News from your Board of Directors

The BoD has been contacted by a group wanting to start a St. Louis Region Drifting Program.  The BoD and the group are working on program details, rules, budget and all the things needed.  Watch for it, possibly even in 2010.

 

The Board has been working on putting together a budget for 2010 and has scheduled the budget meetings for the program at the Feb. BoD Meeting. This year each program will present their budget in person. 

 

The BoD has been discussing member services and communications and is working to offer more info and more opportunities for one on one friendship with more social activities that get members together.  One of these ideas is the new monthly socials on the 3rd Monday each month starting in Feb. 

 

The board met with the region's CPA, Beth Whitworth, at the January meeting and discussed the financial overview of the club.  The St. Louis Region is a  501(c)4.  The definition of that is:

501(c)4s are tax-exempt non-profit organizations. More specifically, according to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC), 501(c)(4)s are: 
----- "civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, 
------ "or local associations of employees, the membership of which is limited to the employees of a designated person or persons in a particular municipality, 
----- "and the net earnings of which are devoted exclusively to charitable, educational, or recreational purposes."

Now what does that mean?

We need to promote Social Welfare.  We do that with charity events, driving schools and any activities that are good for the community.

 

To meet that goal, the Board is actively looking for a person to coordinate the efforts of the region holding a SCCA Street Survival School. The existing ones held by other clubs are sold out quickly, which seems to say the community needs more of these.

 

We have a list of volunteers willing to work to help, but we need a person to chair it for us and put those people to good use.  Are you interested?

 

The Tire Rack Street Survival® Teen Driving School - Car control instruction designed to provide teen drivers with accident avoidance skills and knowledge.

It's not just about Driving, It's about Living....
· The leading cause of death among 13-19 year olds in the US is from a motor vehicle crash.
· 62% of teenage passenger deaths in 2004 occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager.
· Teenagers cause 2.5 million accidents per year.
· In 2007 that resulted in over 6,000 deaths of teens.
If you have a teen driver at home or know someone who does, then those sobering statistics should be of concern. Recent and well publicized national stories have brought to light the tragedy of teen injury and death caused by traffic accidents. The stories often mention how the teen driver "lost control and over-corrected..." causing a tragic accident of some kind.

The Tire Rack Street Survival® Teen Driving School would be a great community effort for the St.Louis Region, SCCA

Email the board at BOD@stlscca.org if you can help! 

 

2/15 Region "Make it Easy, Make it Fun with STL Region SCCA" - Social, Dinner (if you chose) Bench racing, EASY ACCESS to License questions, Hard card info, Waivers, Photos, Joining the SCCA, Getting Minor Waivers, National Convention News,  Solo Novice School Info, and 100 Acre Wood Last Minute Info Spazio's West Port 6 PM (Spazio's is open earlier if you want to go right after work) 
2/26 ProRally 100 Acre Wood Rally Salem, MO
2/27 ProRally 100 Acre Wood Rally Salem, MO
3/6 Solo EVO School Gateway Raceway Drag Lot
3/7 Solo EVO School Gateway Raceway Drag Lot
3/13 Solo Novice School Gateway Raceway Drag Lot
3/14 Solo Event #1 Gateway Raceway Drag Lot
3/15 Region "Make it Easy, Make it Fun with STL Region SCCA" - Social, Dinner (if you chose) Bench racing, EASY ACCESS on How to go Road Racing?  MiDiv Convention News Spazio's West Port 6 PM (Spazio's is open earlier if you want to go right after work) 

For more info check the website for each programs info at www.stlscca.org or click on the Quick Links on the right side bar for the programs.

Three race weekends are planned for 2010.The first race of the year will be a Regional/National/IT Tour weekend on March 28/29. Don't Miss it!
With the cancellation of the March Race by Mid-South at Memphis this event will be the 1st National in MiDiv, CenDiv and GLDiv.  Could be a big turnout.  Sign up now!

