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The Prez Sez

Dear Alfisti,

It’s been a while since we last sent out a newsletter, so I’ll start this column with an apology. We’ll try to do a better job getting future issues out on time. As a rather inadequate excuse, I’ll offer up the fact that we have been busy over the last few weeks. Since I last wrote to you we have hosted a flurry of events, including the Fall Challenge at Road America, the Swap Meet at Besic Motorsports, and our Fall Tour. If you were not able to experience these events first hand, you’ll be able to read more about them in future issues. In the background we have also held another Board of Directors meeting, and we have made significant progress towards updating our chapter bylaws and preparing for the 2010 board elections. Many of our club members have also been keeping themselves busy recently. Turning the consequences of a down economy into an opportunity, one of our board members, Jim Hand, recently opened a new car detailing business. Check out his press release for Detailed By Hand in this issue for more information, including the discount for Alfas! And stay tuned for an open house event in the coming months. Of course we encourage our members to take advantage of local businesses which cater to our Alfas; not only does this benefit the business owners, but it benefits us directly by ensuring that someone is there to help when our cars need parts, repairs, or a little TLC.

Another group of our members, Mike, Darren and Andy Besic, along with Tim Roberts, Craig Bielat and others, decided that it would be fun to enter a car in the 24 Hours of LeMons. For the unfamiliar, this series features genuine 24 hour races with a very strict budget stipulation; with the exception of safety equipment, spending on the race car is limited to $500 including the cost of purchasing the vehicle itself. As you might imagine, it is extremely challenging to design and build a competitive and reliable car on such a small budget. The team found a sad-looking Alfetta and built it up into a car that really looks the part. We got a chance to admire it at the Swap Meet last month, and it really captured everyone’s imagination. The cool thing about this formula is that while funds are extremely limited, you can put as much hard work and know-how into the car as you like. The car did well in its first outing in Ohio, finishing about one third of the way down the field despite an extended two hour pit stop to effect a tricky repair. All involved say the whole thing was a total blast, and we hope to see them build on this success in the series next year.

I also have news to report at both the national and international level. Next year marks Alfa’s one hundred years as a company, and plans for the anniversary are coming together. About a month ago, just after returning from an overseas business trip, I received a call on my cell phone. To my surprise, the caller said she was speaking from Italy, and worked for Alfa Romeo. It turns out that the factory is making an effort to reach out to all the clubs around the world as they prepare for the celebrations. The chapters are invited to join a project to create the “Alfisti World Club”; we are now registered with this initiative and we will pass information on to you all as we receive it from the factory. I for one am very pleased to see the company make the effort to reach out to its most loyal supporters, Alfisti such as ourselves around the world. I recall asking staff at the Museo Storico on a visit there in 2007 why our chapter never heard from them, and their response was that there were simply too many groups around the world for them to keep up with. While that is quite understandable, I have felt for a long time that although Alfa trades in part upon a glorious engineering and competition history, their efforts to support enthusiasts for the older cars fall far short of those from companies as diverse as Mercedes, Rolls Royce and Aston Martin. My hope is that this new initiative is just the beginning of a closer relationship with the factory which will continue to grow in future years.

At the national level we also stand to benefit from a new project to improve communication between the chapters and AROC. The national board has asked each of its members to serve as a contact point for a limited number of chapters. Our contact is Brewster Thackeray, the current national President. I received a nice letter from Brewster introducing himself and explaining this new initiative. His role will include serving as a representative of our chapter on the national board, so there is now a clear channel for addressing any concerns we may have. For the time being I will be the point of contact for the chapter, so if there is anything you want to pass along to the AROC leadership just let me know and I’ll bring it to Brewster’s attention. I got to know him a little while we were ramping up for our 2008 National Convention, and found him to be a very helpful and level-headed fellow. I’m looking forward to working with him again in this new role.

I’ve chosen to close this column with another Alfa sighting. You may remember how I enthused about seeing a Milano on route 53 early this year, which I later learned was owned by the Zalinger’s daughter Mary. So as the driving season draws to an end for all but the most dedicated Alfa drivers, it seems appropriate to close with another sighting. Driving home from work one night I was heading north on Darrell Rd in Wauconda, and found myself behind a black 164. It was dark so unfortunately I couldn’t determine what trim level it was, and nor did I get a good view of the driver. So if you recognize yourself and your car in this description drop me a line. I see so few Alfas on the road outside our club events that every sighting is special, and I’d like to thank you for cheering me up! Dave Johnson CAROC President

Dave Johnson
CAROC President