Al N.

@Taber: Thanks for the follow-up on the nom. That means we still have vacancies for the pres/sec slots. @Alaskossie: See the club members thread linked for one answer...we could just as easily mimic the geo divisions in the regional subforums.

Bump. Hey everyone! I'm back from a longish vacation that included time in Alaska. From the club members thread on this topic, it looks like we might have a full slate of officers to vote on. Can someone confirm if Taber T. and his wife are truly interested in running? (Boxologist nominated them.) The only change I'd suggest is to keep Mazda as the Treasurer-elect...he's had experience with filing the taxes, etc. So that would mean the slate would be: President: Taber T. Secretary: Mrs. T. Treasurer: Mazda E. Additionally, it was suggested to me in a PM that we add some regional reps to the slate to help share the responsibility for running/growing the club among more owners/enthusiasts. I suggest (adding an extra region to the PMer's suggestion) we could benefit from reps from the following regions: - North Eastern (New England, NYC, MidAtlantic/DC) - Southern (Atlanta, Florida, etc.) - Central North (Ohio, Chicago, etc) - Central South (to cover the Dallas and Houston seven concentration) - Western (LA, San Francisco, Oregon, etc.) Thoughts/input would be appreciated. Please comment in the members thread linked below. http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?p=54962

Folks- It's time for club officer elections again. Please see the thread I just started in the Club Members section for info and a call for nominations. http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=6523 The general timing is for nominations to close on or around June 21, and elections (online via poll) to start soon thereafter and end on or about July 6. The goal is to have a new slate of officers in place by July 7th. Officers of the USA7s Club serve for two years. For those not familiar with the Mission of the USA7s Club, here is what appears in our bylaws: USA7s, Inc. is a social club organized for pleasure, recreation, and other similar nonprofitable purposes and substantially all of its activities must be for these purposes. The purpose USA7s, Inc is to enhance the LSiS ownership experience, promote camaraderie through regional and national activities and events, create awareness, and encourage favorable interest in LSiS and the club. LSiS Definition = Lotus Seven inspired Sports car, A Front-Mid engine car that is, or that is inspired by, the original Lotus 7. Hope you are all enjoying the start of summer and your cars. Best, Al Navarro Co-Founder and Outgoing Club President

Bessie, maybe you can get some new pix of your fresh paint job posted? I think Ben was going to send me some, but I haven't gotten any yet.

When I spotted Karl's car at my local gas station, I could have sworn the car had a full cage...I think it was the height of the rear bar that threw me. I'll try to stop by the June 12 run, but I know I have some church obligations that AM...maybe I could join for lunch or end of day meal/drinks? Do you know where that pic of the two Sevens and the yellow Elise was taken? Looks an awful lot like the road my in-laws live on in Bucks County (not too far from Tinicum Park). An update on "Bessie" (please let that name not stick!): the headers and exhaust just shipped from Jet Hot. I have always liked the look of the Series 2 1/2 in the Chris Rees' "Magnificent Seven" book...a dark car with a light painted exhaust/header set up.

I think I saw BlueBariSax's orange car at the Frenchtown Citgo on Sunday. I was in a rush, otherwise I would have stopped by to chat. Was there a regional rendezvous?

I happen to love KitCat's Dark Blue w/ Red noseband, but also wanted to make the new/old car an homage to my old/new car... Bessie, you may not remember this because it was so long ago, but you were born ali/yellow.

Here are a few oranges from the chart Bruce linked to. S04 Orange ICI P407783 L33 Ford Signal Orange ICI DA21 L14 Colorado Orange ICI P0309055 The Ford Signal Orange is a bit too "burnt"/reddish for the look I'm going for. I've found a photo of one Colorado Orange Europa that looks about right, but still not sure... Would it be as simple as going to a body shop and asking to see chips based on the ICI codes?

@Yellow: That series 4 car is owned by someone named Jack, right? I've chased the colors down before and there are a few vintage oranges...one might be called Colorado Orange. I guess I could always wimp out and just go Cat Orange. Note, this is only the accent color, the car will be mostly black. I'll look at that chart, Bruce. Tx.

