MBCA | Carolinas Section - Mercedes

MBCA | Carolinas Section
T H E O F F I C I A L N E W S L E T T E R O F T H E M E R C E D E S B E N Z C LU B O F A M E R I C A , C A R O L I N A S S E C T I O N 4TH QUARTER 2013
BEAUTY by the
BEAUTIFUL SEA!
W W W . M B C A C A R O L I N A S . O R G
Yes, that’s some of our beautiful gals throwing
corn husks into the Inter-coastal — no doubt in
violation of some EPA regulation.
It was a beautiful day and 40 members showed up
for our Annual June Dock Party in Charleston
at the water front home of Henry and Katherine
Durand. And yes, there were some attractive
Mercedes sedans there too. Read on…
CONTINUED ON PAGE 8

CONTENT
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
2
President’s Message
3 New Member Roster & Benefits
4-5You asked for it. We did it!
6-7 Calendar of Events
8 By the Sea (continued)
9
Time to get serious.
We are still growing and
you can help!
10 Cars and Dealers
10 What Else is Happening
PRESIDENT
Richard Deiber
Huntersville, NC
(704) 948-1433
[email protected]
W W W . M B C A C A R O L I N A S . O R G
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Anthony Santagati
Beaufort, SC
(843) 522-9444
[email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT
Nick Pasquine
Lancaster, SC
(803) 283-3144
[email protected]
SECRETARY
Position Vacant
TREASURER
Roy L. Davis
Columbia, SC
(803) 331-1852
[email protected]
MEMBERSHIP CHAIR
Position Vacant
EVENTS CHAIR
Nick Pasquine
Lancaster, SC
(803) 283-3144
[email protected]
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Louise Johnson
Brookfield, CT
(203) 885-9168
[email protected]
From the National Business Office: With
every email and address update that we receive
at the NBO, we will send a 10% off coupon for
one item in the Club Store. One coupon per
member will be sent electronically (so it must
include a valid email address). Please send
these updates to Geni at [email protected].
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[email protected]
Fall is here and our house is done
and we survived the move into our
home. Like all good things there
is still much to be done and it has
tied up a lot of my time. As for the
Club we are now up to almost 360
members, a record number, and
with more female members than
ever. Of course we hope this growth
trend continues.
But more important than growing membership is
continuing to develop local events that increase your
fun of owning a Mercedes, and developing long term
friendships with other Mercedes owners. And we do need
your thoughts on what events you would like to see that
have wide appeal to our varied membership. I am happy
to say that our local website www.mbcacarolina.org is fully
operational with our new Newsletter Editor, Louise Johnson
maintaining it with current information.
In this issue you will read about fun events recently past and
those that are upcoming. One the most important will be in
December at our Annual Meeting and Christmas Party on
Dec. 14th in Aiken, SC. By the time this meeting rolls around
we have to be in a position to have our slate of officers and
volunteers ready for selection and election. We have talked
about it but now it is time to get serious about it.
You will read more about this in this Newsletter and in a
future e-mail.
It is your Club and as always we look forward to seeing you
at a future local event and solicit your questions and input. About MBCA
Established in 1956, MBCA has approximately 20,240 active members
and 9251 additional household members in 12 regions which are comprised of 80+ local sections throughout the United States and Canada.
Each region is administered by a regional director who is responsible
for assisting and inspiring the sections in the region. The regional director also fosters the formation of new sections, coordinates regional
activities and represents the constituents as a member of the national
board of directors. Hundreds of events are organized by sections, from
social gatherings to tech sessions, from car shows to driving events.
Most sections publish a newsletter of information and events and each
section has its own officers and bylaws.
THE LATEST FOLKS TO JOIN US
We are so pleased to welcome the newest
members of the Mercedes Benz Club of America
to the Carolinas Section!
Hanahan, SC Kim Chillag
Columbia, SC
Slylather Collins
Eastover, SC
William Fowler
Charlotte, SC
Paul Galletti
Lake Lure, NC
Raymond Goodwin
Greenville, SC
John Micheal Hagan
Charlotte, NC
Tyler Haines
Iron Station, NC Gregory Hoch
Murrell’s Inlet, SC
Jordan Israel
Weaverville, NC
Louise Johnson
Brookfield, CT.
Peggy Lewis
Hendersonville, NC
Edward Lubin
Tryon, NC
George Maddox
Hendersonville, NC
George Mehrtens
Bluffton, SC
Nanette Piccirillo
Charleston, SC Richard Schlottman, M.D.
