A History of the NorthEast Ohio Austin Healey Club

In the summer of 1977, the national officers of the Austin Healey Club of America began contacting various club members around the country to see if they would be interested in forming local clubs with other AHCA members in their areas. The national club had been in existence for close to 20 years and its officers thought this would be a way to get the members more involved and to generate more interest in the club.

The national officers sent a list of the AHCA members living in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania to Mike Callahan in Canal Fulton, Ohio. Mike contacted those members to see who might be interested in forming a local club and invited them to a meeting at his home in September of 1977. About 15 people showed up for the meeting and all expressed an interest in having a local club.

From that meeting the NE Ohio chapter of the AHCA was born. With Mike as the leader, various activities were scheduled and held, some of which are carried on today. One of the first events was the Christmas party. It was held at the Holiday Inn at Boston Heights, and with Mike's organization and planning was a great success. He had several activities to get the new members acquainted with each other and a good time was had by all. Following that, the all British Swap Meet and Car Show was organized and held at Bishop Motors in Norton. That, too, was a great success and is still the main annual event for the club to this day.

Various members of the club have come and gone, but a strong nucleus is constant, planning and guiding the club with its membership holding at a fairly steady number of just over 100 families. The Swap Meet and Car Show is still held every spring and the Christmas party is also an annual event, but both have seen various venues over the years. The Christmas party, better known as a Holiday party, is now held each January to avoid conflicts with other holiday activities usually scheduled in December.

With continued strong leadership and varied and interesting activities, it is expected that the NorthEast Ohio Austin Healey Club will be around for many years to come.