Madison Motorsports - Officer Elections '12-'13

Chris Chrzan- V.P.

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 22:46:35 +0000

Hey guys,

My name is Chris and I'm running for VP for the '12-'13 term. Although I have been friends with most of you for some time, there may be those of you who are newer to MM that I haven't met yet. First, I'd like to explain why some of you may not have seen me around at as many events as usual this year. This fall I decided to invest in a motorcycle (big thanks to Lincoln for driving 2 hours to get it with me), and had been forced to get a job in order to pay for the whole ordeal. The job, which was sometimes 6 hours a day, took most of my time when I wasn't studying. I'm proud to announce that this next year I will be job-free and ready to get back to this wonderful club.

Here's just a little bit about myself...

My Academics:

-Rising Senior, Biology Major
-Honors Program, with a research concentration in Neurobiology

Now for the early years...

I had come into MM as a first-semester freshman after Jake had extended a welcoming hand at the Student Org Night, and had no idea that it would soon become a large part of my college experience. One of the first aspects of MM that I immediately noticed was that everyone who was there...WANTED to be there. Isn't this kind of expected in all clubs? Nope. I can guarantee you that not one of the pre-med club members gets excited to go to a meeting (well, save a few kids). Even more so, not only would everyone get together for the meetings, but also just to hang out and have a good time. The "thursday night crew" as we called it (you know who you are) hung out not just as club members, but also as friends (cliche). This was one of the things that made the club so inviting, nobody was looked down on and or considered "just a freshman"...you were there because you liked cars, and that's all that mattered.

My favorite MM events (in order):

1. VIR
For those of you who have gone to VIR, you can skip this paragraph because you already know what I'm going to say. The trip to VIR when the club rented a van (after the suspension was lifted) and made the trek down to the track was EXACTLY what this club should be about. Hey, lets face it, were all poor college kids...but the alumni and other generous drivers at the track can give us just a little taste of what we all crave...racing. I know a few of our members have actually done HPDE when we go down, and from what I've heard the experience is unreal. From the free hotel room where Madison Motorforts was established (shout out to my man Chris Levey), to the Tavern, the trip is just a great bonding experience.

2. G-Force
The first ever karting trip, I'm ashamed to say, I slept through (Girls Gone Wild party at Vixens). However, I have been karting many times after that and it never ceases to thrill. The trip is one that we absolutely must keep going in this club. I know due to money constraints that some officers this year have considered ending this event, and this is something we can't let happen.

3. Autocross
Again, big shout out to Jake for playing the big brother role here. Freshman year Jake took me out around Harrisonburg on thursday night to teach me how to drive stick, and friday afternoon he asked me if I wanted to race the next day..wait..what? I never even knew you could race cars in that kind of an event, and ever since my first race I've been hooked!

Now that I've spent enough time on memory lane...

Dan, and Jon and I have gotten together and discussed things that IF we all happened to be elected, we would like to modify, change etc. Here are some of the points that had been discussed:

-- First of all, we all agreed that the officers need to work together as a team. It seems that this year had been somewhat of a one-man-show and this just creates headaches, and separation, within the team that ultimately ends up hurting everyone in MM. We have each discussed our schedules for next year and agreed that each should have a sufficient amount of time to invest in the club and those who are in it. I personally have had many roles, especially in an academic laboratory environment, where teamwork was essential to success. I believe that this experience will help in a smooth transition into office, and further into the semester.

-- Secondly, it had been brought up that the club always seems to be in need of money. Fundraising this year was minimal, and this needs to be improved upon in a big way. Some ideas could be: cleaning the stadium after football games like alumni used to do, and or simple things like getting our lady friends to wash cars in their bikini's (girls love showing off...lets be serious). The main idea here is to have the club, as a group, decide what THEY would be interested in helping to contribute with. In my experience people are much more motivated to do something when they believe in the cause (which I hope everyone would...) and enjoy the activity. However, it is my understanding that Jon Polen (potential treasurer) has specific ideas in mind that he would like to implement, so we're already off to a great start for next year.