Myrtle Beach, SC
Scott Shealy
Charlotte, NC
Johannes Tromp
Lancaster, SC
Douglass Van Duser
Charlotte, NC
Michael Warczyglowa
Aiken, SC
Josh Wiedermann
Lancaster, SC
BENEFITS FOR NEW
MEMBERS
We thank all of you
for joining and thank
those members and the
Mercedes dealers who
referred some of you
to the benefits of the
Club. There are a lot of
pluses to be had from
your membership. The
Club adds some fun and
friendships to Mercedes
ownership and opens
up new avenues of
knowledge about the
brand at a low 14 cents
per day.
Membership also brings
some savings at both
the National level and
at your local Mercedes
dealership. Go to
www.MBCA.org , log in
and register. Then click
on the Membership tab
to bring up all of the
member benefits. Even
long term members
should do this as a
refresher as we tend to
forget everything that
is available. You will also
note the MB Loyalty
discount available for
new car purchase or lease
after being a member for
1 year or more.
W W W . M B C A C A R O L I N A S . O R G
Roberta Browning
Check with your local
dealer as to what their
parts, service, and
boutique discounts are.
You simply need to show
your MBCA membership
card at time of sale. They
vary from 10 to 15%, or
hourly rate special and
some of them run other
promotions during the
year. Providing a discount
is not only a Club benefit
but also gives you an
incentive to use a dealer’s
repair expertise and OE
parts for your Mercedes.
To many of us one of the
most valuable benefits
has been to develop
unexpected friendships
and knowledge from
other Mercedes member
enthusiasts. But to do
that you have to step up
and attend some events.
We look forward to
meeting you in person.
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W W W . M B C A C A R O L I N A S . O R G
You asked for it. We did it!
O
ne of most frequent
comments we got from
members about why
they had never been to a Club
function was that they did not
know anyone and so would
feel awkward, or they thought
it was just for rich people with
Gull wings, or you had to have a
collectible to be “in”.
Nothing could be farther from
the truth. A couple of members
suggested the idea of doing
some Meet & Greet events
where the primary function of
the event would be to meet
other members on an informal
basis. These events would also
move around so that members
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could meet other members not
only from their own area but
with others throughout the
Carolinas. Club President Rick
Dieber endorsed the idea and so
we put together the first one in
the South Charlotte area since
almost 30% of our members live
in the greater Charlotte area.
Since there was a dealer in the
area, 27 of us met at Mercedes of
So. Charlotte on the morning of
Sat. July 20th. Georgia Buys, Gen.
Sales Mgr., gave our members
a tour of the dealership and its
unique brick construction. She
then explained some of the new
products coming, including
the new CLA which already
has hundreds of preorders
pending, changes and new
versions of the 2014 E class, and
the upcoming S class, as well
as GLK and ML including new
diesels and hybrids to satisfy
upcoming mileage regulations.
From there we went to the
dealership’s large employee
lounge where we were given
a talk by one of the dealer’s top salespersons regarding
Mercedes history, safety and
design standards along with
some real life customer stories
and photos.
After that we started our Meet
and Greet Session. It was truly
Photos from Candi Acuff
A good time with good food was had by all!
I think we all really enjoyed
hearing each member’s personal
story and they all held our interest.
We had to be at the nearby
Waldhorn German restaurant
at 11:30 AM so we stopped and
headed for the restaurant. It was
like being in Germany, seeing
all those Mercedes parked in front
of a German restaurant.
Gita, the restaurant’s co-owner,
had set aside a separate area
for us and printed up a special
MBCA menu!
We ordered, including a few
beers, and continued to hear
the rest of the member’s stories
and socialize over lunch yelling
“Faust” (?) a couple of times, and
just had an over-all good time
with good food as you can see
from the photos.
After seeing how enjoyable this
event was there is no doubt
we will continue this program!
One of our members in the
Hendersonville area, Roger
Lowenhiem, who unfortunately
had an accident on the way to
So. Charlotte, has set up the next
event on 9/21. Both he and the
car are fine now. See the Events
section of this newsletter for
details.
W W W . M B C A C A R O L I N A S . O R G
great to hear the stories of how
and why members joined the
Club. We heard from a past
NJ Club President now living
here and soon to celebrate his
80th Birthday; to members
from Germany; to how driving
a Mercedes taxi cab started the
love affair with Mercedes; to it
was a Birthday, or a Valentine’s
Day gift; to “I worked on Ford
Skyliners and wanted a retractable
hardtop so I came in to look at a
used Porsche and drove out with a
Mercedes”…and many more!
