Slipstream - June 2015

Gimme a Minute: May Board Meeting
By Wendy Shoffit, Region Secretary May 6, 2015
President
Jim Falgout
started the
meeting at 6:59
PM. He continues
to encourage Event
Chairs to find assistants
to help out or
step in should the
need arise.
Secretary Wendy Shoffit reported
that she and James had a fabulous
time in Germany, thanks to the support
of Maverick Region (the trip
was a raffle prize at the 2012 Founders’
Day celebration) and the help
of Linda Bambina. The Club Race
at COTA was the following weekend
and was looking good. We should be
financially profitable with it. There
is an upcoming DE on May 23-24
(Memorial Weekend) that could use
an entrant boost.
Autocross Chair Wes Lincoln
couldn’t attend the meeting, but
sent a report that the autocross
school will be Saturday, May 30 (entry
fee $40) followed by an autocross
(a “mirror-cross”) on Sunday, May
31, which is free for school entrants
and $35 for others. He is also working
with the BMW club for a combined
event in the fall. Details to
come.
Concours Chair Andy Kay said he
enjoyed the DE he participated in
very much and had excellent instruction.
He reported that the April
Detailing Clinic at Jack’s Garage had
about 30 attendees (including some
new members), which was a great
success. The May at Mayo’s event
had 120 for dinner and 38 cars in
the show. He presented two “Best
in Show” awards (one for air-cooled
and one for water-cooled cars). He
has products generously donated by
Griot’s Garage to give away at several
events. Next is Autos in the Park on
Sunday, June 7 at the Cooper Aerobics
Center in Dallas.
Treasurer Richard Solomon said
we have roughly $137K in the bank.
We are a little above break-even for
last year (income versus expenses).
DE is currently operating with a
small loss this year, but that should
change. He suggested we promote
the Goodie Store more.
David Robertson filled in for wife,
Social Chair Tracy Robertson.
Founders’ Day will again be at Bent
Tree in November. He also reported
that May at Mayo’s was a great event.
PR Chair Linda Bambina commented
that Jim and Carey are
doing great with the Slipstream
schedule! She will be looking for an
article about the COTA race. She is
also looking for the Maverick Region
banners for use at the upcoming
Autos in the Park event.
Editor Jim Hirsch expressed his appreciation
for all the article writers
and photos sent (complete with captions!).
We are increasing the print
number again for mailings, as needed.
The deadline for the July issue
will be June 8 (instead of June 10)
to accommodate his travel schedule.
He asked about a club calendar that
was mentioned earlier this year. Distribution
was discussed, mailing or
selling in person at Founders’ Day.
He also mentioned the upcoming
printed directory. We will give members
two months to opt out.
Co-Editor Carey Spreen is glad to
be Jim’s assistant. To show appreciation
for the donated goodies, we will
be sending Griot’s Garage a copy of
the newsletter each month.
Sunday Drive Chair Tom Martin
reported that Neill Flood is his assistant
and is actively working to
recruit a few more helpers. The
April Bluebonnet drive was great.
Despite a bad forecast, it turned out
to be good weather. Unfortunately,
because of the Bluebonnet Festival,
the roads were a bit too crowded
and the restaurant that promised
space was also overwhelmed. That
won’t be a problem for the May 30
“Little Ranch on the Prairie” drive,
which will have a catered meal. That
event might be the first ever drive
to make a small profit. A beautiful
drive is coming up in the fall thanks
to the help of some of our East Texas
members.
Rally Chair Don Sebert said he had
a wonderful rally on April 25 with a
great 21-car turnout. George Luxbacher
is his Rally assistant. At the
rally they gave trophies out to 5th
place, plus a “Dead Last But Finished”
and ”Good Job” award (given
to enthusiastic new members). Unfortunately,
they didn’t have a good
place or time during the event to
hand out awards, but they will work
on improving that for next time.
He has received THREE articles
for Slipstream about the event. The
next rally will be in the fall. Check
back for dates and details.
Calendar Chair Brendan Eagan
has worked to improve the look of
online calendar events, including
pictures. He will work to get a 6th
grader to assist, since he admits that
most 6th graders could do his job!
DE Chair Chris Tabor has Daren
Kirbo as an assistant. He commented
that when picking dates last year for
this year’s events, he unfortunately
picked some bad ones, but will work
to improve that for next year. For
example, he will be dropping the
March (spring break) event next
year. The track costs have gone up
and attendance has gone down,
which has put us a bit financially in
the hole for the year. We will continue
to encourage DE attendance.
Mark Schnoerr suggested that we
promote the gentler side of DEs.
Drivers do NOT have to beat their
cars up and run through tires excessively.
He would also like to promote
other driving events of interest to
members.
Membership Chairs Tom and Susan
Froehlich reported 1539 primary
and 857 affiliate members for
a total of 2396. Slightly down from
last month.
Monthly Dinner Social Chair
Stephanie Ho is excited that the
event at Lavendou is coming up. She
has 130 interested, but only 115 slots
guaranteed. There is great interest
and wishes there was more space.
Jim Falgout ended the meeting
reporting that Stephanie Ho is our
Mav of the Month. Congratulations!
Meeting was adjourned.
6 June