CANDIDATES FOR THE 2011-2012 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
• 30-year SCCA and DC Region member
• Worked its events as a volunteer for 40 years
• Low-budget MARRS driver for 10 years, in ITC and Spec RX7
• Served on the Region’s Board of Directors in the mid-1980’s through the early 1990’s
• Chairman of the Competition Committee for 2 years
• Regional Executive for 3 years.
• Solo steward for 2 years
• Currently class administrator for Spec RX7 and CRC member
I have no “agenda” beyond the best interests of the DC Region and its ability to serve our members’ interests. I believe the Region is a member-driven organization, that our members have diverse interests, and that the Board’s primary task is to serve all members equally and enhance the programs in which they participate.
I’m retired from 33 years with the government, where I was a warranted Contracting Officer managing federal real estate and building management programs. As a retiree, I can devote full time and attention to the Region and – more importantly – to the members who make us what we are and what we can be as we go forward.
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I am Lin Toland seeking reelection to the Board of Directors for a 2nd term. For those who don’t know me I am a Flagger & Steward with Club Racing and the Chief Steward for the Region's PDX/CT/TT Program. I’ve been on the BoD for 2 years and last year I was elected, by the BoD to serve as the Assistant Regional Executive. or the ‘XO’ for the military folks. My experience with SCCA actually dates back to the early 1970's. I started as a Solo Driver and flagger out in the San Francisco Region, but a military career got in the way and I my membership lapsed after a transfer back to Sea Duty. My last military transfer brought us to Martinsburg, WV where we retired. In 1996 I won a set of tickets to the Labor Day Double where I met Josh Cockey, and the rest is history as three weeks later I was "in whites" cross track at Station 8. Since then the entire family has gotten involved. My wife, Janet, works in T&S and my son Jim has worked T&S, Tech, Pit, he holds a Regional Comp License and crews when he can get home from College.
The DC Region has established and maintains some of the Best Regional programs in SCCA. These programs excel because we have competitors that want to compete and we have some of some truly amazing groups volunteer workers in each program making the events happen. But like everywhere else in SCCA we have seen the same decline in entrants and volunteer workers. I want to be able to work with the committees that run the events to get all of our programs back strong again.
I fully support the return of National Championship Road Racing to Summit Point and I have already taken part in discussions aimed at making it happen. I want to work with the Club Racing Committee and figure how best to make that happen. At the same time I would love to see the return of Endurance Racing to our Club Racing program.
I believe we can better market our Brand and our Logo. We need to look for better ways of marketing what we do and how we do it. One of the advantages of SCCA is we do it as a Passion and not a paycheck. Our workers do it because they enjoy it, not because there is a paycheck. There is lots of competition out there for the motorsports enthusiast and we need to continue to look for new ways to attract more of them to our events.
As I promised I would do when I ran 2 years ago, when it became necessary I made hard and unpopular decisions. I still stand by those decisions today because they represented what was best for the entire region at the time the decision had to be made. You have word I will make hard and unpopular if it is what’s best for the DC Region.
Professionally, I am a retired Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer, having retired in 2000 after more than 31 years of active duty. Since my retirement I have been working for General Dynamics as a consultant specializing in Disaster Recovery Planning and Information Assurance reporting and auditing. I am currently on a long term contract with the Coast Guard at Buzzard's Point. On those few weekends when we are not at a Summit Point we can be found at other tracks up and down the East Coast either road racing my Briggs Sprint Kart with the World Karting Assn or as a SCCA worker supporting other events.
Lastly; not many race organizations would welcome a 6 year old child, then train them to be a valued member of the worker team, but our region does it on a regular basis. It's been said that it takes a village to raise a child and the Washington DC Region was the 'village' that raised "JimAAAA", and I want help to continue to see our 'village' grow and see more just like him raised by our village.
Although I’ve been autocrossing since 1993 and an SCCA member since 1994, I’ve had a lifelong love of all things automotive. My interests, however, were unfocused until a friend invited me to watch his Dad autocross their family Audi. Since that day, I knew I wanted to autocross, and I joined Autocrossers Incorporated (AI) almost immediately after my first few events.
I’ve since held most official AI club positions, been a member of the Susquehanna SCCA Solo Board, and even participated in some of the early organizational meetings that formed the WDCR Solo Committee. I’m also a Solo Safety Steward and have competed at the Solo National Championships 11 times, managing to bring home three trophies over the years.
