VSCCA "the cars are of paramount importance."
April 15, 1992
Dear VSCCA Members,
Nearly eight years ago, our late President, Bill O'Donnell, wrote to
the membership about the principles that formed the foundation of our club
and their importance to its continued vitality. This letter has proved
a useful guide to how we operate and has helped to avoid the pitfalls encountered
by some other vintage racing organizations in recent years as the sport
has grown so popular.
Each new VSCCA member receives a copy of the letter in his package
of orientation material. Your Board of Directors takes this opportunity
of its reprinting in 1992 to re-endorse the enduring- values it expresses,
and to send afresh copy to all the membership.
The Board of Directors
20 September 1984
Dear VSCCA Member,
Sixty-two new members have joined our club since the beginning of l984.
I am delighted to extend to each of them a warm welcome and the wish that
they will find In the VSCCA the pleasure of shared interests with congenial
people, and of using "our kind" of car in a spirit of fun and
sportsmanship. Having extended this welcome in all sincerity, however,
I confess to a certain deviousness because I intend to use another point
that has been bothering me for some time.
Reviewing the applications of prospective members, and the letters
of their sponsors, I have noticed in recent years that an increasing proportion
(by no means all) appear to be interested in the VSCCA mainly because it
holds races. Some random quotations may illustrate my point: 'Mr. Doe holds
an SCCA competition license and will be an asset to the club." "I'm
getting too old for SCCA racing and would like to take a crack at your
vintage races. " "I don't have a car now but am on the Look out
for one that will be eligible for your races. "
Allowing for the fact that such remarks do not necessarily reflect
on applicant's (or his sponsor's) total point of view, I nevertheless sense
in them, because of their concentration on racing and the frequency with
which they occur, a disturbing shift in our appreciation of what the VSCCA
is. My personal devotion to racing is long-standing, pre-dating by many
years my association with the VSCCA. But, because I feel strongly that
one of the jobs of a president is from time to time to remind the organization
of its ideals, I want to re-state here what I see as the root purpose of
the VSCCA, and to some principles that grow naturally from that purpose,
and have become part of our tradition.
1. In the VSCCA, the cars are of paramount importance. This means that
the races and drivers are secondary. We are institutionally indifferent
to who wins our races; for this reason we give no trophies.
2. The VSCCA is not primarily a racing organization. We exist "to
encourage the acquisition, preservation, restoration, and operation of
vintage sports cars" (cf. VSCCA By-laws, Article I, Section 2). Our
races should be seen in this context. Of course, they are fun for drivers
and spectators but, first and foremost, they are settings in which the
cars can be used appropriately, not all-out contests to prove which is
the fastest car or who is the fastest river. Those seeking exercises of
the latter sort should look elsewhere for their gratifications.
3. The VSCCA is not intended to be a cheap or easy way to go racing.
We must resist any tendency which makes it seem that this is our purpose.
4. Ideally -- and historically -- interest in belonging to our club
originates in a serious interest in vintage sports cars (perhaps even in
a particular vintage sports car) and in the pleasure of driving them. Not,
willy-nilly, in a strong competitive urge. Of course, the two can go hand-in-hand
but I believe the distinction in emphasis needs to be made.
5. The widespread notion that only sports-racing are eligible or welcome
in VSCCA events is erroneous. The club is no less concerned with sports
cars of road-going or touring type than it is with those don't go anywhere
but around a race circuit unless on a trailer.
I hope this message will help to clarify the identity of our wonderful
club, and to define some important ways in which it differs from many of
the vintage car clubs and commercial organizations which have come in to
being since was founded, and whose primary purpose is racing. I hope, too,
that you will agree that this difference is a valuable one and worth preserving.
Happy motoring!
William F. B. O'Donnell President
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