TMC Chapter News
The new kid on the block
TMC: South Africa
I t’s been a long time coming but TMC: SA is on the map! The first thoughts towards formation of a South African Maserati Club started sometime during 1999 starting with informal discussions between members of various Italian Car clubs who are also owners and/or enthusiasts of the Maserati marque.
Mr. Ian Huntly, who is also chairman of the Fiat Club of South Africa, formalized the formation of The Maserati Club of South Africa at the end of 2000. A constitution was drafted, bank account opened, and a committee formed during the first part of 2001. At the same time TMC: SA initiated discussions to affiliate with TMC in the US and with the local registration body SAMCA. Membership was opened to owners and enthusiasts in June, 2001 and has grown slowly during the year.
The committee members and their functions are set to remain intact at least for the 2002 term in order to stabilize the Club and increase it’s membership. The committee currently consist of 4 members as follows:Ian Huntly (Chairman & Secretarial)
Tony Smith (Treasurer & Regalia)
Jacques Malan (Newsletter & Website)
Paolo Mastroguiseppe (Tech Advisor)Because of it’s relatively small membership base, TMC: SA has set initial policies in place to have at least one run per quarter and meetings bi-monthly. During the past year four runs have already been held (some in conjunction with other Italian Marques) and at the time of going to print another would have been completed.
The first of these was a breakfast run held in conjunction with the Lamborghini Club of South Africa in January, 2001. Attendance by the Maserati fraternity was small but still a valuable exercise in promoting awareness of our existence among the petrolheads. The picture above tells the story.
The second official run was to “Heidelberg Cars in the Kloof” in May, 2001, an annual charity event organized by the Heidelberg Motor Museum. Representation grew slightly with some excellent Masers attending.
Event number three, while not being an official TMC: SA event, was the Italian Connection Weekend, an annual run organized to strengthen the bonds between all the Italian Car Clubs in SA. All the Marques were represented and Ian had his new toy on display. Due to its popularity, the next date for the Italian Connection Weekend has already been set for the weekend of 8-11 August, 2002 (venue TBA) and we are all anxiously looking forward to next year’s event.
The next official run was held in August 2001, to an exhibition that has grown in size and stature over the past few years. It is called “Cars in the Park,” held in Pretoria at the “Pioneers museum.”
As mentioned earlier, the next TMC: SA event is scheduled for the end of October, 2001, a breakfast run planned from Johannesburg to Magaliesburg + a beautiful setting about an hour away from the city. To date six Maserati owners have confirmed their interest and a seventh is still undecided.
Plans for the future are already taking shape with the intention to get the website up and running before the end of the year (courtesy of hosting by TMC), producing some more branded clothing (golf shirts have been a huge success) and setting up official stationary. There is also a need to grow the membership base with more intensive awareness and marketing campaigns + especially among the owners of newer Maseratis. Watch this space! —Jacques Mala