From the President
Yes, the title of the message is the same; it’s just the person writing it is different. Since this is my first installment of “From the President’s Desk” I thought it would be good for me to tell you a bit about myself for those of you I have not had the pleasure of meeting. First off, I have married to Julie for 32 years and we have one Child, a Daughter named Melissa.
My background in racing is that as a very young child I can remember seeing the races from the old Motor City Speedway on the television set. Later on my Dad and I would watch whatever we could on the old Wide World of Sports show and remember vividly the site of Maynard Troyer flipping 17 times down the backstretch at Daytona in a winged Mopar. My first love was Drag Racing and I could tell you who was in each Funny Car, Dragster, or Pro Stock at a glance. My first racing heroes were “Dandy” Dick Landy, Sox & Martin, and local favorite Roger Lindamood in the “Color Me Gone” Dodge Charger Funny Car. Of course Don Garlits ranks right up there as well. Julie and I started going to Mt. Clemens in 1977 to watch Larry LaMay drive my boss Clarence Shaw’s late model and we got hooked right away. The rest is history and in 1982 I got into a street stocker at “The Mount” and drove the #99 Chevelle until the place closed in 1985. Didn’t get into another race car until the spring of 2002 when I did a test drive in a Legends Car at Auto City and promptly bought it. I spent the next couple of years driving the #45 Chevy on the circuit for the Michigan Legends Series before retiring from driving in 2005. I still remain active with the series as I act as their public relations director and co-chaplain with my friend Bob Parker. In addition to that I also serve on the Board of Directors for the Michigan Motor Sports Hall of Fame.
I joined MARFC in November of 1979 and have been a member ever since. I started volunteering with the club back in 1999 and joined the Board of Directors in 2001 after being selected as that years “MARFC Fan of the Year”. I have been Vice-President the past two years and now step into the office of President. I have some big shoes to fill in following my longtime friend “Wild” Bill Barnhart. I knew Bill when he really was “Wild”. Bill has done a fantastic job with the club over his years as President and it has been a pleasure serving with him. Bill doesn’t get too far away as we really have only switched positions and I know he will have my back.
I look forward to continuing to work with the great Promoters in the state as well as the best fans and drivers anywhere. I will be at as many fan club days as possible and will also be at many of the Michigan Legends races. Mid-Season is here and we still have a lot of racing left for the season so get out to the races as often as you can. Don’t forget the picnic at Stony Creek on July 12th, it is free and the only time you get to taste the cooking of Larry Iacoboni. Until the next edition of the MARFC Messenger “We’ll See You at the Races”.
Dave DeHem, MARFC President