So now the offseason …

With the end of our brief 2020 ERCU Championship Series, presented by Pentair, it’s time to shift into the offseason.

As Robbie said during our last race, in Longview: “April will be here before we know it”.

There’s some work to do this winter, and I wanted to take a moment to thank a few people for all that got done this year, and to share some pride in our club.

First, I’d like to thank Kerry Kjos for his service to the ERCU Board of Directors. For the last four years, Kerry served as the scale inspector, and we’ve seen some really beautiful scale boats come through the club. His diligence to the scale appearance of boats, but flexibility to keep it from being rigorous has been appreciated. Kerry’s input on health and safety during this crazy year of 2020 has been valuable and helpful, as well, lending a perspective that was needed as we developed our Safe Start Plan to get a chance to race at all this year. Thank you, Kerry, for your service to the board and the members of ERCU.

Next, it’s time to introduce the new board of directors. Thanks to all 17 members who voted in our board election this year. I’m happy to share that Ron Daum and Robbie Roberts have won two-year terms on the board. This year, we’re also honored to add Bill Mowatt to the board, as he was also elected. The election also brought write in votes for Bill Smiley and Mick Shutt, which both deserve to be recognized as well.

In the coming days, the “old board” and the “new board” will meet via Zoom to assign officer positions, and to begin working on offseason issues for the club. We’ll be sure and communicate the time and login details for any and all ERCU Winter Meetings because we would love to have member participation from any and all who are interested in providing input and feedback to the board. Just so you know, some of the issues we’ll discuss include the November-January holdover period for registrations; possible motor rule changes (due to apparent shrinking availability of 3630-1500 motors, now that Dynamites are discontinued by ProBoats); possible bylaws changes, and whatever is of concern to the membership. Again, we’ll communicated with you all throughout the winter to make sure you’re all involved to the extent you’d like to be in what the club is working on.

Finally, we’ve finalized the 2020 ERCU Season Awards, which we’ll present at a date and time to be determined in the coming days. Due to the most recent ruling from the Governor on gatherings, it looks like we’ll have to pivot and do this year’s awards presentation virtually, so we’ll likely set up a Zoom Happy Hour to celebrate together. Sort of.

If you haven’t yet seen it, the final season points standings are posted on the “Statistics” page (click here for a shortcut). Many congrats to Vintage High Points Champion Gerry Bordon and his 1970 Parco’s O-Ring Miss; to Classic High Points Champion David Newton and his 1985 The Squire Shop; and to Modern High Points Champion David Newton. The Modern Boat High Points Champion is Harry Gatjens, who owns the 1985 Miss Budweiser (Bubble Bud) that Newton drove to the title this year.

Stay tuned. I’ll post more information about all of this very soon. Until then, enjoy your Thanksgiving and stay healthy and safe everyone!

-Nellie