The Sacramento Area Miata Owners Association (SAMOA) was founded in 1990 by Paul Kile, and Audrey Hall. Their vision was to establish a local Miata Club Chapter in the Sacramento area, and that first year, there were 13 charter members. SAMOA is under the aegis of the National Association of Mazda Clubs, with ongoing support from Mazda North American Operations.

Since its inception, SAMOA has grown from its original 13 members. Most members are from the greater Sacramento area, however we now have members in Tennessee and Arizona.  Two of the original 13 founding members are still members of the club.

SAMOA provides an environment where people who drive (or hope to drive) one of the finest sports cars ever made can get together and share common and unique experiences.

Over the course of the year, SAMOA offers a wide variety of functions and events that all members are encouraged to attend, including the monthly club meetings. The meetings are held the second Tuesday of every month and provide a forum for club members to socialize, swap Miata stories and plan trips. Above all, we all look forward to meeting new members at our monthly meetings.

A short history of SAMOA

SAMOA was the first Miata club to organize an annual regional Miata event, drawing owners from out of the immediate area. SAMOA’s Gold Rush started in 1990 when Jim Jordan of Mazda, Barbara Beach of the Miata Club of America (now defunct) and Jim Luis from the former Honey Mazda in Shingle Springs, decided to hold a fun rally. That first year, over 120 Miatas attended the weekend event. It was one of the first of many Miata events of national or international import to occur. The weekend event typically included a Monte Carlo night, music and dancing, a fun run, a time and distance rally, a funkhana, aftermarket vendors, food and lodging, and raffle prizes galore. Proceeds from this event were given to a charity of SAMOA’s choice. Over the years, Gold Rush attracted people from all over the world, including England, Germany, Holland, Australia and Canada. Our largest gathering was in 1994, when there were over 280 Miatas! Although Gold Rush has not been put on since 1998, SAMOA members are encouraged to think of new, exciting events and volunteer to help make those ideas come to life.

In 2010 the club celebrated its 20th birthday at Bear Valley in the high Sierra. We rented the entire resort and invited our club members and also those from other clubs. The 3-day event attracted more than 200 guests, and it whetted our appetite for an even larger and more spectacular silver anniversary in 2015, which was held at Black Oak Casino near Yosemite National Park.

Throughout it's 35+ years of operation, SAMOA has held a variety of events for it's members and prospective members. There have been many driving tours to locations in and around Sacramento, poker runs, gimmick rallys, autocrosses. There is also a contingent of members that are involved in high performance driving events held at tracks in the area.