President's Message
Terry Kiwala
BREAKING THE MOULD
As I walked into the patio-seating area of the Hyatt outside of Chicago, I did a double take. Was I in the right area? I hadn’t expected so many people. I quickly scanned the very large crowd and saw many familiar faces among those seated and breathed easy: I was indeed in the right place.
A few years ago, right after I joined the Mercedes-Benz Club of America’s National Board, I attended the Chicagoland Section’s Geneva Concours d’Elegance and was approached by Renee Welsh, who urged me to sign up for a drive from Chicago to Key West scheduled a few years later. It was a new and different event, and Renee was a PR machine in generating enthusiasm for this two-week adventure. The promotion continued outside the club: While with friends at the Barrington Hills Country Club in Renee’s former hometown, I spoke with a mutual acquaintance who told me Renee had been urging her for several years to buy a Mercedes, join the club and drive to Key West. I smiled and thought, “Wow, talk about a membership-recruitment program!”
In the end, the Chicago to Key West Trip was one of the best-attended club events this year. A total of 47 cars drove at least 1,500 miles over two weeks, and many cars traveled thousands of miles more. This was a new event that drew participants from around the country. Hats off to Renee and husband Ken for thinking outside the box and organizing such a well-attended event.
Our club is full of entrepreneurs who take it upon themselves to envision and organize adventures that break from the standard activities for which the club is known. We are an organization with a great heritage of many longstanding events. However, as new members with differing interests join the organization, we need new and innovative ways to involve and retain them. As such, the entrepreneurial spirit needs to be alive with diverse event ideas to optimize the membership experience in each section. I saw this with the Chicago to Key West Trip and continue to see it around the country.
A few years ago, there was no such thing as the North Texas Section’s Annual Membership Picnic. This year, 156 attendees gathered at Flag Pole Hill Park, making it the largest event for North Texas, which is the second largest section in the MBCA. Not only did members enjoy the good food and each other’s company, they admired an impressive display of well-presented cars at the concours. Brett and Melody Jurick and Maurice and Rose Nahas got creative outside the box, tried something different, and have established a new tradition for the North Texas Section. It’s a new tradition for me as well: I’ll proudly wear my new cowboy hat when I attend North Texas Section events, but will leave my holster at home if I’m flying.
Maurice Nahas (left) and Brett Jurick flank Terry Kiwala in his new Stetson at the North Texas Membership Picnic.
The MBCA has historically sponsored national concours and driving events that follow a defined pattern and focus solely on Mercedes-Benz vehicles. In recent history, multi-marque car shows have quickly dominated the concours scene. This past summer, I attended Deutsche Marque Concours d’Elegance near Washington, D.C.; the sixth annual Legends of the Autobahn® in Monterey, California; and Great Marques Concours on Long Island. In each of these instances, members collaborated with fellow car clubs to focus on larger attendance and more cars on the field. We are seeing more and more MBCA members enjoying their membership at these multi-marque events.
What does this mean for you? Well, if you are an active member, keep contributing to your organization. As sections gather to set the 2016 events calendar, think outside of the box and develop new experiences that are attractive to a varied membership demographic. If you are not active, this is your chance to bring a unique, fresh perspective and be part of a growing movement that attracts and engages a larger number of members. If your section has a new and innovative event schedule, be sure to keep me posted so I may join you in enjoying the collaborative and creative spirit of our membership.