Linda and Al Lucas in their Chevy.
Linda Lucas is a powerhouse. The Minnesota Street Rod Association (MSRA) Board Member is a genuine hot rodder and hot rod enthusiast, but that’s just one of her passions.
Linda grew up in Minneapolis, MN, and was “the only girl in carburetor class in high school. I was a tomboy with lots of male friends,” she tells HotrodHotline.com, which jump-started her interest in cars.
"I did drag car racing and stock car racing,” Linda says, “And I was a model at the time.” She formed an all-girl car club, “The Montereys,” and was an active member of the American Hot Rod Association, which lead to a magazine profile on Linda, which focused on girls in hot rodding.
All of which is to say that Linda is the real deal – a rodder, a racer, and true enthusiast, who stepped away from the hobby for a few years after she got married to a fellow enthusiast. She went on to run her own successful business, which involved a fair amount of travel and a depth of commitment that Linda brings to everything she does.
Her return to the hot rod fray came about when the MSRA asked her to make a video on safety training. Her husband, Al, was a member of the MSRA and the experience re-triggered her personal passion for the hobby. She became a safety inspector, then began handling membership for the group. Three years ago, she ran for the board and secured a position.
As a board member, she is part of the hard-working and dedicated organization that puts on one of the biggest rod shows of the year, the Back to the Fifties Weekend at the St. Paul Fairgrounds each June. This year will mark 42 years of the event, and Linda has been instrumental in helping the MSRA and the event move successfully into the digital age.
This MN Working Woman of the Year, who has been involved in direct sales most of her life, including strategic planning, recruiting, media and advertising has brought those skills to the board. “In preparing for the 40th Anniversary Back to the Fifties event (in 2013), the Board decided they needed a separate website. We quoted it out, but eventually, I realized that I could put it together,” Linda explains. “We averaged 30,000 hits a day during Back to the Fifties.” Linda continues to manage all the content on MSRA website. (Check out the website here: http://msrabacktothe50s.com/)
While she loves working with the board members, there are always challenges, including the kind of resistance to change that is typical of most boards, particularly when the board started out as overseeing a local club. But Linda knows the culture, and the board, is changing, growing more accepting of the need to have digital presence to bring in more young rodders, and to encourage women and younger folks to be part of the MSRA.
“One of the biggest challenges we face is that we’re essentially a local car club, with a huge budget. Back to the Fifties involves 2000 volunteers handling 4000 shifts. That alone is a major management challenge, not to mention the nearly 12,000 cars that come on site for the event. We are always working to improve the show, from encouraging more families, more rodders in their 30s and 40s, and listening to our visitors.”
In addition to her board duties, Linda and Al, are the proud owners of a 1939 Chevy coupe. “It was a business coupe when we found it,” Linda explains. “We’ve done over 150 mods to it, and we drive it everywhere. The only time it has been on the trailer was for Blackie Gejein’s show in Fresno one February. We’ve taken it to Michigan, Canada, VT, Tennessee, Missouri, California, you name it. We’ve put nearly 40,000 miles, and plenty of memory makers (i.e. road rash) on it. It took 6 ½ years to build. We designed everything about it, and there’s no plastic on that car!”
Linda and Al at a Goodguys event.
Linda is passionate about everything she does, from hot rodding to aviation, to advocating for the Pre-eclampsia Foundation, a cause very dear to her family’s heart. She built the website for the Minnesota Women in Aviation group, and has helped to fundraise on behalf of Preeclampsia education and support for patients, along with her daughter Jamie who co-chairs the foundation’s big fundraiser: http://www.preeclampsia.org/savinggrace.
We know one thing, though. The MSRA is incredibly luck to have her!