The 2021 SCCA National Convention took the green flag on Saturday, and while the first-ever virtual format gives a different feel to the event, one constant remains the opening night’s SCCA Hall of Fame and Awards Ceremony.
The five newest members of the SCCA Hall of Fame were joined by the newly selected SCCA Member of Excellence and Woolf Barnato Award Winners, Bob Crawford and Dennis Dean.
The Member of Excellence is annually presented to the volunteer who shows the greatest commitment to SCCA Motorsports activities. The recipient is given the opportunity to attend any motorsport event of their choosing–with an expense cap of $5000–anywhere on the planet.
Crawford, a Washington DC Region member, was introduced by SCCA President Michael Cobb as the “poster child of the welcoming environment that we are striving to deliver to members” for his work throughout his Region’s road racing program.
“I’m honored, humbled and grateful for this award,” Crawford said. “It is a privilege to serve as a leader in this great organization and an opportunity I cherish.”
The Woolf Barnato Award is recognized as SCCA’s highest award and is presented to a member who has made an outstanding, long-term contribution to the Club. Dean, already a part of the SCCA Hall of Fame, received the 2020 edition of the award.
“I still feel like the widow who listened to the preacher’s kind eulogy and then whispered to one of her children, ‘run up there and make sure that’s your daddy in that box,'” a humbled Dean said. “As I look at the list of prior Woolf Barnato Award winners, the vast majority of who I can consider personal friends, I am humbled beyond words. To be placed in the same category as any of them would honor any Club member. To now join the ranks of the entire group is almost unimaginable.”
SCCA’s five newest Hall of Famers — Tom Campbell, John Fergus, R. Bruce Gezon, Lloyd Loring, and Donna Mae Mims — each took their time in the evening’s spotlight.
Campbell, introduced by friend and fellow past Chairman of the SCCA Board of Directors John Walsh, began by recognizing the role the SCCA played in his life, as a competitor, car builder and administrator.
“As I look back over the past half century, three things stand out as the important parts in my life — my family, my professional career, and the Sports Car Club of America,” Campbell said. “After my family and my career, my life’s history has been