Tennessee Chapter 9 of IHC

      I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year! Hello 2026! As many of you may know our chapter was approached by the national board and asked to host another winter convention. Myself and the board of directors have looked at and reviewed locations and contracts for the last several months. For those of you that were at the 4th quarter meeting you heard and saw the proposed budget for winter convention. Ultimately the board decided we weren’t financially strong enough to take on such an event right now. National events are much like everything thing else now days “expensive” , even with income from registrants and vendors the numbers just don’t line up to be profitable. This is and will prove to be the main hurdle for any chapter that decides to host an event. I felt like we were on the lower end as far as budget goes for a convention and it was still knocking on 30k expenses and without significant sponsors and donors we would be in the neighborhood of 10k short. With all that said the board as well as I just want what’s best for the chapter and its future. 

     In recent years we have lost several of our charter and longtime members to death and some have just come to that point where they aren’t physically able to attend and participate like they once did. So now the call goes out, calling on all you members that are sitting by the sideline waiting and watching the game, it’s your turn to pick up the ball and run. We need participation from our members, our goal as a chapter is to promote and preserve the International Harvester Brand and the best way to do so is to support our chapter events and national events. Displaying and operating this equipment is just a testament to the creators and engineers who built these pieces to outlast all of the competition. 

     I invite every member to attend our state show in Lebanon. We plan to have a meal on Friday night for all of our members as well as the Wilson County group and it will be a social gathering, so we can put names with faces. (When the second quarter newsletter comes out we will have R.S.V.P  information so we can get a more accurate head count for the meal.) We want to fellowship and get to know each other so we can build our chapter up to numbers not seen before. With the growth of number we can also look at ways to generate some income and start to work toward the future so we can host a national event someday a winter convention another auction or even a roundup, but it will take manpower. It only takes a little effort from each individual to make a huge impact. Working together and sharing ideas is what we are about. For years the leadership of the chapter has been focused on the same individuals over and over and many of you that have been in this a long time may say that causes burnout and stagnation and you’d be right but when we only have a small group of active members we have to continually share these responsibilities so I’m asking everyone to consider participating and serving on the board somewhere along the way so we can stay fresh and vibrant. The antique tractor and machinery hobby is running strong and it’s up to the younger generation to take the reins. 

Sincerely, 

Josh Roach – President