| MiataTudes |
| The Monthly Newsletter of the Sacramento Area Miata Owners Association |
| www.sacramentoareamiata.org |
Copyright 2007 - Sacramento Area Miata Owners Association - Sacramento, CA 95662 For questions about this website please contact the webmaster |
| Robin’s Nest by Robin George Well, here we are the end of the year. Time to get ready for the New Year. As we enter the winter months, many Miata owners across the nation are literally forced to lovingly caress their Miata within the confines of their garages and out of the rain, sleet, snow, ice, road salt, etc. that ravages a major part of the country at this time of year. However, SAMOA members are among the lucky ones and even though the club calendar is not completely full, there are a number of things to do. We get to enjoy our annual Holiday Party to be held this year at the Lions Gate Club (Old Officers Club at McClellan AFB) on December 1st. I know that Gundi Bechthold has been prodding everyone to get his or her money and reservations in for the past several weeks and it promises to be an outstanding event. The food, the ambiance, and, most of all, the camaraderie will combine to make for a memorable evening. Then we have two weeks for each of you to relax and decide what position you would like to fill for 2008 before our general business meeting takes place on December 13th. It appears that there will be several openings available just looking for young (?), energetic (?), volunteers. The elected positions are, of course, always open and a few current board members have already indicated their desire to “rest” for the coming year. In addition, we have need of a Technical Advisor. If you have the urge to get more involved, here is your chance to help the club and provide your input as to how SAMOA might improve. I always look forward to the general meeting as the time to fill up the New Year’s calendar with some new and exciting runs and events as well as repeats of many favorites. This is how elections stand currently for our General Business Meeting. It is during this meeting that elections are held to select the Board Officers for 2008. The Sacramento Area Miata Owners Association is one of the premium automobile clubs in Northern California, if not the country. For 17 years, its membership has required SAMOA to remain a participatory, hands on, enjoyable, fun club. At this meeting, it is your chance to continue the tradition by your vote. The current slate is as follows: PRESIDENT* Robin George VICE-PRESIDENT* Michael DeLaurentis SECRETARY Pamela Hunt TREASURER Jeanne George EVENTS COORDINATOR Jack Parker TECHNICAL ADVISOR ??? MEDIA DIRECTOR Ron Petrich *Requires article 10 wavier During the December, annual Business Meeting the above members and any other nominations will be presented to attending club members. Several Board positions have members’ currently in office and these members have placed their names into nomination to run for the same office but have exceeded the terms limits described under Article 6, Section 6.03 of the SAMOA bylaws. Under Article 10 of the same bylaws, a wavier may be requested and must be approved by 2/3 of attending members. This wavier will permit those incumbents to exceed the terms limits and place their names into nomination for their current positions. After that, a slate of eligible nominees will be presented to the membership for vote and approval. If you unable to attend the annual Business Meeting and wish to throw your hat into the ring and run for an office or if you wish to vote please contact a Board member or me at robin@winfirst.com for an absentee ballot. The ballot will contain the article 10 wavier and the above slate. I look forward to seeing everyone on December 13. Chili Cookoff By Jeanne George This year Robin and I were able to attend our first Chili Cook-off event hosted by Fran Rowell. We had heard many stories over the years regarding this event and this one lived up to the hype. Robin gave me instructions to prepare my basic chili and he would “add the secret ingredients”. We packed the Miata and headed to meet the others. Fran had chosen the perfect fall day and the weather enhanced the event. Although rain forecasts were predicted they did not develop. People arrived bundled up but the coats and tops soon came off. Fran gave her leader speech to the 19 attendees. She indicated that Jan Leininger and Ralph and JoAnne Gingrich would be joining us at her home, but the rest of us were going wine tasting. Our first stop was at Venezio Winery, which was offering a wine and soup tasting event. As we entered the cask room, the aroma of wine accented soups greeted us. We were handed a glass and told to test any or all varieties. At each station, a server loaded the bowl and another poured a recommended wine. From there each of us wandered, tasted and shared our opinions. The French Onion, Split Pea, Minestrone, and Beef Stew were all highly