--The next issue that had been discussed is, well, rather uncharted territory. I personally had been the one to bring it up and Dan and Jon had both agreed that this subject deserved greater attention. It's simple, eliminate the free-loaders. Eliminate the people that show up for the MM sticker and shirt, and then leave and go show off that they're a cool kid who races cars and never returns to the club. This has always been a pet peeve of mine and I intend to ensure that those who sport the MM logo DESERVE to sport the logo. This also helps in terms of securing our reputation as a respectable club. We don't want some kid who came to the FIRST meeting to go out and get pulled over doing 120mph and have the cop see his MM sticker on the window.

--The last MAJOR issue to be discussed at our meeting was the ever-needed social aspect of MM to be brought back. This club is full of people who love to talk about cars, race cars, work on cars, but we ALSO are a club that should be composed of great friends. If I were elected VP I would ensure that more social events were held, even if it was just an epic drink your face off thursday night festivity, which are often the most fun. This club was started by friends, and we need to continue that tradition.

All in all, I hope you guys will consider me for V.P. in the upcoming election. Though whether I am elected or not I'm sure that the new team of officers will do a great job in bringing this club back to what it should be, what it used to be. Have a great night guys!

Chris

Diesel E. Vice President

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:42:54 +0000

HELLO HUNAMS!

ME LLAMO DIESEL. HA! THAT IS 'MY NAME IS DIESEL' IN NOT-ENGLISH. MY NAME IN CANID IS 'WOOFWHINEBARKBARKGROWL', BUT YOU CALL ME DIESEL.

I AM SORRY FOR GRAMMAR, ENGLISH NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE.

THIS WHAT I LOOK LIKE:

SORRY FOR STUPID FUCKING EAR ALWAYS GET MESSED UP. ALSO SORRY FOR HATEFUL NOSE COLLAR MASTER PUTS ON ME NOW. HAAAAAAAAAAAAAATEFUUUUUULLLLL

BUT THAT WHAT I LOOK LIKE.

I WOULD BE GREAT VICE PRESIDENT FOR MM. I HAVE NO JOB EXCEPT TO SHIT & PISS OUTSIDE AND CHASE BIRDS. LOVE CARS, THINGS THAT FLY ARE FOWL ABOMINATION BEFORE DOG. HA! GET IT? SHIT AND PISS OUTSIDE NOT TAKE TOO MUCH TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN RAINING, SO LOTS OF TIME TO DEVOTE TO MM.

I THINK WE SHOULD DO MORE BIRD CHASING, MORE SOCIAL EVENTS. CHANCE TO SNIFF BUTTS, GET TO REALLY KNOW EACH OTHER. MAYBE WHEN DIESEL GET TO BE VP, HE FINALLY GET TO DRINK BEER WHILE WRENCHING AND BUTT SNIFFING.

I LOVE MM FOR MANY HUNAMS PETTING & SCRATCHING ME. NOT SO SURE ABOUT CAR RIDES, BUT IF WINDOW DOWN, CAN START TO SEE ATTRACTION. REALLY WANT TO SEE CLUB GROW. BIGGER CLUB = MORE PETTING AND SCRATCHING FOR DIESEL, MORE BUTTS TO SNIFF FOR EVERYONE.

DIESEL KNOW I VERY YOUNG AND NOT GREAT COMMUNICATOR. ALSO NOT HAVE OPPOSABLE THUMBS, MASTER SAY THIS WHY I CAN NOT HAVE BEER. BUT THESE OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH. BOTH FOR DIESEL AND HUNAMS IN MM.

VOTE FOR DIESEL.

Dan Kastner- Running for President '12-'13

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 20:57:08 +0000

Hello MM,

My name is Dan and many of you know me as the detail dude/ detailer Dan. I have been an active member of MM for just a little over a year now after tagging along to some MM events last year when Jake was president. Thanks to Natalie D, Mark, Jake and the many others whom I first met and made my first couple days with MM very welcoming.

About me: (small bio)
Year- Junior- will be senior next year ('13 grad)
Major- Health Service Administration (I want to run a hospital)
Minor- Business
Hometown- Ramsey, New Jersey (yes I'm from rich guidoville, NO I'm not Italian or a guido...those of you who know me know I HATE NJ...

