Norma Williams Award of Excellence
Written by Bill Johnson
The Norma Williams Award of Excellence was “presented in recognition of unsurpassed dedication and service to the membership of the Kansas City Region of SCCA.” This award will be accompanied by a traveling trophy and will be presented to members who participate in one or more of the motor sports programs of SCCA, have served as an officer or chairman of an event, and have volunteered for additional responsibilities during the year. It will be selected by the Board.
If you’ve been a member of the region anytime in the last 20 years, you know Norma. For longer than can be remembered, Norma, or “Mom” as she was known to many, was the gatekeeper of the region’s membership and finances. She licensed all new drivers, kept the logbooks, and served on the Board as Treasurer and Director for countless years. No mention of Norma could be made without her husband Charlie, a multi time national championship engine builder in what was arguably the clubs toughest class.
Norma and Charlie operated out of their shop, Charlie Williams Import Car Center on 47th street on the north end of Westwood. For those that went to see Charlie, there weren’t many conversations that didn’t involve Norma. In a time where little could be done online, if you needed a membership, a log book, patches or stickers it usually involved a trip to see Norma and a long conversation. Because of this, there probably was nobody as “in tune” to the individual members as Norma. She even published a gossip column in the region’s newsletter, Checkpoint, to help members keep up with their friends and their families – it was the most read part of Checkpoint.
Norma along with Sharlene Smith put on an untold number of the region’s annual awards banquets and were the region’s “face” at the welcome tent when the Runoffs were at Heartland Park, something no other region had ever been able to do at any Runoffs.
Of course no trip to see Norma was complete until she gave an update on her boys and her grandkids.
Charlie was supportive of everything Norma did for the region. Charlie passed away peacefully at home with Norma by his side on May 2, 2020.
On the front page of the February 2010 edition of the Checkpoint, the first mention of the Norma Williams Award of Excellence was found under the apt title, “KC Region Honors Long Time Member.” The article went on to say, “The first recipient was Norma, however for the first time in more than 30 years, Norma was not able to attend the banquet.” Days before the banquet, Norma came down with a severe case of the flu causing her to miss the presentation of the award. Charlie Williams, her husband, Betty Ruckman, her daughter, Anna, her granddaughter, along with Matt were there to receive the award on her behalf. Pictured to the left is Charlie Williams accepting Norma’s trophy at the 2009 Awards Banquet.