A clip from tonite's unveiling of the Ferrari F12 at FMoQ [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV_vpTBLIgo[/ame]
Thank you for the invitation Bernie...a really great event! Great food, great friends, new friends, nice eye candy and truly FMOQ are a super classy organization! Oh, and yeah, almost forgot: that F12 is not bad either. I may need to shuffle a few things around before I can order one, Lol!!!
Bernie, I spoke with FMoQ and I was told you were supposed to invite regular club members. What happened? I am dropped big buck at FMoQ plus I am a member of the club. I have placed a few calls to other members and was told they were not invited.
Guys, not sure about all the details but I think Bernie was personally allowed to bring 1 guest and since I missed the tech session as well as the GP party last year, I think he did me a favor. Most of the FCA guys I saw there seemed to be legitimate FMOQ customers but I don't know for sure.
Fab, you may be right however I would like Bernie (President) to confirm that. I have spoken with other members of the club that also say they were not invited. I could also say this, I myself is a legitimate FCA member who also is a legitimate Ferrari Maserati Québec guy. At my age I have no one to impress and no accountability to anyone, I am a simple guy. Since Ferrari Maserati Québec also monitors this forum I will allow them and Bernie (President, FCA Chapter QC) for a clear explanation. In life regardless of what we do optics is everything.
For the record: Yes, FMoQ asked us (us being my events director, and myself) to forward their invite to our regulars. It was my understanding that perhaps FMoQ wanted to limit the number of participants, seeing that it was their event. So (with my events director) we jotted down the names of the members who we see on a regular basis, and forwarded them the invites. Looking back, it was an oversight on my part. Perhaps I should have said "either all of the members are invited, or none" Perhaps I should have consulted my membership list and not done it off the top of my head? I'll take the blame for that. BTW, Schumy was allowed one mistake per season. Well then, this is my one mistake for 2013.
Do we have a "selected few" in our club? NO! But there are guys that are actively involved in the club. They come out, they participate regularly and have formed friendships that transcend the FCA. I call it "the circle", and it's open to anyone who wants to be part of it. All you have to do is come out and play.
I'd like to add to that, if I brought Fabrizio along as my guest, it was in the spirit of nurturing the rapport/friendship that I have formed with him recently. For those who don't know, I've been working for a few years at trying to bring the "other" F-car club onto the same page as the FCA. Fabrizio is part of that fabric and is also working towards the same goal.
Hello Bernie, Your first answer was understandable. You clearly indicated it would not happen again. It should have ended there! Now you are insulting my intelligence by saying, ``they come out, they participate regularly and have formed friendships that transcend the FCA. I call it "the circle", and it's open to anyone who wants to be part of it. All you have to do is come out and play. Now you are saying there are different classifications within the club. I reviewed the rules within the FCA and there is no mention of segregation. I would like to be invited at the next FCA board meeting. I am sure Ferrari Maserati Québec will stay out of this however I will speak with A QUI DE DROIT at the dealership live next week. There is enough segregation in this province and I will not tolerate it within this organization. For those of you who might be wondering, who the hell does this guy think he is by talking in this manner, I simply invite you to call me at 514-961-2572. I will be more than happy to explain live what I think .. Nick
Nick, I'm not insulting your intelligence. I'm sorry if you perceive it like that. How you see my comments of "asking people to be active members" as insulting is beyond me. All I'm saying is that if people want to fully enjoy the FCA/Ferrari experience, they need to come to the events. Yes, come out and play!!!
Hi Nick, as VP of the club, I concur with Bernie about members participating in events. This club is our circle and our job is to promote active participation . There is no segregation , all are welcome to participate as much as they can. I know we all live busy lives and work very hard and being an owner and club member is a testament to that. Having said that , I hope to see you and all other members this coming season as we will have plenty of opportunities to participate at some great events coming up... The unveiling of the F-12 was a dealer event , not a club event. I cannot confirm how the invitation process worked, so I cannot comment. Some of the newer members or even clients of FMoQ may sometimes fall between the cracks in the beginning and it's only normal. It's even happened to me... Don't let this little mishap be a cause for unnecessary animosity. We have an opening dinner coming up and it will be the perfect opportunity for new and old members to meet. Remember, this club is about one thing, sharing the passion and living the dream of Ferrari that we are so privileged in doing. And along with that also comes the social responsibility of paying it forward, ie: fund raisers, the Dream Drive etc... This is what our circle is and we invite you and all other new members of the Quebec chapter to join in. I say this with the outmost respect and I hope it tones down the hard feelings any of you may have. Don't judge Bernie for this... Best regards, Lino Sorella
Thanks Lino S., I would not expect you or anyone else in the elected positions to contradict each other. I will speak live at the next meeting. I know what Ferrari Maserati QC told me. Yes I absolutely have problems with the circle. Nick D with the upmost respect!
As a very involved person and member in several car clubs as well as the guy who runs the Montreal Fiat Club's day-to-day, I will give an opinion here: -I agree that some or most FCA events should be "all or nothing" In other words, you invite no one or invite everyone. -This was not an FCA event, it was an FMOQ event. If FMOQ mandated Bernie to invite FCA members, he may have used his judgement to invite the more active ones. Perhaps this opened a can of worms and he shouldn't have but his actions as president are always done in good faith. I don't think he went out of his way to exclude people but his instincts led him to perhaps contact the people who seem interested in attending and participating at FCA events in general. -I sometimes get some cool stuff from our Club Fiat Montreal sponsors and/or exclusive invites where places are limited and let me tell you: I do not invite the people that are not active and are not interested (even if they pay a membership). I always favor the committee members and the more active guys because they deserve it more, it's that simple. Even in the Luigi Ferrari club, there are a lot more names on paper than guys you actually see at gatherings and events. After a while, you start to forget them. As an event organizer, it starts to get really discouraging when people don't come and always have an excuse that they're always busy. Sometimes you have to make time...Perhaps one cannot come to 10 or 12 events per year but if they show up at least 3-4 times, it would make life easier and at least they're part of the circle. Every club has 2 or 3 levels of participants. It's not in the rules, it just occurs naturally. There's the guys who are almost always there, the ones you sometimes or rarely see and the ones you never ever see. I notice this in ALL clubs. As a whole, I think Bernie does a great job and he's passionate about this club and operates as a volunteer without a budget so, yes, things may need to be made clear and both sides have a valid point but don't be too hard on the guy.....
Well said... However, there were no can of worms opened. The dealer asked the club to invite its regulars and they had their client list as well. If you want to get noticed you are going to have make an effort to be noticed. Enough said...
A few pics from that evening. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Hi Lino S, I have too much respect for you. I will agree on, (enough said) and agree to disagree on the rest. We will be able to cover this topic another time. Bernie, thanks for the clarification and the invite. Regards, Nick
The F12 is really nice in my opinion, I can't wait to see one on our roads. Anyone here is getting one?
