Elections!!!!

[Crazy_Dog]

elections are to be held, nominations for the elections will be accepted now through the nov board meeting.

if you know of someone who is willing to serve on the board. has the first Tuesday of every month free to come bs and drink ... waters with the rest of us.... nominate yourself!!!! or your buddy (or both)


3 current board members will stay, the rest of us will be up for election....

its not nearly as bad as well all claim it to be. its actually quite fun. if you have any interest in the CLUB then I suggest you throw your name in the hat.


I'm going to throw this out random and unexpected like. but chances for rain are good when it comes to me.

Translation is I'm moving to Oklahoma for a un-determined amount of time.
I may or may not run for election. if I do it will be for member at large lol

one of the things I'm hoping to be able to do is come up and help run the autocrosses..... (not going to sell my place, so I'll be in town once or twice a month) but I would be of no help with any of the after and before autocross work..... (like getting the past 2 events results up!)

anyway not going to discuss the topic any. just figure I owe a heads up to the club

[RacinAlt]

Johnathan, where in OK are you going to

There is Hallett and 2 AutoX groups depeding on where you are going.

[magilson]

I'm interested in helping out. I'd like to get some more information about what kinds of things the existing board members would like to see accomplished.

[crazy eddie]

Can you tell us who is up for re-election on the BoD ?

My suggestion is for the autocrossers that wish to continue autocrossing in this area need to get together and nominate someone willing to undertake the Solo Manager's job for 2008.

I will tell you now that I am not that person. In fact I am contemplating not even renewing my membership to the SCCA in lue of their making autocrossing into a "members only" club. Plus I have heard rumors of shorthening the number of events again next year and to be honest I will not sit around for a month & half to 2 months for an event - I will find something else to do. The number of events is not aproblem but the Saturday schedules are UNLESS they are a double header weekend.

Also I do believe that anyone on the BoD that takes on a job like Solo II Manager or Rally Manager, etc ... should be allowed to do that job without requiring a vote. The BoD votes to elect someone to the position so I can't see why that person must be subjected to questioning and votes to carry out their elected job as they see fit. Now if the questions are concerning funds that would put a particular program in the red even with teh funds raised then by all means it should be looked at by the BoD. I have seen several $$$ raised by the Solo II division in the last few years but nearly every time the Solo Manager wishes to purchase something, it is drawn out into a vote. Autocrossers are the ones beating the pavement in all types of weather conditions to make money for the region as well as involve the community yet they are not the ones receiving the benefit from their work. Honestly, I feel that moneys raised in a year's time that fill the OMR bank account should reflect on teh division that put them there. I am sure that leather chairs and footstools are nice for the club racers but if their dues and/or money raising during teh year did not equal the costs of those awards then those awards should be rethought.

IMHO

{probably should add this disclaimer : This post is not to induce flaming but simply an expression of MY views only. Anyone wishing to express themselves on any subject concerning the SCCA and the OMR BoD should do so to avoid not being heard.}

[Crazy_Dog]

Can you tell us who is up for re-election on the BoD ?

nope I cant sorry

. Plus I have heard rumors of shortening the number of events again next year and to be honest I will not sit around for a month & half to 2 months for an event - I will find something else to do. The number of events is not a problem but the Saturday schedules are UNLESS they are a double header weekend.

8 events would be fine if they are Sunday only events. don't do any d-headers they cost to much, and no Saturday events the turnout sucks.

Also I do believe that anyone on the BoD that takes on a job like Solo II Manager or Rally Manager, etc ... should be allowed to do that job without requiring a vote. .... I have seen several $$$ raised by the Solo II division in the last few years but nearly every time the Solo Manager wishes to purchase something.....

from a business standpoint I have to disagree. the voting that the board does is simple a means of checks and balances so the solo2 guy dont get carried away. I haven't had any problem with it. the few times things have not gone my way its because I agreed with a point that someone brought up or my way was just not that important to me.

as far as the money goes. I think in a volunteer organization giving a budget to spend would be a bad idea. in a business you have the balance that if its spent wrong or badly you get fired and thus loose your well paying job. in a club.... what are you going to do?

that said there is a certain amount of things that the solo2 manager has free control over. like buying drinks. if somethign breaks during a event I run out and buy it. keep the receipt and get a refund. its big things like buying a timer and backup equipment that require a vote. and rightly so.

