Monthly Garage Keeping
Club Elections: We received 69 ballots in total.  There were no write-in's.  Of the 69 ballots received, 68 ballots had all four officers marked. The one exception was received without any markings.  Congratulations to all of the new Officers.
Dave "Cowboy" Bralich
Annual Business Meeting & Club Awards: As a State of Illinois nonprofit corporation, we are required to have one annual general membership business meeting every year. This is similar to a stockholder’s meeting for public companies in that “management” presents the results of the last year and fields questions from the floor concerning past and future performance. In our case, the officers will be presenting a financial report for 2009 and some data on club programs. This is your chance as a member to ask questions or make suggestions about club activities and programs. All members are encouraged to attend and all questions and comments are on the table.
Also part of the meeting will be the presentation of annual awards to club members who have contributed to the success of the club over the last year. As a group dedicated to “the preservation and enjoyment of MG automobiles” (as stated in our corporate charter) our awards were designed to reinforce that theme. The traditional club awards are:
Safety Fast – awarded for success in competitive driving;
Maintaining the Breed – awarded for commendable efforts in restoration work;
Ambassador at Large – awarded for promoting goodwill towards the club;
New Member of the Year – awarded for an enthusiastic contribution from a new member
Also now a part of the program is a later addition to the original group:
Cream / Crackers – awarded for a contribution to the MG community
14th Annual All British Car Swap Meet & Autojumble: February 28 marks the date for the 14th Annual All British Car Swap Meet & Autojumble. This event is organized and conducted by our club alone although it has the enthusiastic support of all the other British Car clubs in Chicago. Since its inception, this event has grown steadily over the years to the point where we now have about 100 vendor spaces occupied when we open the doors to the public. Last year, club management reviewed the status of this event and determined that it would be appropriate to begin including other marques of European cars and also European (especially British) motorcycles. Therefore, this year marketing efforts were expanded to reach out to these other hobby communities. This year, over twice as many postcards (about 2500) postcards were sent to potential shoppers as well as previous attendees and other British car owners in this area. Classified newspaper ads in: Chicago, Milwaukee, Peoria, Indianapolis, St Louis,, Rockford and the Quad cities all announced the event on January 31 as did announcements in several national publications. This event now attracts buyers and sellers alike from a multi-state area. Vendor offerings include parts, tools, regalia and memorabilia items, and more. The Swap Meet has become the major fund raiser

for the club and this year, club members can earn “MG Bucks” by helping out. Whether you lend a hand or come as a shopper, don’t miss this fun event in an otherwise dreary month.

Dues are PAST Due: Club dues cycle on the calendar year for all members, so get your payment in if your haven’t already. Please look at the mailing label on this issue of Driveline. Directly above your name will show the year that your dues are paid through. If you are uncertain of your particular status and dues obligation, please contact the club Secretary, Victor L’Heureux at secretary@chicagolandmgclub.com. If your dues have not been paid, this will be your last issue of Driveline. For your convenience, the members that are past due will have a renewal form in this issue.

The dues that club members pay supports the cost of the newsletter (actually the entire cost of dues just covers the cost). The progress of the newsletter over the last couple of years has been a giant leap forward but we have also had postage increases as well as supplemental deliveries of various material. Please continue to support Driveline by getting your dues in. Remember, this will be your final edition until your dues are paid up. Thank you for the continued support.