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I'd be interested in having a meeting of all those interested in helping create an official Chicago MINI club. Obviously there would be a lot we'd want to talk about (including a name!) so I'd like to see those interested in a get together for a lunch and maybe a small cruise afterwards. I'd like spend this time to talk about what sort of organization we'd all like to see and how far reaching it should be.
Who might be interested in this and what are your thoughts on a meeting place? I think the most of us live either in the city or the northern suburbs so lets try to come up with a central location.
<p>FYI I'm busy for the rest of March but am free most Saturdays in April.</p>
<p>Busy on 4/5, and I am running in a race the morning of 4/12, but I should be able to still make a lunch. Free for now the rest of April Saturdays.</p>
<p>Saturdays in April are good for me too.</p>
<p>Am moving to near Western suburbs very soon but should be available in the latter half of April for a meeting and cruise.</p>
<p>The best dates for me are 4/19, 4/20, 4/26 & 4/27. I'd definitely like to be there. It might be semi-spring weather… how about a cruise to the zoo or one of the gardens around town?</p>
<p>How about having lunch somewhere, taking a scenic drive up to Highland Park and ending up at the Botanical Gardens. It's right off of I94 so it would be easy for people to get home from there.</p>
<p>Botanical Gardens sounds nice, another idea would be Independant Grove off Buckley Road (Route 137). Its pretty and has lots of parking but I think it's only free for Lake County residents.</p>
<p>I'm available every Saturday in April. The Botanical Gardens sounds like a good idea.</p>
<p>I think we got off track here. I'd be interested in hearing the pro's and con's of forming an official club,if anyone has input.</p>
<p>I think that's a justifiable question. That being said I think that this may be best discussed over lunch or at least in person. I certainly see no harm in talking about it now but I definately want to meet about it with those that are interested. At this point we've got a great group of people who are obviously interested in continuing to get together on a regular basis. In my mind some sort of official club seems natural. I think one question I'd love to see feedback on is whether or not that club takes $5 annual dues, $20 annual dues, or no dues at all. Or how large the scope of the club should be. There are lots of ways we can go with this and I think it's wide open at this point.</p>
<p>IMO, dues should reflect the benefits provided by the club.</p>
<p>A cruise to the zoo or one of the gardens around town sounds great. It would give us the time and place to talk over the details of forming an official club.</p>
<p>If we are looking to venture a little farther from home, here are a couple of stops that might be fun in the Cook County/Joliet area:</p>
<p>Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center – <a href="<a href="http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content</a><em>id=27&file=env</em>27c</p>” target=”_blank”><a href="http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.fpdcc.com/tier3.php?content</a><em>id=27&file=env</em>27c
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<p>Pilcher Park Nature Center – <a href="http://www.jolietpark.org/naturecenter2.html</p rel="nofollow">“>http://www.jolietpark.org/naturecenter2.html</a></p>
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<p>Bird Haven Greenhouse & Conservatory – <a href="http://www.jolietpark.org/birdhaven.html</p rel="nofollow">“>http://www.jolietpark.org/birdhaven.html</a></p>
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<p>I agree, in person is best. I look forward to hearing idea's!</p>
<p>Dues absolutely make sense. The question is how to determine the amount and what they go to. Does anyone know what other MINI clubs (or any other car clubs) normally require for a membership fee? Perhaps this is info best brought to the meeting to review. Do we need to determine other pieces of info to bring to the meeting a well?</p>
<p>Great ideas Becky! Things to think about if we take dues (1) we'll need a bank account and someone to control it (2) we'll need to be incorporated as a non-for profit organization (3) Hmmm I thought I had three points to make – guess not :). I think each of us should all make a list of items we want to discuss and list them here. That may give us a way to better get a handle on what we'll be talking about when we meet.</p>
