President’s Article May 2021

I could not have imagined when I was elected your President ten years ago, I would remain in this position for this long. During these past ten years, major changes have affected our Iowa Club and the BMW CCA on a national scale, but as I leave as your president, I feel our Club remains in a very strong position.

When I was elected, the Newswerks had just recently changed from a full-color format to a black and white format. Membership at the national level was seeing a slight decline and financial support from BMW CCA was being reduced to local clubs. Eventually, Newswerks transitioned to an on-line publication with the urging from the BMW CCA. With the help of our webmaster, we were able to create one of the finest websites in the country for a local car club, one we would not have been able to afford without his help. Our young newsletter editor got us on-line with Facebook and Twitter. During this time, the Iowa Chapter has been able to remain strong financially by reducing costs and being financially diligent with its spending. We have continued to create interesting and well attended events, funding most of our yearly events with revenues derived from our Longest Day Driving School and Flat Out Classic Driving School. We have remained a strong supporter of Street Survival, being only one of a handful of Chapters to host more than one school each year.

In 2013, the Iowa Chapter was ranked as the #1 chapter in the North Central Region, following a survey conducted by the BMW CCA Board of Directors. There were several categories of questions in which each member rated their local club including on-line presence, satisfaction with activities provided, and satisfaction with the local Board of Directors. When asked what sets the Iowa Chapter apart from other chapters in our region, Regional Vice-President Mike Lingenfelter responded with, “the diversity of local chapter events and your distinction of having the second-highest member satisfaction among all 66 chapters in the country.” Lingenfelter went on to say that “being in the top quartile of chapters nationwide in May’s membership satisfaction survey, having a complete online presence by early summer and documenting a chapter strategic plan.”

I believe another important factor has been the creation of the Annual Planning Meeting each November. With this event, members have the ability to give their input about which activities occur and the leadership for those events.

I believe all of these things are still true because of the outstanding leadership of the Iowa Board of Directors. During my tenure, the Iowa BOD has remained very stable with a combination of high achieving individuals who care deeply about the Iowa Chapter. These Board members have led the Chapter through the major changes which have occurred during the last several years and they will continue to lead the Chapter with any new changes which will occur in the future.

As I have traveled to national BMW CCA meetings during the last ten years, I have come to the conclusion the Iowa Chapter Board of Directors is one of the finest in the nation and operates with the utmost professionalism and integrity. We are very lucky to have these individuals leading the Iowa Chapter.

With my new position as Regional Vice President for the North Central region and BMW CCA Board member, I am hoping to pass on the knowledge I have gained during my tenure as president of one of the best Chapters in the country, to the other chapters in the North Central Region.