IMPORTANT NOTICE: Changes and/or additions may occur between issues, so please check our website at http://www.mbcapeachtree.org/ to insure you have the latest information.

Volume 34 Number 1 February, 2013

Events 2013

continued on page 2

– NEXT EVENT –

Mercedes-Benz Club of AmericaPeachtree Section

Stars in Georgia

Tour of Coker Tire Company and Paper Clip ProjectSaturday, February 9, 2013

byJerry Bigelow, Doug Geganto, Event Planners

he Coker Tire Company, Chattanooga, TN, www.cokertire.com, has agreed to open for the Peachtree Section on Saturday, February 9, from 10:00 a.m. until

12:00 noon. Coker Tire is located at, 1317 Chestnut St Chattanooga, TN 37402. Our tour of Corky Coker’s museum will take us through several century-old buildings and other areas of interest. Throughout the tour you will learn about the history of the company and how Coker Tire became the largest supplier of vintage wheels and tires in the world. You can expect to see approximately 50 vintage motorcycles, roughly 70-75 cars/trucks, and two airplanes. Questions are encouraged and our tour guides will do their best to give you the answers. The tour is free. After the tour plans are in the works to have lunch at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo. After lunch, plans are to make the short 26 mile drive to Whitwell (Directions to Whitwell will be distributed to all attendees at Coker Tire), TN to tour the The Paper Clips Memorial. The Paper Clip Project: www.whitwellmiddleschool.org, is a project by middle school students from the Southeastern Tennessee town of Whitwell who created a memorial for the Holocaust victims in Nazi Germany. It started in 1998 as a simple 8th-grade project to teach students about the holocaust and then evolved into one gaining worldwide attention. At last count, over 30 million paper clips had been received. Find more details at the schools website orhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_Clips_Project . If you have a Netflix account you can view a documentary about the project, Paperclips. Our host to tour the memorial will be one of the teachers instrumental in the project, Sandra Roberts.An optional caravan to Coker’s will meet at the Applebee’s at Town Center off of Barrett Parkway and 575 North. Exit 575N and take the first exit, which is Barrett Parkway. Turn left and on the right across from McDonalds is the Applebee’s parking lot, less than one block. We should meet no later than 8:00AM and leave by 8:15AM. Caravan leader will be Jerry Bigelow. Cell phone 770-710-8955.All members attending the Coker tour must register online for the tour no later than January 31st. If past the deadline please contact Jim Mitchell to see if space is still available. Registration is very simple:1) Register by entering name, email and a password, at http://tours.cokertire.com

and then log in.

TFebruary 9 – Coker Tire Tour and Pa-per Clip Project: Plan to tour the facili-ties of Coker Tire, the largest supplier of vintage wheels and tires in the world, and private museum of motorcycles, cars and airplanes. Also visit the Paper Clip monu-ment to the Holocaust victims. See article in this issue.

March 8–10 – Amelia Island: Don’t miss one of the world’s finest Concours event. The Porsche 911 and the Ford GT 40 are this year’s featured marques. See article in this issue.

April 13 – Hills & Dales: Visit the Hills & Dales estate (family home of Fuller E Cal-laway) in downtown LaGrange. The estate is a beautiful Italian villa designed by the noted architects Hentz and Reid. See ar-ticle in this issue.

May 10–11 – Awesome Augusta: Join us for a tour of the Vogtle nuclear plant on Friday. On Saturday enjoy a non-judged car show at Mercedes-Benz of Augusta. Tour Augusta on board the Lady Liberty Trolley. For golfers, tee times on Saturday can be reserved to play on the only course designed by Nicklaus, Palmer, and Player. See article in this issue.

May 18–22 – StarTech 2013: All roads lead to StarTech 2013. Don’t miss this unique StarTech in Birmingham, Alabama. The Alabama Mercedes-Benz plant will be our host and there will be tours of the fac-tory. There will be something for everyone in the family to enjoy. See article and ad in this issue.