I don't have a opinion or a problem honestly with what funds are used for what. it all goes into the pot and goes back to the members... yeah sure if the AX was not there there would be nothing for the club racers... but meh. I'm as uncaring as a pig in slop.

[crazy eddie]

Can you tell us who is up for re-election on the BoD ?

nope I cant sorry

Can't - because you don't know or because of some by-law in the OMR?
Seems silly to mark an X next to empty lines on a ballot.

[magilson]

I don't have a opinion or a problem honestly with what funds are used for what. it all goes into the pot and goes back to the members... yeah sure if the AX was not there there would be nothing for the club racers... but meh. I'm as uncaring as a pig in slop.

"To bring motorsports to the masses of American men and women who are passionate about automobiles, speed and competition. From National Championships to regional events, whether professional or amateur, we exist to organize, support and develop auto racing at every level and provide an outlet for you to get out of the armchair and into the action. So, whether your passion is autocrossing, rallying or road racing as a professional or as a weekend warrior, SCCA wants to help you fuel your passion."

I guess if the actual members don't care to follow through with the organizational creed then I'm not sure I care to have anything to do with it.

I'd really like you guys to come forward in some kind of coherent fashion so that the rest of us can get an idea what the heck is going on...

Just a thought.

[Crazy_Dog]

to clarify that comment 98% of the OMR budget is generated by the autocross program. there has been comments from time to time about the autocrossers funding things like trophies for the club racers. the feeling by some is that autocross funds should be autocross funds and not mixed into the road racers. seems that there has been a history of a line between the road racers and the autocrossers.

my opinion when I said I didnt care is simply that I think its fine that the autocross program provides funds for the whole club. its the way clubs work

didnt mean for it to be taken harsh or to seem like I dont give a rats about the whole club. far from it

[crazy eddie]

I like the quote magilson. Right on.

In Jonathan's defense, he has burnt out. He works far too much during the week to have the only day off taken up by more work. In most cases it is a thankless job where people remember the failures more than the successes. When the website was down Jonathan went ahead and purchased a new web address and got the OMR forums back up so OMR members could communicate again but then to have it thrown in his face that the internet is not an adequate place for conversing about the regional topics. Of course it seems the BoD doesn't mind emails among themselves but the internet is the devil for the rest of the membership.

Also earlier this year, there was a topic brought up at a BoD meeting concerning a possible charity event and a contact from the SSR club about hosting an AX for them during their convention in Springfield. I agreed to help with the setup and combining both the charity event & SSR AX, however the Sunday we had planned for the event got double booked at PCP so it never happened but we did reschedule the charity event for another weekend and expanded it into a two day event. Since I was using a traditional AX format for Saturday's qualifying, I asked Jonathan if we could make it a bonus points day for more incentive. He agreed and we pressed on only to hear from the BoD that Jonathan could not run the AX program that way because the membership had not been notified properly. (Keep in mind this has been nearly 3 months since first discussing the event at the BoD meeting plus mentioning it at 2 previous AX driver's meetings.) There was a big stink raised and I feel that hurt the turnout. I know one OMR driver left when he arrived at PCP to find out that the BoD denied the points. Jonathan was the elected Solo II Manager and should not have had his authority questioned period. end of story.

I appreciate Jonathan for everything he has done. I know I am not that patient or diplomatic. I wish the best to the next Solo II Manager.

[magilson]

I am very willing to help keep OMR SCCA going. I can help with the website for sure and I would love to help in other ways. I just need somebody to let me know what needs to happen.

I spent some time last night reading the SCCA organizational guidlines and I didn't see anywhere that mentioned a "silent" election. Is there another reason that the BoD want to keep this thing quiet?

I think the problem right now is that it's obvious that OMR SCCA could use some help, but no one is saying where the help is needed and it seems that suggestions are simply being brushed off as non-issues or insolvable problems. I've been to other SCCA events and know that it isn't true.

That fact coupled with rising prices and I can completely understand why the kids over at 417racing want to start their own thing. If prices go up next year (which is understandable, believe me.) then I think it's going to be even more difficult to justify to people with the 417racing mindset why they should have to pay and work the field.

