[Wave]

Where have all the SE Mini Drivers gone? Am I on the wrong board? Who is going on the Century Event in two weeks?

[Pete Peterman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Wave

Where have all the SE Mini Drivers gone? Am I on the wrong board? Who is going on the Century Event in two weeks?

What have I missed? What is the Century Event? Connected with Century BMW/MINI in Greenville?

Pete Peterman

[Paul]

Hopefully this post will pull some "out of the woodwork".

[Hotelcalif]

We are having a local Dragon run on the 13th so we wont make it.Stay tuned for a major four day SE event in spring of 2005.

[moorlockx]

I've noticed the same "disappearance" and have wondered about it myself.

[Wave]

I have been getting info through Mike Garcia and an informal group McMini. I also looked on the Atlanta Minis site. That is a great site. The 13th is there driving school and the 14th I belive is a Century BMW event. I had no idea until I visited Mikes shop in Central. I wont be able to make the Dragon run. Its a big day at my school. Im glad to see a few posts on this site. Today is such a beautiful day a Wash-Motor-Wash day!!!

[MiniTiger]

We're out here.... just lot's of stuff going.
I'm not sure I want to make 4 hour drive for Century rally this spring. I've got Wick's driving school in April and Tail of the Dragon in May.

[cnhminics]

We'll be at the Century MINI Spring Rallye. Hope to see many of you there!!

[CUTiger3]

We also plan to attend the Century MINI Spring Rallye next weekend

[TravisW]

Okay, I'm coming in late, but ...

Central Carolina's Region Autocross School is tomorrow, www.ccrscca.com for details.

Second autocross is Sunday, same website for details.

I'll be there along with my newbie co-driver on sunday only. If any of you have ever wanted to try autocross, or just find out what it is about, I STRONGLY encourage you to go to the school tomorrow. Great, low cost fun.

Travis

[LJ in NC]

I'm not speaking for anyone but myself, but I think that what happened to m2c2 (MINI Motoring Club of the Carolinas) is that the same small group of people were organizing events got tired of doing it all themselves. We've had drives, dinners, even a driving school with a great social event attached. Except for the September school and events (thanks again, John and George, for a stellar effort), those were pretty simple to organize.

I, for one, am now more than willing to stand back and let other m2c2 members or MINI owners in the Carolinas to some of this organizing. If you want to attend events, get busy putting them together. And then publicize them.

It doesn't take much effort to organize a drive, even less to organize a dinner. How about a visit to the Zentrum near Spartanburg? Even larger events can start out simple, then grow if there's interest. How about a southern version of the Mt. Washington MINIs On Top? N.C.'s Mt. Mitchell is even higher than Mt. Washington.

That's just stuff in the western part of the Carolinas. What do you folks down by the ocean have to offer? How about those of you who live in the cities? Surely there are some car-related activities out there. They don't even have to be entirely car-related; how about British events we could all attend and enjoy.

The main purpose of MINI get-togethers is to socialize, to make friends who have at least one thing in common; it's likely we'll share other interests, too. It's not difficult to organize events, but they won't organize themselves.

[moorlockx]

Hi LJ! Glad you stepped up and spoke your piece. Before I go any further I'd like to say that this isn't a rant or finger pointing post. It's just what I perceive is happening with M2C2.

I agree with most of what you said. The one point I will disagree with is that, while it is easy for anyone to organize a drive or get together, the elected club officials still have a responsibility to the club to maintain the flow. In the case of M2C2, the flow seemed to end around the turn of the year. The last official club function that I remember was the "Toys for Tots" dinner meeting back in December. Only those present know what was discussed. The notes for the meeting weren't published anywhere (isn't that part of what the website is for) for the members that couldn't attend to read about it. Shouldn't there have been club meetings since then? Other events notwithstanding, these meetings should be called and organized by the club president or VP. The items brought up and discussed at these meetings should also be disseminated to all the club members for feedback.

I do understand that there have been conflicts with job schedules creating problems in some areas. You know my situation and know I can relate to this quite well. That's all part of life and something you can't get away from. This is where the authority needs to be delegated or handed over completely. Being a club officer is a time consuming job that's often thankless, but if you are one, you just can't step back and let nature take its course. I'm not saying they need to do all the work themselves, but it is in their hands to guide the club and in some cases, keep the ball rolling.

How about a southern version of the Mt. Washington MINIs On Top? N.C.'s Mt. Mitchell is even higher than Mt. Washington.
We did this New Years Day. Of course, it was a short notice drive with only 3 MINI's in attendence.....but we had fun!!

[LJ in NC]

Moorlockx, you’ve been a staunch supporter of this club; you hold the record for the miles driven to club events and that number increases each time we get together. And you are one of the members who has organized an event. It was short notice and the timing wasn’t the best for everyone, but we greatly appreciate that you did it.

This club isn’t perfect. We’ve made some mistakes and let some things slide too long. But we’re meeting informally tomorrow at the Century drive to get moving on resolving some of the issues we face. I hope you and the rest of the MINI motoring public will start seeing some changes at the club level.