While my primary interest in the SCCA lies with autocrossing, I know that the club is much more than just Solo. We are lucky to live in an area where our vibrant SCCA club offers not only a top-notch Solo program, but also Rally Cross, PDX, Road Rally, and of course, the cornerstone on which the SCCA was built, Club Racing. In my view, all of our programs need to thrive to be considered a healthy club. Otherwise, we have work to do!
My name is Eric Kriemelmeyer, I have been a Washington D.C. Region member of the SCCA since 1999. My participation has primarily been with Solo on the Local and National level, and the Time Trials program. Moving beyond participant level, I am currently serving on the Region Board of Directors, the Region Time Trials Committee and a licensed Time Trial Safety Steward. I am also a licensed Solo Youth Steward, and participate in the Solo Junior Kart program with my son. In addition of my WDCR membership, I am a member of Autocrossers Incorporated, a Chapter Club of the D.C. Region. For the years 2007-2008, I served as the President of Autocrossers Incorporated.
Many people know me in the Solo community, I am an active participant with the D.C. Region, as well as an organizer at A.I. events. The Solo program has remained strong in the D.C. Region over the recent economic downturn, a testament to the dedication of the Solo Committee and the participants within the Region. Hosting National Solo events is something that I would like to see continue, the Region held a successful Divisional Solo event in 2009 and the DC Pro Solo remains one of the most popular events Nationwide for the Pro Solo series. As an organizer with Autocrossers Inc, I secured the first new autocross location in the Region in recent times, Regency Furniture Stadium, home of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. Autocrossers Inc has held autocrosses in 2009 and 2010 at the new facility, most recently holding 8-run autocrosses with lunch inside the stadium.
Looking beyond the Solo community, my involvement in track driving led me to become a part of the D.C. Region Time Trial Committee. Serving as a Safety Steward I have been involved in the developing Time Trials program. I hope to see this program’s continued expansion and increase its appeal to new and long time Region members. The DC Region Time Trials Committee has developed one of the best PDX programs in the nation, and we frequently draw participants from far outside our Regions boundary. If reelected to be a Board Member I will continue to support this program’s further development.
My experiences have included activities with Club Racers and Rally enthusiasts as well. I fully support these programs and will support them for the future. If reelected I will attend these events, participating whenever possible. Much attention has been given to the decline in Club Racing participation on the Regional and National levels, and I remain committed to a strong MARRS series as well as the National Racing program. Anyone involved knows that there are tough times ahead for Club Racing but as a Jumbo Region and a premiere racing Region we owe it to our members to devise a plan to hold successful Club Racing events. I am dedicated to working with the CRC and the Club Racing community to make this happen.
Working with the many excellent volunteers and workers who’s help truly make Club Racing possible has given me another appreciation for the SCCA family. I want to say Thank You to all the workers who have served the D.C. Region. Without your support the Region would not be able to hold such great racing events.
Currently I am organizing the Region’s first Tire Rack Street Survival event, and I see this as a great way to benefit the SCCA Foundation and help save lives in the communities that we all live and drive in.
Professionally, I have worked in Graphics and Printing since graduating from Frostburg State University in 1994. In 2005 I started a company, Studio 553 LLC in my basement. Today we are a full-service graphic arts specialist located in La Plata, MD. Being in the graphic arts business, over the years I have also been a Graphic Artist for the club. I have produced season trophies for the D.C. Region and A.I. Solo programs as well as designs for T-shirt’s and promotional items. I took over the Straightpipe publication as the economy turned sour and it was unfortunately then cut due to the budget shortfalls, and increased mailing costs. Over the last year I have worked hard to translate the ideas I had incorporated into the cancelled ‘new Straightpipe’, and unveiled www.straightpipemagazine.com. This continues to be an excellent addition to the Region’s web presence and I encourage all members to take a look and consider submitting an article or photography. I also designed and managed the printing and mailing for the Region Event Calendar’s in 2008 and 2009.
Learning from all of these experiences gives me a unique and multifaceted view of the Club’s organization and its members expectations and desires. I will always be available to listen to concerns of the members and willing to address these concerns when appropriate. If reelected to the BoD, I will continue to serve to the greater good of the Club and the needs of the membership.
Thank you.