<p>Was your third point related to insurance or taxes? I see other clubs trying to form on other web sites. They have brought up insurance and tax issues. The insurance issue is valid…if a mishap happens on a club-sponsored function, is there any club liability? As far as taxes, non-profit organizations have to file every year but usually don't owe anything.</p>
<p>That was it exactly… insurance. Taking the liability out of the hands of individuals and into the hands of an organization is very important. I'm not too knowledgable about the tax issues but from my understanding you're correct – a non-profit organization shouldn't owe anything.</p>
<p>I'm up for an in person meeting. One question I have is this for the local Chicago area group only, or for MINICCA which I thought was already in the works and would cover many if not all of the items questioned above? April 5 is bad for me, but the other Saturdays in April look good.</p>
<p>Jim</p>
<p>I've started collecting info on dues and benefits other clubs provide for being a member. We'll also want to think about a Board of Directors, as we'll need a Treasurer if we're going to collect dues and set up a bank account. Is anyone knowledgeable about setting up a non-profit? Can we identify in advance all the topics we need to come prepared to discuss? Perhaps we should each take one topic and come prepared to speak about it to the rest of the group? I'd be happy to put together an agenda if we want to get that detailed.</p>
<p>Looking forward to seeing everybody again.As a BMWCCA member and relatively poor graduate student, I would like to make an observation about BMWCCA. I have never met anyone from the Windy City chapter. Why? Because all their events are autocross, other race events, etc. No fun drives like we just did, no get-togethers and social stuff. Autocross is rich man's sport. I just enjoy motoring on the roads–and let's face it, racing is awfully hard on the car. As mentioned before, the MINI is an equalizer in the sense we have a lot of demographics represented. The only real disservice a MINI Club of Chicago could do to its members would be to only serve its wealthiest demographic. Cheep=good. So, I'll guess we'll just have to see what gets put on the table. As pointed out, a club's costs should be proportional to its benefits, so it sounds like the two main foci of a meeting would be what those benefits should be (and how much to offer) as well as how much we are all willing to pay. See ya soon!</p>
<p>Jim – The MINICCA is not up and running at this point due to several reason… thus I think it's time to take matters into our own hands with a club. </p>
<p>David – I agree 100% with you. I too am a BMWCCA member and I have noticed the same things and have the same conclusion you do. I love the BMWCCA, but it really serves a purpose that could be very different than that of a Chicago MINI Club.</p>
<p>Can we narrow down a date and then finalize a place? Those need to happen first so folks can reserve the date… I say either Saturday or Sunday of the last two weekends in April are good choices. Anybody second any of those dates?</p>
<p>I'm thinking that Saturday will work better for me. I'm free the last 3 Saturdays in April: the 13th, the 20th and the 27th. Does anyone have any preference?</p>
<p>So far those Saturdays (12th, 19th, 26th) are ok. I am considering a roadtrip to Indianapolis on the 27th but haven't made plans yet.. <a href="http://www.minicooperonline.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=phpBB_14&file=index&action=viewtopic&topic=7205&5" rel="nofollow">Spring MINI Road Rally – Indianapolis to Nashville</a></p>
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<p>The later, the better for us. Our move is officially slated for the 12th. One less MC on the North Shore! (Think of it as an exchange program.)</p>
<p>But one more in the west burbs! There's a lot of us out here too, vlm.</p>
<p>27th is bad for me, any other day is fine…question for Victoria, how many MINI's would it take to move your stuff ;-)</p>
<p>I'm wide open….pick a date, any date! :)</p>
<p>David, if you've never met a Windy City member please talk to me at the next MINI drive. I've been a member for several years and the club does have an annual Fall Drive, an annual picnic, an annual dinner, a swap meet and 5 or 6 meetings a year. Yes there's a lot of us speed freaks doing the autox and driver's schools, but there are a number of members that only do the social events like those above. And by the way, autox can be done on any budget. Happy motoring!</p>