The next race weekend will be May 14,15,16 with a Double School and Double Regional.  Come and get your Regional race license ALL IN ONE WEEKEND!  The St. Louis Region PDX Program is also holding a Club Trial event on Friday Morning.  The Race Committee and the PDX Committee are looking forward to working together helping each other on these events.
The third race weekend will be July 31, August 1 with a Regional/National/IT Tour. Contact Registrar, carolcohn@charter.net for more race information. It is still too early in the year to forecast but early signs show that this is going to be another challenging year for Club Racing as a whole across the country.  The Committee has learned a lot over the last few years and hope to implement this knowledge as well as try new things to make it through these challenges and be successful in 2010. .
We are in need of new EZ Up canopies, used on our corners at GIR..  We are currently in the process of taking stock of what we need and looking at different options of purchasing.  We will probably need to buy new ones as the ones we have have been repaired numerous times and are in a state where they just can't be patched up anymore.  We will probably look at buying 12 new ones.  We are going to explore options of ways to subsidize the costs.  Maybe there are members or their businesses that might want to purchase one and have  their company name printed on it.. Good advertising! If interested, contact Program Manager, Bryon Prokopf, br_prok81@hotmal.com 

Program Manager, Jose Hernandez
We have 7 events planned for 2010 in St. Louis and just had our 2nd Annual "Winter Warmup" training seminar. We had about 40 people attend, mostly instructors. Topics included 1) advanced driving line tips and techniques, 2) Interpreting data acquisition systems for improved performance, 3) Minor suspension tuning for quick and easy problem solving, and 4) a presentation about a new track that is in the development stages in our area. We also announced 4 returning sponsors and 3 new sponsors for 2010. Those sponsors make a huge difference in what we can do with our program
The 2nd Annual Winter Warm Up meeting was held at Jim Lynch Hummer in Chesterfield and was a huge success.. Speakers were Ed Settle, Dave Jones, Bruce Stephens and Dan Govero. 
 
Dan's presentation of the new Rolling Hill Race Track being developed in Jefferson County MO was really cool! Know anyone interested in getting in on the ground floor contact Dan at gsland@i1.net  or call him at (636)464-9380

Jim Lynch & the Jim Lynch Hummer Crew deserve a standing ovation for the use of their beautiful dealership.  Omar Phelps and Jim Lynch were so supportive and friendly.  And they have signed on to be one of the new PDX Program Sponsors for 2010.  New Hummers are on their way to the dealership now so if you need a vehicle consider a Hummer from Jim and his crew. If they treat you like they treated us, you will be impressed with their outstanding customer service.  A great day of friendship and driving tips .  I especially liked being able to see Jim Lynch's SCCA Run Offs TROPHY WINNING Viper on the lift and talking suspension. 

Solo Performance Specialties has again agreed to be the Title Sponsor of the 2010 PDX Series.  It will be the "2010 Solo Performance St. Louis Region SCCA PDX Program".  Dave Whitworth and Jan Rick are happy to support this innovative and highly respected SCCA Program.  Izzy's and Photomotion have also re-upped for 2010.  Scott Rhea from Izzy's has been a long term sponsor for us.  Robert Phelan from Photomotion not only sponsors us but helps in so many other way, like taking photos of our instructors for us to develop a Bio section on the website with their Photos. McDonough and Whitlow PC also agreed to again be a sponsor for 2010.  Toni McDonough is a great supporter and loves to attend our events.

We have a couple other new sponsors coming in for 2010. Dad's Auto Repair, owned by our own Bruce Stephens, and LKQ is joining us this year along with Jim Lunch Hummer.

Did you see the news on the STL Region PDX Program in the latest SportsCar Magazine?  It was great (see page 64) and watch for a possible  bigger and even more impressive article in a month or 2 on the program.
 
You can get your Annual Tech done on your PDX car March 20 at the St. Louis Region Tech O Rama event at Jim Lynch Hummer.  Great seminars, Dyno Testing, Race Viper, Great Friends.  All that plus your annual tech what more could you want?
 
2010 Schedule is posted now.  Registration will open soon.  Registration will now be at www.motorsportsreg.com . 
Keep up to date with all the news at www.stlpdx.com

RallyCross Committee is working on their dates for 2010 now.

