RE Corner
Hi all,
Success! 17 teams came out to enjoy our Year-ender Road Rally, and from the sounds of it everybody had a good time despite the snow and challenging roads. Congrats to Bob and Marshall Carter for their poker chip win! It might be a while before our next one, but based on the positive response from this event we’re all excited for more so stay tuned for Road Rally events through the year.
Big Lake is currently frozen over and people are driving on the east end, but the main ice road isn’t cut in yet and the ice is not ready for several vehicles to park in one spot. With that, we have chosen to cancel the RallyCross event we had tentatively scheduled for January 12. The lake might be ready, but we thought folks might want to plan something else that weekend in advance rather than risk a last-minute cancellation. As of now, our first event will be RallyCross #2 on January 26.
We also have the SCCA National Convention coming up in a couple of weeks, on January 17-19 in Las Vegas. I mentioned this last month, but I bring it up again because the Board authorized a reimbursement of paid convention registration dues, up to the early price of $275. Like last year, this reimbursement doesn’t apply to me, and I requested this reimbursement for others to help offset costs of attending. There are conditions attached so this can also benefit the Region, like writing an article for the newsletter and getting more involved by being an event chair. Spreading the workload helps everybody in a volunteer organization. There should be a draft copy of the December meeting minutes attached for reference, and these should be up on the website soon.
Speaking of the website, we’re in need of pictures! If you have any photos from any of our events you’d like to see featured on alaskascca.org, please email them to the Board at ArcticAlaskaSCCA@gmail.com (that’s a lot less work for us than sifting through the facebook posts)
And as we roll into the new year, I’d like to thank our outgoing Board members Terrance, Becky, and Ricky, for their efforts to help grow the Region this past year. And starting January 1, we welcome our new Board members Wally, VJ, and Paul into another fun and busy year!
Our next meeting is at 7pm this Thursday January 3, and we’re back at the BP Energy Center again. Stop in and say hi!
Wishing all of our members and friends a safe and happy new year,
Kent Hamilton
-Regional Executive
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Our dedicated Kenai crew, Justin Morrill and Josh Dibble, made the trek up to Anchorage and ran the rally in Justin's excellent Evo.
Photo by Justin Morrill
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Road Rally
As the Rally Master for the Alaska Winter Year Ender Rally, I just want to say thank you to everyone who helped and participated! A big thank you to my husband Terrance Pearson for all of your help and for keeping us safe! This was my first time organizing a Road Rally and it was so great because everyone that participated was just so friendly and awesome. Seeing the fun everyone was having just made it so great for me.
I didn't know what to expect in the number of teams we would have but we ended up having 17 teams!!! Wow that's 34 people total so amazing!! We also had 2 folks join SCCA, Jim and Karen, welcome. We had some cars pulled out if the snow and one towed to the top of Hatcher Pass, poor Cookie. Check out some of the great pics on our Facebook page. Now to try to think about planning the next one. If you have any ideas let me know as I am just learning.
Thanks all you Road Rally folks!!
Becky Pearson
-Rally Master
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Editor's Note- This is the first update sent out by out new Area 13 Director, Jeff Zurschmeide; we look forward to regular updates from him.
Top Dead Center- Learning the Ropes
by Jeff Zurschmeide, Area 13 Director
The first thing I noticed when I was elected to represent SCCA’s Area 13 members on the national Board of Directors is that many SCCA members don’t know what the board actually does.
Here’s a short primer - we’re not the bosses of the REs, the stewards, the CRB or the SEB, or any specialty. In fact, the board is only sort of the boss of one person: the President of SCCA, Mike Cobb. I say “sort of” because it’s not like I can call him up and give him orders, either. The board gives big-picture direction and goals to the President, and then evaluates him on his performance.
Similarly, we may ratify the decisions of the CRB, SEB and every other competition board, but we don’t write the rules for your class. In fact, I think we meddle a little too much with the people who have stepped up to manage the rules of our competition venues.
I’m not an expert in the competitiveness of various cars within any class, be it GT-1 or F500, E-stock or A-Mod. The people who volunteer to sit on the CRB/SEB and the individual class advisory committees are the experts, and as a rule I plan to respect their wisdom.
Okay, so that’s all the stuff we don’t do. Here’s what we actually do:
1) We keep an eye on the bottom line for the national organization. Being on the board involves a lot of spreadsheets that detail the financial operation of the club. This is the unglamorous work that is absolutely critical to the mission of SCCA. If we run out of money, we’re out of business.
2) We evaluate new opportunities for the club, whether that’s sponsorship deals, Pro racing series, and new venues like TNIA and Time Trials.
3) We sit in on the meetings of the committees of the club we’re tasked to monitor. I am the board liaison to the Road Rally Board and the Time Trials Advisory Committee. My job is not to run those meetings, but rather to answer board-related questions and bring the point of view of the committee back to the board.
4) We form subcommittees of the board to handle the details of various issues. I have been appointed to the Strategic Planning and Governance committees.
Strategic Planning is where we look at new opportunities like Time Trials, and try to offer ideas and guidance to the SCCA staff and committees on how we might capitalize on those ideas and open new lines of business.
Governance is more prosaic, being concerned primarily with keeping the Club’s bylaws up to date. At 75 years strong, the bylaws don’t generally need a lot of work these days.
Coming out of my first three-day marathon board meeting, here’s what I know:
1) The SCCA board is composed of people from all parts of the club.We’ve got Solo folks, Club Racers, Rallyists, Officials, and racing business owners. We’ve got a member who has a PhD in Economics and several members who get their bhands dirty for a living. It’s a good group of smart people.
