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Contacts: Graeme Kinsey, President Mary Diamond, VP/Secy Linda Derby, Treasurer Bonni Weatherwax, Tech Dir Connie Kellner, Newsletter Ken Christensen, Webmaster |
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Note from the Prez DMC Members Celebrating Birthdays in October Membership Report DELTA MIATA CLUB FUN RUN TO COLUMBIA Zoom-Zoom Over to the Miata Performance Driving School |
Note from the Prez September 2003
Fall is in the air and that means more driving without need for air conditioning (how many of you drive with the top down and the A/C on? I do, when it’s warm and I don’t want to miss that view!)
Fall
also meant a time to get back up to Yosemite, to Glacier Point, where Gina took
me to capture the picture above, taken at ten at night – that’s Half Dome by
moonrise. I never knew that the moon does, indeed, light things up in full
color. Our eyes don’t see the color, so it seems dark and bluish-gray, but the
camera (long exposure) captures it in full color. Looks like a sunrise, doesn’t
it! My point is that I never saw Half Dome under moonlight until I went there a
month ago on a Miata Run – now it’s a prime site in my travels. Miata clubs and
runs have exposed me to so many new destinations and have helped forge so many
new friendships.
Delta’s participation in the Vallejo Streets Night back in
August brought us two new memberships – Kim and Esther Henriksen from Vallejo
and Steve Diputado from Antioch. Let’s welcome them into the group when we see
them at our next meeting or our next run. Of course, our first question will be,
"what color Miata do you drive?" I was pleased to meet them at the Vallejo event
and delighted they’ve chosen to join us. Hopefully they can come along on our
Columbia Run!
I’m winding down my president’s position with Delta Miata Club, just as the wind turbines above near Tehachapi slow down at the end of a busy day of driving a couple of weekends back. As I’ve said before, I think it’s important to continue to bring new ideas into the leadership, and both Mary and I are one-term officers. We will welcome and support our successors, whomever they will be.
You, Delta Members, need to step up to the stage now. Please give strong thought to choosing an active role to step into and help lead Delta Miata Club. We are, I have found, a very laid-back group of people who seem comfortable with the Delta life-style. The leadership needs to be motivated to bring new ideas onto the stage. My focus has been to organize and promote interesting events, runs – and to respond to member requests (e.g., more casual meetings, dinners) – and to promote a change to the bylaws that will allow us all to vote without necessarily being at the holiday party. Your next leaders will bring in an additional slant. Will one of those leaders be you? If not, why not?
The
new slant on the Delta Club directions is not to be confused with the slanting
road I found myself on two weeks ago on the Twisted Weekend, heading from the
9,000 foot forested mountains down into the Mojave with twenty other Miatas!
But we need the leaders. Officers: President, Vice President-Secretary, Treasurer and volunteers: Webmaster, Newsletter Editor and Tech Advisor. The current board’s last day of office will be Dec 31st, but I assure the new board that we existing members will help during the transition. Please step up!
Remember, life is NOT a dress rehearsal.
Graeme
DMC Members Celebrating Birthdays In October
John Ceragiloi 10/11
Kris Kells 10/12
Beverly Larrabure 10/7
Larry Mensch 10/21
Bob Retzer 10/28
Rob Sissung 10/5
John Whitely 10/6
Misti Whitely 10/24
Phil Wolfson
10/31
Ed Yee 10/4
Happy Birthday Wishes From Everyone At DMC !!!
DMC membership includes 48active memberships and 74 members.
Our new members this month are Kim and Esther Henriksen from Vallejo and Steve Diputado from Antioch. Welcome to DMC Kim, Esther, and Steve !
*******************The flyers can be downloaded from the website*******************
DELTA MIATA CLUB FUN RUN TO COLUMBIA
OCTOBER 18, 2003
Come join the fun as we travel the back roads to Columbia. Columbia is an old Gold Rush town with shops, restaurants and two hotels. You’ll have the chance to time-travel to the 1850’s, imagining life when gold miners rubbed shoulders with businessmen and the other residents in Columbia.
We’ll have lunch at the Columbia House Restaurant shortly after our arrival. The cost of lunch ranges from approximately $8-15. (Bring cash.)
Following lunch you’re on your own to enjoy the town. You can take a stagecoach ride (fee), pan for gold (fee) or stroll through shops. One section of buildings is being renovated and is currently closed. There is a walk to the two-story brick school house and cemetery overlooking the town, or a one-mile nature trail where mule deer and wild flowers can be seen.
We’ll meet at 8:00 a.m. in the Sandy Cove Shopping Center on Highway 4. At the light at Geno’s Shell station proceed east on Highway 4 for 1 mile. The Sandy Cove Shopping Center will be on your left. There is a McDonald’s, Starbucks and Safeway for beverages, restrooms, or ?? The drivers’ meeting will be at 8:15 a.m. with departure at 8:30 a.m.
The run, including stops, will take approximately 3 ½ hours and cover approximately 100 miles to Columbia. RSVP to Larry and Barbara Mensch @ endlssmr@sbcglobal.net or 925-513-2405. We need to have your RSVP for lunch by October 4 in order to notify the restaurant. On the day of the run we will have a cell phone: 925-699-5703 and use FRS radios.
Zoom-Zoom Over to the Miata Performance Driving School
Get ready to
Zoom-Zoom-Zoom to the Eighth Annual Miata Performance Driving School at
Thunderhill Sports Park in Northern California this coming March. Registrations
are now being taken for the 2004 Miata Performance Driving School where Miata
owners from all over the country will converge on Thunderhill to learn how to
get the most from their Miata.
The 2004 Thunderhill school will be held March 26, 27 and 28 at the Sport Car Club of America’s Thunderhill track in Willows just off Highway 5, about an hour north of Sacramento, Calif. With wide-open space all around the track, it is a perfect place for beginners to safely learn how to handle their Miata at both high and low speeds. The course teaches Miata owners the basics of high speed driving, equipment, human limitations, proper steering techniques and lots of other skills necessary for safe performance driving.
The weekend is packed with activities beginning on Friday with a dinner, followed by classroom style lectures and training from SCCA instructors. Saturday morning the action turns to the track with some more instruction, both in and out of the Miata. Most of Saturday and Sunday will be spent on the track with some time in between sessions to talk to fellow Miata owners and see some on the latest Miata accessories. Plans for Saturday night this year call for a BBQ at the track using the newly completed building. The dinner gives students and instructors the opportunity to talk over the day’s activities in a friendly casual atmosphere. “The entire goal of the weekend is to enable Miata owners to become better, more skillful drivers both on and off the track,” said Ken Freeze, the event organizer.
The class is limited to 80 students with 40 instructors, making for a 2-to-1-instructor ratio, a ratio higher than driving schools costing thousands of dollars.
And - if you are really eager to get on the track before next March, don’t forget the school is also being conducted at the SCCA track at Buttonwillow near Bakersfield in November. Check out the web site to see if there are still any openings or last minute cancellations.
You can register via the Internet by going to the Miata Performance Driving School Web Site at www.teammiata.com/thunderhill/school.htm. Fill out the online form, or download the PDF file and print it out and send it in with your check. If you don’t have Internet access, send a self addressed, stamped envelope to: Ken Freeze, Miata School, 1521 Ridgewood Dr., Martinez, CA., 94553 and a complete packet will be sent to you. But hurry – the past two years the class was full by the first of December.
Come join us for a weekend of learning, while having a lot of fun, as you drive on the Thunderhill track with SCCA instructors and fellow Miata enthusiasts. At $350 ‑ it's the best accessory you can add to your Miata and have fun while doing it! See you on the Track!