President's Apex President's ApexHello and welcome to the Green Mountain Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America’s Website. Thanks for visiting and showing an interest in our site and club.
The GMC was founded on May 10th 2004 when about 25 BMW enthusiasts from all over Vermont gathered at the Thrush Tavern in Montpelier. It was a pretty amazing site and feeling to see and be apart of so many BMW’s all caravanning down I 89, pulling into a parking lot together, checking out each others cars, meeting new people and having a dinner together. During dinner we had 25 people sign a petition that required 20 signatures and then sent it to the BMWCCA requesting we be allowed to form the BMWCCA’s first ever chapter in the State of Vermont. 2 months later we received our Charter and the GMC became official.
Vermont is a small and very diverse state and our chapter is as well. We are probably the smallest chapter in the entire BMWCCA. We have just over 180 members as of May 2006 in all of Vermont. This is good news though, as it shows we are up 30 members from just 2 years ago when we were founded. Vermont’s conservative nature, diverseness, small and wide spread population, as well as our agricultural background all contribute to an environment which is not exactly ideal for expensive to maintain, buy and own luxurious and high performance German automobiles. Let’s face it, most people in Vermont buy American made vehicles which are usually a pickup or an SUV. If however a Vermonter is looking to buy a foreign made car, more than likely it’s going to be 4WD Subaru or an Audi with Quattro. So those of us with BMW’s in Vermont are a fairly rare breed and of those who are actually aware of and are members of the BMWCCA are even rarer.
Rarer still are those who are actually active members who do more than just read ROUNDEL. You have obviously found and discovered that there is a BMW club in Vermont. If you are contemplating buying a BMW or have just bought one and are thinking about joining the BMW Car Club of America please know that we welcome you with open arms. Please also know that your $40 membership fee makes you an automatic member of the Green Mountain Chapter, there are no additional fees, forms or requirements. So please join us, we Vermont BMW owners need to stick together and support each other as there aren’t too many of us.
I know that joining a car club can be intimating. You may think to yourself my car isn’t anything special, it’s this or it’s that, or it isn’t this or that. You may also think to yourself I don’t know anything about cars, I don’t know how to change my oil, or even how to find the dip stick, yet alone know what one is. Or maybe you’re saying I’m a woman and car clubs are guy things. Well please know that we have a number of active women in the club who love their cars and often show up on their own, or with their hubby, girlfriend or with one of their kids.
Here are some of the things we have done and are looking to do as a club. First, we have a monthly meeting the last Wednesday night of every month. These are more of a social get together than anything. We move the meetings around from restaurant to restaurant each month and usually try to have a presenter or something special going on at each month’s dinner. We have attended various car shows such as the Bavarian Autosport Show and Shine and events at Lime Rock and throughout Vermont. We have had numerous drives through the back roads of VT, NH, NY, CT and MA. We try to get together at the Canadian Formula 1 race in Montreal each year. We’ve even done a few BBQs and have attended a driving school in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec. The largest event we’ve done to date was SOMMERFAST, which was a 3 day celebration of All German cars, the Mini and BMW Motorcycles. The event was held in Stowe, Vermont in June of 2005 and we had over 75 cars from all over the North East and Canada. In 2006 the event will be called OKTOBERFAST and will be held in Stowe, October 6-8. We are also have a strong desire for driving events such as winter driving instruction, autocrosses, driving schools, and track time where ever we can find it.
So, if any of the above sounds like fun to you, please JOIN US, we’re not a bunch of weird freaky grease monkey’s, we’re normal people just like you who have a love and passion for our BMW’s and sharing that love with other BMW owners, regardless of whether your BMW is brand new or a tired old trooper you’re bring back to life with a lot of TLC. We welcome you.
So, come join us and have some fun with the Green Mountain Chapter and your BMW!!!
Sincerely,
John Holzscheiter
President – GMC BMWCCA