Wow – that was a quick year, and I don’t mean my driving, either. Near year’s end, it appears we have survived another season of racing in an unhealthy economy. This serves to prove how important racing is to us. Financially, we came up a little short of breaking even, but hope to learn and adjust to keep that from happening again.
Our racing was fun, safe and well attended throughout the year and that’s what we are here for. We have events on next year’s schedule that reflect the lessons learned, and look forward to another fun year, with the help of our dedicated staff.
One new event we’ve been working on for next year is a co-sponsored event at Charlotte Motor Speedway. I am glad to report the our two Regions and track management continue to work well together in the process of making this happen. The fact that this can even be discussed shows improvement for the Regions and track management, and I look forward to that race.
Our auto cross program had a full and successful season, offering good competition on a budget, and continuing to develop a relationship with the military personnel with events occurring on base. These guys continue to break the mold by doing what seems to be impossible – events closing streets in Wilmington, on bases, and in many other ways.
Our PDX at VIR was enthusiastically received and we have plans for repeating this next year. We experienced a few teething pains, but learned from the process. Our outgoing Assistant RE, Heather Powers is to be thanked for her work and resilience in establishing that event, as well as all the others that helped execute.
We managed to contribute consistently to our charities throughout the year and hope to continue that for next year. Your generosity is appreciated on many levels, and we hope you will continue.
A few weeks prior to our 13 hour race, we had very few entries, and the Board of Directors was concerned. The Board made moves to cut the cost for late entries, that seemed to contribute to a significant number of entries, making that a fun race with good participation, considering the overall economy. The worker cooking contest held in conjunction with this event was successful and fun for all involved, including myself. I am amazed that I was involved on the winning corner for the third year.
Lastly, we look forward to our Banquet at Wilmington. This will be the last one at this location and I wish to thank that Chapter for its excellent work for the last few years. They have informed us that they would like to pass that event to others, in keeping with the history of this event. Throughout the years this event has been moved around the state making it more accessible for more members, and the organizers for the next one are forming now, and will rely on the experience of past organizers in their work. Thanks to all of those who have worked on this event in the past and future. Also, our Awards Committee, headed by James Shanks, has requested your help in nominating members for awards. If you have someone in mind who stood out from others this season, James would like to hear from you, for consideration for an award.
After a lot of hard work on the Bulletin, John has asked to step down as editor. The Region wants to thank him for his hard work on this project – most of us underestimate the amount of work involved in this. John leaves us with some good recommendations that may begin the transformation of the Bulletin in the future. We have always campaigned fro content for that publication and still do. Anything you take time to write would be appreciated and published – as simple as an account of a race weekend or notes thanking the staff for a great event. Please forward any articles you might have to our editor, and thank you.
Its now time to vote for the Region’s administration. We have all good candidates and some bios are available on the web site, so check them out and vote for your candidate. Remember to sign the back of the envelope as indicated in the voting instructions enclosed. Remember, the signature will not be paired with the vote and this is not an attempt to see who votes for who. The voting forms and envelopes are separated at the beginning of the counting event. The signature is only to ensure that only members are voting and that no members vote more than once. Thanks for your vote.
The Region and I thank you for your support and hope you will continue for another great year of racing.