TAK this weekend past....................

[Jen and Don]

As Keith has mentioned, we really, really appreciate all the volunteers that keep the TAK on it's rails and help make it a success every time. It is a very important part of the clubs advancement as it brings so much awareness to what a great club we have. These events are not as easy to manage as some might think. We are dealing with individuals of all different skill levels, some take to it like they have sat in a kart multiple times, others appear to have never had a steering wheel in font of them ever. All of the volunteers have displayed so much patience in dealing with what could be considered a very fluid day. We had our share of damaged karts this weekend, I personally want to thank everyone that turned the wrenches (Mario and Dean as well as others) , to get the damaged karts right back out and available to the next group of TAK drivers. There is not a lot of down time for any of the volunteers on these days. (personally, a little rain delay is welcome by a lot of us so we can take a breath).

We can never have too many volunteers on each given day. If you have never volunteered for one of these, you should really try it. The attendee's are always making an effort to seek you out after their sessions are done to thank you for such a great experience and making their day a memory that they will always remember. Even better, is when they approach you months, maybe years later when they took the leap to join our club and are at the facility with their own kart! This happened just last week to me. A mother and son made an extended effort on a Thursday Test and Tune night , to introduce themselves to me again, saying two years ago they attended one of our TAK days, and wanted to show me their newly purchased Kart. They were glowing and it sure made me very gratified that the program made that much of an impact.

Kieth and Zoran need a very special shout out! They have been a very big spoke in the wheel that turns this program. And to Phil Haggerty, although he wasn't there Saturday due to his undying commitment to kart racing elsewhere, has put in countless hours , sleeping in his bunk among his Snap On tool collection, preparing for this weekend to make sure it ran as smooth as possible.

Bottom line. TAK is a lot of work! But the rewards and gratification that comes from it are worth every minute. Please try to do your part in keeping this program vibrant.

Don Gibson