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From the Archives #22, February 2024

After a month of joblessness, here we go again back into the LVR’s past. BTW, the Prez let me go last month (actually, he fired me) in an attempt to reduce Newsletter costs as a result of some production problem with the Region’s newsletter. To get me back he had to TRIPLE my salary. 

And I bet you thought this was a volunteer job!

So let’s go back again, this time we’ll look at the year 1980. (IMHO the nadir of the dullest dozen years (1974-1986) in the automotive world, what with emission regulations, crash safety requirements, MPG requirements, digital computers still on the horizon, et al.) 

The Region announced the formation of a new car club in Las Vegas in January 1980… the SNRR, or Southern Nevada Road Racers. The SNRR’s first event was a “Club Race,” or a “Drivers’ School” according to two consecutive sentences in SNRR’s own report. It was held at the Las Vegas Speedrome (near the present Speedway). The LVR participated.

On the first lap of their first event, an over-eager young driver (name was withheld) driving a Formula Ford tangled with the guardrail. He wasn’t hurt, but the car truly was. The good news about that event was that LVR Plank-holder, Past-President, and current 1980 Sandscript Editor Carl Young won the Feature Race of the event.

I’ll keep an eye out while looking through the ensuing years to see how long the SNRR lasted.

Our club reported a Jan 1980 treasury balance of $2,115.57 ($7,723.94 today). Think about that… the present-day LVR is a much richer club than it used to be. It is also much larger now (in 1980, LVR had 65 members; today about 1,000).

The LVR Board discovered that the newsletter (Sandscript) was costing the club about $2,000 a year for printing and postage; it was the Region’s single biggest expense. In reaction, the board instituted a $5.00 per year subscription fee, due for 1980 by April 15^th, or you didn’t get the Newsletter anymore.

We don’t have a subscription fee now, but wait until the Board realizes my salary.