Watch future issues for the following events in 2013:

Member Appreciation Events Tech Sessions Rallies and Scenic Drives Concours d’Elegance Hilton Head Concours Holiday Party

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Coker Tire continued from page 1

View Through The Starby

Jim Mitchell, Section President

happy Peachtree New Year to everyone! The View Through the Star has significantly changed and the holiday

season has been more hectic than usual for Mary Jo and me. We finally sold our Alpharetta house on December 7th and moved to a temporary rental house in Fletcher, North Caro-lina, just south of Asheville. This move to this area has been in our plans for a long time, it just took a lot longer than we imagined. We are very actively shopping for a permanent place here in the Smokey Mountains. While I will continue to serve as your Peachtree MBCA president, we will probably be limited in the number of club events that we can attend. The Amelia Island event is definitely on our agenda and I hope many of you will join us for one of the best classic car shows in the world. If you do plan to attend the show, be sure to set aside Saturday night to join fellow MBCA members from all over the country for dinner at the Crab Trap Restaurant in downtown Fernandina Beach. Details on this event as well as many others on the Peachtree agenda can be found else-where in this newsletter. It’s encouraging to see several newer club members step for-ward and agree to help with planning and organizing events for the coming year. The club’s new Vice President/event or-ganizer, Charles Burrage will keep us all up to date by regu-larly publishing an evolving event calendar. Please take a look at what is scheduled and put at least a couple of events on your personal calendar. If you see something of inter-est, feel free to contact any of the board members or event planners with questions and offers to help out. However you participate, your contributions represent the backbone of the club and offer you the opportunity to meet new people, make new friends and enjoy your four wheel toy. Isn’t that what it’s all about? The difficult part of moving out of state is knowing that we won’t be seeing our Peachtree friends as often as we would like. However, we will stay active in Peachtree MBCA there as well as here locally and you should look for a future event that

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Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance March 8-10, 2013

byDaryl K Williams, Event Planner

s January ends most of us are wishing for the warmer weather and Spring. If you head to Amelia Island, Florida

in early March, you can declare winter over and claim an early spring.The annual Concours d’Elegance on the 10th and 18th fair-ways of the Golf Course of Amelia Island at Summer Beach and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is considered one of the best auto-motive events in the world. The collection of nearly 250 of the finest cars from collections all over the world will be shown. This year the featured marques will be Porsche 911, Ford GT 40 and the cars of Harry Miller. Harry Miller was a race car de-signer whose cars won nine Indy 500’s in the 20s and 30’s.It’s a grand time to be on Amelia Island, so be sure to book hotel rooms as early as possible. Lodging typically becomes sold out as the event nears. If you are willing to drive a little there are usually rooms available in Jacksonville. Tickets are now available on-line for the Concours, buy them early to save money. We will have a dinner the evening of Saturday, March 9th and once again we plan to hold this at the very popular Crab Trap. In past years we have hosted numerous guests from other sections and we once again expect to have the privilege of spending time with Mercedes-Benz owners from other parts of the country. Last year we had 68 people from 15 sections there, but had to turn 12 people away because of room ca-pacity, so this year the Crap Trap has agreed to allow us to have the larger room. However, if our registrations do not ma-terialize in time, they may move us back to the smaller room. I recommend early registration to assure a seat at the table. We will register from 5:30 to 6:00PM and place our order from the special menu and dinner will be served at 6:30PM. Our selections will include: your choice of Shrimp, Fresh Fish, Chicken or Sirloin, and your choice of baked potato, batter fries, sweet potatoes, or cheese grits, and a slice of key lime pie. Non-alcoholic beverages are included. Alcoholic bever-ages will be available for purchase.Since 1996, the show’s Foundation has donated nearly $1.8 million to Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Inc. and other deserving charities on Florida’s First Coast. The 18th annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is scheduledfor March 8-10, 2013. For more information, please visitwww.ameliaconcours.org or call 904-636-0027.Go to the Peach Page and register for dinner at the Crab trap now! Questions? Contact Daryl Williams at 678-425-5171 or e-mail dwilli3038@aol.com