Accomplishments/ leadership roles
- Eagle Scout, led my troop for 2 years, various other leadership positions inside troop as well

- Owner/ Operator of my own company- Premier Shine Auto Detailing
- fully registered sole-proprietorship in NJ
- over 1 year fully recognized- 8 years total practicing business
- work with clients and cars ranging from $20,000 to $250,000
......this company is what I am most proud of and is my BABY

James Madison Society of Entrepreneurs
- One of the original members of the James Madison Society of Entrepreneurs

Why do I LOVE cars?
- My love for cars (crazy obsession) came around when I was real young. My younger brother and I (one year apart) were fighting a ton and not getting along. We went to our family counselor as a last resort, yes it got that bad, and the shrink suggested I took up a hobby or found something to do with my dad. Later on that day my Dad and I picked out a Blue/white striped Viper GTS model to put together. I built the model and brought it with me to school- seriously I fucking loved the thing. Washed it in the water fountain after lunch and treasured it (first detail). Soon enough I met my best friend whom also was a gear head and had parents who were car nuts themselves. Fast forward 12 years later and I'm completely hooked reading 5 magazines subscriptions a month and feeding my need by taking my passion for cars and developing a company that allows me to work on them after years of hard work. Pretty cool to see your hard work pay off when you are working on the cars you used to play on your Playstation! :thumbup: Needless to say, I am a car/ gear head for life :twisted:

Why am I in MM/ why do I love MM?
- I found out about MM through meeting some older members whom were seniors at the time- Jake, Natalie, David and a couple others. After attending a couple events I knew I was in the club for the long haul. Summer came and I communicated with most of you alumn through my detailing posts or by working with some of you during the last fall semester. What I really loved about the club was the alumni network and to be honest, those were the first people I had met and really connected with in the club soon after. As mentioned above I am a gear head and anything about the car industry is what I am passionate about. That being said, MM is the only club on campus I really ever wanted to be apart of. I have taken my passion and turned it into my own company/job to support myself through high-school and now college and I plan on taking the same passion and putting it into my leadership position as president of MM so that the club can be at its best!

Why do I want to be President?
- The past is the past and there is no need to bring up another discussion about this past year. That being said I will only focus on what skills/ attributes I posses that will make me a good fit as president and not comment anymore about this previous year OR nit pick any mistake made and promise to do the opposite. If you are looking to take a mistake and ask me what I am going to do instead to avoid that.....fine by me I'll answer it to the best of my ability and to what I honestly think myself and MORE IMPORTANTLY what myself and the other Exec's will work together on as a whole to fulfill that need/ situation.

- I feel that the skills and attributes I possess, as a young leader will be the greatest items I can bring to the club. My past leadership experience has allowed me to learn and grow into someone who can effectively manage, delegate and encourage teamwork between many individuals. My interpersonal skill from working with clientele whom are VERY wealthy and of high status in their careers has allowed me to become an effective communicator. Owning my own company and business has lead to me become self-proficient in virtually every different areas of business. For the past 8 years it has been a one man show- I put myself out there, advertise, make connections, maintain relationships and continuously strive to become both a better professional detailer and more importantly a much more knowledgeable businessman. Creating, owning and raising my company to the point where it is today has taught me many, many different valuable lessons. It is with these valuable lessons that I plan to take with me when working with the other executive officers to take MM up to the level it should be currently running at as a club.

What I hope to change/ work towards

I'll just list a bunch of obvious, general goals that I WANT to see MM adopt/ possess/ complete by next year.
- Membership growth
- Increased membership involvement
- WORKING WITH THE SCHOOL more- relentlessly knocking at their door, theyÔÇÖve got to answer sometime, after all failing is the road to achieving!
- more events
........capitalizing on the ones that we somehow never got time to do
- fundraisers
- exec's utilizing essentially our greatest/ cheapest resource- THE ALUMNI
- developing new ways alumni can be apart of our decisions and ideas- meeting minutes, agendas, proposals and also vid cam into our executive meetings
- social/ events other than the motorsport-related type
- effective communication across all channels
- effective communication and task completion among the executive committee
- Weekly/ bi-weekly meetings (all of club) AND ALSO once a week Executive council WILL meet (weekend) to plan, discuss and prepare for event coming up/ next meeting
- Active engagement and suggestions for all members

