What Expertise Comes From New Club Membership?
By David R. Reynolds
When I was asked to write an article for this magazine; my first thought was – In what facet of the car club world am I an expert? In afl ash my mind replied – none. But wait a minute, I guess my only expertise is that I know what it is like to be a new member. As such maybe I can impart a few bits of knowledge that can help folks like me who are new to the AACA.
Please let me digress just a bit about my “accidental” affiliation with the AACA. My awareness of AACA began in 2007 when I visited the museum in Hershey. I wanted to attend the Import/Kit Car Nationals in Carlisle, Pa. that year. To get my wife to accompany me I had to bribe her with the promise of a “side trip” to Hershey and Amish country. She “Googled” all the attractions in the area and found the AACA museum. While not an avid car person herself, she does appreciate classic cars and has many good car related memories (don’t take that in the wrong way, Honey!). We were quite impressed to say the least with our visit to the museum. I have never seen so many antique vehicles in my life and all in such pristine condition. Little did I ever think that I would ever become a member of such a storied organization. Well the trip was a whopping success for both of us.
While I was engaged in one of my daily exercise walks, a neighbor of several years asked me if I would like to attend a meeting of his car club. He knew that I was a car guy into kit cars and had a’68 Olds Toronado. I didn’t realize that the club was affiliated with the AACA. but I was curious about the club chapter that he described. I joined the chapter after attending this first meeting because of the friendly, open atmosphere created by the members.
To understand why I became a member of the AACA (and an expert at being new), one must know something of my background and the environment that I grew up in. There were several factors that made me a “car guy.” As far back as I can remember