Looking for a period-correct (1961) orange.

Tom- It's on my calendar. You happy now? ;-P. I could certainly use a dose of John. Great memories of hanging with you guys in Birmingham. And I still have something in a bottle for you. Looking forward to getting back in the driver's seat soon, RHD as it might be. Though I doubt SB1341 will be in NJ by end of June. Was planning on making a family trip out of taking delivery and popping in on Gert and company. -A

“Where is our leader? Do we have one?” Great questions, both. To answer the latter first, yes. I am the president of the USA7s Club. And not a very good one, I might add. Which brings me back to your first question, “Where is our leader?” Since I was elected in the Summer of 2009 to the position of President, I’ve not been involved with the forum or club in any meaningful way. Well, I did attend the Carlisle show, the USA7s/LOG meet in Alabama, and meet up with Gert’s tour of the West in 2009 (thanks again Skip for giving me some wheel time!)…but since then, have only been a casual and infrequent participant in any forum discussions and club administration. I’m certainly not proud of my performance. And while I do have all sorts of excuses which some of the people who know me better are aware of, none of them really matter. The fact is I did a shite job. I did not make the time to push the club forward in the way I did in the founding years of 2006-2007. And if I look at things honestly and not “with the best of intentions”, I doubt I will be able to put the time and effort in for the foreseeable future. Which is why I do not intend to run for reelection in July 2011. And I certainly encourage others to consider running. Here’s my 2¢ on role/duties of the next Club President: - The Club President should be able/interested in being an active participant on the USA7s.org forum on a weekly (if not daily) basis. This could add up to a few hours a week. - The Club President should be open to being the main contact for all media/vendor/club correspondence and questions. This may include soliciting advertising from vendors. He/she should be able to reply to any inquiries on a timely basis. This could be a few hours a month. - The Club President should coordinate and run quarterly meetings of the officers (via phone conference if an in-person meeting is not possible). This could be a few hours a quarter. - The Club President should support all regional event coordinators and make every effort to attend as many functions as possible — at his/her own expense. - The Club President should support the coordination of a national-level event held at least every two years. This does not mean that he/she is required to be a primary organizer (though that would not hurt!). - The Club President should lead the annual membership drives (I don’t know if these should correlate to calendar year or club election, which has traditionally been held on or around July 7th) - It would be great if the Club President spearheaded a monthly club newsletter When I think of the optimal person for this position, I think of the following qualities/proclivities: - He/she should be open to and interested in spending a considerable amount of time on Club business, events, projects - I see the Club President as retired or someone who does not have time-intensive job/family/personal commitments - The Club President should have the time, means, and interest to attend Club Events - The Club President should own or have owned an LSiS (optimally) - The Club President MUST like people and have a genuinely friendly nature - The Club President MUST have a marquee-inclusive attitude and promote/police this actively. The Club was founded to be a group for owners/enthusiasts of all types of Lotus Seven-inspired cars, not just ones Colin Chapman farted in. Well, I need to get back to my day job this morning. But I leave you (for now) with the mission statement of the Club: USA7s Mission Statement USA7s, Inc. is a marque-inclusive Club dedicated to the appreciation, ownership, and enjoyment of Lotus Seven-inspired Sportscars (LSiS). Humbly, Al Navarro P.S. Yes, I do plan on having SB1341 (aka "Bessie", though I'll be changing that moniker as soon as she's back in NJ) complete and on the road this summer.

@Tom: Maybe I just wanted to stay at 2000 posts for a while! I'll look at the link for the trackday...

Dear Bessie- I think of you all the time. In fact I was just on the phone today inquiring about some new shoes for you. Planning a visit in July. Hoping you'll be ready to come back to New Jersey with me. Best, Al Navarro P.S. Folks...I am still alive. Nov-Jan was 110% occupied with boarding school search/applications for my older daughter and a trip to Paris for Laura's "29th" birthday. Trying to work out a way to drop in on Black Hills trip...

