04-07-2016, 04:54 PM
My fellow MMers,
For those of you who do not know me or have not met me, I’ll start off with just a bit about myself. My name is James Watkins and I am 22 years old. As many navy brats do, I grew up in the 757 (Chesapeake, Virginia for those of you who know where that is). At JMU, I am an engineering major with a minor in music. Next year will be my fifth year in Harrisonburg, and my fourth with Madison Motorsports.
My initial interest in cars was kicked off in high school after my parents helped me buy my first car, a shitty 99 Eclipse (non-turbo). I knew nothing about cars at this time and wanted it because it looked cool. But I took pride in taking it from the busted up piece it started as to the decently nice car it was when I sold it (two engine changes and one trans swap later, DSM lyfe yo!) Last summer, inspired by MM members and alumni to become more active in motorsports, I picked up my 99 Miata, which I have been actively driving the wheels off of since.
I joined MM in my sophomore year, and have been an active member for the last three years. I have been a part of most of what we have offered, going to track days, karting, attending meetings, club dinners, being active on the group chat (and forums to a lesser extent, mostly creepin :wink: ), helping with the car show, driving in autocross, and even setting up a cruise or two. This club has succeeded in doing exactly what it says on the box and gotten me involved in and excited about motorsports, by offering me opportunities that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. As a bonus, I’ve made some awesome friends along the way with both students and alumni. I want to give back for all the good MM has done for me, and to help this club continue to succeed in its mission, which is why I am running for the office of treasurer!
The last year has been my favorite as part of MM. I think that we did a whole lot of things right, and this next year we will be even better as we continue to refine what has been done. As always, there are still some problem areas we face as a club, and the one I am going to emphasize here is member retention and participation. I think that a possible underlying cause of this issue may be the fact that we students are just not a very close group of friends as a whole. We have parties and cruises maybe once a month as essentially our only (club supplied) opportunity to hang out outside of a classroom or a big event like karting. If the club can provide more opportunities for members to have time to connect with each other, it may improve member retention and participation. To do this, we don’t need more big events or parties, but more casual hang-outs/wrench days/club dinners (heck, maybe even some ice breakers), particularly early in the semester to get new members connected while they are still exploring various clubs and deciding what they want to stay invested in. If we can improve our cohesiveness as a club, perhaps people will look forward to things like spending a weekend at the track with a bunch of their close friends.
Another issue that has been nagging me is how the club has gone about conflict resolution, particularly with alumni. From what I have seen there tends to be a lot of unnecessary hostility thrown around when officer decisions conflict with alumni opinions. Now I know that both sides of these issues do not hold grudges due to these exchanges, and I am definitely not trying to cast blame anywhere, but there are much more constructive ways to re-frame these conflicts and learn from them, rather than having back and forth banter. I hope that I might play a role in facilitating these exchanges to make life easier and threads shorter for everyone. (There may be some other factors at play here, but that's an issue for another time)
As treasurer, my main responsibilities will be with managing the club’s money, and all that comes along with that. I have experience with this as I manage my engineering capstone team’s rather large grant. I will also have the responsibility to be on top of apparel, karting, and all other club expenses. I can guarantee that those tasks will be dealt with promptly and efficiently. I don’t really know what else to say about this besides that I won’t let the club go broke! :thumbup:
Thanks for reading, and officer or not, I look forward to my last year as a student with Madison Motorsports, it’s going to be a great one.
James Watkins
For those of you who do not know me or have not met me, I’ll start off with just a bit about myself. My name is James Watkins and I am 22 years old. As many navy brats do, I grew up in the 757 (Chesapeake, Virginia for those of you who know where that is). At JMU, I am an engineering major with a minor in music. Next year will be my fifth year in Harrisonburg, and my fourth with Madison Motorsports.
My initial interest in cars was kicked off in high school after my parents helped me buy my first car, a shitty 99 Eclipse (non-turbo). I knew nothing about cars at this time and wanted it because it looked cool. But I took pride in taking it from the busted up piece it started as to the decently nice car it was when I sold it (two engine changes and one trans swap later, DSM lyfe yo!) Last summer, inspired by MM members and alumni to become more active in motorsports, I picked up my 99 Miata, which I have been actively driving the wheels off of since.
I joined MM in my sophomore year, and have been an active member for the last three years. I have been a part of most of what we have offered, going to track days, karting, attending meetings, club dinners, being active on the group chat (and forums to a lesser extent, mostly creepin :wink: ), helping with the car show, driving in autocross, and even setting up a cruise or two. This club has succeeded in doing exactly what it says on the box and gotten me involved in and excited about motorsports, by offering me opportunities that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. As a bonus, I’ve made some awesome friends along the way with both students and alumni. I want to give back for all the good MM has done for me, and to help this club continue to succeed in its mission, which is why I am running for the office of treasurer!
The last year has been my favorite as part of MM. I think that we did a whole lot of things right, and this next year we will be even better as we continue to refine what has been done. As always, there are still some problem areas we face as a club, and the one I am going to emphasize here is member retention and participation. I think that a possible underlying cause of this issue may be the fact that we students are just not a very close group of friends as a whole. We have parties and cruises maybe once a month as essentially our only (club supplied) opportunity to hang out outside of a classroom or a big event like karting. If the club can provide more opportunities for members to have time to connect with each other, it may improve member retention and participation. To do this, we don’t need more big events or parties, but more casual hang-outs/wrench days/club dinners (heck, maybe even some ice breakers), particularly early in the semester to get new members connected while they are still exploring various clubs and deciding what they want to stay invested in. If we can improve our cohesiveness as a club, perhaps people will look forward to things like spending a weekend at the track with a bunch of their close friends.
Another issue that has been nagging me is how the club has gone about conflict resolution, particularly with alumni. From what I have seen there tends to be a lot of unnecessary hostility thrown around when officer decisions conflict with alumni opinions. Now I know that both sides of these issues do not hold grudges due to these exchanges, and I am definitely not trying to cast blame anywhere, but there are much more constructive ways to re-frame these conflicts and learn from them, rather than having back and forth banter. I hope that I might play a role in facilitating these exchanges to make life easier and threads shorter for everyone. (There may be some other factors at play here, but that's an issue for another time)
As treasurer, my main responsibilities will be with managing the club’s money, and all that comes along with that. I have experience with this as I manage my engineering capstone team’s rather large grant. I will also have the responsibility to be on top of apparel, karting, and all other club expenses. I can guarantee that those tasks will be dealt with promptly and efficiently. I don’t really know what else to say about this besides that I won’t let the club go broke! :thumbup:
Thanks for reading, and officer or not, I look forward to my last year as a student with Madison Motorsports, it’s going to be a great one.
James Watkins
4 Wheels:
1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS - Sold
1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata
2006 Ford Taurus Rallycar - Carmax-ed
2005 Cadillac CTS-V
2 Wheels:
2003 Kinetic TFR Moped - Sold to Taylor
2005 Suzuki GZ250 - Sold
1983 Honda CB650 Nighthawk - Sold
1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GS - Sold
1999 Mazda MX-5 Miata
2006 Ford Taurus Rallycar - Carmax-ed
2005 Cadillac CTS-V
2 Wheels:
2003 Kinetic TFR Moped - Sold to Taylor
2005 Suzuki GZ250 - Sold
1983 Honda CB650 Nighthawk - Sold
