President’s Column, October 2006

by Bob Morin

We’ve had a few events since my last column, the first one being the Fun Rally held on August 20th.  The turnout for this event was quite disappointing with only 13 cars, but everyone who attended gave it high marks for the fun factor, so it’s too bad more of you weren’t able to enjoy it.  Thank you to Sheila for helping me put on this event.  I ran into many Chapter members on Labor Day at the Vintage Fall Festival and I’m sure many more enjoyed the Saturday and Sunday festivities as well.  September 10th was our regional ’02 Fest East.  Unfortunately, it was my Sunday to work, so we were not able to attend this one, but I understand there were some new ‘02s this year and some different winners this year also.  A big thank you to Willy and jerri Wiley for tackling the organization of this event again this year and we hope to have a committee of help for next year’s event. 

The next event was our Bike Ride from Simsbury to Farmington, CT on September 17th.  Most of those who attended rode about 18 miles and then we loaded up and went to an outdoor café for some lunch and beverages.  The weather was terrific for riding and we had a great day.

Upcoming events would include a last call for the Karting event on November 4th and the TSD Rally on November 19th.  Check the website or the DZ for more info.  We’ll close out the year with our Holiday Party/Yankee Swap on December 2nd.

It’s that time of year again where we start to think about the Chapter elections.  Usually at this time, I will write a few sentences in my column asking if this will be the year that you’ll become more involved by running for member-at-large or even treasurer, secretary, vice-president or president.  Last year, to my surprise, Mike Zarolinski contacted me and asked what he had to do get on the board.  I admit, I was shocked, as no one had ever come forward as a result of my plea in the DZ for fresh blood on the board.  Mike has been a terrific addition to the board, so I guess I’ll keep the tradition going and see if maybe you’ll be the “Mike” from this year’s plea.  If you’d like to learn more, please contact me or any board member for more details.

Have you noticed how fast gas prices are dropping lately?  Some days, on my commute home, stations display pricing 4¢, 5¢, or 6¢ less than the same station in the morning.  With the current trend, you definitely want to buy on your way home from work, and not on your way to work.  Not too long ago, we were paying about $1/gallon more than we are currently paying.  Interestingly though, my clients are still making comments like, “...with gas prices being what they are,” or, “…with the cost of gasoline these days,” like no one has even noticed the drop. 

With the holidays not that far away, have you checked out our Chapter logo denim shirts for only $30?  This could be a great gift for your favorite club member. 

In F1 news, our boys continue to show some progress.  In Turkey, after qualifying 5th and 8th with Heidfeld over Kubica, the result was again disappointing with Heidfeld falling nine spots to 14th and Kubica falling four spots to 12th.  However, in Italy Heidfeld started in 3rd, but was only able to manage an 8th place finish while Kubica, who started 6th finished on the podium in 3rd in only his third F1 race.  These latest results have vaulted them ahead of Toyota in the manufacturer’s championship and of course, they are crushing their former Williams team, which must be gratifying.  Of course, the really big news in Italy was the announcement that Michael Schumacher will be calling it quits at the end of this season, but with a 3rd and a 1st in his last two races, he now trails Fernando Alonso by only two points with three races remaining while aiming for one last Championship as a going away present to himself.

In News From National, membership continues a slow but steady growth at 75,970.  Time is rapidly running out if you would like to run for either National Treasurer or National Secretary or would like to nominate someone for either position.  Nominations, acceptances, candidacy statements and photographs must be received at the National Office before 5:00 PM EST on October 31, 2006.  Did any of you receive the random survey regarding Oktoberfest and why you either attend or don’t attend?  There was also a follow-up survey that some members received.  Quite interesting!  The National website continues to evolve as a work in progress, so you are encouraged to check back often to see the changes being made.  Check out the forums section if you have questions or maybe an answer that could help a fellow club member.

That should do it for another month.