Summer plans- All exec council members will utilize a collaboration method- Google+, video chat etc. to communicate up to 2 or more hours a week (one session) during the summer to collaborate and come up with a long list of:
- Event ideas
- social meeting ideas
- fundraising events
etc...... so that by the time Fall semester rolls around, we are picking from our list and confirming dates for what is to happen during the fall semester....not planning during the semester or the week of Sept. 1st. During this time ALL alumni will be able to view a summary of our minutes from these summer collaborative sessions and add or comment on our ideas!

Alumni + Cooperative exec. council + 1-2 hours a week in the summer = One hell of a great pre- semester head start and list of compiled ideas and events for all MM members/ alumni to participate in. Come Fall it will be plug and chug into the calendar.
There are many other ideas and thoughts I would love to share about the past and also what we as a club need to do moving forward. I cannot make any promises yet and I do not make promises that I know I cannot keep. I want to take the valuable leadership and administrative experience and resources I have obtained from successfully running a company....mold them into my passion for motorsports and cars and bring back the MM I know it should be.

I do not know everything there is to running this show, but I will work my ass off and utilize as many resources/ knowledge you alumni have to give me.

New slate, new year, lets move forward.

Please, PLEASE contact me if you need to. Don't know me very well and want to talk? Cool!
Here is every which possible way you can contact me:

cell- 201 264 7095
House address- 1191 Meridian Circle Apt. 102 in H'burg of course

e-mail:
dan@premiershinedetail.com
kastnedl@dukes.jmu.edu
dkast24@aol.com
kastner.dan9@gmail.com

I am still a full time student and I am going to be up to 1 or 2 from now until finals are over so if I cannot answer your question within a couple hours- sorry, I am a full time student.

Thanks all!
- Dan Kastner :thumbup:

Jon Polen - Treasurer

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:37:34 +0000

Hey all. My name is Jon Polen and I will be running for the Treasurer position for the upcoming year. Most of you I have met before, but for those who I haven't met yet (Looking at you Kaan) here is a link to my facebook to connect the name to a face. https://www.facebook.com/jon.polen

This past year with MM has opened my eyes to a lot. At first I was disappointed with the way the club ran and how the officers communicated. I talked a lot with other members and alumni about the problems. Then one day Dan and I got to talking and decided to run for office with Chris Chrzan and Tyler M as the other members of our potential office.

So let's get this started. Obviously as the treasure, I would be in charge of the financial aspect of the club. In the past I know there have been many fundraiser ideas that did and didn't work. My goal for the upcoming year is to have at least 2 fundraisers for the club (One per semester).

1) Talking with alumni, one of the main fundraising events of the past has been stadium cleanup. This would be a great way to get the club some money while having fun and really not asking to much of everyone. Coming together as a club and hanging out while we use minimal effort to pick up trash seems like a no brainer to me. This can be done multiple times earning us many doll hairs.

My second fundraiser idea at the moment is going to be a bigger hurdle to pitch to JMU, but with enough effort and planning I see it passing with little problems.

2) This fundraiser would be implemented during midterm or finals week (other times are feasible, but stress is higher during exam week). I would like to purchase or preferably have a "dead" car donated to us from a local salvage yard. This car would then be placed on the commons and MM would sponsor a "swing your stress out" type of event. We could charge between $5-10 for a certain number of swings. I would like to use a car with little cosmetic damage so people can see the dents they are making. All glass would be removed prior to destruction day. With proper safety gear (helmet w/ visor, gloves, closed toed shows, and maybe a waiver) I feel as though we can convince JMU that this is a safe way to raise funds. I have seen this done on other campuses so we won't be pioneering it, but it will be a first at JMU. Advertising for this will be key and will be done through flyers, posters, word of mouth, and table tents. I would also like to bring one of JMU's student Djs out to create a hyped up atmosphere.

