GCKI January 2010 Newsletter

[John Bartos]

The following newsletter was emailed to the address of every GCKI member-in-good-standing for which we have contact information. If you did not receive an email with the newsletter, please send a note to gulfcoastkarters@comcast.net and let us know how to reach you.

January 2010 – GCKI Newsletter
This is the first of what (I hope) will be a regular monthly form of communication to all of GCKI’s members. We will try to highlight current and future events in augmentation of announcements made on GCKI’s homepage and forums. Because this is the beginning of a new season and follows a major membership meeting this letter will be much longer than most. If you wish not to receive any future notices via email, simply reply to this message indicating that preference and we will drop you from our list.

2009 Awards Banquet
Before I get into the details of this message, let me sound an urgent plea to all those who have not yet registered for the GCKI awards banquet on Saturday night February 6th. The deadline for registration will be extended to Monday February 1st and will close at midnight. After that the cost to attend per person will increase. We need to let Dave and Busters know our headcount early next week. Having an accurate accounting will assure that we have adequate food and beverages for all who attend. You do not have to be a points champion to still be a winner at this year’s banquet. We have arranged for some fantastic prize giveaways that all who attend will be eligible to win. Highlights of our door prizes include a 1-year free club membership, two race-ready, fully-built CHONDA engines, a custom kart graphics set from our new sponsor Margison Graphics, GCKI ensemble packages and other terrific surprises. Please go to the website http://www.racekarts.com and register quickly if you can make it.

2010 GCKI General Membership Meeting
On Wednesday evening January 27th GCKI held its annual all-members meeting at the Memorial West Community Club. The facility, arranged and hosted by Becky and Bill Choice, proved to be a clean and comfortable venue for the event. The turn-out of club members was the best I have ever seen and a strong indication of the club’s growing membership and the involvement of an increasing number of both veteran and new members.

2009 President, Scott Boone conducted the meeting with an overview of the 2009 season followed by Bill Choice’s treasurer’s report. We then got down to business by discussing the planned changes to the rules, classes and club leadership for 2010.

2010 Rules
If not by the time you receive this letter, then shortly after, the official 2010 rules will be posted on the GCKI homepage. Two highlights of the rules changes that bear mentioning relate to increasing the opportunities for racers to race in multiple classes (at reduced cost) on race days and a new points structure that encourages participation and involvement amongst more members.

Under the new rules approved during the meeting, members who wish to race more than one kart will pay the full entry fee of $40 for the first kart, a reduced rate of $20 for the second kart and can even race a 3rd kart if they wish for FREE (Applies to Individual Racers.)

Since GCKI is a member-owned, all-volunteer club it is critical for members to get involved in a positive way. To enable that we are going to encourage members to participate in race weekends by working available roles to earn valuable season championship points. The new rules read as follows:

Work Points – Each member or member’s designated volunteer who elects to works a race event will receive first place plus ten points for each event worked (up to a maximum of one race per class per series or 110 points). Worker substitutes are allowed but no work points will be awarded to members whose name does not appear on the work sheet prior to the drivers meeting on the race day. If a member competes in fewer than five races in the race series (Spring or Fall) in which the work credit is earned, the 110 points will be credited as an additional race in the season points total. If a member competes in five or more races in the race series (Spring or Fall) in which the work credit is earned, the 110 points will be substituted for the lowest race day score of that season and added to the remaining four highest points scores to calculate the season points total. If a driver is disqualified for any reason in the final class heat, the driver cannot use work points for this race event. Worker points may only be applied to the race series (Spring or Fall) during which the actual work day participation occurs. A limited number of qualifying worker positions will be available during each race series and worker positions will be posted prior to each race. These positions will be filled on a first come first served basis.

This rule will be in effect for the first race of the season – February 7th. A sign-up post has been established on the GCKI forums under the Projects for Volunteers heading. If you want to earn your Spring championship points early – go there and sign up for one of the available positions.

