Please post the following letter on the Vintage-Race web forum:
Response to the Open Letter
Members and Friends of SVRA
I recently received a copy of the letter authored by Pat Ryan, and I assume
with the consensual approval of Carl Jensen and David Whiteside, in which a
plan of acquisition is described. A group we are led to believe to be
"Friends of SVRA" would divest the controlling interest from a few people and
give it to many. We are further to believe that the new company would be
made up of SVRA members in good standing, representing a cross section of all
the membership. Also, that the funds for this acquisition would come from
selling "Charter Memberships" granting these select owners voting privileges
formerly restricted to the current owners and management...... implicit in
the text of the letter is that the current membership has no voice in the
decision making processes, and this represents the driving force to push for
the restructure of the company.
On the surface this appears to be a plan with merit. Indeed, an offering of
new direction and opportunity for all members, from all walks of life, to
share not only in ownership of prestigious and recognized racing organization
but to have a voice in how that company would be run. And, I must admit,
when I first heard about the concept I got excited at this prospect. In fact
I spoke to Pat at some length at Roebling and expressed an interest to him to
be put on the list of people that would be sent more detailed information
relative to the prospected plan.
However, time passes and the picture becomes clearer as more colors and
details are filled in. What I am now seeing and hearing in discussions with
other SVRA members, as Paul Harvey says, is the rest of the story. This is
not about involving the general membership but offering special privileges to
an elite group of selected participants.
First, you would need to qualify and quantify that you have the financial
profile that affords you the option to buy in. Secondly, you must be in the
group of members that can take time away from your careers to attend more
than seventy-five percent of the scheduled events. And then, these people
who could well afford to support the costs inherent with attending nearly all
of the events would be afforded the opportunity to race for free for life as
a result of becoming a Charter Member. Where is the logic in this?
Supposedly this up front money from the sale of Charter Memberships is to be
used in part to secure more and better management. How do the current owners
get compensated for the sale of the company? And we are not told what the
selling price may be.
The conjecture is that there would be up to thirty Charter Memberships that
are offered at $10,000 each. That these would be equity shares in the
company and would be very limited position. I know of these details because
Pat Ryan told me of this concept. Not only was I exempted from the mailing
but my name was erroroniously used in a document presented to the current
owners as being financially committed to the buy out. This is representative
of a completely unethical and fraudulent method of operation, and not what I
would wish to reflected in the new ownership of our organization.
One of the aspects of the original SVRA Charter that attracted me to this
organization ten years ago was that it was founded to provide people with a
deep and abiding interest in the sport for vintage motor racing, regardless
of your station in life, a venue for active participation. Until now I have
never been disappointed or sorry that I chose to be a part of the SVRA. I
often remark in conversation outside the organization as to genuine pleasure
experienced associating with the people that make up the SVRA. These are
true ladies and gentlemen working to preserve a valuable asset and piece of
important history. And whether we pull into the track with an old van with
an open trailer of forty eight foot enclosed rig, once we slip into your
respective machinery we all become equals, with the same goals and
opportunities.... a truly unique experience.
Now it seems that there is divisive, political backbiting infecting our
precious organization, threatening to destroy the very Charter that brought
us together to begin with Rumors of boycotts of upcoming events by event
workers and potential buyers. Pending overthrough of existing owners by
leveraged buyouts Malicious gossip surrounding members and staff. Political
maneuverings the likes of some of the worst in Washington! How do we restore
order?
I do favor the idea of the Race Groups taking a proactive role in managing
the rules and regulation s pertaining to their cars and events. I support
the concept of a regulatory board made up from the members at large, elected
by the Race Groups. I favor expanding the extracurricular activities tied to
the race events; more family involvement for example. I see real benefits to
be derived from a web page. Bring back Flea markets. Maybe a golf
tournament. More events like the Pinewood derby, maybe with RC cars! I am
sure that if the membership were polled there would be many more great
suggestions.
My closing comment is that I hope that cooler heads finally prevail and this
nonsense is put aside in favor of a concerted effort to preserve this stellar
organization. I offer my time and limited services to work toward the
fulfillment of this goal.
Respectfully,
Jim Allen, Group One
#51 Austin Healy Sprise, Team 51
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