The MGA Club Newsletter #3, May 26, 1978

The MGA Club
Newsletter #3, May 26, 1978

“The MGA Club, formerly the great expectation of a few wild-eyed Bay Area owners, is henceforth to bear the illustrious title, The Northern California Chapter of the North American MGA Register. On May 8, 1978, our as yet rather loose-knit organization was admitted to NAMGAR, a country-wide affiliation of over 800 members in whose resources, prestige, and permanence we can now share. Interested owners are invited to become members and to participate in a well-established effort.”
(author unknown)

Annual dues in 1978 were $13, of which $10 went to NAMGAR for their monthly national newsletter and official dash plaque and $3 went to the local club. The group was very active until around 1998 when too many key members had moved away or retired from MG life. It yet lives, however, in the many active members in the MGOC who were a part of the NorCal NAMGAR group: Leslie (Young) Ashmore, Allen Benson, J.R. Boye, Dorothy and John Brookman, Mike Jacobsen, Paula and Dave Lion, Bev and Tom Morgan, Greg Paulsen, June and Gene Roberts, and Dan Shockey and Nancy Shane. I can recognize NorCal NAMGAR traditions that have been subconsciously brought to the MGOC.

Holding the Peninsula T Register picnic at Huddart Park reminds me of the good times we had there focused on the MGA. The big event for the MGA Club was the annual Monterey GT, a regional NAMGAR GT held during the Monterey Historics each August. The very first one was held in 1979. Twelve Bay Area MGAs participated along with many other cars from Southern and Central California,Washington, New Mexico and Texas! We had a nice MG corral at the track and about three dozen good folks at the Saturday evening dinner.