PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Hello Everyone, HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
Hello everyone!
Save The Wave!
GOVERNOR'S REPORT
Hello everyone,
Jon
COMPETITION REPORT
Do you have Spring Fever? Are you anxious for those warm summer days to arrive filled with more Corvette activities? Well hang in there, boopsie, because the weather is warming up nearly as fast as our upcoming events calendar! We'll keep you busy in 2002. Promise!
Hutch
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
They threw a party, but not everybody came. The 2002 Rolex24 has gone into the history books without participation by the Corvette Racing factory team, who chose to skip this one in favor of the ALMS season opener at Sebring in March. Following last year's overall win by the C5R team, the General was a no-show this year. Budget constraints? Rule change problems? Racing politics? Who knows for sure. Perhaps it was just an attitude of "we can't do better than last year, so why show up". To be sure, the yellow C5Rs were missed by the race fans. SPEEDVISION seemed to receive quite a few inquiries from Corvette fans asking "Where are the Corvettes?" The answers provided were a tribute to GM's marketing prowess.
Lisa Lafferty
Welcome to February! This month is already filled with more racing fun then should be humanly possible. I know I will see some of you braving the 5 A.M. wake up call to get to the Daytona track before everyone else. We know that the C5-R race team will not be at the Rolex this year. I will miss the Skybox view! But there are several independent Corvette teams competing. If you attend this race, please come back to one of our meetings and tell us all about it.
The CFCA board did meet and discussed several issues from SOP's to Bylaws to Mrs. Russell to club revenue. We are looking forward to discussing all of these things with all of you in the next month. SOP's and the Bylaws will be voted on at the second meeting in February.
I was very impressed by the turnout for the Harley Fun Run for the Russell Home. I hope everyone had a great time and I know there will be another large contribution to Mrs. Russell, and all of you made it better by being there. Thanks again for supporting your club and Mrs. Russell
A Big Thank You to all of our chair people that volunteered for this years events. We are going to try and have 2 chair people for the Homecomings. Arlene Pavlic and Pat Gardner are our special hosts this year. You will be hearing more from them by September! Bob Rolfe has offered his photographic skills to enhance our communications. SO if you see him snapping your picture 'Smile', he is our Public Relations Chairperson. And Joyce Rolfe is already thinking of creative ideas for our anniversary party this year. Tammy & Shelley Schwartz are going to handle our Christmas party, I know it will be terrific. Patty & Hutch will handle the Keys trip. Joan Wollenhaupt is our charity leader. Looking for lots of fun things this year to raise money for Mrs. Russell. And Patty Hutchinson has agreed to be our nominations leader later this year.
There is a plan in the works to do something special for next years anniversary party. We will be 30 years old and I think that deserves a big celebration. I have asked several of your fellow members to look into cruise prices and time slots. So far we have one for next January that is reasonably priced. Once a list of choices is put together, we will publish it and we will need your feed back. So stay tuned there is plenty of fun ahead!
If you have any suggestions on events you would like to see us participate in this year, please let us know. We are always looking for new ideas for drive outs and events.
Our website, www.cfca.net, is out there for all of you to enjoy. Its become a major part of our clubs membership and one easy way to get the word out. Hutch Joe and Gary have done a great job! Remember to send in your pictures to so they can update the web page.
Until next month…
Save The Wave
Lisa
- Lisa Lafferty, President
Joan Wollenhaupt
CFCA is off to a roaring start in 2002! We had an active January and the months ahead are filling up rapidly with events. Thank you everyone who came out and supported the Russell Home Fun Run on Sunday the 20th. We were told that there were a total of 468 motorcycles and 68 Corvettes! We were also told that the money raised this year blew away last years' total of $12K… That is great news. The exact amount raised will be in the March newsletter.
Please join me in welcoming our newest members of the club: Bill Duty, who drives a beautiful 1978 Pace Car, and Terry & Lanie Hesser, with a 1995 green convertible. Our membership count now stands at 161 members. The number of membership inquiries coming off the web site is on the rise so I anticipate our membership to grow steadily throughout the year.