<p>It looks like the best dates for everyone at this point are either the weekends of the 12th or the 26th. I'd rather do it on a Saturday personally but could do it Sunday afternoon in a pinch. To recap we'd be meeting somewhere for lunch and then take a short cruise ending at another stop where we could talk more about the idea of a Chicago club. I think we should pick a place to meet for lunch that would be easy to reach from the city and the norther suburbs. How about the Highland House on Rt. 41 in Highland Park? (the place we met for the January drive) We know they have ample parking and most of us know how to get there. From there we could pick a drive either east or west culminating in ice cream or something of that nature. Does anyone of other ideas for a location?</p>
<p>I'm in, how about the we meet on the 12th? And Highland House works for me.</p>
<p>Would you be totally adverse to a Wisconsin MINI jumping the state line to join your group? Since the Wi. people can't seem to get together, despite numerous opening attempts by me. (26th is better)</p>
<p>The more the better Ron.. I don't see why we should exclude anyone who wants to join in and have fun..</p>
<p>The more the merrier! Anyone from surrounding states is always welcome on our drives – I see no reason why that should change for an official club.</p>
<p>I'll second anytime on the 26th — but I could also make the 12th if we do 12 noon or later as I need to go to another meeting in the morning.</p>
<p>Any of those dates sound good to me! Jim–the Fall drive is more what I like, although I didn't know that existed with BMWCCA. However, I suppose it's also that the Windy City Chapter (judging from the newsletter, membership lists and photos) seemed filled with new, expensive BMWs–not many like my '88 535iS, which I loved. But that may not be the truth–just my observation. It seemed like a lot of the BMWCCA events involved going to Indiana (and I don't mean Gary!) or something, which was just too much for me. But it could also be that the marketing of the club just didn't catch my eye as much. It's great to have this forum for those of us in Chicago on the internet–it makes things so much easier! I did my math on auto-x once and figured it would be about $100 a pop with fees, brake pads, etc. Not to mention the cost of an extra set of wheels and tires, which is probably the smart thing to do. That's a whole lotta money for some of us! The MINI's performance combined with new BMW reliability was a big part of the charm. In five years when I make real $$$, then maybe I'll buy a JCW MCS just for racing! :)</p>
<p>Great idea for the meeting…I believe, as a non-profit, we'd need to form a board of directors (Pres, Sec, & Treas), have Bylaws, a projected budget for the next 2 yrs, etc… the following is a good site for NFP forms/fees info: <a href="http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/business_services/nfp.html" rel="nofollow"><a href="http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/business_s" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/business_s</a>…</a>… Jim's in Italy right now, but I know we could meet either: 4/5 or 4/12 and the Highland Park spot sounds good.</p>
<p>I'll toss in an idea for an April 26th drive and meeting. Start at Jackson and Lake in the city and follow Route 66 to ? Everyone could pick there own drop off point depending on how much time they have (see historic66.com/illinois). There are several interesting and somewhat historic spots to stop for a bite to eat (while there is a Krispy Kream at Jackson and LaSalle, I'd suggest Lou Mitchell's to start). The meeting could be broken down into several shorter meetings. I was in the Miata club and the meetings were boring! If we had 2-3 cars willing to prerun the trip a week or two before, we could plan a treasure hunt style rally as part of the fun. I'd be happy to be a pre-runner. Jeff</p>
<p>Nice grammar, their own drop out point.</p>
<p>While I think that's a great idea that we should definitely consider for a drive we should probably focus on something that's more centered around a meeting as well as being easy to get to for this next month. A place like the Highland House is really easy to get to from the city as well as being accessible for the west and northern suburbs. The only reason I suggested a drive as well is that we might want to speak longer than just lunch. If we take a short drive to a park (or something of that nature) we'll not have to worry about a waitress wanting to clear our tables.</p>
<p>Looks like the 26th is the best bet. Let's call it Saturday the 26th of April at 12 noon at the Highland House. Any nays? We can figure out a cruise to add on later, but the primary purpose of this meeting is to talk about forming a Chicago Club.</p>
<p>Saturday, April 26th, high noon, at the Highland House.
