09/18/2020
"Hi again, Boys and Girls! Today I want to talk about the monthly social gatherings that we have come to call "Cars and Coffee". I'm pretty sure there are C&C meetings now in every major city in the US, but how many have 2002 Cars and Coffee meets? Every major city should have one!
I've been contacted by a couple of 2002 Chapter members who would like to start having Cars and Coffees in their towns---curiously one in Florida and one in Oregon/Washington. I'm going to relate our local Texas story as an example of how it can be done.
Just a few years ago, one of our local 2002 nuts, Greg Resa, decided that Austin needed its own 2002 Cars and Coffee. We had other big and all-inclusive C&Cs but Greg wanted something more personal and special. He talked to every other 02 owner that he knew or that he came across and they met one weekend morning in a parking lot. Initially there were only a few cars, but great spirit. He continued recruiting at every opportunity---chasing cars down on the street, posting notices on Facebook 02 groups and 2002FAQ. He found more interested 02 owners. Meetings got bigger. He approached Austin BMW shops and got some of them to do further email notices to their 2002 customers. Now, maybe 3 years later, we commonly have 15-25 cars every month---sometimes from 100-200 miles away! Strong friendships have been formed.
We now have about 200 members in the 2002 Forever Chapter of the BMW CCA. That sounds like a lot, but it's really a drop in the bucket compared to the number of cars out there. When I look at the zip codes of members I am struck by how separated we really are---200 members is an average of 4 per state! Austin has only about a half dozen official members, but we get 15-25 cars every month at our Cars and Coffee. Lots of recruiting still to do!
So…to those of you with the gumption to get these meeting started---get out there! I can supply a few member leads to help, but I think you'll find that there are about 10 times that many cars hiding out there around you
We will be calling individuals who organize Cars and Coffees 'Zone Governors' ---a title intended to honor their dedication! If you know of existing BMW 2002 of BMW Vintage Cars and Coffee events, please let me know about both the meeting schedule and the organizer(s). I also want to list all regular [or irregular] 2002 gatherings on our chapter website.
Thanks, Terry"