Obviously these are not the end of my ideas, but just the beginning for you guys to get a feel for my style.

A second thing of contention, mainly between the alumni, is the ability to see the club's books. I do not want to make the books public knowledge, but I would have no problem opening the books to interested members or to those who have donated money and would like to see where their money is going. I do not think this needs to be a secret and if knowing where your donations are going will make someone want to donate more than I am more than willing to open the books.

The last thing I want to address is not so much the task of the treasurer, but the whole executive team. This year, the officers lacked communication and the ability to execute plans. Communication is key between a small group of people to make sure everything runs smoothly. We saw what happened this year when this did not happen. As a club, we were not prepared for various events and things seemed to always be last minute. As part of the new executive team I vow to communicate with the other officers on a more than regular basis. As of now, Dan and I have lunch, dinner, or meet up at least once a week. I have regular lunches with Rex and hang out with Chris all the time. The idea of video conferencing came up today at lunch and I really liked the idea. Dan proposed a weekly video conference with the officers this coming summer to come up with ideas for next year. Building on that idea, I proposed we make the regular weekly classroom meetings available to anyone who is not in the area that would like to sit in. Alumni, this is where we are thinking of you. We know most of you live in Nova with some others peppered around the US and cannot attend meetings regularly. Utilizing Google+ and the hangout feature, we can video chat with an unlimited number of people. This is a way for you to participate without being in Harrisonburg.

Another key item I want to make sure is up to par is logistics. I know MM runs on MM time and is always late and that is fine, but I want to make sure as a club everyone knows what's going on at least 36 hours before any scheduled event. I want to make sure that when we go to Gforce, we know who is driving, who is riding with who, and that driver's gas tanks are full before the morning of. The car show flopped because of logistics. No one knew who was doing what, where the supplies were, and even when to get supplies. If I am elected to office, I promise to get plans to the members at least 36 hours in advance of any event. Obviously things may come up or plans change, but even then I want to make sure we have back up plans in place.

I know that there will be many questions so I will be collecting them and responding once I have a few questions posed. This way it will keep the thread a little less chaotic. Expect answers to your questions sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Thank for reading

Jon

Tyler M - PR/Secretary

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:36:36 +0000

Dearest MMerÔÇÖs,

My name is Tyler McAvoy, IÔÇÖm a senior English major, and I will be staying in school another year to get a double minor in political science and philosophy. IÔÇÖve been working in the Madison Communications office for the past 3 years as an editorial intern, and IÔÇÖve established many connections through this. JMU has a lot of red-tape to cut through, but IÔÇÖve dealt with enough of it to know how to properly work the system.

IÔÇÖm going to cut to the chase; IÔÇÖm running for Secretary for ÔÇÖ12-ÔÇÖ13.

Over this past year, MM has floundered. We havenÔÇÖt been recruiting extensively. We havenÔÇÖt been friendly. We havenÔÇÖt offered any (good) go-fast events. Heck, few of us have even seen a sexy exotic this year, and that, in a car club with as many connections as we have, is a tragedy.

So, I have slew of ideas to change this around, first and foremost: recruitment.

Recruitment has been pitiful this year. Not only did we disregard Student Org night, but we didnÔÇÖt do anything to make up for it. So many nice cars are driving around campus without an MM window sticker and it makes me sad: WeÔÇÖre wasting a huge opportunity. Car culture is so multi-faceted, itÔÇÖd be a disservice to not get everyone from drifters to those guys with jacked up pick up trucks involved in MM.

Next year, recruitment will be much more widespread. Sure, weÔÇÖll do Student Org night, but beyond that I plan to also make MM more visible throughout the year. First: signage. Not exactly flyer bombing, but we need to make MMÔÇÖs name more consistent on campus. Hand out flyers on the Commons. Throw up some chalk around campus. Get a mass-email or two sent out around the big events, and coverage of said events by The Breeze. Participate in the Relay for Life, work concession stands, have a ÔÇ£Wear your MM stuffÔÇØ day, and invite people via Facebook and Twitter to learn more about what we do. I also want to tailor some events for those of us who are motorcycle enthusiasts, too. ItÔÇÖs basic stuff, and thereÔÇÖs a plethora of other things that I havenÔÇÖt thought about, but my philosophy: the bigger the club the better. The more people we have, the more money we can get from dues, the more connections weÔÇÖll have when setting up cool events, and, in general, the brighter the future for the club.

