February 2010 REmarks
Welcome to spring. Well, we’re almost there. We have an exciting year of over 20 events planned in the Chicago Region involving a wide variety of activities including Street Survival, Performance Driving, Solo, Rally, Club Racing and membership meetings.
Many thanks to Chicago region member, Mr. Paul Brian of WLS radio Chicago, and the Chicago Automobile Trade Association for hosting our January general meeting. Mr. Brian presented a history of the Chicago Auto Show, and provided some insights into this year’s show. Thank you to the many members that took time to staff the 2010 Chicago Region SCCA booth. The number of members who attended made this meeting one of largest in recent times.
At the annual convention, Chicago Region contributed $1,000 in a joint CENDIV donation to the SCCA Foundation. Our enthusiasm, at the annual banquet, inspired at least two other divisions to do the same. In total, over $12,ooo was raised for the Foundation.
I hope to see you all at our next meeting March 28th at CIR. We’ll be inviting the contacts we made through the auto show. Following a brief review of club business, Mr. Jeff Speers, from Hoosier tire, will speak and we will wrap up our meeting, with all of us greeting prospective members and identifying their interests and how to get started.
SCCA National has enhanced their membership programs. Families will find they can save $5 on membership. All limits on the “New Member Referral” program have been removed. And at the regional level we have two incentive plans; one based on participation and the other on new member referrals. Visit our web site for additional information. Remember, the new member referral programs do not exclude you from submitting the same name for referrals to both the national and regional program.
My short-term goals remain the same; the return of Piston Patter and improving communications using multiple avenues, and second, to expand our new membership opportunities. I believe we are making progress.
Don’t forget to add another date to your calendar for our General Membership on April 21st where we will celebrate the anniversaries of our members. Entertainment will also include a speaker.
In Your Service,
Mike Smith
RE, Chicago Region SCCA
