History of the Buckeye Scale Auto Club
The first meeting was held on March 31, 1983, in the dimly lit, dusty, small basement of Rick Duty’s home at 7:00 pm. Uncle Bill Aitchison and Don Wright met at Tom Dillion’s house and the three of them rode in Uncle Bill's car to the first meeting. By the time they arrived, there were 10-15 people already there and all were getting acquainted by talking about models, sharing tips, learning where everybody worked, hearing Willy’s stories and just plain having fun, That was it.
At 9:00, they decided to start the business part of the meeting. The first order of business was to decide how the club would operate, whether to be like the N.N.L., and not pay dues and not have officers, or be like all the other clubs sprouting up by paying dues and having officers. The latter was decided upon. They then vote to have only two officers, President and Secretary/Treasurer. Tom Dillion was voted in as the first President and Brenda Whaley was voted in as the first Secretary/Treasurer.
Next order of business was to come up with a name for the newly founded club. Everyone was prepared for this as they had brought a name or two with them. Here is a list of some of the names that were thrown around that night.
Columbus Area Model Car Association
Columbus Area Model Car Club
Columbus Model Car Association
Columbus Model Car Club
Mid Ohio Model Car Association
Mid Ohio Model Car Club
Mid Ohio Model Caraholics
Central Ohio Model Car Association
Central Ohio Auto Car Builders
Central Ohio Scale Unlimited
Buckeye Model Car Association
Buckeye Scale Unlimited
Buckeye Scale Auto Association
Buckeye Scale Auto Club
As you all know by now, the last choice was voted to be the club name. It wasn’t a name that was brought by anyone and contrary to some belief, the name was not constructed from the name of the only model car magazine at the time, Scale Auto Enthusiast. Rather, it was the culmination of the fifteen names that preceded it.
From there, an amount of dues was also decided upon ant the first meeting. The amount was $1.00 per meeting. The dues were to be to part for a newsletter, paper, postage, envelopes, Christmas party, door prizes and their own contest.
They voted to have monthly themes to give each member some idea of what to bring to the meetings so everyone would be talking about the same subject. The themes would consist of boats, airplanes (? This is what the first meeting minutes said!), something different each month.
The last thing decided on was when to have the club meetings. All members were surveyed and it was decided to have one meeting per month to be held on the first Thursday of the month. That night was chosen because it was the only night that didn’t conflict with member’s plans.
Wow. All of that was decided upon at the very first meeting. Look at how much of that is still being used today in the club. The first meeting adjourned at 10:58 pm. All who attended that first meeting were happy they did so. They were all happy to pay their first meeting dues and to become the Club’s Charter members.
In the thirty-some odd years since that first meeting, the club continue to prosper.
Each year in the Spring, the Buckeye Scale Auto Club presents their annual Buckeye Classic at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Hilliard, Ohio. Throughout the year, the club assists other in model contests and 1:1 car shows.
The club meetings are now held on the first Thursday of the month at Donato's Pizza located at 4055 Morse Crossing, in the Easton area. Meetings begin around 7:00pm. Hope to see everyone there.
