• BMTA 2014 Election Biographies

    The ballots for the 2014 BMTA Board election will be arriving in your mailboxes in the next few days. Here are the biographies of the 4 nominees in alphabetical order:

    Jonathan A. Stein – Hagerty Insurance

    For almost ten  years I’ve worked for Hagerty Insurance of Traverse City, MI.  My primary role is as Executive Editor/Associate Publisher of Hagerty Classic Car Magazine, although I help anywhere my knowledge of auto history and parts sources  can be useful

    The first car of any kind I can remember was my father’s 1957 TR3A. I was a car crazy teen, but loved sports cars most of all. In 1975, a few months before my 18th birthday, I saw a picture of an MGA coupe and fell in love and had to have one. In November of 1975 I found a 1959 coupe in the New York Times auto classifieds. For part of my senior project (combined with a poetry independent study) I restored it

    I started my career as a copywriter for magazine promotion and insurance, but in 1984 I began freelancing as an automotive writer. In 1988 I joined Automobile Quarterly and within three years rose to Publishing Director, a position I held until the magazine was sold in 2000. I then joined Bentley Publishers as an acquisition editor and was responsible for editing many high-quality automotive books. In addition to these staff positions, I’ve written two books, co-wrote another, have edited another 8 or 10 and have written scores of automotive articles in more than a dozen publications. One of my most interesting projects has been serving as study leader for more than half-a-dozen Smithsonian Journeys trips to the car sights of Europe, including Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy and the UK. We add Holland and Belgium this year.

    In 1976 I graduated from the Princeton Day School. Four years later I received my BA in English Literature (with a writing minor) from Drew University. I’m married (31 years in September) and have a daughter in graduate school studying International development. Since 1975 I’ve been totally immersed in the MGA universe and have been the world-wide registrar/special interest contact for the MGA coupe for more than 25 years. I currently have the 1962 MGA 1600 MK II coupe I bought in 1977 and I recently sold the 1959 Twin Cam coupe I’ve had since 1999. I’m fascinated in all aspect of automotive history (not confined to British cars), judge at most of the major concours (including Pebble Beach), I enjoy travel, particularly to Europe, listen to blues music and love to sample local craft beer as I travel for business.

    Norman Michaels – Brit Bits

    I read “The Red Car” as a youth and was hooked. My first little British car was a 1964 TR4. Because I was still young, I crashed it on the curves of the old West Side Highway in Manhattan. They’ve since torn down that section of elevated road. Shortly after getting it back from the body shop it was totaled. It wasn’t my fault. Really. I was hit from behind while waiting at a stop sign.

    I bought an MGB with the insurance money. My fondest early memory is heating transmission bushings over a Bunsen burner in my college chemistry lab to fit them on the mainshaft.

    I’ve owned my ’66 B for more than forty years. It still has a few of its original parts. My wife and I often take vacation trips in it. My wife and I have been together 40-plus years, too. She’s a saint. We have two adult children.

    I’ve been part owner of Brit Bits for the past 10 years. I like to schmooze with the customers and I manage our Web site and the shop events, rallies and shows we put on. In the shop I like to build engines, troubleshoot ignition and fuel system issues and assemble our restoration jobs.

    Brit Bits has been an enthusiastic member of the BMTA since its inception. I support the goals of the BMTA, to grow our hobby and make it more visible to the public. I support the work of the BMTA to provide interaction among our service shops to improve our operations and profits, and to work with suppliers to improve the quality of parts.

    Paul Dierschow – Sports Car Craftsmen

    Paul Dierschow, owner of Sports Car Craftsmen, has been in the British sports car business since 1973. He has an BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Colorado, Denver . Around the shop, you’ll find him on the phone, digging up parts, on the phone, behind the counter, on the phone, paying bills, or on the phone. He proudly proclaims that every one of those gray hairs is earned, not store bought!

    Robert Clark – Clark & Clark, Inc.

    Robert Clark, owner of Clark & Clark Inc. has proudly attended every BMTA meeting.  Robert is 51, Married with two boys.  Robert graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineer from Purdue.

    He fell in love with MGs in high school when I got a rusty 63 MGB. Now Robert has a 65 MGB, 60 MGA, 66 Jaguar E-type, 75 Spitfire, and 94 and 99 Miatas.  Robert has always been an “inventor” at heart, and currently has about 200 products for LBCs that he has developed and marketed.