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2) Click “Join a Tour” on the left side of the screen. 3) The Mercedes Club is already listed. Just click to join the

tour.If you have any problems registering, you can e-mail Raime Brown at raimeb@coker.com and she will register you for the up-coming event.Coker’s is on 1317 Chestnut Street in Chattanooga. Direction are: I-75 North to Chattanooga, once you enter Tennessee, merge left onto I-24W toward Nashville. Take Exit #1 US 27N for Main Street West and follow this to Chestnut, Right on Chestnut and Coker will be on the left. For questions, please contact Jim Mitchell at (678) 366-3543, or by e-mail: jrs190sl@yahoo.com

includes the Carolina Section and the Asheville area. Think Blue Ridge Parkway, the Biltmore Estate, Mount Pisgah and … ??? It’s a Mercedes-Benz kind of day, get out and enjoy.

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November and December 2012

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WelcomeNew Peachtree Section Members

byDaryl K. Williams, Membership Director

lease join me in welcoming the 15 new MBCA Peachtree Section members! To you new members, I

look forward to meeting you all at one of the club’s many events. Those events include driving, socializing and technical/restoration themes. Take a look elsewhere in this newsletter to see what is up coming and join other members for a good time and a chance to make new friends. Jean and I have made many new friends during our years in the club and to me that is the most important benefit of membership. In addition check out these added benefits that make your membership valuable:

Get a $1,000 off of a NEW or Leased 2013 or 2014 (when available) Mercedes-Benz vehicle after 12 consecutive months of Club membership. See ad in this newsletter.

Michael BalkDoug ChaffinsAlexander DoerrGary GernattDoug KeltzSowmya PashamGregory RobinsonMarkham White

Derrek BeavorPatti CrimensJohn FranciscoWilliams GryboskiKaren LuckfieldDavid PhelpsWilliam Thomas

10-20% off parts and service from many dealers 15% off parts from the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in

Irvine, CA. Worldwide rental savings from Avis® and Hertz®. 60% off

Allied Van Lines out-of-state moves Visa Platinum Rewards Card (customize the Card with a

photo of your car) A subscription to our award-winning magazine, The

Star®

Free classifieds in The Star® and on-line Free advice from some of the world’s most experienced

Mercedes-Benz owners and enthusiasts at www.mbca.org.

Unique apparel, accessories, gear and gifts from our expanded Club Store

Member-only access to unique drives, rallies and special events

Plus … raffles, trips to Germany and more The Peachtree Section’s newsletter, Stars In Georgia

will come to you six times per yearPlease join me in thanking the Peachtree members that our new members credited for their decision to join.

Bill White Joe Carey Tommy Couch

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Hills & DalesApril 13, 2013, LaGrange, GA

byDave Fischer, Event Planner

ome to LaGrange, Georgia on Saturday, April 13, 2013 to discover Hills & Dales Estate. The Hills & Dales

Estate sits on a gently rolling hill in downtown L a G r a n g e . T h e centerpiece of the estate is a beautiful Italian villa designed by the noted architects Hentz and Reid for textile magnet Fuller E Callaway, Sr. Completed in 1916; the home blends with mid 19th century boxwood gardens.We will divide in groups to take a guided tour of the first, second,

a n d t h i r d floors of the home. Please Note: Touring t h e h o u s e r e q u i r e s n a v i g a t i n g s ta i rs . The

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groups will also have time for a guided walk of the historic Ferrell Gardens parts of which have been cultivated for over 175 years,An included catered box lunch with beverage will be enjoyed at the Hills & Dales visitor center where there are also displays and a film presentation. Dining will be in the Great Room, or weather permitting on the visitor center terrace. Attendees have the option of meeting at the estate for the day’s events at 10:00 am or meeting that morning at Deer Lick Park in Douglasville for a back roads scenic caravan to Hills & Dales. Specific driving directions will be provided at the park that morning. Please plan for an 8:00am departure from Deer Lick Park. Deer Lick Park2105 Mack RoadDouglasville, GA 30135For more information driving direction to Hills & Dales Estate, visit there website at: http://hillsanddales.orgThere will be a $25/per person fee that includes lunch. Please go to the Peach Page in this newsletter and send in your registration so that we can plan appropriately! Questions? Please contact event planner Dave Fischer by phone (706) 884-2800, or by e-mail dave303ann@gmail.com

