PRESIDENT'S REPORT
Hello Everyone,
MEMBERSHIP REPORT
Hello fellow CFCA members!
Save The Wave!
GOVERNOR'S REPORT
Hello Everyone,
Jon
COMPETITION REPORT
Is April gone already? Good grief, time sure does fly when you are having fun and that we are! As summer time (and summer heat) bears down upon us, our events schedule is growing, too. Lots going on so lets get started...
Hutch
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
After a month off, I guess I'm ready once again to provide some banter for the newsletter. Here comes the "rambling", and I'm really "on the road" this time - 4,745 miles and six time zones away from home! Since mid April, I've been in Hawaii on a somewhat extended business trip, working on a tiny island smack in the middle of Pearl Harbor. Yes. Hawaii. Business trip. Honest!
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
There have been a multitude of events we have participated in with our Corvettes over the last several years, but none will compare with what lies ahead….
Lisa Lafferty
During the last 9 months my perspective on things has been changed somewhat. I just returned from the Birthday Bash in Bowling Green and events like that just fly by and are over before you get a chance to think about it. I realized how lucky I was to own the best American sports car and have so many friends in all parts of the world. Getting to know people like Dave Hill and Dave Peacy, GM's top executives is not a bad thing either! I try and not take those things for granted, but sometimes you forget. As I was cruising back home on Monday, I couldn't get the smile off my face. It just doesn't get any better than that! I hope that if you haven't had a chance to go up to Bowling Green for an event at the Museum, you need to try and plan one. It's an experience you will never forget.
Now back to reality! I hope you all have enjoyed the events we have planned so far this year. May is no exception. Hopefully there is something for everyone. This is the month of our annual anniversary party. Last year the turnout for this event was lower than we had expected. I would like to see more people come out for this event. The facility has all of the amenities that you would need. Bring your jet ski or boat out and enjoy the lake. Everyone brings a dish and we had so much food last year, come out and help us eat all of those goodies. Bring your blankets and chairs and enjoy the beach too. This event is provided with funds from your club. Please come out and enjoy!
We are still planning a cruise to the Bahamas next year in February. It's not too late to sign up for this event. Please check the calendar and sign up today. I believe that this event will prove to be one that is talked about for a long time. And that's what it's all about, good friends, a plethora of food choices and lots of things to keep you busy.
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.
www.cfca.net, is out there for all of you to enjoy. It's become a major part of our clubs membership and one easy way to get the word out. Hutch and Joe 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
Here we are in May. I feel like I just go through writing my April report. The time is ZOOMING by.
I am your editor and chief this month as Gary has been away on a work assignment for the last couple of weeks in Hawaii. SO this newsletter might not be as ROBUST as usual, but I tried my level best to give you what you are use to.
As far as membership goes, well April was a quiet month. No new members joined last month so I got a break as far as paperwork goes.
The club had some interesting events in April. To start the month off on Sat. 4/6 we went to Gators for dinner and then to Midnight Bowling. The next weekend 4/13 we caravanned over the Titusville for some ROCK SHRIMP at Dixie Crossroads… yummmm. The next week 4/16-21, 10 CFCA members high-tailed it up to Bowling Green for the C5 Birthday Bash at the National Corvette Museum. Hopefully we will see a story or two in the newsletter about that trip. The next weekend 4/27 we gathered bright and early at Rogers Corvette Center for the 2nd Annual Garage/Yard Sale to benefit the Russell Home for Atypical Children - we were able to raise $350.00 for Mrs. Russell's children. Well done everyone! Thank you to Rogers Corvette Center once again for letting us use the lot and to Mr. Dan for all of his help! To all the CFCA members who spent time in the HOT sun holding the Garage Sale sign on the side of 17/92 to attract the public to our event, I owe you one! And finally on Sunday 4/28 we all enjoyed the Governors Run - a great road tour of the west side or Orlando and a very nice lunch at Dead River Vicks!
Well folks, that about raps up April - Keep an eye on the calendar to come join us for an event or two in May. Remember CFCA celebrates its 29th Anniversary this month on the 18th - come on out to Chisholm Park and join us for some food, fun and a great time.
That's all for now, see you down the road…
Joan Wollenhaupt
CFCA Membership Director
Jon Gardner
How about a little actual information on what is happening with National Council of Corvette Clubs activities. One thing that I have been remiss in mentioning is the fact that our friends in the North Florida Corvette Association nailed the coveted honor of being the Corvette club gaining the highest number of points in competition events. That's nationally folks, so our hats are off to them. We look forward to continued good relations with that group and support their events at every opportunity. They will be duly awarded their trophy and accolades at this year's national convention in Indianapolis.
Current NCCC membership totals over 14,000. I understand that National Council is working up a membership drive contest of sorts, to award a set of tires to the winning club. Details on how this will work are not yet available, but I will keep everyone posted. Who knows, maybe we might have a chance. Presently our club is ranked somewhere around 13th or 14th highest membership in the nation.
