If I could summarize why all 20,000 members joined the MBCA, I would say it’s to have fun while meeting fellow members who share the same passion for Mercedes-Benz automobiles.  Members’ interests range from learning more about technical matters to polishing their prized Mercedes models for show or judging; testing their driving skills with the cars’ engineering; driving and dining; surfing our Web site; and reading The Star.

While your regional section provides such pleasures, MBCA national events are designed to move your passions to a higher level. These events are created to entice you to attend the next series of challenges and to compete against members from all sections. Not only will you enjoy the competition, but meeting new members is interesting and rewarding.

By the time you read this message, I will have attended the MBCA’s longest-running event, the 47th annual Mercedes-Benz June Jamboree in Montvale, New Jersey. I am certain this will be a memorable day. While there, MBCA Executive Director Doug Truitt and I will have the pleasure of meeting with various members of the MBUSA staff.

New for our club is Legends of the Autobahn, a 2010 national event held in conjunction with the Pebble Beach Concours. This event is scheduled Friday, August 13, at the Rancho Cañada Golf Club in Carmel Valley, California. The unique gathering includes several German marques – BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz – each with its own area and the marques judged separately. (See the Club News pages of The Star for details.)

In September, plan to attend the granddaddy of all MBCA events, the 2010 StarFest®. (See past issues of The Star and the Greater Washington Section website for details.) You can enjoy, observe, and participate in many of the events listed above. In addition, a swap meet will allow you possibly to find those items you’ve been searching for.

I have touched on the many reasons why we enjoy being members of the MBCA, but your Board has not accepted the status quo and continues to move forward with its efforts to rebrand the Club to further meet your needs. At our spring Board meeting, we received a first look at the new Web site and how it will provide an opportunity for sections to open new doors of communication with their members.

The new Web site is the product of a committee that worked diligently to ensure solicitation and integration of members’ input in the project. Our website re-design task force members – including Doug Truitt and Lisa Juhl, MBCA’s director of marketing – provided the Board and the section presidents with an outstanding outline of the site, scheduled to debut in August. Sincere thanks to the committee members for the many hours of meetings and discussions that went into producing such a great new website. You will soon read of the many benefits all members will receive as a result of their efforts.

In closing, our Club accepts that 15 to 20 percent of members will attend a given event. If our trusty Mercedes cars ran only 20 percent of the time, I don’t think we would accept such a performance – we would search for ways to improve that number. Those of us in a leadership role, beginning with me, must work to host events that encourage members to attend. For those of you who are members and don’t attend special events, please choose an event and give it a try. Your section leaders work hard to schedule events and would appreciate your support. The benefits we don’t advertise enough are the people you meet and the friends you make. As the saying goes, “First it was the cars, now it’s the people you meet.”

I look forward to seeing you at Legends of the Autobahn in California and StarFest 2010 in Virginia.

Rodger Van Ness