At the close of the last SAH board meeting, I officially became president of the Society of Automotive Historians. I am not quite sure how this happened as it was never my intention to run for the position. But here I am. I enter my two-year term quite overwhelmed; there is so much to do right from the get go and I am not quite sure where to start. In addition, in the over 50 years since its founding, there have only been two other female SAH presidents, which will no doubt result in additional scrutiny. But I have a supportive board and an excellent vice president, so hopefully together we can develop an approach and agenda that will serve current and future members well.
My overreaching goal is to make the organization more accessible, inclusive, and to encourage more membership participation. Like many automotive organizations, SAH membership has aged without a sufficient influx of younger people with new ideas to make up the loss. Many of the current members have been discouraged by the lack of communication and feel as though they don’t have a voice. I believe that in order to succeed in the near future, the organization needs to be more attuned to the interests of a more diverse population. We need to employ new means of communication to expand our reach. The new members of the board have added youth and different kinds of experiences that can make a difference. Some of the long term objectives, therefore, are to explore going digital with our publications, expand our social media presence, communicate with the membership on a consistent basis, and open communication channels so that folks will be comfortable making suggestions to improve any and every aspect of the SAH.
I am not a natural leader. I am soft spoken, have difficulty taking charge, and am non confrontational. Therefore I am hoping that my strengths – creative thinking and hard work – will be enough for me to become an effectual president of the Society of Automotive Historians. I’ll have the next two years to find out.
