Apr/May/June 2008
Message from Inland Empire Chapter President Ken Groves

Greetings everyone,

A lot has happened since my last message to the members. We "kinda, sorta" had our first high performance driving school the last weekend of March. Mother Nature was not quite finished with Winter yet! Snow was the word of the day on both Saturday and Sunday. I want to thank all the driving participants, instructors, and volunteers for their valiant efforts to make lemonade out of a lemon of a weekend. Any of you that have some pictures from the school weekend, can send them to our website manager, Miki, and she will post them to the picture forum for all to see.

We got some great news regarding the future of Spokane Raceway Park (SRP) following the auction on April 10th. Spokane County purchased four parcels, including the parcel containing the track facilities. We are excited about the direction SRP will be heading in the future under ownership by the County. Scott Adare has been working closely with County officials this year providing positive information and helping coordinate support from the motorsports community. While the time line for reopening the facility under County ownership is not firm yet, it is anticipated that our June High Performance driving school will be a go! The motorsports community has been great in showing support for purchase of SRP by attending public hearings and County Commissioner meetings in large numbers. Volunteer work days are being planned to help with clean up needed at the facility. Anyone interested in helping can contact Scott Adare for more information regarding dates and times.

Chris Brown has completed planning and preparation for the one day driving tour scheduled for May 31st. He has another interesting route planned which will provide a variety of driving experiences, great scenery, and even a couple of short rides on ferries which cross the Columbia river in two different spots. For more information, see the article in this newsletter or contact Chris. I hope many of you will be able to join him for a fun day of driving, food (he mentioned something about an ice cream stop), and exploring the diversity of the eastern central part of Washington state.

Spring is finally here and the snow around our place is quickly becoming a memory. I for one, am ready for the change of seasons! It's time to get out and enjoy the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Until the next newsletter, share a random act of kindness and see how good it makes you feel!

Ken Groves
President
Inland Empire Chapter BMWCCA