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www.mymercedesplace.com4345 GA Hwy. 400

Cumming, GA. 30028

Awesome Augusta May 10-11, 2013

byAl Farlow and Daryl Williams, Event Planners

ay 10 and 11, 2013 you will have another opportunity for an Awesome Augusta event. Friday afternoon we

will have the opportunity to tour the Vogtle nuclear plant. Friday evening there will be a buffet style dinner at The Champions Retreat. http://championsretreat.net/. For those who do not live close to Augusta and for those in the area that are looking for a night away from home, we will be able to stay at the Cottages

or Bungalows at the retreat for only $125. For those who wish, Saturday tee times can be reserved at the only course designed

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by Nicklaus, Palmer and Player. On Saturday, there will be a tour of Augusta on board the Lady Liberty Trolley. You will tour the Augusta Museum of History a n d e x p l o r e Augusta’s journey through time. You will see fascinating exhibits such as Celebrating a Grand Tradition, the Sport of Golf, an exhibit dedicated to the Godfather of Soul, Mr. James Brown and much more including Augusta’s Historic Downtown. You will see historic homes, hear about the bones in the basement of the Medical College of Georgia, see where a President lived as a boy, get a glimpse of the Augusta Canal, and hear the legend of the famous Haunted Pillar! And that’s not all! Additionally on Saturday, you will be able to enjoy the wonderful hospitality of Mercedes-Benz of Augusta and enjoy the beauty of each other’s Mercedes-Benz automobiles with a non-judged car show. Details are currently being finalized, so watch for the next newsletter. Some of the activities have limited attendee sizes so when details are available you will want to sign up early.For further details or questions, please contact Daryl Williams at 678-425-5171 or by e-mail dwilli3038@aol.com

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StarTech 2013The Journey is Part of the Fun

May 18-22, 2013by

James Roberts DMD, StarTech 2013,Co-Chair and Alabama Section President

ince our “Star Trek” from the MBUSI factory in Alabama to Winchester, Virginia for StarFest® 2010

we have had requests for a repeat trip. With StarTech 2013 this could be done in the reverse direction for those attending from the Northeast.We are also laying out interesting drives from all directions to this little known area. Details will be posted on our website http://startech.mbca.org. So plan for an extra day or two to enjoy the journey.We understand that journalists will be joining several of the groups that are making drives. The Alabama Section will detail the last part of each group’s trip with detailed instructions as you enter our borders. Alabama Section could be somewhat misleading, since the Florida panhandle from east of Tallahassee to Pensacola as well as the coastal and southeastern part of Mississippi is part of the Alabama Section.Driving routes that all lead to StarTech are:► Those arriving from the northeast will be able to follow the

Appalachian Mountains or drop down to parallel interstates. The Blue Ridge Parkway follows the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains from the Shenandoah National Park near Charlottesville, VA to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee.

► The infamous “Tail of the Dragon” puts you near Chattanooga, Tennessee. From there is an equally dramatic road in northeast Alabama along the longest canyon east of the Rocky Mountains that is less traveled and twice as long.

► Those arriving from the east via Atlanta will be able to drive another challenging scenic and lightly traveled mountain road in Eastern Alabama that brings you to the famous Talladega Superspeedway and Motorsports Hall of Fame Museum.

► Those driving from the Florida Peninsula will be directed to Wakula Springs near Tallahassee. They will be treated to lunch, a safety inspection, and a car wash at Mercedes-Benz of Dothan (Alabama) before a lovely drive to the antebellum jewel of Eufaula on the Chattahoochee River and dramatic Providence Canyon just across the river in Georgia.

► Participants form the southwest via I-10 will want to stop at Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ home, Beauvoir in Biloxi, MS. Just across the Alabama line, Bellengrath Gardens south of Mobile is a must for its flowering plants.

► Mobile was founded in 1701 and part of the original French Fort Condé and its surrounding neighborhood take you

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back 250 years. Just across Mobile Bay the charming bayside “art” towns of Daphne and Fairhope entice you to linger, but you must arrive at the five-star Grand Hotel at Point Clear in time for dinner.