See you then.</p>
<p>Motor On.</p>
<p>I think the 26th is probably the best date we've got. I'd like to do it sooner but that date seems to work best for everyone. It also gives us time to figure out what are exact plan will be. I think the Highland House will work best but I want to make we have plenty of time to talk about everything we need to. Because of this we might need to go else where once we all finish with lunch. The idea I was kicking around is that we could make the drive between these two proposed places a small cruise through some nice roads.</p>
<p>Here's another option. I just received a post card from Chicago Rallye Central. There is a gimmick rally on 4/26 (also on 3/29, 5/3 and a bunch of other dates through 12/6). All of the rallies start just west of the Firestone dealer at Woodfield Mall at 6:00 PM on Sat. night. (for info e-mail <a href="mailto:rcoleman@iit.edu">rcoleman@iit.edu</a>) Perhaps the meeting could be later and somewhere closer to Woodfield. Those interested could head to the rally afterwards. It would be great to have a bunch of Mini's competing and all the set up work done for us. </p>
<p>Based on my experience with the Miata club in LA and in Chicago, having a fun activity to do makes meetings more interesting and better attended. For some, Highland Park is not all that close and the middle of the day on a Sat. is a busy time. In the spirit of Let's Motor, we should find some interesting automotive adventure to try for every club even. Jeff</p>
<p>HH is fine with me, or I could drive down further. The rallye sounds quite intriguing, but in order for us to plan club meetings around such events, we must first organize a club. I personally feel this next meeting needs to tend to the business of getting a club formed.</p>
<p>Jeff – Again I love the idea. and I think it's something we should really consider. That being said I think they might not apply well for this next meeting we’re planning on having. First off it’s our initial meeting of any kind regarding a possible Chicago club. We’re in an interesting situation in that we’ve done many drives already yet haven’t had any sort of meeting or even talk regarding an official club. In a sense that was a very purposeful move. We didn’t want to rush into anything that we didn’t have the personal to adequately support. So that being said we’d like to make it as straight forward as possible when it comes to our agenda for the day. So while your ideas are something that typically we’d all probably flock to – I think it we might want to use them for something later during the summer.</p>
<p>Also concerning the location of the meeting I’m working with knowledge of everyone’s current location around Chicagoland. Most of us either live in the city and the northern suburbs. At this point only a couple of us live in the western suburbs. With that in mind we figured that an accessible northern location might be best for the majority of the group. I’d be happy to have our next event closer to the city or even in the western suburbs if other wish that. As our group grows and we have more people from different locations I assume our meeting points and drives will become more diverse as well.</p>
<p>Jim and I will be at the 4/26 mtg. After the club-formation discussion, and we come up with a club name, maybe we can have T-shirts made?? mebbe? Oh! once Jim learns about this <a href="mailto:Rally@Woodfield.6pm">Rally@Woodfield.6pm</a>, I'm sure we'll want to attend that event,too. We could get good promotional insight from this rally and apply it to one of our future events.</p>
<p>There is already the official Gabe-er-ware site for Shirts, etc. <a href="http://www.cafeshops.com/bridger_us_mini" rel="nofollow">cafeshops.com/bridger<em>us</em>mini</a> The meeting sounds like it is shaping up nicely..</p>
<p>Thanks Steve for the commercial :). Actually I consider all my sales of merchandise regarding this site as just donations – so if you're interested in buying something just know that what little profit I get from the sales go back into this site – keeping it up and running. Actually we could use <a href="http://www.cafeshops.com" rel="nofollow">cafeshops.com</a> for our tshirts – it's a cheap (free) way to have tshirts available. They basically print on demand so there is no inventory and you don't have to worry about shipping. Of course we wouldn't be able to do them free but at least we'd have them immediately.</p>
<p>Club name suggestion… Toddlin' Town MINIs with a nod to the old Sinatra song! Anybody else with name ideas?</p>
<p>I agree with Gabe that we will not be able to fit the Gimmick rally in with our 4/26th meeting… However, it may be a good thing if one or two "volunteers" go and research the ride. Giving us a lesson in how it's done,for our future use. Maybe?</p>
