I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving and Christmas. Welcome to 2020. The Christmas party was a great success thanks to the efforts of Mary and Dave Barrett. Thank you from all of us for a great job. Eighteen families were in attendance and we collected lots of toys for Toys-for-Tots. Do you want the good news or the bad news first? I always prefer to hear the bad news first. This year the leadership of the chapter needs some serious help. Help is required with the following:
Leadership. Due to age and health, several current officers are approaching the end of their desire to continue serving in a leadership capacity. We need members to step up to the plate and start learning the jobs; otherwise, the chapter may have to fold. It is the choice of the membership. If you want to take on a leadership role, let me know. We can create assistant positions to give a taste of the job and let you determine if you want it.
Program. Nothing new here: this is a constant request since we need topics/ideas for 4 to 6 events per year. We require subjects for technical sessions and judging schools. If you have a project or a topic of interest or expertise to share, please let the chapter leadership know and we will work it into our annual program. Right now, there are four events on the calendar listed as TBD. These need to be pinned down.
Technical Articles. Again, nothing new here, Reba is continuously looking for articles. We need to publish at least six per year for the Chapter Top Flight award. Articles don’t have to be elaborate or long. Send your article to Reba along with photos. After this issue, her file is empty.
Chapter Top Flight participation. As many of you know, there are several criteria for the annual Chapter Top Flight award. (See the report on p.9) One of these is that a percentage of members must attend and drive a Corvette to an event. A handful of members always drive their cars; however, each driver can only be counted once during the year. We need more than this handful to meet the criteria. For the past several years, we have had a serious problem fulfilling the road-tour requirement. If you have a roadworthy Corvette, drive it to a chapter event and on the road tour. GM meant for the cars to be driven, not to be garage art or trailer queens.
The good news is that we have completed or are in the process of finalizing the spring judging event in Wake Forest, a social event in June at Childress winery, the September fall judging event in Clemson, and December’s Christmas party at Paul Meyer’s house. Mark your calendars for all these. The dates are on Page 1 of this publication.
On a happier note, the chapter is financially sound even after donating over $20,000 to four charities last year. Membership continues to hold around 140 members, although only about 35 are active participants.
Let’s all have fun in 2020. Drive your cars and participate in chapter events. This is YOUR club and its success and future depend on you. Safe travels.