Governors Elected, Dinner Shared, Year Planned
by Nathan Massie

Nearly every culture has some great pilgrimage ... a gathering accomplished at great sacrifice, a grueling travel to a distant land, or a test of supreme personal will. Whoa! None of that here. Lots of great food, stories, and laughter, all at the annual BMCU Potluck and business meeting.

Although, I suppose the grueling travel item could be used, as we had some folks who drove from Heber Valley or from Delta all the way into Salt Lake. In fact, I heard that at least one carload of faithful BMCUers got lost along the way (and they live in here in town). But the point is, it's not only a fun and delicious evening, it's the one time each year that we get together as a group and decide how our club operates.

The night got started with the usual "Did you ever get that car fixed up?" and "You missed a great event when we ..." and so forth. It's fun to talk about last year's events, both club-sponsored and otherwise, and the projects people have worked on over the winter. As we stood around and chatted, the food tables filled up, and without warning, we all just swarmed the tables and started the feast. If anyone left hungry, it was their own fault!

Mitch Johnson brought along the club boutique items, including T-shirts, key chains, and the grille badges. He asked if anyone present had pre-paid for their grille badges, and if so, they could settle up right there. There's still a few who pre-paid and need to get their badges; if you're one of them, make sure you attend the events and hook up with Mitch so we can get you squared away and get that inventory off the books.

Gary waited until the last plate was clean (hey, I'm a slow eater ... and I talk a lot), then the annual meeting began. First order of business: officers. Gary presented the list of volunteers for the Board of Governors, and the group quickly voted them in. Here's the results:

Governor General: Gary Lindstrom
Chancellor of the Exchequer: Marty Van Nood
Newsletter Editor: Floyd Inman
Membership Director: Bruce Schilling
Quartermaster: Mitch Johnson
Board member: Jim "Pugs" Pivirotto
Board member: Larry Bishop

Second, Marty gave us a quick run-down of the club's finances. In a nutshell, we're in the black. The newsletter is our largest expense, and our largest source of income is donations. So, be sure to read the newsletter, and to send in a donation to cover its cost with your "keep me on the mailing list" postcard.

Speaking of the newsletter, the group made it very clear that they liked the color newsletter in December that caps the year's events. As Gary pointed out, we can only afford to print one color issue each year, but it's available in color every month on the club's website at www.britishmotorclub.org.

Finally, the last order of business was the Lucas Calendar. Like its namesake, it's a hastily prepared contrivance of dubious craftsmanship that's always apt to fail after dark. But there's no substitute for half a plan or a full beer. We quickly got down the former, and here's how the year shaped up:

March: St. Patty's Day Parade. Gary will lead this event. Last year the Hibernian Society began asking for a $10 donation per car, and that continues this year. Gary will estimate attendance and send in a check for the group, and then ask you to repay him the morning of the event. Questions?

April: Two possible events. In past years, we've had a Tax Day Social at someone's house, and that event has always been well received. Also, Larry Bishop mentioned a local car collection (the DeWayne Ashmead Collection) that we could possibly tour. We've done similar things in the past, and those too were well received. Anyway, we'll gather more information and determine a date, but keep your Saturdays open early to mid April.

May: Two events this month. First, we'll take our annual Antelope Island run on Sunday, May 15 (yes, Sunday--several members work on Saturdays, and asked if we could have a few Sunday events. This one seemed to be a good fit, as it's "open" all year around). Nathan Massie (486-2935) will lead the group on this drive.

Second, the annual overnight trip. This year, it's back to Jackson Hole over the Memorial Day weekend, from Saturday, May 28th until Monday, May 30th. Larry Farrington will lead the group on this trip. When he presented the idea, the group applauded because the club trip to Jackson Hole two years ago was so wonderful. Stay tuned to this newsletter for more details as the date approaches, but be ready to call the hotels with your credit card and make reservations several weeks in advance of the trip.