There was a little surprise during the beginning of the year when our insurance carrier rating was downgraded from an A- to a B+. What this meant was that some competition sites would not allow events to be held on their property due to the lower insurance underwriter rating. This has been rectified by K&K contracting with Virginia Surety Co. with a rating of A+U. As you might expect, there will be a premium increase of approximately 15%. All very boring news folks, but somebody has got to keep up with this stuff. The ten most frequently asked insurance questions should appear in the next Blue Bars Magazine.
As far as our national charity goes, there is a fellow in one of our Michigan clubs that is the latest kidney transplant recipient. This is a wonderful gift made possible by NCCC charity money. Each of you in CFCA had a play in this happening. Further, NCCC will be a Silver Sponsor in this year's National Kidney Foundation's Transplant Games by contributing $125,000. These games were held in Orlando year before last, and were a huge success in terms of bringing joy to the participants and awareness to the Kidney Foundation. Again, this is all of us participating in a worthy cause.
For all the good that National Council does by providing a vehicle for us to all get together and keep in touch, I am still critical of some of their management practices. NCCC reports another money losing National Convention for 2001. This time, a loss of $17,000, all for about 650 people. Fiduciary responsibility doesn't seem to be a big issue for National Council. Further, they tried to slide a $5,000 cocktail party past membership during the February Governor's meeting. This was to be for a party this year at the Rolex Vintage Auto Car Race in Monterey, California. It didn't pass. And lastly, I'm still ticked that they didn't find some way to join the National Corvette Museum with a Business Membership. A one-time cost of $2,500. Kind of cheap compared to a cocktail party. How does this group consider themselves to be part of the mainstream Corvette movement without giving support to the National Corvette Museum? Museum membership is over 10,000 and the NCCC is a no-show. Go figure.
John "Hutch" Hutchinson
The Vettes at the Rock 2 show on Easter Sunday was a GREAT event! We had perfect weather, a huge turnout, and made $1500 for The Russell Home. We kicked the month of April off with our annual Midnight Bowling Party at Aloma Lanes. Even though mechanical difficulties at the lanes kept many of our group there until the wee hours of the morning, it seems like everyone had a great time and some even came home with a few bucks in their pocket. Now if Gary D. could only have made that one strike! Although the vEckler's Hi-Performance Seminar was cancelled, a bunch of us still made the trek to Dixie Crossroads for some dee-licious Rock Shrimp. Later that week, a CFCA contingent made the trek north to Bowling Green for the C5 Birthday Bash at the National Corvette Museum. Reports are still coming in but it looks like everyone made it back safely and had a great time closing down the cash bar every night! As this is being written, we are planning for our 2nd Charity Garage/Yard Sale to benefit the Russell Home. Hopefully we'll clean out our garages while earning some much needed cash for Mrs. Russell's kids. The following day, we'll have the annual CFCA Governor's Run, sure to be a lot of fun and hopefully no one will get lost, at least not permanently so! Follow me to Naples!
The first weekend in May is the Corvettes on the Circle event at St. Armand's Circle on the Gulf Coast. This promises to be a great event in a really nice setting and several members will be spending the night to make it a full weekend of fun. The following week marks The Gathering event at the National Corvette Museum to celebrate the ZR-1/Grand Sport/C4 Corvettes. Saturday, May 11th is the date for Eckler's Springfest, a fun, laid-back Corvette show with vendor displays, car corrals, specials and more. The next weekend on Saturday, May 18th is the big CFCA 29th Anniversary Party at Chisholm Park. See elsewhere in the newsletter and web site for details and a map. Those of you that frequent the Corvette Forum on the web will surely be interested in the 3rd Annual Corvette Forum Cruise-In at the NCM on May 23-25 May.
Beyond May, there is still a LOT on the calendar... CFCA KART RACING & DRAGS AT DAYTONA SPEED PARK, NEW SMYRNA BEACH DRIVEOUT, VETTES AT THE VILLAGE 4 in St. Augustine, the CORVETTE 50TH ANNIVERSARY KICKOFF at the NCM, and much more! There are several other non-CFCA club events going on, too, so check the calendar of events elsewhere in this newsletter and on the CFCA web site for the latest updates. Also in the planning stages... a CHARITY GOLF EVENT! Stay tuned!
BTW, each club event needs a chairperson to help organize it so why not volunteer? And if you have an idea for a future CFCA event, please pass along your suggestions to me or any other Board Member.
CFCA awards active participation in club events by presenting awards at our annual Christmas Party based on total points earned throughout the year. Current points standings may be viewed on the members-only website. Note: Board Members do not compete with the regular membership for points.
Remember... keep the shiny side up!!!
