Well, by now you have all received the email about the In Gear and the potential of moving towards a digital format. This was one of many subjects discussed at the Board of Directors June meeting a week ago and it was not easy to discuss. I’m like most of you, I prefer a hard copy but after looking how much money the magazine is hemorrhaging, it’s hard to keep doing what we’re doing when that money we’re essentially throwing away could go to so much more, than nothing.  There is no solid decision made yet but before the board does anything, we wanted to reach out to everyone and get a solid opinion from the membership. The reason the In Gear is losing money is the fact that the sponsors and advertisers that used to line the pages have decided not to anymore. This is nothing new. I can remember once upon a time reading 4WD, Car Craft and Hotrod magazine – all of which have suffered the same fate – lack of sponsor/advertisements.  Sad to say, there may be a time where magazines are a memory of the past. It’s not that we are trying to upset everyone or just give up on the printed In Gear, we ARE looking for ways to keep it, but those potentially may come up empty and we are faced then what we are faced with now, throwing money away that could be used for something useful. If you have any ideas, thoughts, input, please, feel free to email me: josh@cal4wheel.com

Speaking of decisions, a slew of them were made this past board meeting up at the office in Sacramento and I feel that the weekend was very efficient and everyone worked tirelessly before hand to make sure we were all prepared walking into the meeting. The board has finalized and approved the year contract for our NRC Rose Winn!

The June board meeting is the hardest because of all the contract stuff and your board went above and beyond this time around and I am very proud the entire board and of the work we accomplished and can’t wait for what the rest of the year brings. Be on the lookout for new apparel items and new ideas from our State Merchandise Chair Shawn Bell coming soon! I am excited to see what we all can do this year and equally excited to come see you at your club meetings and at our upcoming Sierra Trek, which is right around the corner. I’ll be bringing more information and plans moving forward in upcoming updates and when I come visit your club.

Stay safe and keep all your fingers this 4th of July. ‘Til the next update…