The Black Country Mini’s Fun club was formed in January 1999 and officially opened on 1st February 1999 with 6 members. Everyone had a say in what to call the club, how much membership to charge, where and how often the club meetings should take place.

After we put leaflets on every mini we saw, it wasn’t long before new members began to join and we very quickly became an established club. By June 1999, 4 months after we began, we had 20 members and were still getting new enquiries from potential new members on a regular basis; especially after shows. The name was certainly a major factor in the club taking off in such a successful way.

It was decided by the members that the club would not be run by a committee. Any decisions would only be made after a discussion with all the members at meetings, followed by a vote on the issues discussed; where the majority vote would be carried forward. However, it still needed someone to put the issues to the members, book venues for shows and keep the finances in order etc.

As the club was formed by Mary and Pete Heath, these duties fell on their shoulders and things remain the same to this date. Any member can request to see the finances at any time and they are bought in to the next meeting. Mary also brings the books in occasionally to show the members the finances and how the money raised has been spent.

It was decided that this club should be different to other clubs and that any income would be ploughed back into the club allowing all members to enjoy the benefits. Income was received in the form of membership money and “tea money”. The “tea money is raised at every show by all members (now called Show Subs) where 50p is donated generating an income to help the club keep financially viable. The membership money and Show Subs are used to buy essential items, e.g. Gazebo, table, chairs, promotional merchandise and of course tea and coffee and the remaining money is used for barbeques and fun.

In between shows, we go on weekend drives (destination decided at the meetings), have bowling evenings, barbeques and a Christmas event. These always prove very successful and help to keep the club together.

Some shows only allow a certain number of minis on a club stand. If this proves to be the case and we have too many minis wanting to attend, all names are put into a hat and the appropriate number of names are pulled out with one reserve (in case someone is unable to attend on the day). Once your name has been pulled out, it is not put back in for the rest of the season; this is to allow all members equal chances to display their car on the club stand.

In 2005, we decided to go along to the International Mini Meeting (IMM) in Salou, Spain. This was the first time we had taken the minis abroad and it took a lot of organising. However, it was great fun, a very eventful trip and well worth the effort. There were lots of breakdowns, lots of laughs and even more sunshine. It was such a great success that we have since attended the 2006 IMM in Poland and the 2008 IMM in Holland. We will be attending the IMM 2010 in Bavaria and plans are well underway.

Interested? then join us. ring Mary on 0121 501 1954