Slipstream - April 2006

The Inside Track
by Rocky Johnson, the Maverick Region President
Recently the board was chided for not
making it easier for people, particularly
new members, to know what positions
might be available or how to go about
volunteering.
The initial reaction to that charge was
generally one of skepticism. After giving it
more thought, I decided there might be merit to the idea after
all. Thinking back to my early days, I can understand how it
might be a bit intimidating to get involved. Most of us are guilty
of tossing out acronyms we take for granted that everyone
understands. For example, someone might say we're running
MSR counterclockwise at the next DE; the car was progressed
from F stock to E prepared when they put on Big Reds; I had TTD
at the last AX; the R compounds bumped me up a class; we're
having a tulip rally, etc. MSR, Big Reds, TTD, R compounds, are
all terms we know and love. But what about the new folks or the
member who finally decided to venture out to a Happy Hour
after reading about them in Slipstream for a couple of years?
It was also pointed out that our listing of Board, Officers
and Chairs in Slipstream doesn't always clear up confusion
about who does what.
Traditionally, when someone steps down from a position, it
has been their responsibility to recruit their replacement. This
usually means the recruit has been active in that area of the
club for which they are being recruited. As an example, Bill
Miller and Chuck Machala recruited Brian Petri and Bryan Bell
to chair Autocross and Time Trials. Both had been active and
we expect the events will run as smoothly as ever. Does this
mean we overlooked someone with great credentials that we
didn't know about? Could be! This could be the case in any
number of areas. It's a dilemma for which I don't claim to
have an answer. We do know that the vast majority of Maverick
members never become active in the club and in fact many
don't bother to renew their PCA membership.
Obviously, I'm biased; I love the club and have a great time
at a wide variety of our events. My question to all of you is how
do we get our members involved? Everyone on the board is
interested in the answer to that question. Give us a call, drop us
an email, and share your thoughts.
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