And for those who missed this
one, we also plan to do some
future events in the Columbia
area, Eastern side, and another
one in the Charlotte area as the
next three, going into 2014.
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2013 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
 OCTOBER
 SEPTEMBER
eet & Greet #2 with Trains, Planes and
M
Automobiles! On Sat. September 21, we will meet
at the Hendersonville RR Station at 10:30 AM for
a layout tour and talk about Railroading and the
development of Western N.C. We will then head for
the Highland Lake Inn in Flat Rock for lunch at
12:30 PM and our second Meet & Greet session.
From there you are free to go on to the nearby
Western North Carolina Air Museum and/or visit all
the shops on Main St. in downtown Hendersonville.
This is your chance to meet other members, and new
members, in your area in an informal fun situation.
Here are the Links for your GPS, etc.:
W W W . M B C A C A R O L I N A S . O R G
•A
pple Valley Model RR Club
www.avmrc.com
•H
endersonville Historic RR Station
650 Maple St., Hendersonville, NC 28792
• Highland Lake Inn
(800) - 635 - 5101 - www.hlinn.com
86 Lilly Pad Lane, Flat Rock, NC 28731
•W
estern North Carolina Air Museum
www.wncairmuseum.com
1340 Gilbert St. Hendersonville, NC 28793
•D
owntown Hendersonville
www.downtownhendersonville.org
•K
elsey’s Restaurant
840 Spartanburg Hwy., Hendersonville, NC
Some of you have indicated that you would also
like to stay for dinner. Difficult for a Group in
Hendersonville on a Sat. night but Roger has been
able to put it together at Kelsey’s Restaurant, which
is under new ownership at 6 PM. Remember, if
you have not already e-mailed me I need to
know by 9/12 so we can give the restaurant(s) a
head count on 9/13 if you are coming to lunch.
Same date if you also want to stay for dinner.
Eurofest - October 18-19 - Greer, South Carolina
This is the largest foreign car event in the Carolinas,
hosted on the grounds of the BMW plant. All
information to attend is located at the festival’s
website: www.euroautofestival.com. There you
will find the registration form if you want to show
your car, driving events, seminars, Fri. reception and
Sat banquet. The sooner you register the better your
chances are of being able to participate. In addition
to the Embassy Suites there are other hotels in the
area if you are staying over. Some are staying at the
Fairfield Inn - Airport.
The festival has expanded the number of rooms they
had blocked out at the host hotel, Embassy Suites
and virtually doubled the banquet space. We already
have 27 Mercedes registered to show with cars of all
types and vintages. If you are registering, be sure to
bring some chairs so you can sit by your car when
not out on the field looking at all the other cars. If
it is hot and sunny, which it was last year, it would
be good to bring a hat and some sun screen. Same
if you are just coming up for the day to view the
cars which will take most of the day, in addition to
visiting the open part of the BMW museum, vendors,
and Food Tents.
At this point I am looking to put together a
restaurant for dinner for those of us staying over on
Friday night. Please let me know by 9/23 if you
have an interest so I know how many to book.
[ PLEASE NOTE IMPORTANT DATES IN RED. ]
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 NOVEMBER
ilton Head Car Jamboree and Concours H
11/2 - 3. The Car Jamboree for car Clubs is
on Sat. 11/2. Information has been sent, so please
check your emails. There was some confusion on
registering as it seems some people running the
event were not talking to others. That now seems
to be resolved. We only have 10 spaces available,
so it is first come first served to register. Go to
www.hhconcours.com for information about
the event, hotels and tickets.
I am told this is a much improved event this year, having been moved to the Port Royal Golf Club,
similar to how the Amelia Island event is held in
Northern Florida.
W W W . M B C A C A R O L I N A S . O R G
To register to show your car at the Car Jamboree
on Sat. go to www.hhiconcours.com/events/
registration. Should you have any problem
registering please contact Bill Schmidt at
[email protected].
 DECEMBER
Annual Meeting and Christmas Dinner 12/14/2013. As you know we are returning to
the highly rated Historic Willcox Inn on December
14th by virtually unanimous vote of last years
attendees. I am meeting with the Willcox the
second week of October to finalize menus, prices,
and room rates and will send you a Mercedes
Christmas Reservation e-mail by the end of that
week so you can get your reservations in. We
are limited to 50 people due to room size. Roger
Levesque has again generously offered to provide
the Christmas music. The goal last year was to give
you a Mercedes grade event at VW prices and we
intend to do the same this year.