Personally I've always understood the need to work the field. It goes back to the feeling that I like this event and so I want to help others enjoy it. The issue is going to be how do you justify the price of participation. In all honesty, simply disclosing the event costs is the best way. Simply say, it costs X to get insurance, it costs y to pay for timing light repairs because you guys his them from time to time, it costs z for cones, it costs a for the lot, etc.

If people see it I think they will understand. I also don't think drinks are necessary. I think we can all bring our own stuff. Most people out there should know what it takes to stand in a parking lot in Missouri for a few hours. I don't think results need to be printed, but read them off semi-ceremoniously at the end of the event and have them on the website within a day. If this gets difficult I'd love to help.

I think the willingness is there. OMR SCCA's leaders just need to reach out!

[Ted Wells]

Somewhere in the above posts is a mention of the cost of trophies given to OMR's road racers at our annual awards banquet.

The leather furniture for National points racers, the pendulum clocks for Mid-Am series champions, and the "Olympics style" medals for I.T. Tour champions ARE PAID FOR BY THE MIDWEST DIVISION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE AND SHIPPED TO THE REGION FOR DISTRIBUTION.

Never - in the past six or seven years - has OMR spent more on road racing trophies than it has spent on end-of-year autocross awards.

Ted Wells

[magilson]

I think the issues extend well beyond that concern, however I appreciate the explanation.

[budweeks]

Hey Guys,

Here is my two or three cents worth, having been an autocrosser in OMR for most of the time since 1984. That doesm't mean I know any more, or that my opinion is any "righter" than anyone else's opinion.

Communication, communication, communication! It seems to me that things go screwy with the auto-X program when the lines of communication break down. That has happened some this year because the Blat has not been published and because the website has not been up to date. That is no particular person's fault and I'm not blaming anyone. It's just that when people know what is actually going on there is much less specualtion about what people "think" is going on. We all do it. When I used to go to the meetings I knew more about how things worked and I felt I had a voice in what happens in the club. I'm not volunteering at this point because as long as my father is in the shape he's in, I'm lucky to have the energy and time just to autocross, which is always one of the highlights of my life. I will help out more in some manner in the future.

I want to express my appreciation to Jonathan for all the hard work he has put in over a period of time so that we can autocross. I also want to thank Ted for all the great issues of the Blat for many years. Times and people change and the club just has to adjust.

As far as having an adequate number of Solo Safety Stewards, I am willing to go thru the training and I know a number of others that also are willing. I will follow up by finding out what has to be done to set it up.

Immediate results and trophies (nice trophies, hopefully) always add to the quality of the event. That helps bring people back, too.

As far as making people become members to run an autocross, I can see advantages to that. As I understand it, it would only cost an extra $5 per event for a non-member and they would get the benefit of some extra insurance. And the region gets most of the extra money. That seems like a good deal to me.

With OMR, I appreciate that we have a place to play motorsports with a consistently available and decent lot, many great people, and generally good and challenging courses. Other regions nearby don't have as much. (NEOKLA for example has had few events this year) Other motorsport events just don't provided the same bang for the buck for the driver in all of us. Drag racing--where's the challenge for the driver? Rallying--where's the thrill? (unless you pro rally) Road racing--where's the time and the money? So, autocrossing it is for me.

OK young guys, please explain. (I'm slhowing my age)
Who or what is 417racing?
What does IMHO mean?

With this much interest, I'm sure the problems can get worked out.

Bud

[magilson]

Who or what is 417racing?
What does IMHO mean?

417Racing is the local all inclusive car club. http://www.417racing.com/

IMHO stands for In My Honest Opinion.

[Crazy_Dog]

the cost increase would be $15 for the temp membership. $5 of it goes to national and $10 goes to the region. so for each non-member we send a check to national for $15 and they send us back $10.
personally I'm thinking GAH so much paperwork! plus for every non member I'm assuming they will have to fill out a form. gonna slow down registration. but it would provide 1mill in insurance for the non-member as well as a welcome packet and a DVD wooo every event you will get more mail and another DVD to throw away.
and you have always been covered by insurance.

Bud do you know for sure if its *required* or not? from the letter I got it sounded required., but it had soem unclear spots in it. (or I'm just missing somethign in it)
There has always been temp memberships but they used to be free.



And yeah I'm burnt out but not on racing. or doing the solo. and don't anyone get any ideas that I feel un-thanked!





IMHO = in my honest opinion

417racing = local auto club mostly drag and show cars. some of them autocross with us as well!