SOS: Turford back as club President

The Southern Ontario Sprints (SOS) held their annual Fall Elections and General Meeting on Sunday, October 14th and I'm pleased to introduce the SOS Executive and Board of Directors for the 2008 season.

President ­ Peter Turford // Vice President ­ Dick Mahoney // Secretary ­ Terri Watson // Treasurer ­ Helen Brown // Board of Directors - John Watson, Bob Martin, Warren Lindsay & Mike Ferrell

From Bill Oldroyd:
 
I would personally like to welcome Peter Turford back to the position of President. This is the position Peter held for 5 years prior to me taking over in 2006 and I'm confident that he will once again guide the club in the right direction. During Pete's previous time at the helm, the SOS prospered and with his knowledge of the sport, I have no doubt that he will once again be successful in meeting all the challenges that lie ahead.

I'd also like to welcome Terri Watson, Bob Martin, Warren Lindsay and Mike Ferrell as new members to the Executive/Board. Terri Watson is John's better half and has worked behind the scenes during the last couple of seasons in several areas. Bob Martin is SOS rookie Justin Martin's father and crew chief. Mike Ferrell who was a rookie driver in 2006 will also be joining the Board and the last new member to the Board is SOS Fireman and Tech Inspector, Warren Lindsay. It is pleasing to know that the SOS will be in good hands as I exit my post.

As I reflect back on my time with the SOS (over 5 years), so many great memories come to mind. However, it is easy to pick the one that stands out over all the others; that being all the great people that I was fortunate enough to have been associated with and to have befriended over this time. Also near the top of the list is the knowledge that I've gain about sprint car racing and all the behind the scenes activities. I truly have a much better appreciation of the effort that is expended to make the shows run smoothly. The volunteers that help make this happen are the true heroes.

I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about the drivers and crews. The SOS is very fortunate to have such a great bunch of people associated with the race teams. I can't tell you how many times I saw people helping each other when there was a need. This is not something that takes place in every organization. You should all be very proud of this fact and work hard to maintain this atmosphere, regardless of how big the club gets.

Other things that I enjoyed were the record car counts, tons of rookies joining the SOS and the Yearbook. All of these were very gratifying to me. Going forward, I've decided to step back for a while to do some camping and to spend more time with Jenny, my better half. However, that doesn't mean that I'll be a stranger. I will be out supporting the SOS whenever the opportunity presents itself. I also want to spend some time going to other tracks such as Eldora, that I was not able to do with my commitment to the SOS.

I truly wish the SOS all the best in the future and hope that your new Executive/Board gets your support. The SOS is facing some real challenges but I'm confident that the right decisions will be made to keep the SOS strong.

Thanks so much to everyone for your support over the past few years and I'll see you at the track.

Bill Oldroyd