Lawrie and his lovely wife, Jane, with their TC and MGB

Being President of the Sacramento Valley MG Car Club was both an honor and a source of great pleasure. The SVMGCC is a club filled with MG enthusiasts, some of whom own one MG, some two, some even more; some are show cars, some are daily drivers, others are "works in progress". We love to gather for social and driving events, we hold tech sessions and often take weekend or longer outings. The goal of all our activities is to enjoy driving our MGs and each other's company. Our website contains information about us as a club and details of upcoming events. The newsletter section of the website provides interesting reading and reports on our recent activities. I encourage you to read some of those newsletters to gain a fuller view of the club, its activities and members.

I joined the SVMGCC in 1991 and have been an active member ever since. I have been a Board member for most of those years and previously served as club President from 1996 thru 1998, and again in 2011. My wife, Jane, and I have enjoyed every year of our membership and appreciate the many friendships we have made through the club and the wonderful times we have had with the members and our MGs. A highlight of 2011 was guiding the club as we assisted with the organization of GoF West 2011, which was held in conjunction with MG2011 in Reno, June 13th - 17th

My fascination with MGs began in 1960 with the purchase of an almost-derelict 1934 PA which I fixed up with Bondo, baling wire and ingenuity into a daily driver. Since then, I've owned a Y-type, several TCs and TDs, a TF, numerous B roadsters and GTs, and an 1100. Restoration of the TF to show-winning quality led to the establishment of a restoration shop in Santa Barbara in 1975.

About that same time, I founded the Santa Barbara MG club and began an involvement with the MG fraternity which has included the organization of hundreds of local events and several major West Coast meets, including GoF West 1993, the NAMGBR national meet in 1995 and the NAMGAR national meet in 1999. I have also successfully vintage-raced an MG TD special which I built in 1978, sold in 1989 then re-purchased in 2007.

After moving to Shingle Springs in 1991, I spent the next 16 years running British Sportscar Center, a shop well-known for show-winning MG restorations and which also performed service and repair work. I retired in 2007, a couple of years after having double-bypass surgery. Now I fill my time helping friends and old customers with their MG needs and maintaining my own cars. Moss Motors retains me as an MG Tech Consultant and I'm also known to be something of an SU carburetor expert, on which subject I produced a videotape in 1987. This was described by Peter Egan in a "Road & Track" article as "the best $42.95 you'll ever spend"; a DVD version now sells for $44.95 - available from our club.

My current MG fleet includes my TD racing special, a 1949 TC which is a delight to drive, and a remarkably nice 1978 MGB roadster which was lovingly cared for by its first owner and has barely 40,000 miles on it. All these cars see frequent use in club activities and they all constantly remind me why MG is one of the very few English marques to have remained popular long after production was discontinued.

I'm always happy to hear from anyone who owns or is interested in MGs. If you are ever in our area, feel free to give me a call at (530)676-7226 or plan to attend one of our meetings