<![CDATA[Madison Motorsports - Officer Elections ‘18-‘19]]>

<![CDATA[Madison Motorsports - Officer Elections ‘18-‘19]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/ Sun, 24 May 2026 04:31:43 +0000 MyBB <![CDATA[Stephen Nicholson - Secretary/PR]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11679 Thu, 29 Mar 2018 16:42:47 +0000 Eco_Boi_Stephen]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11679 Who are you?
Hey everyone! I'm Stephen Nicholson otherwise known as the "Multilingual Eggplant Specialist" in the Alum GroupMe (Thank you, Taylor, for that name). I am currently a Sophmore Justice Studies and Arabic major along with a Pre-Law track. I've been doing 18-21 credit hour semesters since my first semester here at JMU while working for a flooring company based out of Richmond. I'm also the president of the Newly Initiated Brothers of the JMU chapter of Phi Alpha Delta (the Pre-Law fraternity). For the next four semesters, I will only be doing 12-14 credit hour semesters here at JMU and I will still be working with the flooring company. That being said I will I have much more free time over the next two years and I'd like to fill that time with MM related tasks and activities.
My Freshman year I had no idea that MM existed until I saw the car show. Since then I made it one my goals to find out more about the club and to eventually join. I started by searching through social media for MM related things and that made me want to join even more. Fast forward to MAAP's first institute where I had the opportunity to completely rebuild a Porsche 356 engine with none other than Jackson, Brandon, Joseph and Erik. During that time at the institute, I expressed my interest in MM to Jackson and Brandon and they explained to me what exactly MM was about from that moment on I was hooked. sidenote* I think it'd be really cool to be an officer with the three people that introduced me to the club Smile

Do you even like cars?
Yes, of course, I do! My relationship with cars started in the hood of Baltimore where I spent the first 8 years of my life. As an effort to get me out of that setting my cousins would take me to car shows outside of the city which sparked my interest in cars. My father has always had crazy lifted trucks and motorcycles and when we moved to a farm he had a legit monster truck! He would always let me help when something broke which I am very grateful for as a lot of people did not have the opportunity to do things like that when they were younger. Later on, when I started making some decent money I bought myself a 2009 Toyota Tacoma single cab (basically a work truck) that I would go on to bag and put some nice Enkei's on (miss that truck). During that time I was also gifted a 1992 Foxbody Mustang roller from my grandfather. This is one of my favorite cars as I got to put an engine, trans, etc in it with my father and his friends. Unfortunately, during a heavy downpour on my way back from school I rolled it over a large hill (basically a cliff) I was okay thanks to the cage and harness but the car was completely totaled (I cried for two days, man tears of course). After that I found a 1998 300zx twin turbo for an insane price that I couldn't pass up, I upgraded the turbos, lowered it and drove the piss out of that car. When I started to make some real money with the flooring company I decided to trade the 09' Tacoma in for a 2014 TRD Tacoma (my first new vehicle). After some time I got bored of the 300zx and sold it to my friend for one hell of a profit. Then one-day driving threw Newport News I stumbled upon a 2015 Saleen Mustang with about 10,000 miles on it that I fell in love with and the next day it was mine. At this time I had no intentions of going to college and I was very okay with that. After my parents talked to me about college and what it would mean for me to be the first in my family to attend and the example I would be setting for my younger family members I decided that going to college was the right thing to do even if my parents wouldn't help me out financially (they've grown a little more considerate over the last year w/ financial help). So I sold the Saleen and the Tacoma (I only lost 3k on both which is was spectacular IMO) and bought the EcoBoost which makes for plenty of fun, gas mileage, insurance cost, etc.

