The Steering Column
Left Hand Drive from our President

I still haven't gone into the garage to work on Maggie — it has been too cold. As I stated last month I intend (yes still an intention) to do something simple on my car. The weather, life and general laziness has put this back a little. I am writing this near the end of January so I don’t know if our friend the groundhog will see his shadow or not. If he says we will have 6 more weeks of winter, I may still have a chance to crawl under Maggie and see what I can do. If winter is almost over, Maggie and I may be out before I do anything. Since I am not mechanically inclined even the simple tasks are frightful. What if I really screw something up? Susan reminds me that I will never know until I try. So with her enthusiastic encouragement that I can indeed do something, I keep it as an intention. Now I need a warm enough day (but not driving weather warm) to give it a go. I haven’t figured out what I will attempt but I am sure one look under the car will inspire me. Wish me luck.

On another note.
Shortly after you read this I will be handing over the gavel to our new president. The official ballot count has not been announced yet but I think Dean Hickenlooper ran a strong campaign (and the fact that there were no other candidates) he will emerge as our leader for the next year. The fact that the rest of the elected officers, Vice-President Jim Compton, Secretary Victor L’Heureux and Treasurer Phil Wydra have so generously agreed to stay on means the transition will be a smooth one. There are other members that are not elected but come to the staff meetings to aid in the discussions before the board. I would like to thank Reinout Vogt and his able replacement Jamie Schafer along with Jim Evans and Bill “Wilber” Mennell for all their input and help. It was a pleasure to work with all of them this past year. It was my pleasure to serve as your president. Thank you for the opportunity.

~~ Ray Hansen & Maggie (AKA Little Red)

	The Steering Column
	Right Hand Drive   from our Vice-President

I enjoyed this fine weekend. 50’s in January who would believe? I got My MG started and put a few miles on it. I know we will pay dearly for this nice weather very soon. This is Chicago after all. At our last meeting we had a preliminary discussion about our election process. I think we will be discussing this more later this year. Please pay close attention to the Driveline and attend as many meetings as you can. If you can’t make the meetings, please drop and email to the club officers. Let us know what’s on your mind. We need to hear from you. Jamie went over a preliminary driving events calendar. We will have many events this season. I can hardly wait.

How about car projects. I have not gotten serious yet about my differential. I’ve been getting set for tax season. It’s a very busy time of year for me. So, my MG waits. What about you? Have you got your car safely in hibernation or has it passed beyond into the major not-running category? If you need help getting your car ready, maybe we could do some tech sessions in your garage?

Tim and I were talking about maybe setting up a Funkana as an event this year. I know that Ray Costa wants someone to do one at the GOF. I started looking into the insurance a bit and learned that this is covered by our club insurance through NAMGBR. If at least 8 club members are also NAMGBR members. This was enough to get me off my duff and finally join NAMGBR. If you’re not a member of NAMGBR maybe you should join as well. I like the idea of their Mutual Aid Directory and I look forward to their newsletter. Maybe it will give me ideas about what to ramble about here.

Again, I ask, beg, plead, get involved! Share your stories, knowledge and experience. Help with a rally or tour. Help with the Swap Meet, the GOF, the British Car Festival or any other such events. The more you help the better the club is for everyone.

Thank you all!
Safety Fast

~~ Jim Compton