2) The major challenge facing the club is Pro Racing, and 2019 will be a pivotal year. Formula 3 and Formula 4 have been launched, and need to prove out to repay the investment made.
3) The regional solo racer and road racer is the economic backbone of the club. That’s where we make our money. I already figured that, but it’s nice to see it proven in numbers.
I’ll know more next month after the convention. We’ve got another two-day meeting scheduled there. I’ll report in again at that time.
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Matt Baskett's M3 didn't need help getting up hills
Photo by Matt Baskett
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Poker party with the Carters!
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Terrance gesticulates at Palmer Ale House.
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Editor's Notes
What a way to end a year!
When Terrance and Becky decided to put on last weekend's Year Ender Road Rally, I wasn't overly enthusiastic; while I had enjoyed past road rallies, they weren't exactly my cup of tea. Perhaps getting older has made me appreciate competitive road tripping more, or maybe it was just the infectious cheer everyone had at the event, despite the early hour.
Our group of rallyists pretty much took over the Tikhatnu Starbucks for our sign up and morning briefing, as 17 teams were there to compete. I was lucky enough to score a right seat in VJ Maisonet's World Rally Blue STI, Rumbly. Over the course of the next couple hours, we climbed snowy hills, talked about life, the universe, and everything, and took in the awesome scenery. On our way down from Eklutna Lake, VJ moved a little bit too far right to give a passing rallyist more room, and we found ourselves in the ditch. I had to crawl out the left side of the car, as the snow was above the window sill on my side. Justin Morrill and Josh Dibble soon happened by, and were just about to yank us out of the ditch when Jamie and Tracy Benard appeared in their Cayenne, which proved itself to be a capable recovery vehicle.
The rest of the rally went well for most folks- Jen Bersch's Audi, codriven by Wally Tetlow, displayed a fondness for snow banks and fresh oil, while Terrance's Cayman showed its displeasure by lighting the dash up like a Christmas tree. Matt Baskett's M3 was the only two wheel drive vehicle that didn't need a hand climbing any of the hills; hopefully he'll bring it out for a rallycross or autocross this season.
After scampering down the hill,we made our way to the Palmer Alehouse, and enjoyed a cold beverage while the rest of the rallyists slowly filtered in from the course. After scores were tallied, we had our winners:
First Place- Marshall and Bob Carter - Subaru Outback
Second Place - Jen Bersch and Wally Tetlow- Audi RS6
Third Place - Matt Baskett and Zak May- BMW M3
Thank you to everyone that came out, and a giant thank you to the Pearsons for bringing sanctioned road rally events back to Alaska!
Have a wonderful New Year- it may be beneficial to take the time to reassess your relationship with broccoli.
Paul Anderson
-editor
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Terrance briefs rallyists on the event.
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December 2018 Draft Meeting Minutes
Folks keep asking for a way to view the minutes from our latest meeting- here they are!- ed.
AAR SCCA General Membership Meeting `
12/13/18 – Kendall Porsche/Audi/Volkswagen, Anchorage
BOD in attendance: Kent, Becky, Ken, Kevin, and Chad
Members: Paul Anderson, Wally Tetlow, VJ Maisonet, Bill Demming, Cheryl Babbe
A quorum is present for General meeting.
BOD meeting Called to Order (Kent): 6:30pm
Past Minutes tabled
Treasurer’s Report read aloud by Ken.
- Generator has been purchased for the Region, currently at Ken’s house. The Board thanks Terrance and Becky Pearson for loaning their personal generator for our events the last few years.
Solo Update:
- Houston Middle School will likely be unavailable next year due to renovations from earthquake damage.
Solo committee will touch base with them again in the spring.
- Discussion of other sites, including Bartlett HS, Tanacross Airfield, Carlson Center, Sullivan Arena, and Kenai HS
- Committee will be established in January when the new Board takes over.
- Group briefly discussed the handcart idea for corner stations. All agreed it’s a good idea, but nobody volunteered to take on putting it together.
RallyCross update:
- Reports of open water on Big Lake, and questionable ice from the earthquake.
- Fairgrounds could be a good alternate this time of year, VJ will contact the Fairgrounds. Borough may require a use permit, Cheryl recommended a 3-year permit if available.
Road Rally discussion:
- Heated discussion over the cancelled December 8 event, and the reasons behind it. After the discussion, Bill and Cheryl left.
Note: No longer have a quorum for General Membership meeting, continuing as a Board Meeting
- Next Road Rally is set for December 29, starting at the Tikhatnu Starbucks at 8am, with first car out at 9am. This will be a poker chip rally, and a social rally that is not timed.
REV Van:
- Storage quotes received vary from $69/mo to $99/mo.
- MOTION (Becky, 2nd Ken) to pursue storage at Publix Self Storage. PASSES, none opposed.
National Convention:
- Registration fees go up after December 16
- MOTION (Kent, 2nd Chad) to reimburse members’ paid registration fees, up to the pre-registration price of $275. To be eligible for reimbursement, the member shall provide content for the newsletter AND chair a Region event in 2019. PASSES, none opposed.
Next meeting is Thursday Jan 3, 6:30pm at the BP Energy Center
MOTION to adjourn (Becky) 7:50
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Thanks to those that stopped and helped us!
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Arctic Alaska Region 2019 Board of Directors
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Regional Executive
Kent Hamilton
Assistant Regional Executive
Chad Barnes
Treasurer
Ken Martens
Secretary
Paul Anderson
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Trustees
Kevin Cose
Wally Tetlow
VJ Maisonet
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UPCOMING EVENTS
January Meeting
Thursday, January 3rd 7 p.m.
BP Energy Center
January 26th RallyCross- tenative-
details to be announced
Saturday, January 26th
Big Lake
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