Stephen, why do you want to be the Secretary of Madison Motorsports?
Well, one of the reasons I would like to be the Secretary is to improve the quality of our social media and Alumni outreach. Looking through the current state of the MM Facebook and Instagram it's kind of disappointing to me. MM's social media might be the first thing that someone sees in relation to the club so there has to be some sort of quality control there. There's also the lack of a Youtube presence, which I would like to change by doing videos like "Member Spotlights".I'd also like to do social media collaborations with local businesses (this could eventually make the club some money) as I have made some friends in the local community that are small business owners. These would be videos that would basically be an interview with an individual member asking them why they joined MM, what drives their automotive passion, etc. I have a pretty good understanding of what MM is really about and I'd like to show the rest of the world what it means to be a member of Madison Motorsports. I'd also like to improve Alumni outreach by simply improving the quality of emails sent out to you all. From what I understood via the GroupMe, this was something you all expressed concern about. I send semi-professional and professional emails nearly every day and it's a skill that I take a lot of pride in having.

What traits do you possess relative to the secretary position?
For starters, I am EXTREMELY organized with note taking, calendars, etc. I am also a detail orientated person when it comes to event planning and emailing. I am also a very personable and open person, so if anybody were to have a concern with the club, other members, social media or anything else MM related I am confident that they would feel comfortable coming to me for advice or to address some of their concerns. I'm also open to suggestion on how to improve anything related to the club but I'm also not a pushover so I will gladly let someone know if they are overstepping their boundaries.]]> <![CDATA[Joseph Plauger - Treasurer]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11675 Wed, 28 Mar 2018 00:10:24 +0000 plaugs_golf]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11675
Alright, enough about my personal life. Madison Motorsports is the greatest club ever, we all know that... but how can we make it better? As Treasurer, I am not going to be leading the club. My job will contain all the typical Treasurer duties, which I feel confident that I can do. I finally have a car, so I am able to run around and deliver $$$ to whoever would need it or wherever it would need to go. I have taken a business class before and, since I don't have much money to call my own, I have quite a lot of experience with knowing how to spend it wisely and think before throwing money at something that just wouldn't be smart for the club.

I would love to be able to help raise money for the club through fundraisers and potential other ideas. I have also been looking around at other past applications for Treasurer to see what other people's ideas were. I came to the conclusion throughout my searching that I would just ask all of you wise, old, experienced alumni what worked, what didn't work, and for some ideas that maybe you wanted to work but didn't get the chance to do.

This year, Madison Automotive Apprentice Program (MAAP) has been huge for MM, providing us with a great place to work on our rides for a couple hours during the day, get some of the best coffee in Harrisonburg, and just hang out. I spend about 10+ hours there every week, usually doing homework in the back room, but sometimes helping Cole or Michael with a 356 Speedster, VW Beetle, or whatever other project cars they have in there at the time. MAAP is just such an amazing opportunity for MM and I would hate to see nothing much come of this. Since I spend many hours a day there, I would be able to help tie the two organizations even closer together, which I would absolutely love to see.

Switching gears a little bit, I wanted to address something that I feel like has kind of gone out the window with this club a bit this year... the excessive breaking of laws and overaggressive driving on the streets. I haven't personally witnessed much of it, but I have heard many stories and I am very against it. It's good to have fun and enjoy your cars, but breaking the law is something that we just don't tolerate. It can get us in a heap of trouble and it's just wrong. There are places and times to go 100+ mph and race side-by-side with your friends and/or enemies... drag strips, tracks, autocross events, etc.. I just want this club to be a place where we have lots of fun and enjoy many things, but also a club that is respected within the community of Harrisonburg and JMU, especially with the police officers of the area.

Building on that, I just had a thought. Maybe we can do an event (maybe fundraiser) with the police force either at JMU or Harrisonburg where we organize some sort of car meet or autocross, something that gets the officers involved with us so that they can see personally that we are all great guys (and gals) who just love cars and hanging out. I don't see anything bad about building a relationship with the police force around here and the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. What do you all think?

Please, by all means, ask away. I'll be happy to answer any questions and concerns you might have.

Thanks!
Joseph Plauger]]>
Alright, enough about my personal life. Madison Motorsports is the greatest club ever, we all know that... but how can we make it better? As Treasurer, I am not going to be leading the club. My job will contain all the typical Treasurer duties, which I feel confident that I can do. I finally have a car, so I am able to run around and deliver $$$ to whoever would need it or wherever it would need to go. I have taken a business class before and, since I don't have much money to call my own, I have quite a lot of experience with knowing how to spend it wisely and think before throwing money at something that just wouldn't be smart for the club.

