Winter 2008

It was suggested to me recently by one of our members that we should consider a mission statement for our Chapter. The request piqued my interest, as I too believe it a good idea to have a clear statement of goals. I wasn’t certain, but I thought that something may have been established in the past and I decided to investigate by searching through the Chapter files.

As it turns out, the By-laws of the Ontario Chapter, which were written in 1998 at the time of our incorporation, do, in fact, include a statement of purpose. According to our Bylaws, “the purpose and goals of the Ontario Chapter shall parallel those of the National Corvette Restorers Society, Incorporated [i.e. our parent U.S. organization]. These are the preservation, restoration and enjoyment of Corvettes.” That sounded simple enough: we are to march along in concert with the national organization. But surely, I thought, there must be more! What is the national organization’s mission?

Still not satisfied, I checked whether I could find a clear statement of the parent organization’s purpose and goals. On the Home Page of the NCRS website, I found that “The NCRS is a non-profit hobby group dedicated to the restoration, preservation, history and enjoyment of Corvettes made from the model years 1953 to 1993.” But certainly, the fullest statement of the “Mission” was found in the Amended and Restated [National] By-laws, dated 11 March, 2000.

In that document, it states that “The club shall be both fraternal and educational so as to serve as a medium for the exchange of ideas, information, and automotive parts and accessories between members and admirers of the Chevrolet Corvette automobile within model years 1953 to 1982, or later model years as approved by the Board, to aid the members’ effort to preserve and restore the vehicles in their original, as-manufactured condition, and to encourage the preservation and study of printed technical and historical material .”

I am reasonably satisfied that we go about our affairs in the Ontario Chapter generally in keeping with the mission NCRS National has set out for us. But I think there is a glaring omission. Nowhere in National’s mission statement do I see a reference to either the judging of cars or the training of judges. Isn’t this a big deal to us in NCRS? Sure it is! Just look at Roy Sinor’s message in the most recent issue of the Restorer V34. No.3. He is certainly lamenting the apparent lack of qualified judges at the Chapter level and the apparent inability to judge many cars at Chapter events.

Well, it appears that we here in the Ontario Chapter are one step ahead on this issue and very much on the same page with Roy.

We plan to increase the number of trained Chapter members who are then confident enough to judge. Our Judging Chairman has put a great deal of effort into arranging for several judging schools to de-mystify the judging process in advance of our annual Chapter Meet. At these schools, members will not only view the judging training DVD’s prepared by National but practice judge real cars under the watchful eye of a trainer as well.

A number of our members attended the recent Judges’ Retreat in Dallas to elevate their skills. We appreciate their commitment to personal development, as it brings the Chapter senior judges to serve as mentors.

I believe we are on the right track. Already we have received expressions of interest in judging from members who have never done so before and this is very gratifying.

I hope you look forward, as I do, to what I expect to be a very good show at our Chapter Judging Meet in May.

Henry Jakubiec
Chapter Chairman

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