MCA Regional Charter · May 8, 1990

Club History

The Northeast Georgia Mustang Club is chartered by the Mustang Club of America as a Regional Club, with roots reaching back to 1990.

Our Story

NEGMC received its MCA Regional Charter on May 8, 1990. The organizational meeting was held July 25 with roughly twenty MCA members present. Ricky Simmons was elected President, David Irvin Vice-President, Kitty Wilmot Secretary, and Randy Church Treasurer, with Tim Holland selected as MCA National Director. Jacky Jones Ford stepped up as the sponsoring Ford dealership.

Founders Randy Church, Ricky Simmons, and Jim Osborn — friends through the Georgia Regional Mustang Club — wanted a club closer to home in the northeast part of the state. Randy was driving 90 miles from Habersham County to Georgia Regional meetings at John Bleakley Ford in Lithia Springs, and after several years the three began discussing a new club over their weekly lunches. There was no split with Georgia Regional — many members kept dual memberships for years — just a decision based on logistics and drive time.

Twenty $100 charter memberships were offered, and the club's first show followed at Chateau Elan on April 13, 1991. Since then, NEGMC has hosted three MCA National Shows — Atlanta 1992, Cherokee NC 1995, and Mall of Georgia 2002 — alongside decades of regional Spring and Fall meets, most recently the Hiawassee Fall Show and our annual Spring Regional in the Atlanta area.

Timeline

Milestones

May 8, 1990
MCA Regional Charter granted
Northeast Georgia Mustang Club receives its Mustang Club of America Regional Charter. The organizational meeting is held July 25 with roughly 20 MCA members present. Jacky Jones Ford signs on as the sponsoring Ford dealership and twenty $100 charter memberships are offered.
April 13, 1991
First NEGMC show at Chateau Elan
The club hosts its first show at Chateau Elan — originally a Georgia Regional Show started in 1989. Registration is $15 and includes a T-shirt. Best of Show goes to Ricky Simmons in his 1970 Boss, with show sponsorship from Dugan Racing.
1992
Carolina Regional Meet + first MCA National
NEGMC becomes the host club for the 19th annual Carolina Regional Meet in Cherokee, NC — a show started as an all-Shelby meet in 1974 by Bill and Kathy Harris. That same year, NEGMC joins Georgia Regional and Cherokee Regional to host its first MCA National Show in Atlanta.
June 1995
Second MCA National Show — Cherokee, NC
NEGMC hosts its second MCA National, with special guests Steve Saleen and John Coletti of Ford on the show field alongside founding member and MCA President Jim Osborn.
May 2002
Third MCA National Show — Mall of Georgia
The club's third and most recent MCA National Show is held at the Mall of Georgia in Buford.
Today
Spring & Fall regional shows
Decades on, NEGMC still hosts its annual Spring Regional in the Atlanta area and the Fall Show in Hiawassee, plus monthly meets, cruise-ins, and charity drives across North Georgia.

Legacy

Building the MCA

NEGMC founders were deeply involved in shaping the Mustang Club of America itself. Bill Dillard attended MCA's first meeting at Stone Mountain in 1976 and became MCA #7, later serving as President, Vice-President, National Head Judge, National Show Director, and a Gold Card judge — earning a spot in the MCA Hall of Fame. Sandi Dillard served as MCA Secretary.

Jim and Sue Osborn (MCA #376) held nearly every executive position — President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chairman, Board Member, and editor of Mustang Times. Jim is also in the MCA Hall of Fame, and Osborn Reproductions assembly manuals remain a reference for restorers to this day.

First president Ricky Simmons served as National Head Judge during MCA's shift from 1st/2nd/3rd to Gold/Silver/Bronze in Concours. Randy Church served as MCA Treasurer and helped develop the judging rules for the Fox Bodies when MCA expanded classes from 64½–73 to 64½–present. Lee and Kitty Wilmot, Randy Fleeman, and Butch Hollingsworth all served on the MCA National Board.

Leadership through the years