President Paul Lillios called the meeting to order at 6:50 PM. There were 15 members in attendance including VP David Thibodeau, Secretary Tom Giffen, Treasurer Bruce Bergeron, Pete Kohala, Bruce Bairstow, Erik Wensberg, Andrew Bass, Andy Jaffe, Andrew Duane, Jane Duane David Harrison, Stan Chamallas, and David Alessandroni. One other did not sign in.

First on the agenda were the election results. Paul Lillios and Tom Giffen were re-elected with a total of 37 votes each. There were 497 invitations to vote sent. Of those only 60 were opened and 37 voted.

The lowest member number among attendees was Stan Chamallas with a 5 digit number beginning with 12. Congrats to Stan for his long membership!

Paul Lillios expressed thanks for the help of David Thibodeau and Bruce Bergeron.

We discussed the loss of revenue from the Lebanon NH poker room. We will try to get on the list at another venue. Revenue was in the $10,000 range, so this is a significant loss.

We then discussed the upcoming car show to take place on October 11, 2025 put on by the Patroon Chapter.

Bruce Bergeron updated us on 2024 driving events as well as what we are working on for 2025. Many events are shared with the Boston Chapter including two ADSS events and one Street Survival event. It is an ongoing challenge to break even on these due to increasing facility costs going from $1k to $3k in one year. All chapters in the Northeast lost money on these in 2024 with the exception of the Trillium Chapter. As a result of the losses, our bank balance dropped roughly $9k over the course of the year, starting at $52k and dropping to $43k. The poker room revenue had been split 50/50 with the BMWCCA Foundation, so the drop in our bank balance was caused both by the loss in that revenue and the challenges with the driving events. We plan on a similar slate of events for 2025 but aim to reduce losses by promoting attendance and/or increasing prices. Andrew Jaffe has volunteered to help with new advertising ideas and new social media ideas. We also discussed the long term viability of the Mont Tremblant event. Currently there are no instructors, it is only open to advanced drivers, and takes 70 attendees to break even.

Other possible events discussed included TSD events which we have not had in decades as well as fun rallies, private museum visits, and possibly a covered bridge tour.

We also discussed the winter reunion, which may take place on or about February 22nd. Discussion was tabled pending an entertainment choice and a venue. We were offered a good rate on the Merrimack VFW post. More info about the Merrimack Post may be found at vfw8614.org.

We plan to attend an event at the New England Motorsport Museum in Loudon on January 18. Registration to attend is at Motorsport Reg.

We also have plans to talk to Stratham BMW about hosting an event, and we also discussed tech sessions.

Additionally, Stefan Foord could use our help as he has had a stroke and will be closing his shop in Newmarket, Arcs & Wrenches. There will be an auction of the shop contents to raise funds for his care.

We also discussed new blood at the National level, Jeff Caldwell. Jeff promises to reinvigorate some aspects of the club including driving activities.

Respectfully submitted by Tom Giffen, Secretary.

02-DEC-2024 WMV Meeting Minutes