► Twenty-one miles of the Alabama Gulf Coast with its snowy white sands are part of the Gulf National Seashore Park west of Gulf Shores. Twenty miles east toward and into Florida the white sands of the Emerald Coast continue 150 more miles all the way to Panama City.

► From due west via I-20 Natchez, MS on the mighty river has the largest grouping of intact antebellum (pre Civil War) palatial homes in the entire Southeast. This visit is then crowned by a drive back to Jackson, MS via the historic Natchez Trace Parkway. This diversion is worth an extra day.

► From Memphis there is a new Interstate 22 (US 78) that will connect with I-65 in Birmingham by the end of the year. There is a worthwhile car museum in Tupelo, Miss that starts with an 1886 Benz. The rugged area in northwest Alabama has the longest natural bridge east of the Rockies.

► From the Midwest your route passes through Nashville, Tennessee. You may want to visit the Opryland complex, if you are a country music fan. The Lane Museum is a must for seeing their collection of the most unusual cars ever made. There is also a full-scale replica of the Parthenon that is also worth a visit.

The U.S. Space & Rocket Center & N.A.S.A in Huntsville, Alabama will be a featured part of Heimatfest/StarTech 2013. Try to arrive by 10 am or at least by 1 pm on Saturday, May 18th for the special MBCA tours of this world-class facility.Of course, StarTech 2013 will have multiple technical seminars by nationally recognized experts as well as some surprising locals that you may not be familiar with. These will take place in the Mercedes-Benz US International Training Center adjacent to the factory.Naturally we will have very special visits to the Mercedes-Benz factory, which is currently being expanded to add North American production for the next C-class in 2014 to its present production of all the ML, GL, and R classes for the entire world. There will be a special homecoming for those who bring these vehicles.We will also have a welcome reception on Sunday, May 19th in the fabulous Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum with its 1,700 meticulously restored motorcycles and 60 Lotus racing cars (each is the world’s largest collection). Of course, the motorcycle collection begins with an 1885 Daimler “Person Transport”.There will be addresses by ranking MBUSA officials who like to give us “teasers” of future models. Our main banquet will feature both MBUSA and MBUSI officials.There will be a farewell reception on Tuesday, May 21st after all of our participants have completed their factory tours. If we have more than can visit by Tuesday, MBUSI has graciously agreed to continue the tours Wednesday.See you there! This is a StarTech not to be missed.

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Peachtree Section Holiday Luncheon

byErnie Smallman, Event Planner

ixty-three attendees enjoyed a steak and Alaskan Salmon lunch prepared to perfection by Chef Pierto of Pricci’s

in Buckhead. Recognition was accorded to past President Daryl Williams for his successful second tenure as President of the Peachtree Section and incoming President Jim Mitchell received the prestigious Jim Pertain memorial award. The Partrain award is presented to the member who did the most in the past year to promote membership retention and devel-op new members. Jim did an outstanding job as Membership Chairman in 2011-2012.The program consisted of a spirited quiz of well to little known facts about our loyal advertisers businesses with member at-tendees who had the closest response receiving a Chick-fi l-A gift card. Twenty-four questions were addressed by the at-tendees that ranged from obscure to obvious. Butler Tire gra-ciously provided gift cards to all attendees good for a $50 dis-count on the purchase of four tires from Butler. My Mercedes Place donated three $50 gift cards toward service from their

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fi rm for attendees with the correct response to questions about their business. Bud’s donated twelve coffee cups that were awarded to loyal Bud’s clients in attendance.Special recognition was given to Jo Helper, widow of re-cently deceased former President Dick Helper and to Treva Hagstrom, widow of past president and long-time advertis-ing director Gary Hagstrom in the form of a dozen red roses to each lady after platitudes of their late husband’s achieve-ments in the Peachtree Section. Vice President Charles Bur-rage addressed upcoming club events.