I would love to be able to help raise money for the club through fundraisers and potential other ideas. I have also been looking around at other past applications for Treasurer to see what other people's ideas were. I came to the conclusion throughout my searching that I would just ask all of you wise, old, experienced alumni what worked, what didn't work, and for some ideas that maybe you wanted to work but didn't get the chance to do.

This year, Madison Automotive Apprentice Program (MAAP) has been huge for MM, providing us with a great place to work on our rides for a couple hours during the day, get some of the best coffee in Harrisonburg, and just hang out. I spend about 10+ hours there every week, usually doing homework in the back room, but sometimes helping Cole or Michael with a 356 Speedster, VW Beetle, or whatever other project cars they have in there at the time. MAAP is just such an amazing opportunity for MM and I would hate to see nothing much come of this. Since I spend many hours a day there, I would be able to help tie the two organizations even closer together, which I would absolutely love to see.

Switching gears a little bit, I wanted to address something that I feel like has kind of gone out the window with this club a bit this year... the excessive breaking of laws and overaggressive driving on the streets. I haven't personally witnessed much of it, but I have heard many stories and I am very against it. It's good to have fun and enjoy your cars, but breaking the law is something that we just don't tolerate. It can get us in a heap of trouble and it's just wrong. There are places and times to go 100+ mph and race side-by-side with your friends and/or enemies... drag strips, tracks, autocross events, etc.. I just want this club to be a place where we have lots of fun and enjoy many things, but also a club that is respected within the community of Harrisonburg and JMU, especially with the police officers of the area.

Building on that, I just had a thought. Maybe we can do an event (maybe fundraiser) with the police force either at JMU or Harrisonburg where we organize some sort of car meet or autocross, something that gets the officers involved with us so that they can see personally that we are all great guys (and gals) who just love cars and hanging out. I don't see anything bad about building a relationship with the police force around here and the more I think about it, the more I like the idea. What do you all think?

Please, by all means, ask away. I'll be happy to answer any questions and concerns you might have.

Thanks!
Joseph Plauger]]> <![CDATA[Joe Silek - Secretary/PR]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11667 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 20:42:50 +0000 joesilek3]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11667
The position of Social Chair hasn't been filled in this club and from what I can tell, there is a desire to mix with other clubs on the weekends. One issue with that is that we aren't a very known club. Obviously the Motorsport part of the club is more important than the social aspect, but other than meetings, we all really don't get together and as Social Chair, I'd like to fix that.

I have a couple ideas to get our name out there and possibly grow the club. One idea that I heard from a fellow member was to have a day during the week where we all or most of us park our cars somewhere on or near the quad. Someone would sit with a tent (also I think investing in an MM tent would be a good idea, black tent with Yellow logo) have plenty of flyers and business cards to hand out and also if people just see our cars they'll be intrigued. Another idea would be to make an event where we offer the "MM experience," whether that be offer people the opportunity to ride along when we go off-roading or autocross, or even just a cruise over the mountain. We just need to get our name out there as much as possible. Hosting an autocross here at JMU would be an amazing opportunity but trying to convince JMU to let us do that would be a challenge, I'd definitely be willing to try to get all of these things into action to help get our name out.

Mixing with other clubs ---
So there's a small elephant in the room with this topic, We are nearly all dudes.... From my freshman experience in club golf (which is a club of 80 dudes) mixers are fun but can get out of hand and if there aren't enough females present it can be kinda lame. That being said, I would spend some time at the beginning of next semester branching out to clubs and working on trying to coordinate Mixers and day drinks. We need people who are willing to have mixers at their house/townhouse. I'm living in foxhill next semester and I'm okay with hosting but we'd need other places as well (my place isn't that big). The last issue is dues, our dues are relatively small for a club and if we start having frequent mixers than we would have to up our dues to support the cost of the "water."

