At the Wheel
From The President
Gene Jurick
Taking Care of Business
A year ago, a large part of my column was dedicated to Mercedes-Benz Club of America’s membership growth – or lack of it. I have shared some of the Board’s ideas to move that membership forward in a positive direction. A year later, this issue remains a focus of our attention. The plan that we laid out and put into motion then is still in place and in motion. While we have not experienced a turn-around and measurable growth, we have not abandoned our plan and goals.
We now have a Membership Committee with an experienced chairman and members in place up and running. Many of our existing recruitment and retention tools have been updated and several new tools have been developed and are in use. Having said that, even with these much-improved tools, turning the tide is a slow, arduous task. There is little question that growing our membership is a challenge best tackled at the section level. Section members and leaders have best access to potential new MBCA member prospects. And members referring new members are rewarded with an additional month added to their membership for each new member they refer. Membership applications are available, free, to all members and their Sections. Nearly every Section in the MBCA has a membership chairperson to support growth with ideas, tools and other material; give them a call.
Thinking about club activities, The Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance took place early March. On the Saturday before the concours, the Cars & Coffee gathering was held. MBCA was allotted 40 spaces to display our Mercedes-Benz vehicles directly in front of the Mercedes-Benz pavilion. The cars were selected by the club from applications submitted by members. Some of these automobiles are displayed elsewhere in this issue of The Star.
Being that we are now in the best time of year to use and show our cars at an almost unending list of events, I would like to mention just one coming up: The Sandhills Motoring Festival scheduled during the Memorial Day weekend, May 24-27. The event will culminate in a concours on the streets of the Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina. The Triangle Section has planned a full schedule of events for everyone.
The MBCA conducts two raffles each year, in the spring and fall. In case you missed it, I am mentioning it here: The MBCA’s Spring Raffle features a 2019 Mercedes-AMG GT63 four-door coupe. This car has just arrived at dealerships. The MSRP for this model is $136,500. Raffle tickets are $50. And you can purchase as many as you wish. Last day to buy tickets is June 5, and the drawing is June 12. The raffle is only open to MBCA members, making the odds to win a lot better than the Lottery. To learn more about the car, go to the MBCA website and visit raffle.mbca.org. You will find more information and a video of the GT63 in action.
A little more about the business part of the club: In addition to all the reasons we joined the club – enjoyable things to do, a club to be part of … the camaraderie – all of this requires effort from volunteer leadership, both local and national; they help to make those events take place. If you haven’t served in a leadership role, you might consider giving it a try; it can be very rewarding. Equally important is sharing your ideas and thoughts relative to events that you would be interested in attending. Your section leaders are continually in search of interesting and enjoyable things to do. With your creative contributions and ideas, you could be instrumental in attracting new membership – or even incentivizing members to renew. Fact is, the largest group of members that do not renew their membership are those that never attend an event or, for that matter, meet any other members. Think about it.