Second: cohesion. WeÔÇÖve been split and separated lately for various reasons that have been discussed before. We need to bring everyone together, especially alums that have become disenchanted with the club after this past year. So itÔÇÖs time to bring them more into the equation. Dan, Jon and I plan to hold video-chatting sessions over the summer once a week, and allow any alumni (and student for that matter) to join and offer input on how to turn things around next year. I also plan to have a webcam set up during every MM meeting for the same reason; so those of you alums who want to see how the meetings are going can watch from the comfort of your sofa at home. For those of you who canÔÇÖt figure out a webcam and canÔÇÖt make a viewing, IÔÇÖll also take minutes for each meeting, and plan to have an event overview before AND after a major event, and post these to the forums.

For students, there will be more social stuff to do, too. Here are some of my ideas: Bringing back MM lunch once a week on campus, would be a good start. Having MM parties, cookouts, wrench days (which were essentially non-existent this past year), and 33 cruises would be further good baselines. Not everything we do has to be extravagant or particularly auto-centric; as long as weÔÇÖre establishing friendships, we can really get this club going in the right direction.

Lastly: communication. Without current students and alum knowing whatÔÇÖs going on, how can we say we have any cohesion at all? There has been a lot of confusion lately about what we were doing and when, and with the adoption of an accurate calendar, this problem can be solved. We need to plan nearly all of our major events from day 1, and set up sub committees with an officer as the head to plan the event. I propose also that we have more solidified dates for the biggest events such as the car show, which would allow us to reserve the lots needed, and talk to our sponsors well in advance of the date, and would be recurring, annually.

Besides that, and I know Jon and Dan will talk about this more in depth, there will be a much bigger focus on getting the finer details ironed out. A lot can go wrong when the small things are disregarded, and we can definitely solve this through much better communication.

Though the forums are a great tool for keeping in touch and posting details about events, many students seem to shy away from it or donÔÇÖt check it regularly. Thus, we should bring back the MM mass texting that we had in previous years, and utilize our Facebook page more than we currently are. Though the forums will still be the focus of most of what we do, social networks offer more connectivity. I also plan to set-up an old school phone tree too, to help further this communication, and get numbers circulating around. The more avenues we have to get in touch with each other, the better.

IÔÇÖve written a lot, but these are only a few of my ideas. I really love this club, and I want to get it back to its former glory. IÔÇÖm a huge proponent for efficiency and making things easy, and IÔÇÖm more than ready to do the work required to get this done. IÔÇÖm open to any and all suggestions, and I really look forward to working as an executive chair this upcoming year.

IÔÇÖll collect any and all questions you have for me and answer them all at once on this forum. If any of you would like to talk to me personally, PM me, friend me on Facebook (Tyler Lincoln) or send me your number and we can chat. Looking forward to all questions/comments and concerns, and meeting those I havenÔÇÖt yet.

Lunch with Uncle Rex

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:21:55 +0000

If you're thinking about running for office, any office, I'd like to have lunch with you in addition to the posts here. I'm on campus M-F, 8-5, and it'd be really awesome if I could have a few minutes of your time to get to know you better if you're running for officer in this club I have a lot of luuuuuuuuuurve for.

My definition of lunchtime is pretty flexible, so just PM me and we'll get together, ok?

How This Works.

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:15:48 +0000

Alright, hi.

It's about that time of year where officer elections start getting discussed. Naturally, all of us aluMMni want to see who's running as we do get a vote in the election process.

So! Post up with your name, who you are/what you do, what you're running for, how you want things to change/improve/remain the same/etc for the upcoming school year, and be ready to answer questions from errybody on this forum.

I have no idea when elections are this year, but presumably someone else will post up with that date so we all know when to have our e-votes in by. Or maybe I'll have to hunt someone down. Either way, get to it!