My name is Kim Ratcliffe. Some may also know me as "Qween Rat" from King RAT Motorsports. I became involved with SCCA Club Racing in 1999 when my husband, Alex, attended his driver's schools and started racing in club events. In 2002, I also became licensed and started racing in a Porsche 944 in the very competitive ITS class. Wanting to stretch my wings a bit, I switched to an ITB classed Honda Civic si in 2004 and then again in 2006 to a Spec Miata where I continue to race today. In my early years with the SCCA I reported on driver's schools, ITS and then Spec Miata MARRS races for publication in the region's StraightPipe magazine. An interest in the inner workings of putting on a club racing event led me to visit with and report on several specialties in the organization including: Registration, Grid, EV, Timing and Scoring, and the Novice Flagging School. I have gained insights and met many great people along the way.
My background is in business administration and accounting, computer programming, information systems and data management. The past 10 years has been devoted to building and running our motorsports business along with sports car racing at the club and professional levels. I have also been involved in the creating of the 944 Cup series and administration of a Spec Miata race series responsible for promotion, sponsorship and driver recruitment, as well as management of our professional race programs with SCCA Pro Racing and Grand-Am.
I am running for a seat on the SCCA DC Region Board of Directors because I feel that I can make a valuable contribution to the running of the Region. Specifically, helping to keep costs down and revenues up while providing our members good value for their hard earned dollars. I have spent the last several years managing and making the tough financial decisions necessary to keep the ink in the black column through good times and bad. The Board of Directors has a responsibility to provide this kind of leadership for our members. I would also like to increase our spectator appeal to attract new members and participants to the sport in all the areas where we have programs. Our volunteers and their high level of expertise and commitment to the sport are a great asset to the Region which needs to be recognized and rewarded. There are many good programs already in place for this purpose and I will strive to ensure that they continue to work to achieve that goal.
MARSHALL LYTLE
My name is Marshall Lytle and I would like to represent you for a second term on the WDCR Board of Directors. Why would I want to do this? Basically because I firmly believe in fully participating in activities I am involved in. The Washington DC Region of the SCCA is not a for profit business, it is a group of like minded people engaging in a sport they love. Volunteers are needed to enable all the activities we do and I enjoy getting involved to help make the organization better. We have a very successful Region with a wide range of exciting sports car activities, lots of quality participants and an amazing group of workers that enable it all to happen. I have no agenda to bring to the Board other than to contribute my experience to the success of all aspects of the DC Region’s activities.
I have been a car nut all my life, but it wasn’t until 1997 that I started autocrossing and participating in performance driving schools. Unable to resist helping, I ended up being named the Worker of the Year for the 2001 BMWCCA Autocross series. After going through a few dedicated track cars, I purchased an ITS class race car in 2001 and started road racing in 2002. I think I have only missed two MARRS events since then, racing in the ITS class first and then the new ITR class. Almost immediately upon starting to race I was voted the ITS Drivers’ Representative, a position I still hold 7 years later. Two years ago I also became a member of the SCCA National Improved Touring Advisory Committee, helping shape where the IT classes go. When not racing, I volunteer time to instruct at Teen Street Survival Schools, PDX’s and DC Region Competition Schools.
I am not a stranger to leadership in volunteer organizations. For the 25 years before my entry into road racing, I was very active in international sailboat racing. I was the equivalent of a Drivers’ Representative for an international “spec” class of sailboats in two regions of the country, coached collegiate sailors, competed on the
international level and was on the international board of directors for the J/24 class of sailboats for 10 years.
In my professional life, I am a career officer in the United States Coast Guard with experience in search and rescue, law enforcement, intelligence analysis, and information and communications systems management. I have commanded two large Coast Guard units and am currently the Deputy Chief Information Officer for the organization.
I look forward to further serving the Club on the Board of Directors again.
Perhaps my earliest childhood memory is of at age 2, sitting on my dad's lap and reaching towards the dashboard to press the starter button of his Jag XK120. The thrum of that straight six and the reverberations it made in that tiny Brooklyn garage stayed with me as I started to compete in solo events with the region and then moved on to road racing with the MARRS series and now National events in the hopes of racing at the Runoffs this year.
I realized early on that being a member of a club means more than just writing a check for dues or an entry fee. It means getting involved and giving back. I have instructed at the Region's competition licensing schools for many years, can be seen at many of our MARRS events volunteering on pit lane, and have served since 2004 as the ITA Driver's Representative, who acts both as an advocate for fellow drivers while at events and as a voting member on the region's Club Racing Committee (CRC).
