The Virginia Championship Hare Scramble Series held it's annual awards banquet at the Fort Magruder Inn, in historic Williamsburg,VA. This setting was only fitting as the series reached several milestones this year to cap off our 14^th season of competition.

The evening started off with an informal gathering to reunite friends and archrivals alike in a relaxed atmosphere, then it was on to a formal setting for dinner. The buffet dinner for the 291 people in attendance was an elegant candle lit affair. The serving table was adorned by a beautiful 1998 KX 125 in honor of our series Grand Champion. After dinner, it was time to get on with the program with the series President George Greer Sr. as the Master of Ceremonies. Series Coordinator Phillip Doyle gave an introduction to the '98 season and schedule. There after, Awards Coordinator

Bobby Wilt took a few moments to thank our sponsors and review our contingency programs for the ' 97 and also the up coming ' 98 seasons.

We were honored this year to have several motorcycle industry representatives in attendance. Pete Dennison, owner of A-Loop Off Road and founder of Moose Racing was our guest speaker. He presented and narrated a slide show to share his experiences as Jimmy Lewis' mechanic in the '97 Dakar Rally. Gary Hatch of Texaco/Havoline Lubricants awarded our Horizon Riders (peewee & jr.mini) with fantastic

Havoline Race Team jackets. We were also pleased to have Tom Bartlett of Tucker Rocky Distributing attend to show his continued support of our series.

Next on the agenda was the presentation of year-end trophies. This year we had record breaking attendance at the races. There were approximately 600 individuals who earned points in 13 different classes throughout the season, 106 of those racers were awarded year-end trophies. We were also blessed to have a record breaking turn out by our Horizon Riders with 27 of them earning year-end awards. Most of the class points races were fairly close all season, which made for some very exciting competition. In the end, the VCHSS crowned a new Grand Champion, Daniel Morrison Jr., of Martinsville. Daniel has been competing in the VCHSS since he was a young lad. He started out in the Mini Class and worked his way up to AA Class. He has won the championship in each class he has competed in. He is the first rider in VCHSS history to accomplish this feat. Daniel is a third generation motorcycle racer, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He was not the only Morrison to take home a win for ' 97. His father Danny Morrison worked just as hard to earn the Vet A championship, and his little sister Jessica was awarded for participation in the Jr. Mini 's. We look forward to watching Jessica this year as she moves up to the Women's Class. Daniel was joined by his family for the

Presentation of the Grand Championship trophy. Congratulations to Daniel for a hard fought victory and exemplary display of good sportsmanship throughout the entire season.

In recognizing our class champions this year, we were able to award husband and wife championship trophies. George Greer Jr., on the AA Class championship and his wife Heather Greer for taking home her first win in the Women's Class. George's younger brother, Jason Greer was not far behind. He captured a second place win in the AA Class even though he suffered an injury in mid season. The ' 98 season should prove to be a good example of sibling rivalry between these two.

We also had an entire family take home year-end honors this season. Stephen Edmondson won the 200 A Class championship while his father, Steve Edmondson came in fourth place in the Senior Class and his mother, Kay Edmondson took home a fifth place win in the Women's class. Just another example to prove that motorcycling is truly a family sport.

This season also gave us a rider that trophied in two classes. Jason Balonis of Portsmouth, won the Mini Class championship while also taking home a seventh place trophy in the 200 B Class.

The grand Champion, AA, A, B, Women, and Mini Class champion's were also awarded custom painted Bell helmets to honor their victories. These helmets will surly be worn with pride as they compete in the ' 98 season. A special thanks goes out to Paul Thompson who graciously volunteered his time and talents to customize these helmets.

The person who puts forth an extra special effort for the series throughout the season usually receives the Presidents Award. This year we were honored to recognize six recipients with this award. Mike Jackson filmed and produced our series videotapes while John Capewell photographed our riders at every race. These two gentlemen risked life and limb at times to ensure that we all had the opportunity to obtain the finest video's and photographs available. John and Cindy Bouma coordinated our series T-shirt sales and have provided us with an excellent web page and electronic time keeping software. Kelly Allen wrote informative and entertaining articles for MX Southern Style and still managed to race the series. Kelly was unable to attend due to a prior engagement, accepting the award for him was wife Dawn. And finally, R. J. Faddis was recognized for his long-term involvement with the VCHSS. He was also unable to attend due to a prior engagement, but his two sons were present and accepted the award on his behalf.

As for ' 97 being a year of firsts, we had several new events take place during the season. This was the first year that our Grand Champion was one that had come up through the ranks from the Mini Class to the AA Class, and the Grand Champs father also took home a class championship. ' 97gave us our first husband and wife champions in their respective classes and we also had our first Father, Mother and Son trophy at the end of the year. This was the first year that our Women's Class was a points paying class with roughly ten women racing throughout the season with seven of them receiving year-end trophies. Speaking of women,' 97 was the first year that the VCHSS had a woman serving as a member of the board. Alyson Carawan was the series Points Coordinator and performed her duties to perfection. The series also saw a new round this year that kicked off the ' 97 season. The race was held at Briery Creek near Farmville and was a smashing success (especially for my shift lever). Briery Creek will be the first stop again for the '98 season on March 22^nd.

With all of the excitement of the ' 97 season behind us , one can only wonder what the New Year will bring. I am sure that ' 98 will prove to be one of the most exciting seasons that the VCHSS has ever seen. We are proud to be a part of such a fine organization and we extend an invitation to you all to come and join us as we enter our fifteenth year of competition, fun and fellowship.

The Virginia Championship Hare Scramble Series would like to thank our sponsors, and please remember to support the people that support the sport: A-Loop Off Road, Answer Products, Bell Helmets, Competition Direct/EBC Brakes, Factory Effexs/Quick Strap, Malcolm Smith Racing, MX East, No Fear, Off Road Specialties, Pirielli Tire co, Scott Goggles, Silkolene Lubricants, Texaco/Havoline Lubricants, Tsubaki Chain Co, Tucker-Rocky Distributing, UNI Filter.

To order a copy of our series videotapes send a check or money order to:

Mary Jackson, 9918 Merryman Rd. Fredricksburg, VA. 22408. In the amount of $40.00 for a 14+ hour tape set.