need a replacement for Mike Jacobsen as our registrar; we need an Editor for the magazine. As most of you know we have been a very hybrid organization when it comes to the magazine. It has been very fluid since Mike Tooke retired, a few years ago. Talk about the changes!
I’ll be the first to admit it can be challenging. But I also believe that getting involved is one of the best ways to stay young at heart.
If you have an interest in helping NAMGAR, talk to any of us. We would be happy to sit down with you and talk about how you might become involved.
Looking Toward the Future
We have also been working behind the scenes to improve the way NAMGAR operates. We are nearing completion of a major rewrite of the system we use to capture and manage member demographics, and car registrations
One of our members, Dave Sill, has been working with our Registrar, Mike Jacobsen, on the rewrite of what we call NAMGAR 4.
This is a significant step forward for us and will help NAMGAR keep pace with technology and the changing needs of our membership.
But as important as technology is, there is another challenge that is even more important.
Membership
All of us recognize that none of us is getting any younger. And that presents a real challenge not just for NAMGAR, but for the other Registers, our local chapters, and MG clubs throughout North America.
We need to find ways to introduce younger people to these wonderful cars and to the MG hobby we love.
The good news is that we are working on it. The September/October issue of MGA! will be dedicated in large part to this effort.
Communication is going to be critical. We need to consistently tell people what NAMGAR offers and, more importantly, why being part of NAMGAR makes owning an MGA or Magnette even more enjoyable.
The reality is that our membership has been declining for several years. Your Board is very aware of this, and we have been communicating about that challenge through our various media outlets.
I believe this is one of the biggest issues facing NAMGAR as we look toward the future.
Growing Our Membership
We have also started a market test with two restoration and repair shops: Rusty Moose Garage in Grand Haven, Michigan, and Quality Coaches in Minnesota.
Both shops have graciously agreed to help us by distributing issues of MGA! along with introductory letters and membership applications to customers who bring their MGAs and Magnette into their shops.
Why are we doing this?
Because there are thousands of MG owners out there who simply don’t know about NAMGAR and what we can offer them.
In our 54 chapters across North America, we have more than 6,000-chapter members, but only about 750 NAMGAR members.
Think about that for a moment. That means there is an enormous opportunity right within our own organization. We don’t have to find people who love Mgs. They’re already out there.
We just need to introduce them to NAMGAR. And that’s where every one of us can help. If you know someone who owns an MGA or Magnette but isn’t a NAMGAR member, talk to them.
Tell them about the magazine, the technical benefits, along with our national events, and the friendships they can make.
Tell them about the knowledge and experience that exists within this organization. Because when it comes right down to it, NAMGAR isn’t really about an organization.
It’s about people, the people who love these cars, helping each other to keep running. It’s about friendships that last for decades, and it’s making sure that the next generation gets the opportunity to experience what we have.
Our Future: So, as we look toward the future, I want to leave you with one thought.
The future of NAMGAR depends on all of us. The Board and staff can’t do it alone. Our Chapters can’t do it alone; it takes all of us. We have a wonderful organization, a tremendous history, and some of the finest MG enthusiasts anywhere. Now we need to make sure we pass that enthusiasm along.
Let’s introduce more people to NAMGAR. Let’s bring more MGA and Magnette owners into our family. Let’s encourage our younger generation to discover what makes these cars and the people who own them so special.
And most importantly, let’s continue doing what MG owners have always done so well: Have fun, help each other, and enjoy the ride.
Thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving as your chairman.
Thank you for everything you do for NAMGAR. And most of all, thank you for being part of this wonderful MG family. Have a great evening, enjoy the rest of the banquet, and here’s to many more years of MGs, friendships, and great GTs!
Cheers, everyone! And Safety Fast, and Thank you all for coming
One more thing before dinner I would like to introduce Ed Sass and Coleen Quinn, our chapter contacts to present this year’s Chapter Recognition Award.
Ok let’s have dinner. After dinner we have a few awards and a couple of presentations.
Thank you