<p>I'd like to hear all about it, could be great fun! So if anyone goes, please tell us what you find.</p>
<p>Windy City MINI's
Windy Citi MINI's
Three times fast…</p>
<p>Additional "Chicago" club names: Broad Shoulders; Wild Onions; Hog Butchers. And don't let's leave the city motto untouched–let's take it for our own: Urbs in Auto (City in a Car).</p>
<p>You'll have to fill me in on the outcomes of events if the plans fall on the 12th (for sure), and on the 26th (probably) or the previous weekend I may also be booked. Sorry!!!</p>
<p>ChiMini!</p>
<p>Jim, I think you may just have something there.</p>
<p>"CHIMINI" sounds like Chimney</p>
<p>Our rally or autocross team can be the ChiMini Sweepers! We smoke 'em all! :)</p>
<p>LOL, that's a good one!</p>
<p>Not too "Mary Poppins," with the Chim-ChiMINI? Or is it more properly pronounced "Chime-MINI" or even "Shy-MINI"?</p>
<p>Here's a few more to ponder about 🙂 </p>
<p>MINI-MACH1 Club
Da MiniCooper Club
MINICruizin Club</p>
<p>I like Windy City MINIs but it's very close to the BMWCCA Chicago chapter's name: Windy City BMW. Personally I prefer something very simple and keeping within the MINI/Mini traditions. Maybe "The Chicago MINI Motoring Group" or "The MINI Motoring Club of Chicago". I like the idea of using the term "motoring" since it's now so closely associated with the MINI brand. Overall I think it's important for the club to have a name that sounds professional yet is identifiable with the MINI.</p>
<p>I really like "MINI Motoring Club of Chicago"…I too like the idea of having the "motoring" spirit referenced.</p>
<p>Formal's good, future sponsors or people we're gonna be asking stuff from will probably take us more seriously too.</p>
<p>I will be out of town on business that weekend. </p>
<p>I will catch the next one.</p>
<p>I'll third the MINI Motoring Club of Chicago idea.</p>
<p>This totally off the subject, but I'm curious about something. Gabe, on your headers and other pictures, I've noticed that you fuzz out the license plates. I've heard other people talk about doing that too. At the risk of being naive, what's wrong with showing someone's plate number? People see your plate number in public all the time, so what's the risk of showing it in a picture?</p>
<p>Drew – Great question. I really don't know what is wrong with showing plate numbers. I just know that some people are very sensitive to it and I've photoshopped the plates in the appropriate places because of it.</p>
<p>How about a prequel to the next chicago event? Just seems like April 26th is so far away. Anyone?</p>
<p>I slightly prefer the ring of "Chicago MINI Motoring Club" to "MINI Motoring Club of Chicago." But that's me.</p>
<p>MINI Motoring Club of Chicago </p>
<p><pre><code> =</p>
<pre><code> M2C2
</code></pre>
<p></code></pre></p>
<p>Jim – what are you thinking? I'd like to do something sooner but it seems so many of us are busy.</p>
<p>How about Chicago MINI Motorers? I do like ChiMINI too… though on second thought I would really prefer something that didn't say Chicago as so few of us are actually Chicagoans and it seems limiting. I only call myself a Chicagoan when I'm in foreign countries or other big cities. Here at home I don't identify with the city much as I might go downtown only 2-3 times a year, tops. I didn't make it even once in 2002, unless you count driving on I90 coming home from a trip out east. What about a name that encompasses the broad nature of our group, including the Indiana & Wisconsin folks as well? Tri-State Motorers? MidWest MINI Motorers? Am I the only one that thinks this?</p>
<p>I understand what you're saying but in the end I think using the term Chicago is the easiest way to identify the region. Personally having lived in Northwest Indiana for years I'd have no trouble belonging to a "Chicago" group. That's my 2 pence at least.</p>
<p>Hey Gabe, we're going for dim sum this sunday, wanna join us? Anybody? We could meet in Wilmette and drive down to Chinatown.</p>
<p>JK – Thanks for visiting the site! Since I used MINI-Light wheels off a Cooper S the bolt pattern wasn't a problem. If you're interested in other wheels and want to make sure the bolt pattern will work I'd recommend checking with a company like <a href="http://tirerack.com" rel="nofollow">tirerack.com</a>. </p>
<p>As for being a member – are you referring to our informal Chicago group? If so you're welcome to join us in any of our events if you're in the area. We're 100% open to anyone who wants to come out.</p>
<p>Seeing as how I'm a Californian married to a Chicagoan whose mom lives in Alsip, my 2 cents suggestion goes for Chicagoland MINIs. (won't exclude suburbanites)</p>
<p>Gabe,</p>
