GLCC Year in Review
as presented at the 2021 GLCC Holiday Party
Welcome to the 2021 GLCC Holiday Party!
We hope you have enjoyed the fabulous dinner and beautiful facility. And we hope you enjoyed Larry and Sara’s entertainment!
Many thanks to George and Penny Acree who have made Indianwood available to GLCC now for the 4th year.
Each year we talk about the coming year to be better. It was not very hard to trump 2020.
The 2021 driving season was spectacular! I routinely joke about the weather…because you routinely joke about my ability to pick dry and sunny days for events. In 2021 we only had 1 event with rain and at that it was not a rain-out. As we plan 2022, we will ideally pay that trend forward.
This year we focused on driving events to interesting parts of our metro Detroit area. Memphis, Port Huron, the Grosse Pointes, Dexter, Pickney, and more. Your feedback told us to continue this approach for 2022 and that we will. We already have several ideas brewing that we will share with you in January.
Our goal is to provide a variety of events that offer something for everyone! In all we created 21 opportunities to get out and have fun together 2021. That’s down from our average of over 30+ events but we wanted to error on the side of caution with COVID still haunting us. Plus several of our planned events had to be postponed as the venue was not ready for a group – for example The Ornazian Collection.
In terms of Club Health, we are 117 member families strong. That means over 230 people are impacted in some shape or form by what we do as a Club. And we have more new members in the past year than most years in our recent history. There are several here tonight. Ben and Amy Whittredge, Clint and Krisi Symons, John and Jennie Stinson, Michael and Sara GRICE and Barry and Kathy Green. We are delighted you joined the Club and joined us this evening!
Financially we are also in good health. With the carryover from 2020 we were able to subvent costs of several events this past year. And will continue to selectively apply our funds balance in 2022.
We are very happy that for the past 3 Snake Pits we have made sizable charitable donations. This year we were not able to organize the Silent Auction at the Snake Pit. But despite that we raised $1,000 for Holy Cross Children’s Services. And the folks at Holy Cross are delighted with your outpouring of support for their children in need. I expect that we will have a robust silent auction at the 2022 Snake Pit and will raise much more for Holy Cross Children’s Services in 2022!
On the spirit of giving, Larry and Nancy asked that we do not compensate them for tonight but rather to make a donation to a charity of our choice. As such we will be making a donation to Holy Cross Children’s Services in honor of Larry and his family.
As a Club we set forth a series of goals so we can measure progress and define success. One of those key goals we set for the Club is getting the next generation of enthusiasts involved in the sport and our Club. Our annual event at the Oakland Technology School is a prime example of how we give back to the community and help our youth become inspired to be young car people. Those young women and men are a little way off from owning a Cobra but I am confident we have inspired several of them.
More near term is our success in diversifying the demographics of our Club. I am delighted to report that it is working!
We have added more members in the past 2 years under the age of 50 than in recent history. And our board is honored to have one of those young men join the GLCC Board. Michael Grice has agreed to continue George’s fine work as Vice President.
Your Board is deep into the development of the 2022 Event Plan. Change is important to keep things fresh and interesting. Your input from the Member Survey is appreciated and we have reviewed in detail…and keep the ideas coming! We intend to roll-out the preliminary 2022 plan in our February meeting.
Gratitude is really easy but not used often enough. GLCC would not be a Club if it wasn’t for the Members. So, we thank you for hanging out with us! The friendships developed are truly cherished and for a lifetime (think about that)!! Our passions for Shelby Cobras brought us together as friends…so mission is working! MANY thanks to our Board. Tony Simari our Treasurer. Bob Harvey our Secretary. Bob Russell our Events Director. George Acree our VP. They are each great partners and friends. We have a great Board who is UNITED in our focus to build relationships, socialize and drive our cars.
A few years back we began to recognize members in unique ways at our Holiday Party. This year’s theme recognizes Members who have contributed to the success of our events and club this year. We are delighted with the number of volunteers this past year and frankly each of their support has materially helped the Board and made our year the great experience that it has been. As a token and recognition of our appreciation we are awarding Amazon Gift Cards to:
- Ed and Jenny Shoobridge for organizing and leading our Spring Cruise (I will deliver their gift)
- John and Rebecca Scholtes for organizing and leading our tour of the Grosse Pointes
- John and Jennie Stinson for organizing and leading the Jewels of Washtenaw Cruise
- Krissi Symons and Frank Robinson for being our photographer extraordinaire and memorializing our events this year
To those who celebrate Christmas…Merry Christmas! To those who celebrate Hanukkah…Happy Hanukkah. If you celebrate/worship something else, that is great, and we wish you a very spiritual and reflective Holiday celebration.
As you celebrate this Holiday Season, please keep our Members and their Families in your prayers for good health and prosperity in 2022. A little plug for good weather in 2022 would also be appreciated!
I sincerely hope everyone enjoyed the year together!
Thank you and Happy Holidays!
Jeff