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MG Car Club Northwest Centre ... A Case History
(by Rob
and Patricia Otero)
The longest running North American chapter of the MG Car Club began in
early 1957 when Cliff Garlatz, a sales manager with a Tacoma foreign car
dealership, applied for a charter with the MG Car Club of Great Britain
to stimulate sales in his regional area. He phoned a few individuals
that had purchased cars from his dealership and organized what became
the first club meeting. This humble beginning of twenty initial members
would eventually grow into over four hundred members and up to twelve
hundred cars.
During the late 50's and into the early 60's, the club's main activities
were centered around monthly meetings and attending sports car racing
events in the Seattle area. Eventually, club individuals would
participate as racetrack supervisors and enter their cars in some of the
racing events. This led to a club sponsorship in autocross events,
including the purchase of a set of rallye timing lights, which the club
would rent out to other clubs to support club revenue funding. As a not
for-profit organization, all proceeds would be turned back into the club
for sponsoring future events.
To increase exposure and to bring in new members, the MG Car Club
Northwest Centre, as it came to be known, added to its events local fund
drives and rallyes. It also created its first publication in the form of
a newsletter known as MG Times. These actions were successful in
bringing in a steady increase of new members. The increase in membership
warranted the need for better club organization and thus a board of
leadership was created. The board positions included a chairman,
vice-chairman, secretary, treasurer and editor. By the end of the
1960's, the club boasted a membership of over one hundred.
Due to a lack of knowledgeable post-purchase dealer service, the club
sought and found individuals proficient in the repair of MG fault
diagnosis and started a series of talks at the monthly meetings. This
eventually would grow into what is now known as scheduled Tech-Sessions.
The sessions included repairs, servicing, and electrical diagnostics of
all MG models. The tech sessions became popular enough to attract more
new members,, and some of the sessions were printed as articles in the
now expanded newsletter, renamed the MG Edition.
The 1970's was a low decade in the life of the club. The fuel embargo
years and soaring fuel prices may have caused a drop in membership.
Coupled with this was a lack of pre-MGB model attendance caused by a
shortage of spare parts. In order to bring more interest to the members,
the club newsletter was expanded to a magazine format and renamed the
MOWOG Murmurs. By the end of the decade it was clear that new event
ideas were needed to stimulate the club's growth.
The 1980's was the decade of revival for the club, as several new event
ideas brought new interest as well as new members. A club-sponsored
drive into the local tulip farms was created to attract other sports car
clubs and raise club funding. Known as the "LaConner Tulip Rallye", it
started in 1981 with 27 cars. Today, the event hosts an average of 200
cars. Involving as many as 15 car clubs from the U.S. and Canada, we
cover over 80 miles of some of the most beautiful landscape in the great
Northwest U.S. The year 1983 brought another innovation when the club
supported local children's charities during it's annual banquet by
delivering toys for needy children. This was the beginning of the club's
future service to the local communities. This type of service has become
a major part of the club's operations, and now supports as many as five
separate charities. The end of the decade brought world recognition,
when the coveted Nuffield Award was presented for the club's
accomplishments.
Continuing the list of new ideas, the club started participating in
event parades to continue increasing more popularity with the local
communities. The 80's turned into the 90's with events filling the
calendar year round. In 1991, the club was awarded the Nuffield Trophy
for the second time. The club's membership had now grown to over 400
which necessitated the division of the monthly meeting into monthly
meetings in three geographical locations. For the club's 40th
Anniversary, it hosted several events including a special picnic, a car
show, and a rallye. The annual banquet that year hosted a 50's theme and
the surprise of the evening came when the Nuffield Trophy was awarded
for the third time.
Today the MG Car Club Northwest Centre shows all signs of strong health
and a prosperous future, as it continues to bring in a new generation of
MG enthusiasts. The MGCCNWC provides the greater Seattle area with
service and fun for all who continue to support the "Safety Fast" marque.
The club that has continuously supported the "Marque of Friendship" for
forty-six years looks into the new millennium with a new view on an old
concept… rallyes, concourses, tech sessions, meetings, vintage racing,
and above all, fun - We'll do it all!
To Join our club, click here
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