@Jon: The only thing that I would add regarding it being "Se7ens only" is that Se7ens of all kinds should be the focus. People who are prospects are welcome of course (there were a few non-owners/soon to be owners at 7-7-7). Otherwise, it's just a car meet. I'm not talking about excluding anyone, but just reaffirming that we're all here for the Sevens, the driving, and the camaraderie. I could see myself holing up in Custer with the wife/kids/trailer to prep for the meeting, then joining the rest of the tour in SB1341.

My 2¢. A little birdie told me that there was some bad vibes from LOG 30, and I wanted to voice my POV. The USA7s club was founded back in 2006 as a multi-marque club — the founding members represented owners/enthusiasts of all types of Lotus Seven-inspired vehicles. The meet that sort of launched the club was organized by Mazda E, and had 2 Roti and 3 Caterhams enjoy a spirited drive in Shenandoah NP until the rangers issued citations. The chemistry was good, we all enjoyed each other's cars, and had a blast driving and recounting the drive. No one lorded anything over anyone else or snubbed anyone. I still count Scott, Mazda, Steve, and John among my friends...cars or no cars. 7-7-7 was pretty much the same vibe, with two original Lotus cars taking front and center in our group pic. Anyone who was there can tell you that the force was strong with the club that weekend. Though, even then, one of purists from the UK club pooh-poohed the meet, calling it a "hollywood production" (since the date had little to do with any significant date in Colin Chapman's history). Since then, cars have changed hands, officers have come and gone and come again —*but the spirit of USA7s should still be the same: marque inclusiveness with a focus on driving. The few times people have come on the board without that spirit, they have either been taken to task, been asked to take their business elsewhere, or moved on of their own accord. I had a great time at LOG 29 down in Birmingham. I think the fact that John V. works at Barber made a big difference. I'm sad to hear that the cold shoulder was thrown by some "original Lotus" people at LOG 30. I will add that John D. of Simple Sevens has helped me a lot in my process of getting SB1341 together — though I'm sure the mish-mash of Lotus and Caterham parts that it is turning out to be will put some of the purists (and maybe even John D. himself) off as well. What I find heartening in all of this is that Dean G. (who with his very early Series 1 could perhaps be justified in "snobbing" modern LSiS cars) is one of the most open and inclusive Se7eners around. As he has noted time and time again, our little corner of the hobby is too small benefit from Balkanization. As for a national USA7s meet? I'm up for it. I will say this though -- it is a LOT of work. For 7-7-7, I basically worked 2 jobs for the better part of a year. And since I co-own an ad agency, one of the those jobs made it easy to do the other one (making brochures, badges, etc.) One tricky think is that geographically/financially/timewise, many folks are less likely to make a long trip for a national meet. 7-7-7 at the Tail of the Dragon was an exception, I think because of the unique nature of the 50th anniversary. Having gone on one of Gert's tours before, I like the direction he's going in for 2011. For it to become something worthy of the "national" moniker, we'd have to have people from both coasts attend, and upwards of 25 cars? Can we we do it? I think so, but again, it will take commitment.

Add me to the "No LOG 2010" list. I held out hope that I'd be able to call an audible at the last second, but work will keep me in NJ today. Enjoy and take lots of pix all those attending!

The project moves forward at a rate inversely proportional to an actual Se7en. But at least it continues to move...

FYI, we have a few on hand for sale that were donated to the club...proceeds to benefit the club.

Folks- FYI, in my day job as the co-owner of a small advertising agency, I found a premium (branded pens, mugs, etc.) vendor that can make a small model of a Se7en with a pull-back motor inside...plus it sits atop a pen. See the attached for a pic of other vehicles they have done. I'm working on a prototype that evokes our favorite "four wheeled motorbike". Add your name to this thread if interested, and a stab at how much you'd pay for one (it's made out of metal). -Al

As it turns out, I think I'm only there for the Friday night event...have a family reunion to get back to for Sat.

@Kitcat: I second your "doesn't seem to be a Caterham at first glance" assessment. Might still be a good buy for someone. As you know, it's pretty simple to spend that much sorting out a car!

@twobone: Not that I know of. I am of Filipino descent.

@twobone: You forget to mention that the owners/enthusiasts are some of the nicest/non-douchey people in the car world! ;-P

No affiliation/endorsement. http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/1874359830.html