REport

by John Lieberman

What can I say besides “WOW!” This has been one heck of a year so far and we’ve still got a lot of year ahead of us. I hope all of you are feeling the same level of energy I’m feeling within this club. Things are happening and you’re all a part of it.

We now have two TLAC (Trans-Louisiana Autocross Challenge) events under our belts and the third one is coming up June 30^th. It just happens to be OUR event and we need the best possible turnout of people we can put together – both to work and to run. Barry Booker and James Cox are your event co-chairmen and they’re going to need a lot of help to pull it off. Don’t sit around and wait for one of them to contact you. Get off your duff and contact one of them!

Turnout for our local events so far this year has been nothing short of fantastic. We’ve had good member participation, a large contingent of novices at every event, and lots of folks just dropping by to see what we’re all about. That’s the kind of scenario that will lead to the continued growth of this club. And, the more it grows, the more we can do.

On the equipment front, we’ve now used our new timing gear for two local events and it’s worked flawlessly. Bob Evenson made us some extension cords so we can get the sensors farther away from the timing table. If you help set up or tear down, please be VERY careful with those cords. They hock up with telephone-type RJ-11 connectors and the little plastic tangs on those connectors break off very easily. When rolling or unrolling those cables, somebody should always be holding on to the connector ends to keep them from breaking. If they break, the timing system is useless!

We now have two white plastic tables for registration and timing. They are much lighter and sturdier than the old particle board tables they replaced and they’re also weatherproof. We have a new hose reel cart for the yellow barrier tape. And we’ve got a field lining machine on order. With that machine, we’ll be able to outline our course at Red River Raceway. I’m still trying to get school board approval so we can also use it at Lee Hedges Stadium.

We’re still on the lookout for potential new event sites. If you have any ideas, please let me know.

Don’t forget our regular monthly meetings the first Monday of each month at 6:00pm at Podnah’s Barbecue on Mansfield Road.

Until next time, go fast- have fun-but be SAFE!

John

MY VIEW

by Gary Linde

In our last issue I identified the cover photo as Tom Schultz in his Mustang when in reality that was the Mustang Cobra belonging to Justin Hobart. I really want to apologize for this error, I can only explain it as old age brain fade. I also identified Kris Gutbier and his car as Emil Kamenov.

Our membership continues to grow. We seem to be gaining one or two members per event, but we still need to strive to keep our long term members. This needs to be a club equally geared to satisfy the needs of all our members. The one other thing I wanted to say in this issue is, attendance at our monthly Gen. Membership meeting is dwindling. Many things are going on in the club, you really need to attend if you can, so your voice will be heard. The running of the club is all about participation and with out it our club will not survive.

“Drive fast, no cones, and have FUN!!!”

Gary

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING

Podnuh’s Barbeque Mansfield Rd.

May 6, 2002

Officers/Members present: John Lieberman, Rick Bagnard, Connie Booker, Barry Booker, Gary Linde, Kraig Comeaux, Mike Lakatos, Kurt Kelley, Daniel Do, Emil Kamenov.

Thanks extended to those who helped work at Red River Raceway on the weekend of May 3,4,&5. Friday ended up with a rain out. Saturday was slammed, and Sunday was slow enough that the last shift was not needed. We did however reestablished contact with the track and confirmed our commitment to them, and hopefully secure the site for future use.

Event schedule corrections were discussed and made

Updates:

Sites:

Desoto Airport- New Parish Commissioner will not allow use use of the facility. John may try again later this year.

Pollock Airport, Grant Parish. This is north east of Alexarndria. David Fogleman and Chuck Waller are approaching the council tonight at their meeting.

TLAC II- New Orleans. This event will be held at Belle Chase Naval Air Station. This is an active military facility and security will be tight. Anyone who plans to attend must be pre-registered or contact Gail deLeon before May 15^th. All names must be submitted or base admission will be refused.

Equipment:

New timer- Was used at the 4/28 event. With separate start/finish lines this system will be hands free. Bob Evenson has made extension cords for the cables to add an additional 250 ft.

Banners- Dealers have declined adding to the SCCA banners due to the possibility of the letters peeling or cracking.. After discussion, it was decided to look at having an “add on” banner made.

