kieranlavin

My name is Kieran Lavin and I apologize if this message would appear to you as spam. Please hear me out though as I do feel it is revelant here. I am in the process of planning an all Nissan and Infiniti National Convention for 2011 here in the northeast. We'd like to coordinate this convention with and invite as many different communities as possible. This convention is an adaptation of the highly successful SE-R National Convention over the past several years. Unfortunately the SE-R community is dwindling as the cars have become less performance-oriented and the true enthusiasts have moved on to other cars (many times other Nissans and Infinitis), gotten married and have families, and other various reasons. In any case, we'd really like to include everyone in the Nissan and Infiniti communities and want to get the word out to everyone!

Typically the convention consists of a Thursday evening through a Sunday afternoon. Thursday is a Meet N Greet with registration, some introductions, and a driver's meeting for the track event. Friday is an all-day track event. Saturday is a free day for attendees to venture out on their own and do sightseeing with the family, drag racing, autox, or just relax by the pool at the hotel. Sunday is a car show and picnic with a raffle.

The convention for this year (2010) is rapidly approaching and I wanted to take a minute to give quick mention to those working on this year's convention. I am in no direct way helping to plan the 2010 convention but I have no doubt it will be a fun and successful convention. I know the person taking the lead on planning the convention and he has attended every SE-R convention since 2000 so it should be a good time. The 2010 convention is in Omaha, NE from 6/3-6/6. You can find all of the information you'd want at their website:
Nissan National Convention

The 2011 convention will be held, again, in the Northeast with a track day at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania and the rest of the weekend being held in NJ close enough to NYC to be convenient but far enough away to accomodate parking and trailers as well as to have a security factor for the cars. You can find more information about the 2011 convention at our website:
www.nissan-infiniti.us

I'm posting this for several reasons.

1. I want to get the word out early and drum up interest. I'm hoping to also get the word out early enough to coordinate any individual conventions that some may still be holding.

2. We need volunteers to help with the planning of the convention. There is a lot of work involved and it would be very helpful to have some good, reliable people working on this with us so that we can focus on new things to improve on past conventions. Some volunteer positions are location-specific and some can be done from anywhere in the country.

3. We'd like a "representative" of some sort from each of the various car communities; sort of a delegate to each model car. For example, I am not familiar with the Nissan Versa or the Infiniti M35/45. I do promise you though that this WILL be a fantastic convention and you WILL have a good time.

4. I'd like to start a database of people interested in receiving information about the convention. We'd like to try to get an early idea of what sort of attendance we might be looking at.

We have a website with preliminary information set up at www.nissan-infiniti.us and we have a feedback form set up at www.nissan-infiniti.us/feedback If you'd like to e-mail me directly, I can be contacted at [email protected] or you can give me a call at 877-300-2011
I will do my best to stay on this forum and provide as much valuable feedback as I can (it's tough if I don't really know much about the particular model). At the very latest, I can provide my signature sarcastic humor

I look forward to hearing from you, getting feedback, and working toward the best convention ever and building on this to have a large, well-represented convention. Together we can make this large, fun, and build a voice to Nissan and Infiniti.

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A little bit about me. I bought a 1995 200SX SE-R brand new. Through my late college and early "working" years, I modified the car with HPDE events in mind. Several years later I met my wife and purchased her a used 2002 Maxima SE. When we moved a few years later, we were able to extract enough money from the sale for downpayments on a 2008 FX45 and G37.
The other co-organizer, Ray Kawski, owns several Nissans and an Infiniti. He started with a 1998 Sentra SE. After blowing the engine, he purchased a 1991 NX2000 while deciding what to do with the 1998 car. He modified the 1998 Sentra with all of the bolt-ons over the next few years. Several years later he found a 330k mile 1991 Sentra SE-R. He purchased the car with the intent of using it as a daily driver. Unfortunately the shell rusted and Ray purchased a 260k mile chasis with a blown engine to swap the (now) 370k mile engine. Ray also has a hardtop NX2000 in the process of becoming a racecar. Ray has a 2007 Titan with a 30' trailer for his track cars. He recently purchased a 2009 G37x sedan. Over the years, Ray's 1998 Sentra SE has evolved into a 360whp rollcaged dedicated track car that will hang with the best.

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A little history of the convention. In 1997, 1998, and 1999 many of the Southern California SE-R owners got together for a large meet. In 1999 two SE-R owners from Texas visited with the intention of hosting the 2000 Convention. The 2000 Convention was more widely publicized and was a true national convention. Ray and I flew out to the convention and had a great time. We announced that we would be hosting the 2001 National Convention. We organized and hosted the convention in Washington DC - from 4 hours away! We promised ourselves that we would never again do that to ourselves. We continued to attend conventions and visit track events on both the east and west coasts. In 2006 Ray and I were somehow wrangled into doing the convention again. This time we did it much closer to home, at Pocono Raceway. The convention was, by many recollections, the best convention ever. Once again, we decided that we would never again host a convention. The stress nearly broke some very close friendships. In the following years the convention rose and fell and attendance dwindled. Most longtimers agreed that the best way to keep the convention going would be to include ALL Nissans and Infinitis. With our background, Ray and I agreed to try to help revive the convention with another one in 2011.

Kieran Lavin
2011 Nissan-Infiniti National Convention Co-Organizer
2006 SE-R National Convention Co-Organizer
2001 SE-R Club of America Convention Co-Organizer
Cars: 2008 FX45, 2008 G37, 2002 Maxima SE, 1995 200SX SE-R

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Kieran Lavin
Co-Organizer of 2011 Nissan-Infiniti National Convention