Greetings all!
Our 2022 Finger Lakes Mercedes Benz Club section schedule is upon us and I am excited. Are you? We begin with the ever-popular Bill Wayman’s Garage Tour on May 15th at 1:30 PM located on 1945 Lake Road in Ontario. Winter is gone and no longer in the rear-view mirror, so note this on your calendar and bring the ‘Benz’ to the party. Let's talk about how to detail the car and shake off the chill of upstate New York. You may also notice that we have an event scheduled at Watkins Glen on June 1st followed up with the always entertaining and wonderful Father’s Day Sonnenberg Car Show on June 19th. Last year there were over 400 cars at this show. Mark your calendar too, for the annual picnic at Red Kosinski’s home on July 10th. Let’s enjoy the simple pleasure of gathering with like- minded folks after an extremely long winter. Come and enjoy the fun.
Now, allow me to speak on to the recent changes to the business side of things. Your executive board has been busy over the past several months participating in several Zoom meetings addressing MBCA’s cancelation of rebates to individual sections. You will find messages elsewhere in this newsletter concerning regional director Drew Webb’s messages and minutes from the March national board meeting. Essentially, we as sections have been asked to begin building sponsorships. This is a change in how the bulk of our section finances are received: rebates based upon a portion of our section’s club membership. Fortunately, our section has been prudent over the years with our finances and as a result we are not in a bad a situation. We have currently two sponsors. Let us support them with our business. Other sections in our own region are in trouble. Do we need to increase sponsorship advertising in our newsletter? YES. Four to five additional sponsors will replace the lost rebates from national, roughly about $900 annually. Is the executive board involved? YES. Do we need membership input and help? Yes. Myself, VP Obed, Secretary & Membership Chair Bob, Treasurer Peggy and Website Director Oscar are currently involved in seeking sponsors and are willing to assist you with any suggested candidates
Regional Director Drew Webb’s leadership offers two suggestions: In order to continue to deliver fun and value to members in our region, we need to figure out a way to generate some funds at the section level and do things that will help increase membership. To that end I would like to ask you to think about fund and membership raising activities your section can do. Let me leave you with one thought- if we can all work together to pull this off, and make our sections financially independent, we can enjoy the benefits of our club, cars, and members/friends without worry about the national MBCA finances or even their direction. To me, that's a goal worth supporting and working towards.
I believe that participation in these new endeavors by all of us will only enhance our club experience, to have fun together with our Mercedes Benz Vehicles. I look forward to seeing you and your cars soon.
Don Klug, FL MBCA Section President