In the year 1974 Joe Bisanz, owner of a new TR6, joined Triumph
Sports Owners Association (TSOA) . TSOA sponsor, British Lyland
granted to Joe the TSOA Minnesota chapter status.
In 1980 a different group of Triumph owners met to organize the
Minnesota-Wisconsin Triumph Club. This group was not associated
with TSOA. The first newsletter of July 21, 1981 under the Title
of MN-WI Triumph Club. The second newsletter of August 27, 1981
was issued under the title of Triumphs of Minnesota. The Wisconsin
portion of the club name was dropped because, for clarity, there
were several Triumph clubs in Wisconsin. The membership list of
July 1981 there were seventeen members. The original club officers
were: Terry Telke, President, Dale Peterson, Vice-President, Lou
Bardel, Secretary and Treasurer.
In 1983 the club was granted chapter status in the Vintage Triumph
Register. The VTR is the one national club that represents all
Triumphs models and years. With the clubs application for chapter
status the VTR suggested a name change to "Minnesota Triumphs".
The reason given was all chapters are listed alphabetically by
state in their publications. However, the Chapter certificate
was issued as "Triumphs of Minnesota".
The club enjoyed excellent growth, by 1985 there were 88 paid
members. In 1987 the paid membership stood at 44. In 1989 the
paid membership stood at 30. The all time low not counting the
formative years. By 1993 the paid membership had recovered to
116. In the year 2000 there are 186 paid memberships.
The club activities are the usual meetings, drives, picnics,
rallies and technical sessions. MN Triumphs also joins other British
car clubs on intermarque events.
Beginning in 1988 the Triumph club of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa
and Illinois joined in an event called Quadfest. Over the past
years, ten events were held. In 1998 Minnesota Triumph club hosted
the Vintage Triumph Register National Convention on July 21 thru
24. The event was held at Hudson, Wisconsin. Winona, Minnesota
was to be the venue, however unresolveable complications forced
a change of venue. There were 233 cars in attendance. The weather
in the 70Ős and 80Ős, sunny and no rain or fog. The convention
was a complete success. All VTR requirements were met and Minnesota
Triumphs enjoyed a great social and financial event.
In recent years many of our members have driven to other VTR
national conventions. In conclusion may Minnesota Triumphs continue
to prosper in the coming years.
Jim Malinski
Club Historian
September 27, 2000
PS.
The club hosted it's second VTR National Convention at the Treasure
Island Resort & Casino near Red Wing, Minnesota on Tuesday,
July 16 to Friday, July 20, 2002. There were about 250 cars in
attendance. At this convention, the club established itself as
a concours club with winning 14 CONCOURS and ONE PARTICIPANTS'
CHOICE TROPHIES as well as 20 CERTIFICATES OF EXCELLENCE!!
The weather was ideal for the event with temperatures in the
70's and 80's. The club was fortunate to have chosen Tuesday thru
Friday for the event because on Saturday, the traditional day
for the concours, it rained very hard.
The event was a financial success and at the end, all volunteers
wondered what they would do with their spare time.
Click here to see
the flyer for this event.
October 14, 2003
