The Scoop - August 29, 2016

The UNOH Motorsports Team is a diverse group of committed students who may or may not be involved in the high performance programs at the university, team head Paul Higgins told Rotary Monday.

Higgins, who is also High Performance Department chair in the College of Applied Technologies Automotive and a High Performance instructor, said team members must maintain a 2.5 GPA to be on the team, and a 3.2 GPA to drive. Being on the team is an extracurricular activity, similar to participation in other sports.

“It’s a big commitment,” Higgins said. “Many succeed because of the proper work ethic and proper willingness to prepare.”

The team has many roles, including slots that don’t have anything to do with actual racing, such as ordering parts and completing paperwork. Beginners are assigned to the stock cars and the modified car team is for students with at least one year of experience.

When UNOH was laying the groundwork for sports teams, the leadership at the school knew motorsports would be a good fit, since UNOH owns Limaland Motorsports Park.

“We started with one stock car and an eight-person team,” Higgins said, pointing the growth that’s evident in the Eastown Road complex.

The combination of motorsports training and an accredited higher education remains unique in the country, Higgins said and it continues to be a significant draw for students far and wide. The team has students from 24 states and two foreign countries.

The meeting Monday was a busy one:

Bill Timmermeister represented the Lima Rotary Foundation Scholarship Fund, awarding 10 $1,000 scholarships to nontraditional students. This round marks the group to receive the new increased amount.

The club welcomed six new members, Jacque Daley-Perrin, Sophie Loser, Abe Ambroza, Ashely Cowan-Meas, Doug Olsson and Tracey Regula.

Two members, Marc Bowker and Rashawna Perry, earned blue badges.

We recognized birthdays, anniversaries and club anniversaries, including 41 years for Fred Seelenbinder.

And, file this one under “When will they learn?” During fellowship, club members without their Rotary pins were again fined $1.