praised. Fran had to struggle to get the group out of there and even made some people drink faster than they wanted to. Our next stop was David Girard Winery. This winery was located among the vineyards and hills near Coloma. Some of the group tasted, while others ventured for a walk on the grounds. After a quick trip we headed to Fran’s home. Arriving at Fran’s we were greeted by Ralph who was on a hospital furlough, JoAnne and Jan who had rescued Ralph for the day. Ralph and JoAnne were busy making Ralph’s famous cheese bread. As if by signal everyone went to work: crock pots were plugged in and loaded up, chips and dip set out, wine bottles un-corked, desserts arranged, and salad and corn bread at the ready. Next we were all told the proper chili tasting etiquette by Fran and the voting procedures. Jan informed the group of a contest to determine the number of beans in a bottle. Then the sampling of the five chili pots began. The group enjoyed the foods, laughs, wine and friends on this pallet rewarding venue. Much to our surprise, our chili was voted best and we were awarded a bottle of David Girard wine. Barbara Penfield’s chili won second place and a box of Godiva chocolates. My bean guess won that contest and a pumpkin spice candle. Fran thank you for all the work and organization you put into the run to make this event the success that it was. Robin and I enjoyed the gathering and activities. We took pictures which can be seen on the web site photo album. Christmas Gift Ideas By Jeanne George Are you looking for something special for someone? We have the following SAMOA embroidered items available. If you are interested, contact me at jeanne@winfirst.com or call (916) 359-2627. Men’s ¼ zip fleece lined Sweatshirts $20 each 2 large, Black with red lettering 1 large, Charcoal with red lettering 1 X-large, Charcoal with red lettering 1 X-large, Navy with red lettering 1 X-large, Ash with red lettering Women’s full zip Micro Fiber Fleece Sweatshirt $20 each 5 X-large, Berripink with black lettering 1 X-large, Sky-blue with black lettering 1 X-large, Seapearl with black lettering Baseball Caps $9 each 3 black with red lettering 7 tan with black lettering Mildred The Town Gossip By Adi Damania Mildred, the spinster small-town church gossip and self-appointed monitor of the church's morals, kept sticking her nose into other people's business. Several members did not approve of her extra-curricular activities, but feared her enough to maintain their silence. She made a mistake, however, when she accused Henry, a new member of the Church, of being an alcoholic after she saw his old red 1990 Miata parked in front of the town's only bar one afternoon. She emphatically told Henry (and several others) that everyone seeing it there would know what he was doing. Henry, a man of few words, just stared at her for a moment, then turned and walked away quietly. He didn't explain, defend, or deny anything. He, in fact, said nothing. Later that evening, Henry quietly parked his Miata directly in front of Mildred's house and walked home. He left it there all night. (Ya gotta love Henry...!) SAMOA Website Statistics By Ron Petrich Our current website was brought online just about one year ago. It was officially unveiled on December 1, 2006. Since that time it has grown substantially, both in quality and quantity. All of the early bugs have (to my knowledge) been eliminated, and a tremendous amount of content has been added. As of this writing, the site boasts twenty-five (25) separate photo albums with nearly 700 photos – all supplied by YOU! The largest album is that of last July’s Fourth of July trip to Mt. Shasta – this album alone contains 79 pictures. And the albums page continues to grow each month, as more events take place. Also as of this writing the club has 103 memberships and 165 individual members. Twenty-nine memberships sport individual web pages with biographical information and pictures. But what about the other 74? Don’t be shy, let us plaster pictures of you and your car(s) on our site. But most importantly, interest in our website has continued to grow. Last week we reached our 10,000th visitor – in just 12 months. Site visits have averaged 835 per month since December, 2006, with a high of 1,106 in June of this year, and a low of 535 last May. Each of the last 4 months have averaged about 810 hits. Daily traffic peaks at the beginning of each month as folks are eager to view the new MiataTudes, but significant events also seem to pique interest. I will continue to keep the site updated as quickly as possible each week, as events lapse on our schedule, new members join, pictures are submitted, or other newsworthy items are added. If there is something on our site that you do not see but would like to, please let the webmaster (me) know. Conversely, if something seems inappropriate let us know that as well. After all, www.sacramentoareamiata.org is your site. December