PacificEd - About Me

I never have done this before and thought it would be good for the members of the SEC to know who I am and what I'm about.

I am originally an IH Scout nut who decided to change directions after the realization that I would probably never have the time, money, and/or skills to build a Scout II the way i wanted it.

In 2007 I found and started following the threads about the Cherokee Crawl which was still at Tellico (turns out for the last time). I did some lurking and then fell away until i picked up the XJ Builders Guide by Eric Zappe. I always like reading about building stuff so I started researching and figuring what I needed to find in a Cherokee. For me a Cherokee made sense. They built a lot of them, they were cheap, lots of aftermarket support, and there were lots of organizations to help with the learning curve on them (ie: ).

My XJ is an 88 Limited that I have fixed stuff on. Progress is slow and mods are done as I can afford them. I also try to do a lot of research to get the best bang for my buck.

I joined in Jan 08. Mark (High2by) joined shortly thereafter. Initially we built his '89 and decided early on that we wanted to see what the Crawl was all about. We attended that event in Harlan in '08 and had so much fun. We met a lot of great people at this event. This event is where I took on my first duties trying to help out in the SEC. I volunteered to do the raffle and it turned out pretty good.

It was election year in 2008 for the 2009-2010 BOD. Mark and I decided we would run and try to make the SEC the best. We saw lots of potential in the SEC. We (Ghost, High2by and myself) ran unopposed. No one really wanted the job it seems. We decided from there what we wanted to accomplish and went out to succeed.

One thing I have tried to do as President is to get out and ride and visit with everyone I can all around the chapter. Whether I show up in my XJ, ride along with Mark, or drive my gold Oldsmobile, I've met many members of the chapter. I've been to meet & greets in Atlanta, wheeling in TN, AL, and KY, plus lots of rides all around and meet & greets locally. The people in the chapter are what makes this so rewarding. We have great people who like XJ's, wheeling, and everything in between. I have made a lot of great friendships all over the chapter.

I've tried to listen to what the membership wanted. All of the decisions made have been approved the the entire SEC BOD. Some have called me a dictator. I have looked at it in terms of getting some direction for the chapter. This year I will do more listening if elected and try to find ways to make the chapter even better.

I am married to my wife of 11 years and have two children, one just born this past September. Time has been at a premium as of late. I will also say that my wife, of whom many of you have met, helps me a lot with . She has scored many of the great raffle prizes that we have given away over the years at the Crawl events. She thinks is good for me and fully supports my XJ addiction.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them here.

If elected, I will do my best to make the SEC the best chapter on .

Thanks,
Ed "PacificEd" Robbins

Great job Ed. I think you have done a good job and hope you get to be President again. You obviously have put a lot of time into it and that is what is needed for thsi position. Good Luck!

ed, i can't think of anybody who'd do a better job at this than you do. you have really made me feel like a part of even though as a college kid i haven't been able to afford to go red- the money always finds somewhere else to go. i've never actually wheeled with you, but one of these days i'm going to.
PacEd FTW!

Ed, what do you think the biggest problem is with our chapter and how do you propose to remedy it?

bigalpha said:

Ed, what do you think the biggest problem is with our chapter and how do you propose to remedy it?

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Tough question. I think the SEC fights the same battles as do most chapters, which is geographic size. We are a large chapter.

In the upcoming term, I'm going to be interested in trying to move some rides to other parts of the chapter. There are a lot of great places to ride. To make this happen, it will take volunteers taking it upon themselves with the help from the BOD to put these events in motion and make them happen.

The Crawl being in Harlan will help bring out the northern and central wheelers of the chapter. We will look at having the Flog further south in 2011. Maybe AL or GA. This should help spead the key events around and make at least one of the two attendable for most of the membership.

We will also plan another calendar like we have for the past two years to try and have some structure for the events within the chapter. If I am re-elected, I welcome anyones ideas and if you want to head up an event or ride, please let me know so we can add it to the calendar.

Good Luck to You Ed. As an outsider to the SEC I was welcomed with open arms by you and was honored to be your chauffer when you Jeep was acting up! :cheers: