2024 Board and Officers
President – Mike Pagotto (Display/Contact Name “Whybu1”)
Hello everyone! Most of you have met me on club runs or picnics but for those who have not my name is Mike and I drive a red 2021 RF. My second seater is often my wife, Angela or my brother Steve but most times it is just me.
A little about me… I retired from the Army in 2013 after 23 years of service. During that time I was a clarinet player, a ship loader and a medical administrator. Currently I am a part-time pharmacy technician. My home town is Ballietsville, PA, but I have lived all over the US and spent time in several foreign countries. Now I live in the Poconos. Apart from my Miata, I enjoy reading, hiking and spending time with my dogs.
LVMOC is a great organization filled with wonderful folks. I look forward to trying to improve the club in some small way and to ensure we continue to thrive. Hope to see you often on our club drives enjoying the scenic drives, excellent conversation and of course eating ice cream.
Vice-President – Neil D’Andria (Display/Contact Name “Neil & Kelly”)
Hello fellow LVMOC Members. I’m Neil D’Andria. When I was 18 my dad had given me my first car, a 1967 Ford Mustang. Since then, I have always enjoyed working on cars, eventually attending Somerset County Community college, and receiving an Associate’s degree in Automotive Technology.
In April of 2021 I had decided to look for a 2-seater roadster. After searching many different types I found my emotional support toy, a 2007 Miata out of Queens NY. I had it delivered on a flatbed to my home in Bethlehem where I started working on it inside and out to make it my own.
I found many groups online but only one actually did more than just talk. I was excited to find LVMOC.NET, a fun group of people who gather together to enjoy the curvy open roads on a regular basis. The Miata community is made up of special people, and at our age it is nice to have a way to make friends and enjoy our cars at the same time.
I have been allowed to post all the events our club has on Facebook to allow more people to see our numerous activities.
I am truly honored to be your Vice-President, and I want to continue the energy of this group moving forward. My wife, Kelly, and I enjoy being a part of something that creates great relationships based on our common interest in our beloved Miatas.
Secretary – Tony Kovatch (Display/Contact Name “Kovatch”)
Hi LVMOC! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Tony. I am extremely brand-loyal to Mazda. When I was 16 years old a drunk driver hit me and died upon impact, and I walked away because of the safety of the Mazda. Years later, I am on my 17th Mazda… with a fleet of them currently in my driveway.
When I started to add Miatas to my collection I searched on Facebook for other Miata enthusiasts. I came across LVMOC. This is a warm and always welcoming group with a wonderfully diverse community. I am so happy to be a part of it and I want to give my support to all of you, any way I can.
During the week I am registered nurse working in cardiology or the emergency room. Where I go to decompress and my happy place is behind the wheel of a Miata!! I look forward to seeing so many of you on upcoming drives and events!
Treasurer – David Sell (Display/Contact Name “Flying Dutchman”)
Being a life-long car nut, I started reading Road & Track and Sports Cars Illustrated in the mid-1950s and added Hot Rod Magazine in the early 1960s. I learned to drive in my dad’s 1959 Volvo PV-544 and practiced my early “heel-and-toe” downshifts on the back roads of upper Bucks County. My various vehicles have included a 2-stroke Saab, a VW Kombi camper, a couple of Corvettes (sounded good, but not much fun to drive), a couple of Porsches (nope, no 911s) and a few motorcycles. I competed in some autocrosses in the 1960s and spent a day in an F2000 with the Bertil Roos Driving School in the early 2000s. In addition to driving, Janice and I enjoyed 35 years of cruising in our various boats, followed by about 7 years of traveling by RV. We owned a 1993 NA Miata for 17 years before replacing it with a nice, silver 2011 NC PRHT (actually, this one is Janice’s, not mine. My daily drive is an SUV. Oh, well…).
I’m pleased to have the opportunity to serve the Club as Treasurer for another year.
Governor – Ken Hill (Display/Contact Name “Ken Hill”)
I’ve been a member of LVMOC since 2008, and I’m grateful to be able to give back to the club that has brought so much fun and enjoyment to me and my son Evan’s lives. Evan is my ever-present co-pilot. I have been a Miata owner since 1993. I moved around the country for several years for my job and always joined a Miata club wherever I lived. LVMOC is my 8th Miata club. I’m on my third Miata and second yellow one. I’m the ultimate tinkerer. I can’t leave anything as it came from the manufacturer. Needless to say, all my Miatas have been extensively modified. This uncontrollable urge to make things go faster landed me a job at Flyin’ Miata for 5 years, from 2000 to 2004. Working on Miatas and interacting with many Miata owners was a dream come true. Since moving back to Pennsylvania, I enjoy driving my Miata on the roads here in the eastern side of the state. By day I’m an engineer at EnerSys, an industrial battery manufacturer based in Reading, where I am a Compliance Engineer, a job that entails identifying all the regulatory standards a new product has to meet and then building the list of tests necessary to meet those requirements.