RE REPORT

Happy New Year ALSCCA members. I know we are all looking forward to getting to spring time to start up our motorsports activities up again. We have had a very successful 2005 which culminated in this region's first ever Rally Cross event which was held on December 18, 2005, at the Alabama International Dragway in Steele, Alabama. I want to thank Shea Serian, our new Rally Cross Chairman, for heading up this program which was a very successful event right out of the box. A report on that event is forthcoming in the newsletter.

Financially this region had another positive year. Solo made money along with Club Racing, and our Time Trial program. Our Performance Driving Experience program lost $100 to $200, but the program is in a growth phase and has been thoroughly enjoyed by the entrants. In spite of the fact that the Board, on behalf of the region, has invested in the purchase of quite a bit of equipment all to improve our events, this region still has a healthy financial status.

I have now been this region's Regional Executive for three and a half years. I was first appointed Regional Executive upon the departure of Ken Grammer, our former RE, when he went to go work at SCCA Pro-Racing. In 2003, I was elected Regional Executive and took on the double duty of being the region's Racing Chairman. I know my wife thought I was indeed crazy for having both tasks on my plate and in retrospect, I would have to agree with her. Over the last several years, I have worked diligently along with our Board of Directors, to make this region a better experience for its members. We have achieved that. I can safely say that under my tenure as the Regional Executive and the guidance of the Board of Directors, that we have experienced growth and a definite improvement in the quality and scope of our events. I want to thank the outgoing Board for its efforts in guiding the region to another positive year.

I want to give a specific thanks to John Redd who has elected not to run for a Director's position in 2006 and is handing over the reigns of the Solo program to Fred Turner, the new Solo Chairman. John just wanted to take a break for awhile and we all owe him a big thanks for the wonderful management job he has achieved over the last several years in improving the Solo program. He said he is looking forward to just "shagging" cones at the Solo events. John has built up a very qualified Solo team that with Fred Turner will enable us to continue except for one immediate problem…we have been advised by the Birmingham Race Course that "officially" we have lost their parking lot as our Solo site.

This region has enjoyed conducting its Solo program over the last several years at the Birmingham Race Course which has been the largest Solo venue in the southeast. As many of you are aware, the Birmingham Race Course has recently installed on a twenty-four hour a day, seven day a week basis, the running of a new form of "sweepstakes" electronic gaming at the track. That means they have customers at the facility on Sundays and we were advised as a result, that the venue is no longer available. I do want to thank the Birmingham Race Course for letting us run there over the years. Whether we get to return there depends on unknown future contingencies as has been reported recently in the media. Currently there is litigation pending over whether the machines are legal "sweepstakes machines" as opposed to gambling machines. A local Circuit Court Judge is to later this year rule on that issue.

I will say that the Solo team and the Board of Directors are working feverishly on an alternative site and I would ask each member to put on your respective thinking cap and let us know of any potential alternative sites. If BRC receives an adverse ruling from the Court, that may or may not open up an opportunity for us to go back there. In any event, we were advised that BRC will not be available in 2006. Of course, we do not wish BRC ill fortune and appreciate the venue opportunity they have provided over the years.

As many of you who run in the Solo program, the yellow ex-Ryder Ford F-350 box van previously owned by John Redd is a familiar site at the Solo, as well as, Time Trial and Performance Driving Experience events. John has graciously let the region use the truck free of charge over the last several years. A few months ago, John advised the Board he was going to sell the truck. The Board was then faced with the decision of what to do about the loss of a tow vehicle. We had debated this issue in the past. First, the Solo trailer is about twenty feet long and has a lot of equipment. In other words, it is a heavy trailer. Towing it with anything less than a one ton truck is a very dicey proposition (not safe). Not too many members have a one ton truck and getting someone with such a truck to commit to towing the vehicle to all the events is a major hassle.

The Board in investing in this region's future with all the equipment expenditures in the last few years decided now was the time to buy a truck. John's truck. That vehicle has been a reliable vehicle over the last several years and tows the trailer safely. The Board knew its history. Plus it is the "set up" truck for Solo events in that cones are tossed out of the truck in setting up the course.

This region should be self sufficient as much as it can be in handling its affairs and buying a tow/event vehicle was a logical step. At this time in our region's growth, we should not be asking our members to put the extra wear and tear on their personal vehicle to pull our trailer. If one of our members tows the region's trailer, that puts the additional exposure on that member's personal vehicle insurance. The actual car towing our region's trailer will always have the first or "primary" insurance coverage. In other words, if one of our members was towing this region's trailer with their personal vehicle and was in an accident, it would be their insurance policy that would kick in first. This region has matured to the point where that is not really fair to ask of our members.

Now, we have a truck capable of safely towing our equipment to whatever locations necessary and it is fully insured in more than a sufficient amount. I also want to advise the members that before deciding to even purchase the truck, the Board unanimously agreed that the truck would only be used for ALSCCA business and is not available for towing anyone's car to an event or helping somebody move furniture to a new location.

We have quite a few new Board members and I am confident that we have another smart, hardworking, and critical thinking Board to achieve our goals and handle the region's problems as they arise. In my experience on the Board, our Board of Directors have been independent thinkers who are not "yes" men. At the same time, we have always tried to work through our differences in arriving at a consensus in making decisions on behalf of the region.

I want to remind everybody of our annual banquet will again be held at Ted's Garage (tedsgarage.org) which is located at 2309 5th Avenue South in Birmingham. This event, which will be free to all ALSCCA region members and a guest, will be held on Saturday, January 14, 2006, at 6:30 p.m. Ted's Garage is a really cool place to have a party and last year I believe we had about ninety people attend. It was the best annual banquet this region has ever had. For non-members to attend the party, I believe the price of admission will be $20.00. The food is great and the company is even better. I look forward to seeing you at the annual banquet.

Barry Hair
Regional Executive