I would like to take a moment and THANK all of you who have recently volunteered to "chair" a committee and an event. Our club would not function very well without you because the Board cannot handle all that we do. I'm going to attempt to explain what is involved with chairing an event in hopes that more people will volunteer to help us out this year.
When the membership votes to make an event a "Club Event", we need someone to volunteer, so when Lisa asks who would like to take charge of an event - don't be shy! Not every event needs a chairperson; it depends on its complexity. Driving out to the Waterford Lakes car show does not need an event chairperson but attending something like the Vettes at the Village car show in St. Augustine in June does. So, with that said here are some guidelines….
The chairperson will be given some forms to use to organize the event.
That's all there is to it! We have several first time chairpersons this year which is great to see - please remember that your Board is here to assist you in any way we can so don't hesitate to ask questions.
That's all for now…
Joan Wollenhaupt
CFCA Membership Director
Jon Gardner
We're off to a new start and are ready to put the past year behind us and get on with a brighter 2002. First off, get the Corvette cleaned up all shiny and don't forget the tires, get them looking good too. I say this because we got lots to do in the coming months and, while I'm right here in my spiel, let me say to all of the newer members, be sure to read the events calendar in each newsletter or on our website.
In each month's listing you will find many events that are hosted by other clubs. Other NCCC affiliated clubs throughout Florida hosts many events and some of them can be a lot of fun, depending on what winds your clock. If you like autocrosses, fun rallyes or car shows, they are out there for your enjoyment. During the course of the year we will have many of your fellow club members going to some of these events, so pay attention, we do not want to leave anyone out. I know I hate to miss a good party and also there are a lot of pretty Corvettes and nice people out at these events.
Along the line of getting out in the Vette, please mark your calendar for my Governor's Run on April 28th. This drive out will again find us touring some of the back roads of Central Florida and maybe some roads that you didn't know existed. Along the way we will stop, have lunch and who knows what we will find. The last time we had a drive out of this sort, we had a very good turnout that, no doubt, made one fantastic sight as we ran down the road. Please look forward to this event, all you've got to do is show up, spend some time with your friends and enjoy the great outdoors.
As one of your club officials, I want to extend a huge thanks to all of you that supported the drive out with the Harley Owner's Group on the 20th of January. This was the 4th Annual Russell Home Fun Run and the large support from our club was a tremendous show of support for Mrs. Russell and her kids. Over 400 motorcycles and 70 or more Corvettes made this year's event the largest yet, and while I don't have the exact dollar amount that was raised, I can only imagine it was a very good day for the Russell Home.
Next item: Let me ask again, what is it that you can do to help guide us toward other fun and rewarding activities throughout the year? Suggestions are always welcome. Also, talk with Gary Wollenhaupt every now and then, you may have something neat for the newsletter or provide inspiration for an article that we may all find interesting. So, my main point is help us find new and interesting things to do and enjoy. The "same old, same old" just doesn't get the job done anymore.
I'm starting to ramble, so come on out with us, have fun and make some new friends.
John "Hutch" Hutchinson
We bid farewell to 2001 (many would say "good riddance") at our annual New Year's Eve party and immediately started planning the events for 2002. We got off to a flying start with a drive-out to Seminole Town Center for their monthly open car show. While the weather was nearly as chilly as the reception we got from a few of the cruiser's in attendance ("What is this, a Corvette Club meeting?") we still had a fun time.
The really big fun came on Jan 20th when we joined up with the Harley Owners Group (HOG, get it?) for our annual Fun Run in support of the Russell Home for Atypical Children. This is one of the most popular events of the year, drawing 51 CFCA members and a whopping total of 68 Corvettes and 468 motorcycles! Once again, the Orange County Sheriff's department deputies volunteered their time to lead us on a HUGE parade through the back streets of Orlando with hundreds of bystanders cheering and honking as we passed by. As usual, we ended up at Kate O'Brien's in Church Street Station for food, drink, live entertainment from Derek and the Slammers, door prizes, and a Harley raffle. While not yet official, we hope the day's activities earned close to $20,000 for Mrs. Russell. What a fun day and a worthy cause!
