President’s Corner

Steve Kidd - President

As I write this article, and we enter a more active period in the 2020 hurricane season, we can be thankful that we dodged major damage from Hurricane Isaias. To make matters worse the effects of the Covid 19 Pandemic continue to cause uncertainty and change the way we get together. With Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties still at record high rates of new Covid 19 cases and no gatherings of more that 10 people in the tri county area, we must turn our efforts to virtual events and very small gatherings to help stay engaged .For now we should stay safe and continue to explore new ways to stay connected. So what’s in store for the rest of the year???currently in the planning stages are the following:

AutoX...Steve and Dottie have 1 “for sure” AX scheduled for September 12 th at Sebring, This runs in conjunction with the DE offered by Suncoast Region that weekend. Registration is open on Club Registration and registrants can also sign the Covid 19 wavier on Club registration. Expect to see masks,social distancing, only 1 person in a car while participating and a host of other changes. Additionally, depending on the availability of sites,we hope to have 2 more AutoX’s,possibly mid November and early December. Watch for e-mail blasts for more AX information

Socials...These events present the biggest challenges. Expect to see things like small outdoor gatherings, Pop-up car shows, informal non-PCA drives and virtual events. With the Covid-19 restrictions slightly more relaxed in the northernmost part of our region, you may see this area with the 1 st events. (while adhering to local restrictions)

Charity...GCR still has hopes of participating in 2 children s hospital drives in December, however these most likely will be very different from last year...Possibly as drive by’s with some form of unique message ...

Concours... Still up in the air at this time, ....expect to see change in keeping with the times

Tours...the Multi-day drive to Little Switzerland in North Carolina is scheduled for late October. Check Club registration to add your name to the “save the date”listing. Like last year, this will be a blast,but limited

DE ..Track events have been run by several other regions utilizing Covid-19 best practices and we still have hopes on doing a DE at Homestead October 31/November 1. Most likely no in car instruction, but possibly lead-follow. Now for some important business reminders..... In the next few months , GCR members will be invited to cast their votes for Officer/Director candidates for 2021/2022. Please review the bios published in this Kassette and on the web site and ask yourself …..who has the Region’s best interests at heart? Who do you see at a wide range of activities and taking leadership roles at events? Which candidates have a proven track record? Members will be sent a unique invitation to the e-mail address of record from Election Runner, our independent election vendor,to vote electronically. It should take less than a minute to vote, so I encourage you to participate. Here is more detail on how the election process works, as taken from our by-laws

“Preferably, all voting shall be by done by secure, electronic form although traditional, non-electronic paper ballots may be used as well to supplement where needed. Each GCR member in good standing at the time of the elections may log into the designated web address between October 15 and November 15 and after accessing the site using the necessary and individually specific security keys, he/she shall proceed to fill in the different choices in the electronic ballot. Electronic voting will only allow each member to vote once. In the case that an active, family-active, associate or family associate member requests it, the Secretary will send one nonelectronic, write-in ballot to that member by the U.S. Postal Service. The Secretary shall prepare a written ballot listing the names of all the nominees for each of the offices for which there will be a vote taken and that ballot will be replicated in electronic form at the voting website. If only one nominee is submitted for any office, then that nominee is deemed to be elected. The name of any such unopposed nominees will appear on the ballot but no voting will be required for their election. Non electronic, write-in ballots must be returned to the U.S. Postal Service address indicated on the ballot and postmarked no later than November 15th. Ballots shall remain sealed until opened all together at the same time by the Nominating Committee for tabulation.”

Hoping to see you at an event when we can get together face to face...and remember to vote …Steve