Originally, I was going to call this column “The New Guy,” but our new (SCCA) President—Jeff Dahnert—beat me to it. What follows is what I hope will be a regular, or occasionally irregular, viewpoint from my new position as Regional Executive. Sort of like Peter Egan’s column, except I get to go to Summit Point and FedEx and not to LeMans or Spa.
If you read the brief note I put in the calendar issue, you will recall that I set three goals for my time as RE—first, to ensure that the Region continues to have top notch motorsports programs; second, to be a good steward of your money, and third to promote a positive atmosphere. With respect to the first goal, it was very clear to me after attending the National Convention for the first time last month that meeting that goal will be pretty easy. While we can always improve—more on that in a moment—we definitely are among the elite of the Jumbo regions.
Turning to the second goal, the Board and all of the Committee Chairs worked very hard to come up with a realistic budget for what we all know will be a difficult year. By trimming costs here and there, making realistic projections of turnout and, most importantly, holding the line on entry fees, we were able to craft a budget that was pretty close to break even. A major accomplishment in my view.
As for being positive, you have all seen the club’s new slogan of “Make it Easy, Make it Fun.” While the temptation is to think that it only applies to our workers, in fact, it applies to all of us. How? Well, in two ways. First, before any of us complains about something, I think it is important to ask, “How important is my concern?” Often, simply saying “That’s life!” makes it easier to get back to the fun part of what we do. (See where I am going?)
At the risk of too much sloganeering though, let me off another related one—“Many hands make light work.” Right now relatively few folks carry a tremendous portion of the burden of the Region’s activities. What can you do? Easy, get involved. Doing what? Here are a few “fun filled” ideas.
- Last year we raised over $22,000 for the Middle School Reading Program in Jefferson County. When I mentioned this during a Jumbo Region panel at the convention, the reaction was incredible—no other region came close. So, how about helping Anne Callihan and Sheila Cockey make this year’s event even more fun. Your help will certainly make things easier for them.
- If you liked the 2009 calendar issue, you have only gotten a taste of the potential of the new format for the Straightpipe. However, the magazine will only be fun for all of us if it has plenty of stories and photos in it. Just as importantly, it will be a lot easier on Eric Kriemelmeyer, if you get you submissions in sooner rather than later.
- Finally, one of the things we really need to improve on is getting our message out through promotion of our events and our organization. Look for more on how you can get involved in this in the next edition of this column.
That’s it for now. See you at the track.
James Noel