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Stars in Georgia is the official Newsletter of the Peachtree Section, Mercedes-Benz Club of America. Publication months are February, April, June, August, October, and December. Publication deadline for material submission is the first day of the month preceding the month of publication. All material for publication should be sent to Diana Quinn, Editor, 442 Chowning Place, NW, Marietta, GA 30064-1404, phone (770) 635-8112, e-mail dianaquinn@me.com

Fall 2012 National Board Meeting Report

byWilliam West Hopper, MBCA Eastern Regional Director

BCA help its annual Members Meeting and Fall 2012 National Board Meeting in Reno, Nevada on Nov-

ember 2 and 3, 2012 to discuss the important topics involv-ing the operation of the club. MBCA Financials through Sep-tember were presented, showing the club in the black, with a growing membership, while expenses are being tightly con-trolled. The 2013 Budget was passed after lengthy debate by the entire National Board. It was approved with cost cutting and programs for enhanced revenue being put in place for next year.Doug Truitt, MBCA Executive Director reported that the Na-tional Business Office (NBO) had few problems or complaints with the membership dues increase. Highlights for the year are: A new iPhone app released this fall and a Droid app com-ing this winter. They allow members to access the MBCA.org website via wireless devices allowing users to connect to sec-tions and be aware of local events near them that are listed on the site. MBCA members now have access to the German M-B Museum’s online lounge, and that the Star Magazine won 12 awards for excellence in 2012. Lisa Juhl, Director of Marketing, reported that the member-ship initiatives are taking hold with 20,066 members on the books as of the beginning of November. Social media market-ing tests have proved to be successful, bringing new mem-bers into the club, as well as the efforts of members that are taking place in the 86 sections around the country. M-B deal-ers still tend to be the largest source of new members for the club, followed closely by the personal invitations extended by members.The Concours Committee announced that in 2012 the W113 Pagoda SL and the 600 Limousine will be highlighted, as it is the 50th Anniversary for each model. Interest in Concours d’Elegance events continue to grow with more sections hold-ing Concours Judging Schools and events. MBCA members are being invited and are participating in the larger well-know events around the country, which brings a higher level of attention to our club. Concours of America at St. Johns, in Michigan, continues to be the only nationally recognized Concours event where MBCA is the sole car club with a pres-ence on the field. The success of Legends of the Autobahn, held just before Pebble Beach in California has grown to be a major event on the west coast to highlight Mercedes-Benz automobiles.Members are applying for MBCA’s Silver Star recognition program for classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles at an increasing rate. This is being encouraged to be a part of MBCA Concours events around the country. Sections are encouraged to work with their Regional Directors to set up the chance for recogni-tion for Silver Star Awards at events.The MBCA Newsletter Committee awarded three awards: the Best of the Best went to the Kansas City Section for its on-

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continued on page 13

Peachtree Section, MBCAOfficers and Board of Directors

and Leadership Support MembersStars in Georgia is the newsletter of the Peachtree Section, Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Inc.

Peachtree Section Newsletter Editor: Diana Quinn, dianaquinn@me.com

President: Jim Mitchell, jrs190sl@yahoo.com

Vice-President: Charles Burrage,charles.burrage@getingeusa.com

Secretary: Philip King, pkingair1@yahoo.com

Treasurer: Dan Marlowe, danmarlowe@bellsouth.net

Directors:Jerry Troff, jtroff@mindspring.com

Roger McKissick (Past President), ram1942@bellsouth.net

James Miller, millerthyme3@charter.net

Ernest Smallman, III (Past President), esmallman3@mindspring.com

Claude “Sandy” Thomas, mooney201@gmail.com

Harold Wilson (Past President), rhwilson_30257@yahoo.com

Membership Director: Daryl Williams (Immediate Past President), dwilli3038@aol.com

