Looking for 1972 Ferrari Club of America Info

Hopefully someone here has the FCA publications from 1972 that they can check for some information.

At some point in 1972 the Missouri Chapter was formed. I am trying to find out if there were any other Chapters in existence at that point (possible that Missouri was the first Chapter) and the list of Regions at that time.

From News Bulletin 1-72
Missouri Chapter not listed.
Regions: Central States, Pacific Northwest, Southern California, Northeast, Southeast

 

Dyke,

What the old times say is that what had been the St. Louis Ferrari group applied to the FCA and became the Missouri Chapter in 1972. In 1976 they hosted the FCA's Annual Meet.

Original founding members allegedly were:

Dave Biggs
225 Sport
250 TR
Dan Feinberg
250 GTL
Jerroy Frank
250 GT (Boano)
Jim Giganti
275 GTB
Stu Hollander
275 GTB4
John Lee
250 GT (Boano)
Don Levin
250 GTE
250 SWB California Spider
Allen Milner
250 SWB
Jack Reuter
250/330 GTO
Bob Spooner
275 GTB
Mike Walther
250 GTL (Lusso)
Tom Welch
250 Pf Coupe

 

Dyke,

Sent you an e-mail.

Jeff

 

I am going back to 2 of the group's founders that are still active in the chapter. It is possible based upon what Dyke and Lowell are saying is that the St. Louis group was an informal unit of the Region and became a Chapter when national started that program.

Some of the stories detailing this Chapter's history, written by a couple of the original people, give 1972 as when they become part of the FCA. Previously it had just been an informal group that called itself the St. Louis Ferrari Group. Then one of that group decided that they should become affiliated with the FCA.

There is, what I consider to be, some interesting Ferrari history pre-club and with the club throughout our territory. We are creating a new Chapter website where there will be a history section. I want to ensure it is not perpetrating false histories.

 

This opened up some interesting club history. Thank you to both Dyke and Lowell.

It was during Paul Gilpatrick's time as national president (1991-1993) that the official creation of chapters was started. Prancing Horse first started listing Chapters in the 1992 editions.

As for my Chapter, now called Missouri & Southern Illinois, they had been a semi-autonomous group functioning inside the Central States Region of the FCA. When the Chapter program started they were one of the early groups to become recognized as a chapter. [What started then with just a few is now up to 52 or 53 Chapters across the US and Canada.]

One thing this did do was get me go back to a whole bunch of old Prancing Horse issues I had long forgotten about what their content was and who the various people were through those times.

 

Current count is 16 Regions and 52 or 53 Chapters.

The first Prancing Horse issue listing Chapter is #142 1Q 2002. With the following Chapters listed:
Michigan – no leader (by #144 Michigan was no longer listed)
Quebec
Eastern Penn
Western Penn
New Jersey
Kansas City
Dallas – no leader
Houston
Louisiana
Oklahoma
San Antonio – no leader
Alabama
Georgia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
San Diego

With #145 - 4Q 2002 the list was:
Indiana
Ohio
Kentucky
Missouri
Quebec
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Vermont
Eastern Penn
Western Penn
New Jersey
Kansas City
Dallas/Ft. Worth
Houston
Louisiana
Oklahoma
Austin/San Antonio
Alabama
Georgia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
San Diego

I now have the presentation on Chapters that Don Ambrose created and was presented at the March 2002 Board of Directors meeting. In it he said that there were already 18 Chapters within 7 Regions (8 Regions did not have any). I still working on getting more information. Not sure if Chapters in this pre-2002 period were actually called Chapters, were they officially recognized or just convenient groups that self identified, etc.

My Chapter was originally called Missouri Chapter; now renamed to Missouri & Southern Illinois.

 

Lowell,

I am in the process of doing a history section on my chapter for our new website. As such, I want it to not be repeating inaccurate information that because it was published makes it become gospel (like there has been with too many Ferrari stories). I started my little history project from previously written items from some early members of my chapter where they may have used "shorthand" references for convenience but did in fact turn out to be less than accurate.

In the past when I have gone to David Williams about early chapter history for the FCA, he does not have much knowledge and indicated that it is a murky area. He has all the old publications and is into the club's story. As I tried to find more out, especially the oft repeated claim that my chapter was one of the first, the murkiness of this topic kept showing itself. Even now I find that the 2002 board presentation says that there were already 18 Chapters but it does not list all of them nor does it address anything about when/how the earliest ones came to be - sequence of creation, were they actually "chapters" or just semiautonomous groups that got renamed as chapters when that initiative started to form?

Lowell, since you were a Region Director in the Northwest this was not part of your realm. Even today the Northwest has yet to create chapters although it would make sense based upon your geography to have at least Seattle and Portland units.

Anyway, that may explain why I am trying to nail down this information.

 

I have not talked with Hugh but have with Dyke and Mike Epifanio. Turns out that it was during Mike's term as RD that there was the start of a concerted effort formalize the chapters. I have also been in touch with Chris Parr who was a creator of the Kansas City Chapter - they and my St. Louis group negotiated the border in Western Missouri between the two groups.