In the meantime, I urge you and everyone else interested in Carolina motoring to be thinking of how YOU can contribute; by becoming an officer, by attending our events or by organizing one. As I said in my last post, it’s easy to get something going, and we’ll be happy to help. But check m2c2.org now and again to see if anything is happening and let’s get this club back off the ground.

[LJ in NC]

Moorlockx --

I PM'd you.

[moorlockx]

Thanks you LJ, for the kind words. We all do what we can. That was the point of my previous post. Please don't take any of that post as criticism. I wasn't looking for a scapegoat or to cast disparaging remarks to or on anyone or thing. I know what's going on behind a lot of the scenes can fully comprehend the situations of all involved. I truly applaud those who got this club off the ground. It was hard work and I'm glad someone had the insight to see it become reality.

I wish I could join you at Century tomorrow. Looks like it's going to be a great day. I eagerly await any news that comes out of the get together.

Happy motoring!

[Lee L]

I guess the one thing that has kept me from going to many events so far (other than only getting my car in Nov 03) is the fact that while the M2C2 club is for both North and South Carolina, most of the events take place in and Around Greenville, no short drive for someone from Raleigh. I guess since no one here wanted to get a dealership we will always be hamstrung with fewer owners, but there is still a decent number of people with MINI's around the Triangle.

[moorlockx]

Hi Lee L. Glad to hear you speak up. There's been a few other people in your area wondering the same thing. Why don't you plan a lunch/dinner drive? It's pretty easy to do. Just figure out a route, include a restaurant somewhere in there, throw up an announcement here and on MCO (nam) and let the chips fall where they will. I'm sure some folks in your area would love to join you. If it's planned for a Sunday I might even be able to break away and join you.

The reason you see the events happening out west and down south are because people there have done the same thing. I did an impromptu drive New Years day and had 2 other MINI's join in. We had a great time.

[AprilWhine]

Glad to see a little activity back in the South East forum.

[LJ in NC]

Moorlockx is absolutely correct in saying the difference between the western Carolinas and the rest of the club's area is that MINI owners here have simply stepped up to the plate to organize events. While Sunday's drive in the mountains was organized by Century MINI of Greenville (and they have been very supportive of our club in many ways), individuals have organized most of the events out here. He is also correct in saying that all it takes is making a plan, then letting people know about it.

Many of the MINI clubs in the US cover only a city or metro area; m2c2 covers two states and it's a 550-mile drive just across North Carolina from the southwest to the northeast corners. Having one club cover both states is pretty ambitious. Those who founded the club intended that it would be an umbrella organization for local organizers; it would tie together MINI owners across two [sometimes] closely related states.

But it was built to function from the bottom up; MINI owners (and fans) in various places organize events and invite other club members to come join in. No one will come to Raleigh-Durham, Charleston, Columbia or Winston-Salem to organize club events for MINI owners. It will be done by people living there.

Some of the m2c2 officers talked during the Century drive Sunday and are determined to reinvigorate the club. Stay tuned to this station for some signs of change as we move into the 2004 motoring season.

[MiniTiger]

Quote: Originally Posted by LJ in NC

Moorlockx is absolutely correct in saying the difference between the western Carolinas and the rest of the club's area is that MINI owners here have simply stepped up to the plate to organize events. While Sunday's drive in the mountains was organized by Century MINI of Greenville (and they have been very supportive of our club in many ways), individuals have organized most of the events out here. He is also correct in saying that all it takes is making a plan, then letting people know about it.

....

To be fair to the guys in the Raleigh/Durham area...

We have had several lunch dinners last year. I know this past fall an winter activity has dropped off alot. I know of one owner who moved away last year. I work with him until we both lost our jobs. I was more worried about getting a job and making any kind of money I could than MINI activites. I have since been re-employed and looking forward to some the driving school and Dragon's tail in April and May.

My pulley party idea has turned out to be a bust. I'll take partial blame for not completly understanding how other events worked.

I'm all for a Saturday/Sunday drive and lunch, or just lunch, or just a drive. MiniShuttle (presently relocated to CO) and I had found an hour long loop or so in southwest Wake into Chatham/Orange county we could drive. It's not mountainous, but there are some twisties and you can take a photo of your car in front of "Cooper's Barber Shop"

Someone just needs to put a stake in the ground and set a date to make something happen.

I'm beginning to think another problem is that M2C2 officially uses another forum for their website, http://www.northamericanmotoring.com...orum=43&214211 so it may be time to use that forum as primary forum to initiate activiies and shadow those on this website. Don't get me wrong, I love MINI2 website. It's a great resource for MINI owners.

So, about a lunch and drive on Saturday April 3rd. We can get together and see whose going to Tail of the Dragon and discuss a mini-rally on the way over. Last year, for Tail of the Dragon, Bill Koff and MiniShuttle and I took a great drive on the way to Fontana area from Boone, NC.

Anyway, my 3 cents worth.