Matt Kempe Award, driver's door hing wear

[KIERAN A. LAVIN]

Alfred, you wrote:

> In the last issue of the SE-R Digest several people mentioned the Matt
> Kempe Award yet surprisingly no one took the time to write a few lines
> about it which would have been enlightening to some of us newcomers.
> It was almost as if people were talking around it.

First of all, I received the award in 2001 in DC.  I would definitely say
I was honored after reading about Matt way back when.  You will find info
on Matt Kempe here:

http://www.se-r.net/matt/index.html?S=cbd6ce45c84a3ff6e9ea7bbade32a140

This speaks a lot to who Matt Kempe is and his spirit and overall
involvement with the SE-R and our community.  If you even go back through
the digests and search the archives (as I did a while back after receiving
the award) you'll find some of his posts.  Although I think I only spoke
with him *BRIEFLY* and only on one or two occasions, he seemed like a
really good guy.

One thing I would really like to say though... and no offense is meant to
Eric Waterman or Kyle Davis who have received the award the past two
years.  But I really think we should evaluate who deserves the award in
the future.  Although it's nice to honor the person who set up the
convention, it should not automatically go to this person.  Think of
stories you've seen on this list over the previous year of someone helping
others out.  I think Eric and Kyle might even agree with me on this one...
but just hosting the convention and having it be a success and others
having a good time is reward enough.  For example, the award might go to
Mike Pahls this year for offering to help Chris Scarpulla out with his
blown engine.  Mike offered to tow Chris to his uncle's and give Chris
parts from various engines Mike had lying around.  It just proved to be
impractical because there would've been a lot of assembly.  Or Greg Perry
for actually towing Chris's car!  Or.... what about Tim Rogers for the
tremendous help he was to Greg Amy at Road Atlanta this past weekend (I
think?)  Think about some of these types of people next year for the Matt
Kempe Spirit Award and don't just automatically vote for the organizer.  I
was humbled... but almost embarassed to have received it.  I really think
it should go to people who help others out and are a general all-around
great person.

Any questions on who Matt is or what the spirit is all about after reading
that site, and let us know.  There are others on this list that could help
you out as well but are probably just too busy to respond.  Let us know
and I'll at least try to shove you in the right direction :)

kieran