Other Social Activities ---
Car Meets. So I know that our relationship with the townie car community isn't the strongest and MOST of us avoid the sheetz meets because of the reputation of street racing/ street hooning and all the stuff MM DOES NOT stand for. Planned car meets are something that I really enjoy and I'm sure a lot of you enjoy them too. My vision for this would be a weekly occurring meet that happens on top of a parking deck (I believe that Grace street deck doesn't have speed bumps) where we all just hang out and talk about each others cars. If we could get most of the members out to a meet, I think it would be a pretty good time... A lot and I mean ALOT of the members don't come out to cars and coffee at the MAAP garage and to be honest neither have I. I haven't had my car here on the right weekends or I end up going home or sleep in. I would really like to go more and also get more current students there. MAAP is an excellent resource for us and I'd like to get more involved there as well as everyone else should.

I have a lot of ideas for this club and really enjoy being a part of this community. So ask me plenty of questions.]]>
The position of Social Chair hasn't been filled in this club and from what I can tell, there is a desire to mix with other clubs on the weekends. One issue with that is that we aren't a very known club. Obviously the Motorsport part of the club is more important than the social aspect, but other than meetings, we all really don't get together and as Social Chair, I'd like to fix that.

I have a couple ideas to get our name out there and possibly grow the club. One idea that I heard from a fellow member was to have a day during the week where we all or most of us park our cars somewhere on or near the quad. Someone would sit with a tent (also I think investing in an MM tent would be a good idea, black tent with Yellow logo) have plenty of flyers and business cards to hand out and also if people just see our cars they'll be intrigued. Another idea would be to make an event where we offer the "MM experience," whether that be offer people the opportunity to ride along when we go off-roading or autocross, or even just a cruise over the mountain. We just need to get our name out there as much as possible. Hosting an autocross here at JMU would be an amazing opportunity but trying to convince JMU to let us do that would be a challenge, I'd definitely be willing to try to get all of these things into action to help get our name out.

Mixing with other clubs ---
So there's a small elephant in the room with this topic, We are nearly all dudes.... From my freshman experience in club golf (which is a club of 80 dudes) mixers are fun but can get out of hand and if there aren't enough females present it can be kinda lame. That being said, I would spend some time at the beginning of next semester branching out to clubs and working on trying to coordinate Mixers and day drinks. We need people who are willing to have mixers at their house/townhouse. I'm living in foxhill next semester and I'm okay with hosting but we'd need other places as well (my place isn't that big). The last issue is dues, our dues are relatively small for a club and if we start having frequent mixers than we would have to up our dues to support the cost of the "water."

Other Social Activities ---
Car Meets. So I know that our relationship with the townie car community isn't the strongest and MOST of us avoid the sheetz meets because of the reputation of street racing/ street hooning and all the stuff MM DOES NOT stand for. Planned car meets are something that I really enjoy and I'm sure a lot of you enjoy them too. My vision for this would be a weekly occurring meet that happens on top of a parking deck (I believe that Grace street deck doesn't have speed bumps) where we all just hang out and talk about each others cars. If we could get most of the members out to a meet, I think it would be a pretty good time... A lot and I mean ALOT of the members don't come out to cars and coffee at the MAAP garage and to be honest neither have I. I haven't had my car here on the right weekends or I end up going home or sleep in. I would really like to go more and also get more current students there. MAAP is an excellent resource for us and I'd like to get more involved there as well as everyone else should.

I have a lot of ideas for this club and really enjoy being a part of this community. So ask me plenty of questions.]]> <![CDATA[Jackson Bergstrom - President]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11666 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 16:12:40 +0000 Chinampa]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11666
We started slow with the relocation of org night 3 times, barely getting any new members. So we kept working at it and throughout the year we gained more and more excited new MMers. These new members brought new ideas and outlooks to the club and continue to contribute greatly to the club's success.

If re-elected, next year is going to be a great year for MM as we hope to have good, dedicated officers running the club and contributing to the success of our events and day to day operation. The biggest failure of this year in my opinion is the absence of a connection between alumni and current students. It created a rift at points and remains a tender subject.

Turducken evaporated, the forums are a hard sell for a bunch of 19 year olds (but they're coming around), and I get the feeling that many current students don't realize how expansive our network of alums really is. For next year, I want to push NASA & track time heavily along with encouraging people to use the forums.]]>
We started slow with the relocation of org night 3 times, barely getting any new members. So we kept working at it and throughout the year we gained more and more excited new MMers. These new members brought new ideas and outlooks to the club and continue to contribute greatly to the club's success.