June: The big news here is, of course, the annual British Field Day (BFD). The date is slated for the 4th. However, there is a possibility that this event will move to July and Washington Square (the area around the city-county building) because of other events the city has booked for Pioneer Park. While most of us voiced our support for the June date, Bill Davis' report on the subject let us know that the city is the deciding factor and we'll have to haggle it out with them. You will see more information in this newsletter as the date and location are sorted out.

Mitch Johnson, who is a liaison with the folks who put on the Highland Games at Thanksgiving Point, suggested another possible event in June. The Highland Games welcomes our participation and once we know the date, you will see information about it in this newsletter. It's usually in mid to late June.

July. The group agreed that 4th of July parades get sporadic attendance, the weather is hot and miserable, and well, we'd all rather be at home with the family. So, we decided against any parade events. However, Dan Kasha suggested a run up East Canyon over to Morgan. Someone quickly recognized that as the Trapper's Loop run we've done in the past, and before Dan could say more, his name was written into the official notes and he was stuck with the job of organizing the event. We didn't settle on a date, however, as we're waiting upon the outcome of the BFD as noted above.

August. Alpine Loop -- a club favorite (and the event that started the club). Suzanne Bishop and Rob Green (who wasn't present, but never passes up an audience for his, umm, humor). This one takes a lot of legwork calling for donated items, and it's a big fund-raiser for the club when we raffle off the donated items during the lunch stop. Put August 20th on your calendar so you won't miss this drive.

Also, a non-club event for individual participation is the Concours d'Elegance car show, a local favorite and one that has seen some BMCUers earn awards. The date for this show is August 26, 27, and 28.

September. Two events this month, including the Miner's Day Parade in Park City (if you can make it up there, chances are you could coast all the way back to Salt Lake if need be). September 5 (Labor Day) and, as always, led by Floyd Inman.

The other event is the State Street Cruise Night, from the Capitol all the way down to Joe Chou's Dairy Queen in Sandy. Plan for a fun evening drive on Saturday, September 17. We volunteered Joe for the event, but we would like another person to help out as well.

October. Another two-event month. First, the annual fall color tour, possibly to Trial Lake, on October 2. Gary Lindstrom and Doug Wimer had great ideas on this, and again, their names were quickly written in the official notes so they couldn't back out.

Second, there's the end-of-the-season dinner. Always great fun, this one looks to be even more fun as the date we selected was Saturday, October 29. Why not a Halloween-themed costume party? Diane Pivirotto had the idea, got the job, and we quickly moved on before she could protest.

November. Tech Session month, and the date is November 19. Several folks had some ideas, and we'll nail one of those ideas down and let you know the subject as the date draws near.

December. As is our tradition, no event in December--spend the time with your family instead.

January 2006. Tech Session, January 14th. Again, there were several ideas, and we'll keep you posted on the subject of the session.

February 2006. Potluck and annual business meeting. Bill Davis mentioned that the date would be dependent upon the availability of the hall at St. Paul's (which we all like to use), so we didn't select a date. Look for more information as the date draws closer.

Gary closed the meeting by asking for thanks to Bill Davis for getting use of St. Paul's. The group generously agreed with a round of applause. And with that, we all pitched in to clean up the hall, put things away, and went on our merry way.

Attending were: Gary and Sandy Lindstrom, Dave and Carol Marks, Larry and Mary Bishop, Larry and Margaret Farrington, Mitch and Diane Johnson, Andrew Frink, Brent Andersen, Michael and Mary Scoggins, Tim Furner, Simon Pipes, Bill and Roger Davis, Nathan Massie, Kendall and Connie Dewsnup, Bill Davis, Shawn Davis, Liam Davis, Pugs and Diane Pivirotto, Terri Kaufman, Martin Van Nood, Dan Kasha, Jon Hermance, Rob Foye, Bob and Dixie Jahnke, Doug and Ilene Wimer, Mark and Karen Bradakis, and Bill and Robyn Rhinehart.