CCA Election Flaming -- the _final_ word

[Phil Marx <BMW@xxxxxxx>]

[the following was written by Phil Marx at my request, to clarify certain
matters of fact with respect to the impending BMW CCA election. it is the
last permitted posting on this topic, and Phil has refrained from any
electioneering on behalf of any candidates.

anyone who posts on this subject after the digest containing this article
goes out will be blocked from future postings to the list. -- rpw]


List members,

Richard has asked me to put a final, "executive" cap on the issue of BMW
CCA elections, in particular the tempest-in-a-teapot over the Treasurer's
race.

First the innuendo:

There are no problems with the Club financials. Nothing was late, all is in
order.  There is no requirement to publish quarterly financial reports in
the Roundel. This self-imposed requirement on the part of the Board of
Directors was removed years ago in the interest of devoting said Roundel
space to articles, due to an apparent lack of interest in the financials on
the part of the general membership.  This was not a decision arrived at
arbitrarily by the current Treasurer or a failure on the part of the
Roundel editor.  Quarterly financial reports are still required of the
Treasurer and these are submitted to the Board and are available to any
member as are the minutes of all meetings.  Annual financials are completed
and submitted to the Roundel publisher for inclusion in the magazine at
their discretion.  The time frame of when these are published is not up to
the Treasurer.

All other accusations, both private and public, concerning a member accused
of misappropriating event funds have nothing to do with any candidate.  The
member involved has never been a board member and has had their BMWCCA
membership revoked.  The fact that such rumors have been spread, mostly in
private, should reflect on the character of those spreading those rumors
and not any of the candidates.  As always, a little information is a
dangerous thing.

Second, the candidates:

As far as I can recall, this is the largest and most qualified group of
candidates ever to run for the office of BMW CCA Treasurer.  All Board
members serve in a purely volunteer capacity and are not compensated for
their time or efforts. Out of respect for these candidates' desire to serve
your Club I propose that you contact each of them directly to have them
answer your questions.  While I can appreciate the interest in the election
this particular position has generated, I can assure you that your faith in
all of the candidates will be bolstered by listening to them rather than
those who might stir up controversy on the Digest for what at best might be
referred to as questionable motives.

The Status of the BMW CCA:

No matter the outcome of the election, the world will not end.  The Board
of Directors of the BMW Car Club of America chose a long time ago (during
my presidency in fact) to increase terms of officers to two years and at
the same time to stagger terms among the various positions to insure a form
of continuity in the management of the Club.  We have a very capable office
staff whose purpose is to offer assistance in ways that increase each
member's return on his membership investment.  The editor and staff of our
internationally recognized magazine Roundel are among the finest available
in any club or magazine, anywhere.  We are the largest independent single
marque club in the world and you should all be proud of that.  The outcome
of this election is not "essential to the continuity of BMWCCA as an
independent not factory owned club" as one august Digest contibutor has
proposed.  Instead, we strive to work with the importer of the objects of
our obsession as peers with mutual respect and understanding.  The fruits
of this relationship for our members can be readily seen in the new BMW CCA
Owner's Loyalty Program by BMW which offers savings of up to $1500 to CCA
members of one year or more on both new and Certified Pre-Owned BMW
vehicles.

If you are not a member of BMW CCA, I appreciate your tolerance this
discussion on Richard Welty's Digest and suggest that you contact the BMW
CCA web site at http://bmwcca.org for further information or to join
on-line.   Or call toll-free 800 878-9292.

Now, for the sake of your fellow Digest members, let this be the last
discussion of this topic.  And for the sake of all the
candidates.....please, vote!

Phil Marx
Executive Vice President, BMW Car Club of America, Inc.

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