Scott,
I would like to congratulate you on the upcoming 4th British Car Drivers
Week. It's hard to believe that almost 3 years has passed since the
inception of your idea. Your initiative has grown slowly & I was pleased to
read the email stories of folks who had done something to commemorate the
week, posted at your site & at the British Cars team.net email list, over
the last number of years.
Of course I have also seen your own emails to promote this week & the
visibility of the cars for the betterment of the hobby. You came up with an
idea that was "do-able" and went ahead with it, without an "official"
proclamation of a British Car Week by any group, government, or monarch. I
believe this serves as an example to us all. It's been said that leadership
requires 3 things: motive, passion & spontaneity. You have also added
persistence & perspiration towards the goal!
It's been my pleasure to post British Car Week at my site in the past. This
upcoming year, you may be pleased that once again members of my Morgan club
are proposing an event during the week in the spirit that you intended.
Your comments regarding some of the problems in the hobby, and of
"burn-out", are true enough. However, some of the most practical &
successful initiatives have come not from clubs, but as a result of
individuals. The hobby will remain viable as long as there are motivated
individuals, such as yourself.
Thank you for your vision. Hope to see you on the road!
Cheers,
Fred Kuzyk
Founder, British Car Toy Runs for charity
Past President, Morgan Sports Car Club of Canada
Morgan Sports Cars International
http://mycomm.excite.com/mycomm/browse.asp?cid=.4g3TS2kkNzU
Where the membership is free and anyone in the world can post photos, links,
event dates, articles, discussion, files,
& meet for real-time chat on Morgans!
My Morgan Sports Car Club of Canada site:
http://members.xoom.com/msccc/
Cigar Lounge International
http://mycomm.excite.com/mycomm/browse.asp?cid=.lKz8u_R1qmS
Where the membership is free and anyone in the world can post content.
Holy Smokes & Southern Ontario Cigar Society site:
http://members.xoom.com/holysmokes/
Mustang SVO International
http://comm.excite.com/comm/area/pw/welcome/main.asp?cid=.pffo6DAbfZL
Roundel Records MP3 music site:
http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Bistro/9044/index.html
----- Original Message -----
From: <Trmgafun@aol.com>
To: <British-Cars@autox.team.net>
Cc: <spitfires-digest@autox.team.net>; <Morgans@autox.team.net>;
<6packlist@mfasco.com>; <Spitfires@autox.team.net>; <Bricklin@autox.team>;
<spridgets@autox.team.net>; <mgs@autox.team.net>; <alpines@autox.team.net>;
<healeys@autox.team.net>; <morris@autox.team.net>; <riley@autox.team.net>;
<rolls-bentley@autox.team.net>; <british-cars-pre-war@autox.team.net>;
<vtr@autox.team.net>; <Triumphs@autox.team.net>; <aurora@auroratechedi.com>;
<Mini-list@autox.team.net>; <Tigers@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 10:44 PM
Subject: British Car Drivers Week 2000
> Re: British Car Week 2000 May 20 - 28
>
> Hi British car fans,
>
> I thought I'd get the word out early about British Car Week 2000 to enable
> early postings for next years calendar of events listings. You will
notice
> that both opposing weekends are included this year for more driving time
for
> those of you who are more likely to get your cars out and drive them
during
> the weekends. You will also notice that in many cases the word "Drivers"
has
> been added to the title. I've seen this title used by others, and I feel
> that it is a great idea because the week is all about driving our British
> cars. Either way, it's still the same week.
>
> As many of you may already know, next spring marks the fourth annual
British
> Car "Drivers" Week. This is a world wide event for all British marques
with
> the intent that it will continue to grow in popularity as the years go by.
> This idea was prompted by a magazine article written by fellow British car
> enthusiast, Peter Egan, for the March 1997 issue of Road & Track magazine.
> Peters' article centered on the fact that there is a lack of old classic
> sports cars seen driven on roads today, and how much he misses seeing some
of
> his favorite classic marque's of the past driving on the roads of his
town.
> The British car community responded quickly to his plea, and shortly after
> that article was published, the first annual British Car Week was
initiated.
>
> This "awareness" week is intended for all British car owners to get their
> cars out on the roads in their locality, to have some fun with them, and
> promote them for all to see and appreciate. While doing so, we'll do what
we
> can to recreate the days when these cars were a much more common sight on
the
> byways of North America and beyond. Of course we'll never be able to
> populate the roads with these cars like they once were, but we can make a
> difference for one week per year. By getting our cars out on the roads at
> the same time during this week, we can create an awareness in our own part
of
> the world that these unique, charming, fun cars are still around and doing
> well, thus hoping to create some new or renewed interests in them to help
> keep our hobby and related clubs and businesses going strong.
>
> Very recently in my part of the Country, I've witnessed some changes that
I
> hope are only temporary. One longtime, honorable major event promoter has
> announced that he will no longer be promoting a British car event that has
> been one of the staples of the Midwest for around 23 years. In another
case,
> a local British car club president has announced a merger of his club with
> another group of British car clubs because no one answered the plea for
new
> club officers. I also recently received an e-mail from a gentleman from
> Maryland who is trying to get a British car driving event together in his
> area during next years British Car Drivers Week. He submitted an article
in
> a club newsletter asking for interested people to respond. So far, he's
only
> received one reply, and it was not favorable.
>
> Are these occurrences early signs of the fate of our hobby, or just some
rare
> cases? I don't know. I do know the British car hobby seems to be doing
> quite well in other instances, but like others, when I hear about
situations
> like these, I can't help but realize how important it is to continue to
> promote the hobby, and hope there will be others who will step forward and
> take over some of the duties that are so important to all of us and our
cars.
> The more people who volunteer to help with club activities, the less of a
> burden on the rest, thus less tendency for burnout for the people who work
so
> hard to support our clubs.
>
> In any case, this is a plea for all British car enthusiasts to do what
they
> can to help promote British cars and this very important British car
> promotional event. Let your club officials know about this week. Get
> together with your club and plan something during this celebrated week,
get
> the date listed within your clubs newsletter calendar, post it on your
> internet web page, or simply get your car out and drive it more often in
your
> home town during the week. The most important objective is to have some
fun,
> spend some quality time with your car, and in turn, hope to attract some
new
> enthusiasts.
>
> If you're interested in helping to promote this week among the people and
> clubs that support your favorite marque, please contact me at:
> Trmgafun@aol.com. This would not take up a lot of your time, but simply
> require that you contact the leaders of the clubs that are related to your
> favorite marque, and make sure they are aware of British Car Week and what
> it's all about, and hope they will help us promote it. If interested, I
> would add your name and e-mail address to a list, and would provide you
with
> updates of any information regarding British Car Week that you could pass
> along. If you would like to post your own British car related event that
> will take place during British Car Week, feel free to let me know, and I
will
> post it on the BCW web page for others in your area to learn about.
>
> This past May, I noticed an upsurge of British cars driving around my home
> town during BC Week as well as some classic German and Italian models that
I
> hadn't seen before the week started, and haven't seen since the week
ended.
> Maybe we've got some competition!!
>
> Thanks for your time, and hope to see you on the road.
>
> Scott Helms
> Visit the web page: http://members.aol.com/Trmgafun/britishcarweek.html
>
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