2010 Race Classes
If not by the time you receive this letter, then shortly after, the official 2010 classes will be posted on the GCKI homepage. Modifications to classes are intended to bring GCKI’s structure in-line with nationally recognized sanctioning bodies. It has always been GCKI’s philosophy to be inclusive rather than exclusive with our events, so if a racer shows up to the track with a kart not specifically identified under our rules, we shall endeavor to fit them into a similar lap-timed class to share in the fun. All official GCKI classes will be eligible for point’s championship awards where participation eligibility requirements are met.

2010 GCKI Race Schedule
The next order of business was the ratification of the 2010 race schedule. The first-pass of the schedule was completed following the time-tested formula of holding GCKI events approximately the 1st and 3rd Sundays of every month in the cooler Spring and Fall months while staging minimal races in the heat of the summer. Of course, compromises are required to avoid conflicts with regional and national races deemed important to our club members. Our biggest challenge came in avoiding a conflict with the newly established Rotax Pan-Am series. After much deliberation and an attendees vote we agreed to hold the last two races of the fall series on back-to-back weekends in November (the 7th and 14th) to take advantage of some of the best racing weather of the year. So here it is – the newly approved 2010 GCKI Race Schedule:

Spring Series
Race 1 – February 7th
Race 2 – February 21st
Race 3 – March 7th
Race 4 – March 21st
Race 5 – April 11th
Race 6 – May 16th
Race 7 – June 20th

Fall Series
Race 1 – July 18th
Race 2 – August 22nd
Race 3 – September 5th
Race 4 – October 3rd
Race 5 – October 24th
Race 6 – November 7th
Race 7 – November 14th

Southwest Regional Cup Series (SWRC) – At Gulf Coast Karters
Race 1 – May 1st
Race 2 – May 2nd

2010 GCKI Officers, Position Volunteers and Elected Board of Directors
The final planned order of business was the election of new people to lead and support the club throughout the 2010 calendar year. In keeping with the theme of extending the amount of participation by club members in club activities, many new positions have been created and filled during the course of the nominations, elections and outright volunteering that took place that evening. It was agreed that any member working a full-year position would automatically receive their worker-credit bonus points for the Spring and Fall series. As a result I am pleased to introduce to you the new 2010 Officers, Board, Trustees and Volunteers:

Volunteered Officer Roles
President – John Bartos
Vice President – Paul Jones
Treasurer – Bill Choice
Race Secretary and Membership – Marcia Bartos

Compensated Roles
Race Director – Dario Baston
Tech Inspector – Rick Miller
Starter – Adam Miller
Timing and Scoring – Michael Hopkins
Concessions – Troy Schlegel (and family)

Volunteer Positions
Trophies and Awards – Richard Scott
Championship Points – Mike Hewitt
Fund Raising & Sponsorship – Mike Hewitt
Fund Raising & Sponsorship – Brian Traw
Fund Raising & Sponsorship – Eddie Ilavia
Track Committee – Frank Allen
Track Committee – Paul Jones
Track Committee – Bryan Joplin
2009 SWRC and 2010 Banquet Committee – Still available!

Elected Board of Directors
Mike Hewitt (Completing year 2 of 2)
John Bartos (re-nominated to 2-year role)
Brian Traw (newly elected to 2-year role)

Joe Dunlap Memorial Race
Brian Traw made a motion which was seconded and unanimously approved to designate the first race of every race season as the Joe Dunlap Memorial Race. As many of you know Joe passed away just recently, and was the leading figure in the long history of GCKI. We will begin the recognition modestly at the first race of 2010 and will strive to increase the prestige of this event in future years.

A Word of Thanks
I’d like to conclude by saying a special thanks to Scott Boone. Scott has concluded his role as president (for now) and chairman of the GCKI Board of directors. In the time I have served with Scott he has served as a source of motivation and inspiration to me. I greatly appreciate the leadership he has provided in 2009 making it what many have described as the best year in memory for the club. I humbly wish to carry on and expand the legacy he has provided.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the track in 2010!
John