President’s Message
Rodger Van Ness
 
A Great Experience
 
As I write my last message, the title says it all. As your club’s national president, the past two years have been a great experience in all areas of our club, but the most memorable has been meeting so many members and the feedback you provided on what you are looking for as a member. As we look to the future, the way we get and keep members will be guided by the unclouded feedback we received from the thousands of you. In July, August and September, Marketing Director Lisa Juhl emailed three surveys to the majority of members.
The first asked your opinion about MBCA driving events, the second asked you to rate MBCA benefits and the third requested your raves – and rants – about your overall membership experience. What you like and dislike, what you want and don’t want, will be presented at our fall board meeting in November. Rest assured, we will not ignore the clear-cut responses. We’ll correct our business course to give you more of what you want in 2012 and beyond. You spoke, we listened!
On the lighter side, 2011 was a great year to be your president, attending the many events honoring the 125th anniversary of Mercedes-Benz. It began this spring at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance in Florida; the MBCA June Jamboree in Montvale, New Jersey; Art of the Car Concours in Kansas City, Missouri; the Concours d’Elegance of America at St. Johns, in Michigan (formally Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance); Legends of the Autobahn in Carmel Valley and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, both in California; a meeting of national club presidents in Berlin, Germany; the Salisbury Concours d’Eleagnce in Des Moines, Iowa; and the Louisville Concours d’Elegance in Kentucky.
The events listed showcased our great marque and the Kemp Auto Museum provided several rare Mercedes-Benz automobiles to bolster the number of M-Bs on the field. One of the highlights was the opportunity for The Star’s Executive Director and Publisher Doug Truitt and I to meet at the MBUSA headquarters in Montvale with President and CEO Ernst Lieb, Geoff Day, and Adam Paige while attending the June Jamboree. Doug and I also attended the Mercedes-Benz 125th anniversary in Berlin at the Tempelhof Airport where 1,400 private owners of Mercedes-Benz cars from all over Europe spilled onto the runway on Saturday – not including the 70,000 spectators. A high point of that event was the famed Silver Arrows of the past driven by racing drivers, affording a look and sound into the great racers of yesteryear. I was very moved by the respect so many presidents of Mercedes-Benz clubs around the world demonstrated toward the MBCA and our country. That was quite gratifying. I could go on, but the most rewarding experience was meeting so many MBCA members and lovers of the marque throughout the world.
In closing my message in this holiday issue, thank you for your support and may you and your family have the merriest of holidays and a wonderful and healthy future. It’s been a great ride.
 Have Fun!
               Rodger Van Ness