<p>I'm not a “member” yet but I have been visiting your site and I do find it interesting and informative. Quick question. Your Cooper has been upgraded to 17″ wheels. Was the bolt pattern a problem?</p>
<p>J.K.</p>
<p>I second "Chicago MINI Motoring Group". :)</p>
<p>I did some serious motoring this weekend, 1900 miles in 47 hours. Unfortunately it was me solo in a Chevy Tahoe, not a Mini. I hauled a '53 Pontiac woodie wagon back to Chicago from Dallas. Along with a thousand other random thoughts, I had plenty of time to ponder a club name. Here's three that I came up with: 1) Chicagoland Cooper Club (CCC) 2) Midwest Mini Mob (MMM) (mob as in a group of kangaroos, not the mafia), 3)Motoring Mini Madmen (sorry ladies). Well, what did you expect from the sleep deprived?</p>
<p>I have <strong>two more</strong> cents to toss in. Here in Southern California I'm a member of one of the clubs you've posted a link to- <a href="http://scmm.org" rel="nofollow">SCMM</a>, the SoCal MINI Maniacs. Why not call your group Chicagoland MINI Maniacs? Form some kind of connection. You guys have a street named Fullerton while we have a city with the same name. We have a Burbank as does Chicagoland. Your North Side has road called Belmont, we have Belmont Shores with just as much coolness. Oscars are made in Chitown while they're presented here in Hollywood. I could go on, the point being we have quite a bit in common besides the coolest cars of all- MINI Coopers!</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions Juan. As someone who's worked with the on again off again on again MINICCA I know first hand the proposed benefits with working togther as seperate clubs. Hopefully in the future there will be an organization that will help clubs from all over the US work side by side to help make things easier and give the clubs a stronger national voice. But until then we need to be very aware of each other and trade tips and suggestions as much as possible. Personally I think it's important to have the name of each group be original to that location. Carving out a local identity will be very important for these clubs in that it will create more of a sense of ownership among it's members. That being said I'm open to any name and I think we should pool everything that has been proposed here and vote on them at our meeting.</p>
<p>FYI: MMCC and CMMC aren't available in any form in terms of URLs. That doesn't mean we can't use "Chicago MINI Motoring Club" or "MINI Motoring Club of Chicago" but we'll have either have a long domain name or a different domain name than the actual club name. Knowing this how does MINI Club of Chicago, Chicago MINI Club, or Chicago Club of Motoring sound? I think keeping the term Chicago in there is important in that it easily ideitifies the region.</p>
<p>"Chicago MINI Club" sounds good & easy to remember.</p>
<p>I hope I can get in on this… “Chicago Mini Motoring Club” sounds good to me, even as a suburbanite. Can somebody email me as to when the actual meeting of the Mini Minds takes place and where as I am very interested in joining :-).</p>
<p>I think I like the Chicago MINI Motoring Club. Very dignified. I think with a name like that, we should have tea and crumpets before every drive. 🙂 Seriously, I like it, though. Looking forward to seeing everybody on the 26th, and maybe we can vote on a name then if we get other things resolved, as well.</p>
<p>I like Chicago Mini Motoring Club name as well but how about this twist: Chicago Mini Motoring Society? It has a tad more British snobbery with a hint of tongue in cheek. I suggest a ballot on club names be put up for a vote at the 4/26 meeting. Amoung the other agenda items to discuss at the meeting, I'd suggest naming heads to various areas of motoring interest. A couple of categories that come to mind are: technical (i.e., us gearheads), ralleys, social events, solo driving events, overnight motoring trips and general day fun motoring.</p>
<p>i'm very interested, keep me posted. i also think the chicago mini motoring society is a pretty funny name. have a good day.</p>
<p>OI OI …. i am liking the Chicago MINI Motoring Society even better. See you all on the 26th.</p>
<p>Has there been a time and place set for the meeting? I did a quick glance and don't see any final decision. Trying to get my schedule straight, so need the info please. Thanks.</p>
<p>Here's what we've got at this point: The meeting will be held on 4/26 at the Highland House. Tentatively we're scheduled to be there at noon. I'd like to come with a very specific agenda that we can work through during and after lunch. Sound good? I'm going to post something later this weekend with all the details. We'll also need everyone to RSVP so we get a better idea of how many we'll have at the restaurant.</p>
<p>I'll like to be a member.</p>