- John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
Competition Director 2002
Gary Wollenhaupt
Why do I mention this? Well, though I've visited here a few times over the years, it's on this trip that I realized just how many Corvettes are rolling around this tiny island (roughly 20 miles by 50 miles as I understand, give or take a volcano or two). I'll bet that within my first few days here, I've passed 3 dozen or more Vettes on the road - predominantly C3's and C4's, and one pretty sharp 2001 black Z06. Haven't run across Hutch's former red Z06 convertible yet, but I'm pretty sure it would be easy to spot! And all this American muscle on a road system that generally doesn't exceed 55MPH. Big news headlines in the paper this week. Speed limits increased! Well, up to 60 on a 10 mile stretch of H-1, the major "highway"… Wow!
Beyond that, by now the Birthday Bash and the introduction of the 50th Anniversary Vette are in the history books. I had a chance to share in the festivities thanks to the NCM Webcams, but it's sure not like being there! In fact, we've got two members who went on the trip and visited the NCM for the first time. Sure would love to see a "first impressions" story for the newsletter (hint!) Don't forget the annual One+One Membership campaign is on right now… NCM Members: help to bring in a new member! You'll both have a chance at some great gifts!
I see that our new CFCA Forum is beginning to grow a bit. Have YOU registered yet? What a great opportunity for our members to share ideas, post questions & answers, and generally get to know each other. Check it out!
Well, I suppose that's all for this month. I sure thank Joan for filling in for me with the newsletter duties this month. If you're reading this, she's obviously done a great job! Everyone take care and be safe. Hope to see you all real soon! Aloha, y'all!!
Gary
- Gary Wollenhaupt
Joan Wollenhaupt
Last year around the July 2001 timeframe, the National Corvette Museum held a lottery that would first be open to lifetime members and then all other members. The lottery was for the Primary & Secondary cars that would make up the Historic Motorama in June 2002. They would draw names for each of the 48 years (1983 and 2003 would be GM provided cars) of Corvettes produced since 1953 to participate. First name drawn would be the Primary, second name drawn would be the secondary (a back-up to the primary). Seeing this as an opportunity to be part of this historic event, I said to Gary, "I'm going to enter our name and '00 Vette and see what happens." So I filled out the index card and off it went.
A few months passed and I totally forgot about the lottery until we received a letter in the mail from the NCM stating we were picked as a secondary participant. WOW! I read on… Should the primary participant be unable to attend, you would take their place. Registration for the secondary participant was $250. I could not write the check fast enough! All that was left to do was wait another ten months (ugh) for June 2002 and the Historic Motorama to take place and with a little luck, maybe the primary person would for some reason not be able to attend and we would move up into the primary spot. (yeah right, fat chance). As the months passed, more and more details were published on the Motorama and my enthusiasm began to dwindle as the primary person for the car year 2000 looked solid.
February 2002 came and Gary took a job with a new company. Shortly after starting his new job, another letter from the NCM arrived, this time letting all the secondary participants know that they were invited to the NCM to be a part of the festivities of the Historic Motorama. WOW! (again). My excite level began to elevate. Although we won't get to drive in the actual Motorama, we still get to be a part of the celebration. When I told Gary about the letter from the NCM he said, "have fun, I probably won't be able to go because I have NO vacation time." OUCH, excitement level bottomed out. I let a few weeks go by and said "why don't you ask for the time off, all they can say is no." I didn't want to go without him. So, he sent an email to both of his bosses with some background on the event and explained how much this event meant to us. He also provided the link to our BIO on the NCM website. A few days went by and the reply we got back was, "we will discuss it and let you know… and nice car!" Well, at least they were thinking about it and actually took the time to go to the website. Ok, they didn't say no - that was a good sign. A week went by and we heard nothing. Meanwhile, the deadline for registering for the event was closing in fast. Then one afternoon the phone rang, it was Gary's boss, telling him about an assignment they wanted him to be involved with in Hawaii. Gary (of course) said sure, no problem. Then I heard him say, "By the way, did you decide if I could take that vacation?" The answer he got back was YES, you can go on your vacation. They did not want to be the ones to keep him from a once in a lifetime event. YIPPEE!!!!!!!!! Bowling Green, here we come!!
With the unveiling of the 2003 50th Anniversary car at the Birthday Bash last month the excitement level is once again at an all time high. This is going to be an incredible year leading up to the 50th Caravan in June 2003. The Caravan Captains are rapidly pulling the plans together. This is one event you DON'T want to miss. When CFCA gets 15 or 20 Corvettes together to caravan somewhere, that string of cars looks so great going down the road. Imagine what 150 or 200 cars look like.
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
CFCA's web site (www.cfca.net) continues to grow and expand. As of 4/22/02, we have had over 77,000 visitors. Thanks to all CFCA members for their input that keeps us on top.
John 'Hutch' Hutchinson
Speaking of staying on top, please make it a habit when you visit CFCA's web site to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Top 100 Corvette Club Web Sites button:
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