derBayerische September/October 2021 - 14

N C C
V O L U N T E E R
S P O T L I G H T
in the U.S., helps quite a bit, since I'm
good with numbers. Personally, anyone
can become President; you just
need to get involved, learn a few
things here and there, and you're
qualified!
dB: What are your responsibilities as
President?
(Above) A head-to-head comparison of these two M3s could be its own article. (Below) An E92 in motion is a
beautiful thing.
around to different locations, like
King Street Blues in Kingstowne and
Carpool in Herndon. In MD, we
started at the Green Turtle in
Columbia for the Baltimore area and
Zodiac Grill in Gaithersburg for
Montgomery County. Throughout
the years, we've made our way to a lot
of different places (many of which are
now closed), but as long as the
parking is good, we'll find places to
hang out.
dB: What kinds of social events do
you organize?
Paul: Pretty much anything that
doesn't fit nicely into any of the other
programs falls under Social, and
we've done a lot of great events over
the past 15 years. First off, let me say
that I truly believe in the BMW CCA
experience and getting out to events
is a big part of that. More than that,
we're a social club; we enjoy our
BMWs and that's what brings us
together initially. Thinking of some
of the cool things we've done in the
past is pretty remarkable. We helped
BMW NA and Road & Trackwith the
new 4 Series product launch in 2013.
We've had great times breaking bread
together at our Chili Cook-offs and
Crab Feasts. We've taken trips outside
of the area to the New York
International Auto Show and the
Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix. We
play golf every year at Raspberry
Falls, easily one of the best courses
in the United States. We've hosted
14
Cars & Coffee events to just hang out
with other car enthusiasts. Even
during the COVID lockdown, we
hosted several virtual events so
people don't get too far out of touch.
Our annual membership meetings
over the years have had some
incredible guest speakers like Mike
Renner, Boris Said, and the legendary
Bill Auberlen. We've gone
out on the water in one of the most
famous ships ever, the America, the
only exact replica of the America's
Cup schooner. So, you can see,
we're more than just a BMW club; we
definitely love cars, but we get to do
some pretty cool things!
Probably the most memorable
events were the Baltimore Grand Prix
car corrals about 10 years ago. It
was incredible to have ALMS (now
IMSA) racing in our backyard and
this is what essentially kickstarted
the love of motorsports that I've had
ever since. Several years later,
people from BMW NA still talk about
the support our CCA corral gave to
BMW on those weekends. Having
drivers Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand
in our hospitality tent and being able
to go behind-the-scenes of a live pit
stop was something I'll cherish
forever. And having the experience
of planning those corrals, make our
current VIR corral even better today.
dB: What was your path to becoming
the President of the Chapter?
Paul: Well, I started by pulling off one
car meet and shortly thereafter, I
became the chairperson of the Social
program, which I still continue to run
today. I also served one year as NCC
Vice President and one year as NCC
Treasurer, so I have an excellent
understanding of chapter operations
and non-profit 501c7 management.
My corporate finance experience with
Verizon, the largest telecom company
Paul: I pretty much do it all! I think my
main responsibilities are setting the
club's strategic direction and ensuring
that all the volunteers have the necessary
tools to run their programs.
Luckily, this chapter has the best
volunteers anyone could ask for and
makes running the chapter a lot
easier. Since I also run the Social
program, I create and run events just
like any other volunteer, so I understand
what needs to be done. I also
have been doing a lot of business
development for the club so that we
have sponsors to host/fund events,
and I spend time promoting these
events so they are well attended by
membership.
dB: What do you like best about your
involvement with NCC?
Paul: Well, it's definitely the huge pay
we get as volunteers (just kidding)!
However, I have been lucky enough to
enjoy some cool perks, a few freebies
here and there, invites to VIP events,
behind-the-scenes access to BMW
NA stuff. But, I'm very fortunate to
help run and lead such a great organization.
Our volunteers are very
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