Meet the Board

Perry is the proud owner of three BMW’s, a 2019 Alpina B7, 2006 760Li, and 2013 335 convertible. He has lived in Peoria his entire life, and served previously on the Illini Chapter Board.  He and his wife Pam enjoy tours and meetings with the club, wine drinking, cigar smoking, and serving our community through many local organizations. 

Nick has owned 4, or is it 5 or 6, BMWs in his time so far: 545, twin 535s, 750, 340, M2C and working on the next one! He currently parks his car(s) in his heated garage in Rantoul. He tries to make it to the AutoX at the airport, and track days and car shows. Nick also collects HotWheels, of course many BMWs, and some other cars that start with a P. He assists in training new drivers to not become statistics, as Truck Instructor at our Tire Rack Street Survival. Nick plans on growing the club as best he can with help from all the other Members.

Rick has been a BMW CCA Member since 2004, and was one of the original Board Members when the Chapter reorganized in 2008. He’s been one of the most active Members: a previous President and VP, setup and teardown lead for TRSS, and who, along with his wife Sonja, served as the Chapter’s Social Events Chair for several years. Rick and Sonja have a spectacular BMW collection: a 1988 M6 Shark, 2001 Z3 M Roadster, 1995 M3 coupe, 1998 M3 coupe convertible, 2007 Z4 coupe, 2018 Alpina B8 and 1970 e9 2.8 CS under restoration! Rick demonstrated excellent leadership in the early ‘Teens by getting more members involved in organizing and conducting Club events. He claims that he demonstrated good judgment by marrying Sonja AFTER her Dad finished paying for her college education. Both he and Sonja were born and raised in Canton IL, where they attended school together and reside today. They have one daughter in the area, whose husband is a real car guy too.

John got his first BMW, a black 320i, new in 1980 while working in Cincinnati. Joining the Club then allowed a great experience in getting to lap Mid-Ohio—before there was any kind of instruction!  He drifted away for a while to road racing motorcycles, making the tour of Summit Point, Pocono, Road Atlanta, Nelson Ledges, Roebling Road and others. Then came two E28s, a 535i and a 535is. The 535 had about 350,000 miles when his son retired it for parts. The only major problem was the steering rack coming loose!  John returned to the marque a few years ago with a 2000 540i, manual of course! He recently passed that one along to his middle son, along with a BMW CCA gift membership. Having retired from the TV news business, there is now plenty of time to address mechanical mayhem on the fleet. The stable now includes wife Anne’s M235 and several of another German make from Zuffenhausen.

Craig is a long time resident of Central Illinois.  He has been a BMW owner since 2010, a Club Member since 2013, and currently has a 2025 M3 manual and 2017 330i Sport Wagon.  Three of his five BMWs have had three pedals, and he had the fastest lap and slalom times of his BMW Performance Driving School class in Thermal, CA.  Craig has volunteered as a “cone monkey” for years at the Tire Rack Street Survival schools.  At one time he subscribed to six car magazines simultaneously!  Craig knows his way around numbers and financial spreadsheets, and currently serves as Treasurer.

James has been a BMW CCA Member for over ten years, and serves as Secretary currently.  During Street Survival he can be found directing traffic at the J-turn and picking up cones, while his wife Sherrod instructs the students from the passenger seat.  (James can relate to the students as he has learned to take direction over their 20+ years of marriage).  He does not own the fastest or flashiest cars, but arguably two of the best cars BMW has ever built: an e39 ’01 530, and fully restored 1973 2002tii.

Nithin is originally from Canada and has worked at various OEMs as an Automotive Engineer. He enjoys learning everything about BMWs as he and his family have been BMW fans for many years. Check out Nithin’s YouTube channel where he has been documenting the ownership experience with his G87 M2 and his previous F90 M5 Safety car. Nithin’s current daily is a G80 M3 Comp LCI which serves as an all year all weather toy.

Bruce’s early cars had 3 pedals: a ’74 Audi, ’78 VW and the first of the Taurus SHOs, an ’89.  He joined the BMW CCA in ‘99 when he bought his first BMW, the e39 540i V8 with M-Sport options and 6-speed (of course).  “Family cars” followed: a 2001 740i (“Sporty Shorty,” the last of the classic e38s), a 2010 X3, 2015 X3 and an F26 X4 M40i.  Bruce retired from a career in engineering, marketing and IT management. He served as Secretary of our Chapter from 2005-07 and 2018-21, and as President 2022-25.  Bruce has been the classroom instructor of our TRSS driving school for several years, and stepped up to Chair the event in 2024.