 

2010 SCCA RallyCross National Championship Schedule
Jan. 16 - 17  Stafford Speedway Stafford Springs, Conn.
Feb. 27 - 28*  Site TBA Florida Region
March 27  Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah
May 22  Eastern States Challenge Championship Lenawee County Fairgrounds Adrian, Mich.
June 12 - 13  Summit Point Motorsports Park Summit Point, W.V.
June 19 - 20  Western States Championship
Site TBA  San Diego Region
June 26 - 27*  Washington County Fair Complex Hillsboro, Ore.
July TBA  Corcoran Lions Park Corcoran, Minn.
Sept. 11 - 12  Tennessee Roberts Field Manchester, Tenn.
Sept. TBA  Gateway International Raceway Madison, Ill.
Sept. 25 - 26*  National Trail Raceway Hebron, Ohio  TBA
Site TBA San Francisco Region
2010 RallyCross National Championship Aug. 20 - 22
U.S. Truck Driving School - Fountain, Colo.
* - Tentative 

Program Manager, Lee Hanson.
2010 schedule has been finalized with GIR.  It is posted on the forums.  We changed the  July 25th date to August 1st as KC region is hosting a Divisional the weekend of July 25th .This was done to support that Divisional series.  
The SAC is working on budget items for 2010, event registration will be $30 entry given we only barely ended the 2009 year in the black. Lot Committee updates, chairman of this committee, April Schnardthorst has reported to the SAC that she has received Lot Acquisition Packets from the National Office.

New Solo Website has been designed and is up and running now.  April Schnardthorst has been the driving force in this project. Let's have a round of applause for April. 

There is a new email to reach all of the Members of the SAC.  It is now  SAC@StlSolo.org. This email should be working now. An email sent to that address will go to all SAC members.

April Schnardthorst suggested that we hire a professional to make and edit a video that follows someone from the time they arrive on GIR property through their first run.  It would be scripted by David and April Schnardthorst and will assume the driver is there for the first time and will show each action the driver takes from signing the waiver(s), parking, car classification, registration, class and number prep, and prep prior to tech, tech, work assignment, course walk with Novice Chief, Driver's Meeting, gridding the car and a real run with return to grid.  The video will focus more on street cars with a few purpose built cars thrown in for interest.  We would like to shoot the video during the 2nd event and post it widely on the internet. More discussions are taking place on this and a plan to market this if the SAC goes forward with it.
The SAC members for the 2010 Season are:
Committee Chairman Lee Hanson  lchanson@swbell.net
Treasurer                  Chad Bersche Chad@bersche.com
Secretary                 Jan Rick   janice@wcsllc.net
Member at large       Carla Russo grail_girl@yahoo.com
Member at large       Lynn Wilson lew240z@dslextreme.com;
Member at large       Clarkson Wells wellscwel@aol.com
Member at large       Kaylee Hanson miataautoxer93@yahoo.com
Member at large       John Powell powell145@hotmail.com
The Chiefs for the 2010 Season are:
Course                     James Sarino
Equipment               Brian Scheutz
Event Officials Sign Up Janice Rick
Grid                         Joe Floretta   
IT                             Chad Bersche
IT Assistant              Dave Schnardthorst
Novices                   Tom Sotiropoulos
Registration              April Schnardthorst
Safety                      Lynn Wilson
Tech Inspection        Bob Ploof   
Timing & Scoring      David Ledford
Waivers                     Bill Schnardthorst
Weekend Membership John Schmid
Worker Chief            Lee Hanson

This program recently had Ron Ferris volunteer to be Program Manager. No dates or events have been finalized yet.

Program Manager, Tom vanHatten:
Most of the month has been spent fine-tuning the rally route and continuing coordination between our committee and the county commissions in Washington, Dent, Iron, and Crawford Counties.  Conversations with local law-enforcement entities is ongoing, and meetings with chambers of commerce and other civic groups in Potosi, Steelville, and Salem have been arranged for this month and early next month.  We are also meeting with residents who live in and near the roads we use for the special stages that make up part of the route, and obtaining signed notices listing the day and time that these roads will be used.   
We've made several "multi-year" hardware purchases for the event:
1) Back-up digital clocks that can time to 0.1 second, which is the standard in stage rally timing
2)  Our own sets of "standard" rally control signs so we won't be relying on others to get them to us prior to the rally
3)  "Do Not Enter" signs to be used by marshals along the rally stages to help maintain course integrity
4)  Event 'headers" with the 100AW logo that are placed above the car numbers on each rally car competing in the event.  We usually purchase enough to last several years, as the logo is probably the most recognizable to American Rally fans.  Some of these may also be sold at the event, as they are always in demand by fans.
We've also had event posters printed.  These are being distributed in the general rally area and beyond some by the Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce. We are now less than two months from the rally, and will be continuing with the activities listed above. 
Online entry through Rally America will begin in about a week; however, we don't expect entries to really start coming in until after the Sno*Drift rally, which is on Jan. 29-30. 
We will be finalizing and tightening up our supplementary event regulations and safety/emergency plans in the next couple of weeks, as well.

