January 2020 REmarks

Happy New Year! It’s a new year, a new decade and a new Regional Executive.

I’d like to thank Chris Gregor for his many years of service on the Board of Directors and especially as the Regional Executive for the last two years. His second term on the board concluded at our 2019 Annual Meeting back in November. At that same meeting our latest board members elected me to the Regional Executive position and I am honored to serve the Chicago Region in this capacity. I am also confident that I can count on my fellow board members support — their experience is truly an asset to the club.

I’ve been a member of SCCA for just over 25 years. I was initially bitten by the “autocross bug” but have found there are many ways to participate in club activities. My current area of interest is our track programs — Track Days, Time Trials and TrackSprint. We’ve experienced quite a bit of success with these programs in the past and hope to further develop them in the coming years. If you haven’t been to any of these events, I encourage you to consider coming out to watch or participate.

2020 is also a big year for our Road Racing program. In addition to the always impressive JuneSprints, this year has the SCCA Runoffs returning to Road America in early October. We anticipate increased participation at events held at Road America this season and it should make for an exciting Runoffs for our local members who will hopefully have a leg up on their competitors from outside the midwest.

This month has several Chicago Region members attending the SCCA National Convention in Las Vegas. As one of the larger regions in SCCA, we have quite a bit of experience to share with others. I’ll be attending for my second time ever and I personally look forward to discovering what’s been successful in other regions in addition to what pitfalls to avoid. I’ll also be making a presentation on TrackSprint and hope that our event format proves to be a model for other regions to follow.

Finally, I must remind you of our Checkered Flag Party coming up on February 15th. There is nothing better than an evening spent with like minded auto enthusiasts wining and dining amidst the exceptional cars at Ferrari Lake Forest. You could not ask for a better venue for a SCCA banquet. Be sure to register for this event early. You’ll find the link to register on the Calendar page on the region website — which you should bookmark as it’s going to be updated soon with additional events as schedules are finalized.

See you at the track!

P.S. I know, it’s winter, but maybe we’ll get an early spring this year? 😉

Erik Vandermey
Regional Executive
Chicago Region SCCA