Technical Director: Mark Richey, carcare@windstream.net

Webmaster: Ken Jarrett (Past President), jarrett@iotis.org

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Fall 2012 National Board Meeting continued from page 12

line newsletter that is put out weekly. The Portland Section received the Best Print Award and the New York-Long Island Section received the best for an on-line newsletter.The National Events Committee reported that it is reviewing and remodeling the club’s national event guidelines in re-sponse to member requests that events be shorter in duration and have fewer competitive driving events. The committee still wants to make sure that driving, technical, Concours and social are a part of all national events and will continue work-ing on plans for future events.StarTech is the only national event scheduled for 2013. Three special national events have been approved: Legends of the Autobahn, Lake Eire Circle Tour, and MBCA’s participation in Concours of America. Events held in the past like StarFest, Tri-O-Rama, and Western Caravan, are on hold until new rules and programing are approved. Sections are encour-aged to work with their Regional Director to come up with regional events that could infl uence the future of the MBCA National Events programming.StarFest 2012 was an overwhelming success with in excess of 350 attendees participating. Held at the Arizona Biltmore, the Concours was picturesque, though track events at Fire-bird Raceway garnered fewer than 50 drivers, all of whom enthusiastically enjoyed driving that track. Other events that took place during StarFest, such as the MBCA Leadership Committee’s Leadership Share Shops and The MBCA Edu-cational Foundation held its inaugural teen driving school, Safe Drivers, Safe Families. MBCA EF is looking to expand this program around the country. They plan on holding one at StarTech 2013, and the Greater Washington Section has extended an invitation to them to hold one in the Eastern Re-gion in 2013.Regional Directors met and requested that the NBO work more cooperatively with sections and members including them in the process as opposed to operating independently of them. The Board discussed the dissolution of the dormant Alamo Section in San Antonio TX as the Texas Hill Country Section has been established. It was decided to give notice to Alamo Section Members that the section was being elimi-nated and memberships would be transferred to a section of their choice.The Board installed new South Central Regional Director Gene Jurick to replace Charles Boyd who stepped down, Bill Denton as Director-At-Large has started the process to fi nd a replacement for his Regional Director position. New MBCA Executive Offi cers were elected: Steve Dierks (Pikes Peak Section) as President, Greg Magnus (Central Virginia Section) as Vice-President, Terry Kiwala (Western Reserve Section) Treasurer, and Mary Alice Cozza (Western Reserve Section) as Secretary.The meeting was ended with a dinner where it was announced that the Pike’s Peak Section received the Section of the Year Award for 2012.

2014 E-Class Coupe and CabrioletDriving pleasure at the highest level:

Passionate, sporty, intelligentJanuary 04, 2013 - MONTVALE, N.J. Mercedes-Benz has restyled the Coupe and Cabriolet mem-bers of the E-Class family for the 2014 model year. The bold new styling is combined with sophisticated new assistance systems which are part of Mercedes-Benz “intelligent drive.” These new systems include technology that can help pre-vent accidents with crossing vehicles or pedestrians as well as an enhanced version of Active Lane Keeping Assist. Vi-sually, Coupe and Cabriolet have been brought in line with the new Mercedes-Benz design idiom. These models also feature exclusive, luxurious appointments for refi ned driving, which are hallmarks of the entire E-Class family. The 2014 E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet go on sale in the U.S. in Sum-mer 2013.The classic Coupe and the four-seat Cabriolet versions of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class are among the most coveted ve-hicles in the premium medium-size segment. With intelligent and effi cient technology as well as luxurious and comfortable appointments, both are uncompromisingly designed for pas-sionate driving enjoyment. They are therefore regarded as emotionally appealing highlights of the successful E-Class family. Both on the outside and inside the design is fresh, sharpened and so ideally refl ects the many new technical features.Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing Mercedes- Benz Cars: “Three words suffi ce to very briefl y characterize the Coupe and the four-seater Cabriolet: stunning, athletic, passionate. Especially gratifying is that both cars also offer the most intelligent engineering that cur-rently can be had. This makes both of them genuine dream cars.”

THE PEACH PAGE

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AMELIA ISLAND CONCOURS DINNER - CRAB TRAP - MARCH 9, 2013

Name(s) of Member(s) Attending: __________________________________________________________________________

Name(s) of Guests(s) Attending ___________________________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: ________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone: __________________________ E-mail: ___________________________Membership #: ____________________

Total amount enclosed (37.50 per attendee): $__________________(alcohol excluded)

Registration Deadline: February 18, 2013. Please make checks payable to Peachtree Section, MBCA. Mail with Peach Pageregistration form to: Daryl K. Williams, 834 Dusky Sap Ct., Griffin, GA 30223. Any questions: Call Daryl Williams @ 678-425-5171 or e-mail dwilli3038@aol.com

HILLS & DALES ESTATE - SATURDAY, APRIL 13, 2013 - LAGRANGE, GA - 10:00 A.M.