I view my role on the CRC as, not only representing the interests of my class, but also one of making the region's road racing program more inclusive and the best it can be. I do my best to ask the difficult questions and allow not only myself, but everyone on the committee to see both sides to issues. I am very proud of the plan I spearheaded in 2008 to change the format of each MARRS weekend. By consolidating on-track groupings my proposal gave drivers an extra race each weekend, gave them a longer feature race, and still managed to shorten the day for our weary volunteers. I also currently serve as the chair of the National Racing subcommittee to the CRC. In that capacity I lead a small group of members who are responsible for planning and executing the DC Region's return to the National club racing schedule in 2011.
I have learned that individuals can make a difference by acting. When the CRC decided, also in 2008, to eliminate the distribution of trophies and replace them with small stickers as a budget consideration, I felt very strongly that this would hurt morale amongst the drivers and decided before the season started to fund, out of my own pocket, trophies for ITA podium finishes as well as providing "Hard Charger" and "Move of the Race" trophies. The ITA drivers felt so strongly in the need for trophies that all donated money for the trophy fund, whether they were front runners or not, because the reward is a part of racing. Given my experiences in 2008, I was asked to devise a plan for reinstating trophies for each class given a very limited budget provided by the Board of Directors.
I recognize that in many regards the DC Region has to be run as a business, but I feel very strongly that some of our leaders have lost sight of the Region's purpose, goals, and ideals. It's no surprise that times are tough and we all have less disposable income to dedicate to our love of motorsports, but we must stop basing all decisions on short term results and look at the bigger picture. Decisions must be made that preserve the integrity of the Region and its programs. Sometimes decisions that make the most financial sense for our short-term health really do compromise our ideals and our purpose for being. It won't matter if the Region has a large bank account if the cost of that is driving away Region and SCCA members from all of our programs.
In that vein, I have been an outspoken advocate of changing how and when we charge members who enter our events. Along with many other members I was dismayed at our previous Board's decision to eliminate our National race from this year's schedule due to a single year of running the race at a deficit. Prior to the decision I had warned many that this would damage our reputation and standing in the Club. Through my work on the CRC and lending support to our current Regional Executive's work on the Northeast Division's National Racing Committee, I hope to reverse the damage that has been done.
Professionally, I have worked in the IT industry for almost 20 years as a systems engineer and architect, consultant and project manager. I believe my experience and skill uniting people, meeting unique requirements, and delivering results make me uniquely qualified amongst this year's candidates. Having called the DC area my home since the early '70s, I understand the challenges we face in trying to support our families while still nurturing our love for motorsports. As a member of your Board of Directors I will not shy from looking forward to new and untested solutions, but I have no trepidation in drawing on the great history of this Region and consulting those members who lead us to a position leadership and great respect within the SCCA. I have been and will continue to be a sounding board for our members, open to your suggestions and concerns. In asking for your vote, I pledge to represent the best interests of each of the Region's members and disciplines and the Region as a whole.
Thank you for your time and consideration and I'll see you at the track!
CHRIS WINDSOR
I’m Chris Windsor, married 7 years to my wife Susan with our newborn son Griffin. I have been road racing for 13 years. I’m pretty sure the next generation will be racing soon!
My road racing began in ’97 with a Briggs Sprint Kart racing club then moving on to Maryland Divisional Series- World Kart Assn. A few years later after testing a customer’s car at Summit Point on a practice day I became a member of SCCA, that was September, 2003. By the spring of ’04 I had my regional racing license, my own race car and have been involved with the SCCA since. I now hold a National Competition and Regional Scrutineer license.
Professionally, I have worked as an electrical tech designing and installing communications to explosion-proof installations then moving into industrial automation as production manager, and design consultant to our engineers. While all that was neat my passion kept me building cars for customers and I had kept my hands in motorsports and made the switch to bring the business I founded, Windsor Customs LLC my full time employment several years ago. As a small business owner I see some of the same struggles our region has. There is only so much coming in and X has to go out.
I believe the region needs to market its self better to be able to grow and attract new members, volunteers and spectators. We have a diverse Region that has the knowledge and ability to grow stronger if we can foster it. The Board has made some great improvements over the time I have been a member and I would like to see that continue.
My goal is to listen to the issues at hand and work with the team to develop the most positive course of action to make the Region successful. It may not always be a popular task to have, but in today’s market we need to stand strong and make changes to survive in the future and keep the value in the product we offer.