Chalk Liner- We need to get permission to use chalk liner from site owners before purchase.

Proposals:

Portasans for Lee Hedges Stadium events-Portasans were previously provided until the oow event turnout and cost became a hardship. Now that membership and the treasury are up, would we consider providing one again? VOTE: YES- however, we will discontinue the short break allowed for people to leave. The web site will be amended to state that no concessions will be provided, so prepare for a solid day.

Junior Junior Kart Program (8-12 year olds)- The club now has family members who are eligible for this program. James Cox has offered to be the Junior Kart Stewart. Would the club be supportive? VOTE: Yes- Entry fees would be $10. Kart and clothing legalities per SCCA rule book.

Award Eligibility- Current by-laws state that a competitor must chair or co-chair an event to be eligible for end of year awards. As our club grows, many will not be able to host events due to limits in the schedule. Could the system be changed so that worker points qualify a competitor? Changes in the by-laws can not be made during current year. Bring subject back up at the Officer’s Planning meeting beginning next season.

Shadowing Program- Our club is growing. Many of our newer members are expressing an interest in learning how things are done. The only way to learn is to do. Have a worker coordinater place interested workers in shadowing positions in places other than at poles, such as starter, event chair, registration, work coordinator, & tech. To work as a Deputy Safety Steward, one must attend a safety steward class. John will be holding one in New Orleans. Anyone who would like to learn (or teach) please let us know. (We usually get to Lee Hedges about 8:15) This is especially true for anyone who would like to help our novice drivers in their discovery of autocross , Reminder- Reserved numbers are available. Any number reserved will be assigned to that person until the first event of the next season. Reservations for the 2003 season will begin at the Christmas Party.

TREASURER’S REPORT

Connie Booker

Balance Forward April 20, 2002 $1,227.80

Income: Expenses:

Event 4/28 450.00 Insurance/Sanctions

T-Shirts 100.00 Event 3/17 170.00

Member dues 58.00 Event 4/28 175.00

Rule books 30.00 Newsletter

_______ Printing 56.29

$643.00 Postage 23.80

Table/tape reel 74.62

Metrocall (2months) 14.58

_____

$514.29

Balance as of May 21, 2002 $1,356.51

Equipment Fund 57.37*

Active account balance $1,299.14

Equipment Fund

Balance as of May 21, 2001 $1228.17

Event 3/17 + 170.00

_______

$1398.17

Timer purchase -$1515.80

________

-117.63 (loaned from general account)

Event 4/28 +175.00

_______

Balance as of 4/28 $57.37

Photo by Gary Linde

I just love to watch Rick bagnard autocross his Impala SS

TLAC I

RESULTS BY CLASS

(Only Red River Drivers listed)

Rank	Class	Name	Car	Raw Time	PAX Fact	PAX Time	Points
1	DS	Barry Booker	02 WRX	52.214	0.798	41.667	94.72
1	DSL	Connie Booker	02 WRX	53.486	0.798	42.682	100.00
2	GS	Kraig Comeaux	01 Mustang	55.567	0.785	43.620	77.56
2	HS	Maurice Shaffette	00 Focus	55.569	0.779	43.288	84.16
2	CSP	Kurt Kelley	85 CRX	51.499	0.842	43.362	81.52
3	FSP	Gary McFaddin	69 Sprite	64.515	0.817	52.709	2.32
1	DP	Bruce Nock	95 Civic	48.131	0.849	40.863	100.00
2	DP	John Lieberman	65 Mini	52.970	0.849	44.972	64.36
3	DP	Brian Stelly	85 CRX	54.143	0.849	45.967	45.88
1	DPL	Kassie Kelley	85 CRX	61.376	0.849	52.108	1.00
1	EP	Bob Evenson	Datsun 510	52.148	0.868	45.264	56.44
2	EP	Rick Kise	76 Pinto	53.457	0.868	46.401	40.60
1	EPL	Jamie Jordan	Datsun 510	55.810	0.868	48.443	75.25
2	BM	Shea Fogleman	Merlyn	47.391	0.951	45.069	60.40
4	BM	David Fogleman	Merlyn	50.676	0.951	48.193	23.44
1	STS	Perry Boutelle	98 Prelude	52.148	0.784	40.884	98.68