Name(s) of Member(s) Attending: __________________________________________________________________________

Name(s) of Guests(s) Attending ___________________________________________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________________________________________________________

City, State, Zip: ________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone: __________________________ E-mail: ___________________________Membership #: ____________________

Total amount enclosed (25.00 per attendee): $__________________

Lunch Choices (please specify number of each):

–––––––– Option A Chicken Salad with cranberries on a croissant with greens, pasta salad

–––––––– Option B Chicken Salad with cranberries on greens, pasta salad

–––––––– Option C Pimento Cheese sandwich on assorted breads, broccoli and grape salad

Registration Deadline: April 7, 2013. Please make checks payable to Peachtree Section, MBCA. Mail with Peach Pageregistration form to: Dave Fisher, 303 Ivydale Drive, LaGrange, GA 30240. Any questions: Call Dave Fisher @ 706-884-2800 or e-mail dave303ann@gmail.com

FEBRUARY

THE PEACH PAGE

Name badges are available from the MBCA Club Store in three types of backing (magnetic, safety pin, or tie tack) and can be ordered in blue, silver or gold. Costs range from $9.75 for two lines to $10.75 for three lines (25 characters maximum p/line), You may order by completing & mailing this order sheet (see address below), or you may order through the MBCA website by going to www.mbca.org and choose Club Store from the main menu, choose Membership and Office Items / Section Events from the next window, scroll down to the desired name badge and make your selection. Please send ______ name badge(s).

Specify type of backing: ______ Magnetic ______ Safety Pin

_____Tie Tack

Specify color: ____ Blue ____ Silver ____ Gold

NAME: __________________________________________________ Peachtree Section, MBCA

NAME: __________________________________________________ Peachtree Section, MBCA

NAME: __________________________________________________ Peachtree Section, MBCA

NAME: __________________________________________________ Peachtree Section, MBCA

NAME: __________________________________________________ Peachtree Section, MBCA

NAME: __________________________________________________ Peachtree Section, MBCA

Please mail to:

Name: ___________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________

City/State/Zip: ____________________________________________

MBCA NAME BADGES

Enclose appropriate dollar amount and mail with this application to:

MBCA1907 Lelarary StreetColorado Springs, CO 80909

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MBCA Membership ApplicationPlease print clearly

________________________________________________________Full name

________________________________________________________Associate member (spouse or dependent)

________________________________________________________Address

________________________________________________________City State Zip

( _______ ) _________________ ( _______) _________________Home phone Business phone

________________________________________________________Occupation

________________________________________________________Mercedes-Benz cars now owned (model/year, list additional cars else-where)

New Member or L Renewing Member (check one)

If renewing, member number: ________________________________

Interests: please check driving events car shows social events car care technical The Star

Enroll me as a member for (check one):

U.S. and possessions: 1 year ($49) 2 years ($95) 3 years ($139)

Make check payable to MBCA (U.S. funds only); Visa orMastercard also accepted.

All other countries (including Canada): 1 year ($59) 2 years ($115) 3 years ($169)

Canadians and overseas:: use Visa, Mastercard, or Ameri-can Express, Discover, international money orders, or checks payable in U.S. funds.

________________________________________________________Applicant’s signature Date

________________________________________________________Applicant’s section preference (see list in magazine)

________________________________________________________Sponsor’s signature and member number (optional)

Membership dues include six issues of The Star magazineyearly. If using a credit card, please complete the following:

Visa Mastercard Am. Express Discover

__________________________________________________ _______________Account number Expiration Date

www.mbca.org or 800-637-2360MBCA, 1907 Lelaray St., Colorado Springs, CO 80909-2872719/633-6427, Monday-Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM Mountain Time

MBCA - Peachtree Section442 Chowning PL NWMarietta, GA 30064