Coming up (as this is written) is the 24th Annual NCRS Winter Meet at the Hyatt in Kissimmee, which is a great opportunity to see some of the nation's finest Corvettes and shop till you drop with vendors and find those bargains in the swap meet. Sunday, the 27th, marks the date for the Wonderful World of Corvettes show. Traditionally it's quite a fun event which draws a lot of CFCA participation.
Just now in the planning stages, several CFCA members will hot foot it down to Coconut Creek (near Pompano Beach) for the 19th annual Reflections in Glass all Corvette show. This will be an overnight trip with many of us departing Feb 8th, Friday afternoon/early evening to arrive the night before the show on Sat, Feb 9th. Mark Gustetter has volunteered to chair this event so contact him or a board member for details.
On Feb 23rd, we'll have a drive out to scenic Mt. Dora to visit the Festival of Exotic Cars show. In March, we start getting really busy with an NCCC Concours at Eckler's on the 2nd; NCCC Banquet in Tampa on the 9th and Corvettes at the Villages on the same day, 12 Hours of Sebring on the 16th (Bob Rolfe chairperson); Cruisers for Kids charity car show also on the 16th (Hutch is the chair); Spring Daytona Beach Car Show & Swap Meet on the 23rd, and Vettes at the Rock 2 on Easter Sunday, the 31st. Enough to keep ya busy ya think?
We have a LOT more fun activities lined up in the future... the Governor's Run rally, Midnight Bowling, Daytona Speedworld, Eckler's Spring Fest, Dixie Crossroads drive-out, New Smyrna Beach show, etc, etc. Each event needs a chairperson to help organize it so why not volunteer? And if you have an idea for a future CFCA event, please let me or any other Board Member know. It's YOUR club, after all!
See the CALENDAR OF EVENTS section elsewhere in the newsletter for more upcoming event info!
Have a great 2002 and remember... keep the shiny side up!!!
- John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
Competition Director 2002
Gary Wollenhaupt
There were quite a few Corvettes in the race to spark the interest of us Vette nuts, six overall, in the American GT (AGT) class. Prominent among the AGT contenders was Andy Pilgrim (an Honorary CFCA Member!), co-driving in the Ormond Beach-based FLIS Motorsports #09 Corvette with Craig Conway, Doug Goad, and Michael Ciasulli. As the team accepted the AGT class victory, Andy said, "I've got to dedicate this one to Dale." FLIS Motorsports was awarded top honors for the 2001 Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series at the annual banquet, held after the Rolex Open Testing at Daytona on Saturday, January 5th. The payoff included awards for Team Owner Championship, the Manufacturer's Championship for Chevrolet, and Driver Championship. Take a moment and visit their website at www.teamflis.com. The FLIS team's sister car, the #90 Corvette, had NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick participating as a co-driver.
In the GTS class, the black #3 Rocketsports Jaguar XKR put on a great show, highlighted by race veteran Paul Gentilozzi. Though no Corvettes ran in GTS, the Jag and a Porsche GT1 managed to spank the three Saleens pretty well.
From here, it's on to the 50th Anniversary of the 12 Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 16th, to see the factory Corvette Racing team's season opener. The Sebring race is a club event, but unfortunately being held on the same day as another club event - the Cruisers For Kids charity show at Waterford Lakes. A few of our members do plan to take in the race at Sebring, but for the majority, I'd encourage all of our members to attend the CFK show and do all you can to help raise money for the children's charities. Don't forget, CFCA is an event sponsor this year and the Russell Home has become one of their designated charities. Please support the event!
That's all for now … See you on the road! … Save the Wave!
Gary
- Gary Wollenhaupt
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