Newly elected Board of Director, Member at Large, Steve Slotten has volunteered to be the region's Membership Chairman for 2010. S

The Jan. 2010 Membership Report:

542  Members
10 New Members (Period 12/01/09 to 01/15/10)
14 Expired Memberships
 

Barry Benne               11/30/2009
Sarah Duffy               11/30/2009
Neil Schreiber            11/30/2009
Brad L Baer               12/31/2009
Patricia A Baer           12/31/2009
Alexis Cleveland        12/31/2009
Clint Lindburg II          12/31/2009
David Lindburg          12/31/2009
Elizabeth Lindburg     12/31/2009
Erica Lindburg           12/31/2009
Dr James T Logan      12/31/2009
Cynthia Maupin          12/31/2009
Robert Brian Skaggs  12/31/2009
Ed Smith                   12/31/2009

 

Condolences to St. Louis Region Member, Mary Edey on the loss of her husband, James. Mary & James have been members of the St. Louis Region for many years  They have been most active in Club Racing with the region.  Our deepest sympathy to Mary on her loss.

Interesting Trivia about St. Louis Region Members:

You might have already heard Past St. Louis Region RE, Curt Faigle on 88.1 KDHX numerous times -- he substitutes for a variety of shows. Also a longtime Music Department volunteer, He has a new regular program that started on Tuesdays.  Curt brings a blend of Americana and rock with his new show, Music at Work. Be sure to listen live while you work on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to Noon, at 88.1 FM, or online at KDHX.org.

 

Did you know that Jim Lynch's Hummer dealership in Chesterfield is Hummer Largest Dealership in the World and has been for many years.  A few  years ago this dealership was selling  70 Hummers a month. Now that Hummers are again being shipped Jim is planning to get back to those sales numbers.  See Jim Lynch's T1 4th place Trophy and the Viper from the 2009 SCCA RunOffs at the March 20 Tech O Rama being held at the dealership March 20.   

 

SCCA - Midwest Division
Friday Evening Feb 19 - Sunday Feb. 21
Hilton Kansas City Airport, Kansas City, MO

 

Last day to register online: Wed Feb 17, 2010
Come to KC to meet, share & renew!
Whatever your interest, you'll find information here! No matter how 

new you are or how extremely experienced you, there's plenty to 
keep you busy. 

Come to KC to meet, share & renew!
Here are some of the features we're working on:  
Club Racing Worker and Administrators' Seminars  
Attracting New Members & Keeping Seasoned Members  
Data Acquisition & Video Tips  
Regional Web Design  
PDX Success - Build it and they will come

Solo Car Set-up for New Participants  
Getting into Club Racing
Modified Class Autocross Cars Demystified
Sound Control  
Road Rally - CHECKPOINT!  
Rally Cross - Jump In!  
Customer Service for event success

Solo Safety Steward Training  
Timing & Scoring - Solo  
Solo Course Design 
Grid/Paddock Set-up Discussion for Solo  
What does tech really look at and why?  
So, your kid wants to drive a kart...let's talk!  
 
From a tremendous line-up of seminars for all aspects of SCCA

(from VOLUNTEERS to SOLOIST to PDX'rs to RoadRally-ists to 
RallyCrossers to RoadRacers!) to fantastic shopping at

ZONA ROSA and the COUNTRY CLUB PLAZA and .and other great activities within 20 minutes of the hotel --- Kansas City is the place to be to MEET, SHARE & RENEW!

 

Register at:

www.Motorsportreg.com