Miami, FL, Friday 13 June 2025. As the 2025 calendar year approaches its midway point, SAMA held its 6th Board Meeting of the year. It took place on Thursday 12 June at the World Trade Center in Miami. Officers present were Daniel Álvarez (SAMA president) and Joaquín Ruhi (SAMA vice president), .Other members present were SAMA president emeritus Paul Borden; board directors Jaime Florez and Eduardo Hapke and board advisor María Ravani, Tony Serrato represented his brother Marcello (SAMA treasurer). Specially invited guests were Albert Collazo (Hispanic Communications Director for Ford), Ariel García-Linares (Vice President, Transportation Sector at Ketchum) and SAMA member Karen Blanco.
Karen will be joining and assisting in our contacts and coordination with the Miami Cancer Institute for the 2026 return of the Hot Wheels Fun Day. This spiritual successor to SAMA’s Rides and Smiles will bring some of our hottest rides for the enjoyment of children undergoing cancer treatment. Karen’s background as a schoolteacher will provide valuable insights and inputs in making this a memorable event for all. This will take place on Saturday 6 September 2025 from 10 AM to 12 noon. This will serve as a kickoff for National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month events at the Miami Cancer Institute.
Our next member luncheon
Of more immediate concern is our upcoming late June Member Luncheon. This will be hosted by Michelin, the premier tire manufacturer founded over 136 years ago, Their focus will be on the long-lasting Defender family of all-season, mud + snow tires. Invitations with an RSVP request have already gone out to our members in good standing.
Our sama.miami website has seen a number of new articles. These include our first Review by Paul Borden on our recent Meguiar’s presentation. Some possible tweaks and improvements to the site were discussed. These include a larger font size and a direct REVIEWS link atop the Home Page. The tagline on the upper right corner of the Home Page will now read “Passionate about cars since 2007”.