Some commented that due to travel they would
like to see more activities and I am working on
that. We will have the option of meeting around
lunch time, with an afternoon activity that will keep
your Christmas attire clean, before you head to
the dressy casual Willcox. 7
BY THE SEA (continued)
W W W . M B C A C A R O L I N A S . O R G
It was wine (beer, mimosas,
beer, soda and water), women
and song (plus some great
food) on the Inter-coastal
with 20 Mercedes parked out
front for the neighbors and
passing cars to drool over.
Plenty of convertibles with
4 to 12 cylinders (and a lot
of spark plugs!). The song
was graciously provided by
member Roger Levesque, who
took a lot of time out of his
own fun to entertain us with
keyboard music and song. The
food was prepared by Henry
and Katherine and their support
team. And boy did we get our
money’s worth! Members also
got stemless wine glasses with
the MBCA emblem to take home.
The weather could not have
been better. Some of us ate on
the patio but a maverick group
ate out on the dock over the
water. They claimed they were
setting up a separate Club,
but we quickly revoked their
Charter and tossed it in with the
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Photos compliments of Roger & Linda Levesque
corn husks! We got to do a lot
of socializing over the course
of the day and later some of us
did a corn toss with the boards
compliments of Mercedes in
Charleston. We voted for our
favorite car, a 190SL. At the
very end Member John Struhar
ran lessons on how to run MB
Command on his SLK. This
remains one of our most popular
events and for good reason.
Treasurer Roy Davis handled all
the paperwork and the funds.
And an extra thanks goes out to
all who helped the Durands set
up and clean up after the event.
Time to get serious.
In the last newsletter we outlined what it takes to run a growing successful Club in terms of staffing.
It is just not possible to continue running, creating events, and growing membership with a shoe string
staff as we have been. In the last Newsletter we listed all the positions and some of you indicated
some interest to get involved. We have a lot of talent and experience in our ranks. The last Newsletter
listed what is involved in each position. If you do not have it you can bring it up on our local website at
www.mbcacarolinas.org.
At this point we are asking you to cut and paste the form below and e-mail it back to me ASAP so we can
have everything in position in time for the Annual Meeting on Dec. 14th. You can apply for more than
one position. If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to e-mail me or Rick with them. Let’s
set an absolute dead line of 11/1 to get this back but obviously the sooner the better. Just do it while you
are thinking about it.
W W W . M B C A C A R O L I N A S . O R G
Name
E-Mail address
I would like to apply/volunteer for the position of:
Member ID #
 President
 Vice President
 Treasurer
 Secretary
 Newsletter Editor
 Event Chair
 Membership Chair
 Event helper
 New Member Ambassador (by area)
 Local Dealer Liaison
 Board Member (think tank)
 Advertising Rep.
Reason you want the position and any qualifications you want considered:
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CARS and DEALERS
We owe it to the dealers who
support us to support them.
We would like to especially
thank Skyland Mercedes of
Asheville, Mercedes of Charlotte,
Mercedes of Northlake, and
Mercedes of So. Charlotte for
their support of the Club this
year with both door prizes
and events at the their facility.
We look forward to building
stronger relationships with
others in our Section.
W W W . M B C A C A R O L I N A S . O R G
Rick Dieber purchased an ML350
this year from Northlake. I
brought a customer to Hendricks
and to So. Charlotte and
after our July 20th event Georgia Buys managed to get
me into an almost new E350
I saw on the showroom floor.
I am sure others reading this
can tell us about their recent
purchase at, or referral to, a
Mercedes Dealer. Please share
them and we will publish them
in an upcoming Newsletter. Have
a Mercedes you would like to
sell? You can list it free at the
MBCA website and in The Star.
If you want to mention it in our
Newsletter you can do that too.
WHAT ELSE is happening?
 See our last Reminder and Update e-mail dated 8/31 for
other local car show event information not listed in this
newsletter.
 Under “Latest News” on the MBCA National website
at www.MBCA.org you ‘ll find articles about the
“midlife” changes to the E-Class which does 25% of
Mercedes business, Mercedes becoming the new leader
in Consumer Satisfaction Index, an interview with
Mercedes/AMG new CEO and much more.
 You should have just received a mailing for the next
Mercedes raffle to win a new SL plus $26,000 cash
towards taxes. Have to enter to win and it only takes one.
 The MBCA Store has a Sale section going right now with
extra savings plus, if you havne’t gotten around to
ordering name badges for you and your associate
member, why not do it now. It only takes a few minutes.
 Traveling? Check out the events section to see events
going on throughout the Country.
More than a car, we’re a community. Get involved…thanks for reading…see you soon?
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