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SDC 1981 Board Meeting?

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  • SDC 1981 Board Meeting?

    I'm wondering what this shirt on eBay means:



    "I Survived the 1981 SDC Board Meeting."

    Is there a story there, some bit of SDC history? What happened back in 1981 that was worth making a shirt to commemorate the event?
    ?Wanted: Power Steering Parts for a 60 Lark.

  • #2
    In those days, SDC was growing rapidly and was really trying to learn how to govern itself and expend its growing income in a prudent manner. Turning Wheels was already the biggest expenditure, but had far fewer pages and was still all black and white. In the late 70s, the size of the board had been increased to its current size, and the zones had been restructured to more closely match membership population.

    As a result, the SDC board meetings often lasted 18-20 hours, usually running till well past midnight. Every budget item and every expenditure from the previous year was examined and discussed in excruciating detail, and a lot of give-and-take with non-board members in the audience was permitted. The result was that the really tough decisions got postponed till the end of the meeting, when most board members were mentally dead and would vote for anything if it meant they could go to bed.

    The 1981 IM was held in Gettysburg PA and Max Corkins was both the SDC president and our host. Max had the shirts made up for all the board members. It was a nice gesture. We all proudly wore ours to the general membership meeting the next day. I still have mine, but there aren't many opportunities to wear it.

    The board meeting format was slowly changed in subsequent years, with stronger committee chairs, and more time to review their reports and prepare before the meeting. Interactions with the audience now generally require the consent of the president. The development of email and teleconferences has allowed the board to make many decisions in advance of the meeting.
    Last edited by Skip Lackie; 05-01-2015, 07:46 AM.
    Skip Lackie

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    • #3
      What Skip said.
      I also remember meetings that lasted well into the night when Wayne was President. We sent out for pizza for supper because it was figured that it would take too long if we broke for a meal.
      I instituted the requirement that committee reports be to the Board one month in advance of the Board Meeting. This allowed review and communication prior to the Board Meeting.
      1981 was also the year that Ed Reynolds was first elected as SDC President.
      Gary L.
      Wappinger, NY

      SDC member since 1968
      Studebaker enthusiast much longer

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      • #4
        OK, good to know. Thanks.

        I was afraid it was the meeting that turned into a Civil War or all the board member wound up in jail or something.
        ?Wanted: Power Steering Parts for a 60 Lark.

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        • #5
          Many of those meetings WERE very contentious (which contributed to their length) -- though perhaps not reaching actual physical conflict. And there have been one or two instances where a board member probably should have gone to jail . . . .
          Skip Lackie

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