If re-elected, next year is going to be a great year for MM as we hope to have good, dedicated officers running the club and contributing to the success of our events and day to day operation. The biggest failure of this year in my opinion is the absence of a connection between alumni and current students. It created a rift at points and remains a tender subject.

Turducken evaporated, the forums are a hard sell for a bunch of 19 year olds (but they're coming around), and I get the feeling that many current students don't realize how expansive our network of alums really is. For next year, I want to push NASA & track time heavily along with encouraging people to use the forums.]]> <![CDATA[Brandon Itkin - Vice President]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11665 Tue, 20 Mar 2018 22:29:08 +0000 GTBrandon]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11665
I feel like I helped create a lot of the events this year, and while I don’t mind helping out behind the scenes, it would be much more efficient to be in a role where things can get done quickly such as Vice President. From reaching out to places for private tours, organizing get-togethers, getting new t-shirts made, and finding new members, I think I did a lot as a member this year and learned a lot in the process that would help me best lead this club.

Most of you probably already know me as the one who comes on your thread and asks a million questions at once, so now it’s your turn to ask away and distract me from studying for finals. Whatcha want to know?]]>
I feel like I helped create a lot of the events this year, and while I don’t mind helping out behind the scenes, it would be much more efficient to be in a role where things can get done quickly such as Vice President. From reaching out to places for private tours, organizing get-togethers, getting new t-shirts made, and finding new members, I think I did a lot as a member this year and learned a lot in the process that would help me best lead this club.

Most of you probably already know me as the one who comes on your thread and asks a million questions at once, so now it’s your turn to ask away and distract me from studying for finals. Whatcha want to know?]]> <![CDATA[¡How This Works!]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11663 Tue, 20 Mar 2018 20:59:16 +0000 Jake]]> https://forum.mmsports.org/showthread.php?tid=11663 Time for elections!

Post your name and what position you are running for in the title.

Positions - President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, or something else if a valid argument can be made for it.

Tell us about you and why we should vote for you. Tell us what you think was done right this year and should be continued. Tell us where there's been room for improvement and how you might make that change. Propose some new ideas and really let us see an idea for what you plan to do! Many of us old farts have been around the block and have an idea for what is realistic. We love enthusiasm and do recognize that some ideas may have been great, but at the wrong time - so you could re-approach things. But, new ideas are also very welcomed.

This is a great opportunity! Remember, in the past we have said "this is like a part-time job" and it is - but it's truly not that hard if you can come together as a group, plan and communicate effectively. Show us how you can do that in these election threads.

Requirements

Must be a paid member in the club for the 2017-2018 year
Must have an account on the forums
No joke posts please

Voting

Voting details will be added by Jackson. Students may vote in-person at the determined meeting date, or via PM on the forums to a specific person. Alumni may also vote via PM.
These two options are the only valid options for posting.

]]> Time for elections!

Post your name and what position you are running for in the title.

Positions - President, VP, Treasurer, Secretary, or something else if a valid argument can be made for it.

Tell us about you and why we should vote for you. Tell us what you think was done right this year and should be continued. Tell us where there's been room for improvement and how you might make that change. Propose some new ideas and really let us see an idea for what you plan to do! Many of us old farts have been around the block and have an idea for what is realistic. We love enthusiasm and do recognize that some ideas may have been great, but at the wrong time - so you could re-approach things. But, new ideas are also very welcomed.

This is a great opportunity! Remember, in the past we have said "this is like a part-time job" and it is - but it's truly not that hard if you can come together as a group, plan and communicate effectively. Show us how you can do that in these election threads.

Requirements

Must be a paid member in the club for the 2017-2018 year
Must have an account on the forums
No joke posts please

Voting

Voting details will be added by Jackson. Students may vote in-person at the determined meeting date, or via PM on the forums to a specific person. Alumni may also vote via PM.
These two options are the only valid options for posting.

]]>