Front Bumper #2 (June, 2002)

Phil Abrami, President
BMW Club of Canada
abrami@education.concordia.ca
514-487-4646

Rome wasn't built in a day. And neither will the new BMW Club of Canada. My initial Front Bumper column was written immediately after the National Directors' meeting in Vancouver way back in February. I do have some highlights and accomplishments to report on our progress since then but there is still some work to be done.

In recognition of the formation of the new BMW Club of Canada consisting of eight chapters and approximately 1300 members from coast-to-coast, BMW Canada accepted our proposal to increase funding to the club by doubling our grant from $10,000 annually to $20,000 annually. We are sincerely grateful to BMW Canada and look forward to enjoying a productive relationship with the marque as loyal enthusiasts of the "Ultimate Driving Machine".

We have solved the thorny problem of club insurance, we hope for the foreseeable future. We have several types of coverage-Directors' and Officers'; Comprehensive and General Liability; and Special Event (Motorsport)-now with two brokers. The good news is not only that we have the coverage (and after 9/11 this was an issue) but that the $5M limits of our coverage remain in effect. The bad news is that the costs of this coverage have increased, as they have generally done in many facets of the insurance industry.

Under the old structure of the Club and the old bylaws, most of the member dues--$40.00-- was directed towards the national club with only a small portion--$15.00-- sent to regional chapters. Under the new bylaws, the maximum amount that national can retain is 25% of chapter dues; 75% stays with the local club. I'm proud to say that we've been able to keep our promise and reduce dramatically the transfer payments per member from chapters to national. It is now only $9.00 per member-more than a seventy-five percent reduction.

We've worked hard to take advantage of technology to encourage communication on a national level. Before e-mail and the Internet this would have been a difficult, time-consuming, and costly problem when you realize the distance between the Bluenose Chapter in Halifax and the Vancouver Island Chapter in Victoria. We now have distribution lists and e-mail serving the eight national directors, the executive members of all eight regional chapters, and chapter newsletter editors. And I am confident you will see dramatic changes and improvements to our national website soon.

We haven't forgotten the members either. There is a distribution list for BMW CC club members and Canadian enthusiasts of the marque. Why not join? It's easy enough by going to the web site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Canadian-BMW/

There are still a few things in progress. Discussions between the two BC clubs have taken place but there is not final closure on names and territories. We have not fully updated our status with Industry Canada and dealt with some technical issues regarding registering the new bylaws. We have transferred much of the old account to our new club bank account but there remains some incomplete business. For example, we have yet to undertake several annual audits the club is mandated to perform. We don't have formal guidelines on conflict of interest although we're much better informed now than a few months ago. We also hope to develop more driving school material such as instructor guidelines and perhaps some instructional videotapes which will then be offered to regional chapters for their input and use. BMW CC patches, decals, and membership brochures are also things we've thought about and would like to see happen soon.

The most important task facing the club, and one I hope to resolve during my term as President, is to insure all our regional chapters are enthusiastic partners in our new umbrella organization. Several members of the Trillium Executive have been displeased with developments this year and have withheld dues payments and a large portion of the old national account. I sincerely hope they will reconsider and I am happy to discuss their concerns at any time so we can all get back "on track".

Warmest regards,

Phil