Birthdays By Ron Petrich These members have birthdays this month. And because they disclosed their dates of birth to me as asked, they will each be rewarded with a brand new Miata and $50,000 cash in their Christmas stockings this year. Congratulations!!! Jim Burgess 12/03... Margaret Counter 12/15... Clay Cowan 12/16... Gary Dunne 12/16... Jackie McClure 12/02... Ron Zander 12/07... Bonni Weatherwax 12/21... Treasure Trove News By Jeanne George WELCOME to these new members joining in November: Anne and Tom Jurach Cheryl and Walt Patstone Memberships Expiring on December 1: Just, William Lavoie, Mario Lockhart, Doug Lutz, Bonnie & Dave Myers, CeCe Swaney, Dennis & Mary Memberships Renewed in November: Mark Brooks Gary Dunne Genny and Bob Paauwe Adi and Parvin Damania Bill Fall and Elanora Drake Adi and Parvin’s Woodland Museum Event By Mike DeLaurentis Hats off, and thanks, to Adi and Parvin Damania for the excellent planning that went into their October 13 run to, through, and around Woodland. The Tractor & Truck Museum, Reiff’s Gas Station and R.H. Phillips winery were fun, very interesting and we’ve made plans to return to all of them when we can spend a little more time at each. This was Adi and Parvin’s first event and they did an excellent job. Now that they are old hands at this we look forward to their next event! SCCA Sacramento Chapter Enduro Results Samoa Continues to Bring Home the Bling By Jack Parker October 20 was the day for practice runs in the annual Bill Fleig Memorial Enduro. As usual the Samoa contingent was represented by Rod Gonzales, Darrel Huckaby and some guy in an unruley black thing. Practice comprises three two lap runs in preparation for Sunday's single run five lapper for trophies. So in essence Saturday doesn't count except for bragging rights and get your car dialed in. The Street Tire class on Saturday was Darrel's domain, turning in a very nice time of 71.0 scratch which left him only .039 seconds behind the leader of the class on corrected time. Even on scratch time Darrel was standing third against some very strong competition including Corvettes, an M Coupe, a John Cooper Works Mini and BMW 325. Very impressive. H Stock found Rod once again against his rivals in the auto Subie, a 318i and a new Focus. But once again Rod showed that the Kia of Fury was the one to beat. The black unruley thingy showed the way in STS2 by almost ten seconds. Unless Sunday would bring some other cars to start line the race would be a little uneventful. Sunday dawned at O Dark Thirty as Rod says with the usual suspects showing up. Showing up in STS2 however were three different drivers that were not there for practice. This shed a new light on the competition as one of them in the silver Miata an unknown quantity. H Stock and Street Tire remained the same. For trophies on Sunday, the black unruley thingy found that the previous day's results needed to be improved so, without testing, suspension settings were adjusted and tires pressures were changed in hopes of finding a few more seconds. O Dark Thiry is never a good time for this driver so anything could happen. On the first lap of five the car behaved quite differently and the understeer that reared its ugly head was totally gone. Laying down a time to beat 156.009 early in the group left a good taste in the drivers fat mouth. The next car out, and the one unknown, came through the lights at 166.027. Club member Tak Auyeng brought along a friend to compete on Sunday with his friend Brian showing the field how to DNF and Tak coming in at 188.028. That left the black thing in first, the silver in second and Tak taking home the third place trophy. Now maybe the wife will let him come out Saturdays next year. In Street Tire Darrel showed the way with 135.954 corrected time. This was a nice time for that class but unfortunately that pesky Corvette Z06 beat him by 1.1 seconds and the Porsche 993 by 1.2 giving the third place trophy to Darrel. Good job. H Stock was the cliff hanger for Sunday. Rod went 169.263 and the BMW followed with a 179. Things were looking good until the Focus ZX3 crossed the line in 168.532 just nipping Rod by .7 seconds. It was a fun conclusion for a great season. I understand that there are a few cars from the club getting ready for next year. I believe Rod has a car getting Bilstiens on it as this is being written. There is a supercharged red on out there asking about autocross schedules for next year. One of our esteemed board members is looking at superchargers, make that two actually. The Kia of Fury is being replaced by a sport package 99. Our 07 club champ has lost his turbo and is going into STS2. A past tech director is readying a new addition to the family. Some guy with a faded black stripe is doing a few things to his car. Could this be a precursor of things to come. Add those to the eight other cars at the club championships and 2008 could be a great year. |
| December 2007 |
