Mercedes-Benz Club of America: Mississippi Section

Since the Mississippi Section's founding in March of 2014, we have faced many challenges as you would expect for any car club covering such a large area. The state of Mississippi has a population less than 3,000,000 total and is a six hour drive across from north to south making our prospective members relativity few and spread out. Unlike other Sections, who have the bulk of their memberships in

metro centers like Dallas, Nashville, St Louis, etc., we have to constantly reach out far and wide to grow our membership. In under four years, we have taken this challenge and built our Section on a stable foundation with our Board and core members at it's center.

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One of the very first things we did was to establish a strong relationship with our state’s two Mercedes-Benz dealerships. We did so by not asking what they could do for us, but what we could do for them. We have been very successful with this approach, having events with them, advertising for them in our newsletter, even obtaining a Star article on the Mercedes-Benz of South Mississippi dealership in the September-October 2017 issue. In addition, an article on the new Mercedes-Benz of Jackson dealership has been arranged with Gary Anderson for 2018. We always invite their management to our events, such as Sir Stirling Moss’s birthday celebration, Holiday parties, various drives & tours, and to even participate in the Renaissance Euro Fest with us. The Jackson dealership entered three of their vintage Mercedes-Benz in the 2017 show, which are now featured in their new showroom.

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Another of the Mississippi Section’s founding statements was our desire to join with neighboring Sections for co-sponsored events. We proved this true through many successful co-sponsored events with the Memphis and New Orleans Sections. We often have some of their members join us on our adventures across Mississippi from Tupelo to Biloxi and all points in between! Our events have shown steady growth in attendance, no doubt due to new media campaigns implemented during 2017.

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The Mississippi Section strongly believes in getting the whole family, especially the youth, involved in the MBCA is the best way to insure that the club will continue to grow and that our passion for Mercedes-Benz will be carried on to future generations. We also embrace diversity and are all inclusive of members regardless of race, gender, or religion; after all it is the love of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz in this case, that brings us all together. We encourage non-owners to even come along, so that we may share the Mercedes-Benz experience with them and possible influence their next purchase, be it vintage or modern.

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Mississippi itself has a lot to offer from being known as the birthplace of America's music and home to some of the best restaurants in the world, we plan to show it all off through our Section's various activities. Mississippi is home to three major universities and many colleges. We are known for our agriculture and tourism, but are fast becoming a destination for other industries such as automotive and high-tech manufacturing. Our state also offers many forms of recreation, from hunting & fishing to relaxing on the Gulf Coast or taking a road trip along the 444 mile Natchez Trace Federal Parkway. By being an ambassador for our state, our Section can shine their stars (pun intended) on the many good things happening all around here.

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In closing, we submit that the Mississippi Section has one of the largest per capita memberships and Mercedes-Benz sales numbers in the country. Yes, we do have some of the same problems as other Sections, such as member retention and so forth. We do not see these as problems, but rather great opportunities. Just as Mercedes-Benz is known, we also want our Section to be known as the "Best of the Best"! We are achieving this with first class events and true Mercedes-Benz enthusiasts as members. 2017 truly was a phenomenal year for our Mississippi Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America, but as Sinatra once sang, the best is yet to come...


Please let us know if you have an questions or comments. We cannot do this without you, our members!

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To Join the
Mississippi Section
go to the MBCA Website at

https://www.mbca.org/join-today

Jackson
Mississippi
Central Region


MS Section Officers

President
Mike Marsh

Vice President & Event Coordinator
Scott Boone

Treasurer & NBO Liaison
Kelly Kyle

Secretary & Membership Chairman
Morgan Larkins

Media Director
Dan Hughes

Technical Advisor
Henri Fuselier

MBCA Regional Director
Ken Koehler