August 1999

Hello Everyone,

Our Caravan Crowd is shaping up nicely. If you are planning on going on the caravan in September, please let me know. Especially if you do NOT have a room. If you have been with this all along, still let me know you are still planning on going in September. If you have a room reserved and you can’t go, this would be the perfect time to let one of our club members who would like to attend take over your room reservation. Remember if you get any information about the caravan, check with Susan to make sure the information is accurate. The latest is that we would meet off of exit 82 on Wednesday morning. I will find out how far off we are and directions to get us to the starting point.

We still don’t have any news on renewal costs for next year. We are holding off advertising renewals until we can make sure that NCCC doesn’t raise the price which in turn would put us in the red as far as member costs are concerned. As soon as we find out, we will let you know.

August 26^th there will be a board meeting at Jon & Pat's house at 7PM. This meeting will allow us to finalize the all the issues that were brought up in June’s board meeting. Everyone is invited, but if you want to come, let Jon or Pat know.

Looks like the Ecklers Casino Cruise is shaping up to be a large crowd. If you want to go , please register before August 6^th. We are meeting over at Builders Square off E 50 and Roush Rd. Come out and have some fun with us. If there are any places you like to frequent, please let me know. We have lots of weekends in the fall to fill up with fun!

One event I would like to fit into our schedule is St. Augustine and then head up to Clarks Fish Camp so we are there when they open (4-4:30PM). We don’t want that Prime rib to get away from us again !

If anyone has not gone online to check out our website www.cfca.net, please do it!

So everyone, stay tuned, there is always something happening ! Remember this will be ‘The Best Year Yet!’

Have a "Exciting" August!!

Save the Wave

Lisa

Hello All & Welcome to August!

Our membership is now up to 106! Two new members joined the club in July.

July has come and gone and August is upon us. Where is the summer going?? We only had 3 events scheduled in July and one of them was cancelled. I don't know about you but I would rather be driving my Vette than doing chores around the house! August has lots of promise… We currently have 5 events scheduled plus the Caravan to Bowling Green. One event coming up on August 14^th is the Miracle City Mall NCCC Car Show. Please come out and support our sister Titusville Club.

At our meetings in July we decided on the Christmas Party menu and all the trimmings. If you are planning on attending the party this year, please let Shelley know.

I have placed an order for tank tops with United Trophy. The cost will be around $12-14 per shirt. I will have an accurate figure for you at the next meeting. Also, our Eckler's Cutter and Buck shirt order I am expecting in before our second meeting in August. Enclosed in this newsletter is your NEW membership directory listing. We voted at our last meeting that we would do away with the "formal" directory, move the $80 that it cost to duplicate the directory twice a year to The Russell Home fund and send out an excel listing instead. It's not as pretty but it serves the same purpose.

I was going through my CFCA membership files and came across old newsletters. I started reading some of them and came up with the idea of putting together a section called "Looking Back, A Trip down Memory Lane". I think it is interesting to compare then and now. So without further delay - here we go…

Ten years ago in July, 1989, The CFCA Board of Directors was: Pres.- Lisa Lafferty, Gov.- Norm Bowman, Comp. Dir.- Jon Gardner, Mem. Dir.- Kathy Bowman, Treas.- Pat Gardner, and Sec.- Tina Smith.

Back in the July 1989 issue there was also an article submitted by Jerry Smith. It was entitled "Good Bye, Old Friend" (remember it Jerry?). The article talked about how Jerry traded his black 1984 Corvette for a new Cadillac Seville for his wife. His article started out with: "There it was, shining in the late day sun, always looked great that time of day, my black '84 Vette. I was taking one final look as she sat, sold, to the dealer of which the lot belonged." Jerry reminisced all through the article about when he first bought his Vette (this being his 4^th) and what fun he had racing in it. He talked about how excited the kids at the Homecoming parades were when they got in his Vette and how much he enjoyed driving his Vette every day. His last sentence read: "As I wandered closer, I stroked the velvet feel of the fresh wax and whispered "Good bye, old friend".

As time goes by, some things never change. As Lisa has been saying for the past 8 months, "This will be the best year yet!" She is SO right and it is all because of YOU! That's all I have for now. Look for my "Packing for Bowling Green" article further in this newsletter. Everyone have a great August - see you at our next event!

SAVDWAV - Joan

For those of us that love our Corvettes, its difficult to be unaware of the Corvette industry and the excitement that abounds in the hobby. As reported in last month’s Corvette Fever Magazine, the Corvette hobby is showing no signs of slowing down. The people standing in line to buy new Corvettes is staggering. GM literally can’t make them fast enough.

Further evidence of Corvette excitement include: Due to space requirements and so on, the National Corvette Restorers Society moved its meet to Disney after all of those years at Cypress Gardens, GM officially placed Corvette back into racing, the C5 Registry has grown to over 2300 members, and the C5 group threw themselves a giant birthday bash at the National Corvette Museum and attracted about 600 cars. Additionally, I think that half the world went to the Route 66 show, and finally, the Bloomington Gold event is back in Bloomington. Corvette’s at Carlisle promises to be huge on the weekend before the Caravan 99. Adding to all of this there is a seemingly endless number of other small and large Corvette related functions throughout the Nation each weekend.

All reports indicate that the caravan to the National Corvette Museum over the Labor Day weekend will be something of a history making event. Corvette enthusiast from around the world will journey to the NCM for this amazing gathering of over 10,000 Corvettes! Coincidentally, this will be the second anniversary of the birth of the C5 Registry! This fifth anniversary celebration of the museum shows the strength and maturity of the Corvette hobby.

And it ain’t over on Labor Day. Eckler’s still has their annual reunion, the Holiday Isles show in the Keys, other local events and of course our homecoming outings. The hobby is doing good, CFCA is doing good and of course Bad Acres keeps the economy rolling along.

Jon

So you ask, how does one pack for a 7-day trip in a Corvette? Well, if you are fortunate enough to own a C5 convertible or fixed-roof, you have a bit of an advantage since you have a little thing called a TRUNK! (Anybody renting out space?). And for those of you, who own a coupe, you too have a bit more room inside your Vette than those of us who have convertibles. (That's why we have a rack on our car). Ok, the rules of packing for a 7-day trip in a Corvette are as follows:

Rule #1 - No hard-sided luggage. Each person is allotted 2 plastic grocery bags to pack in. (grocery chain of your choice - but should be matching set).

Rule #2 - Two T-shirts allowed per person. (Preferably a CFCA shirt)

Rule #3 - No additional jeans/slacks or shoes allowed. (What you start out in is what you come home in).

Rule #4 - All toiletries must be "travel size". The only personal items allowed are: deodorant (ok, this can be jumbo size), toothbrush & paste and a hairbrush. (Ladies, whittle your makeup down to 3 items) Everything else, steal from your hotel rooms as you go! Oh Yeah, no hair-dryers! Get over it, by the 3^rd day we are all going to look like something the cat dragged in and hair-dryers are not going to help, so leave it behind!

Rule #5 - All clothing items should be rolled not folded to conserve space.

Rule #6 - If you buy a duplicate of something along the way, one of the ones you took from home must be discarded.

Rule #7 - All passengers and solo drivers must wear a utility belt or fanny pack to hold the following: pager, cell phone, 2 way radios, camera, etc.

Rule #8 - If you want to bring a jacket or hat, wear it, don’t pack it!

If everyone follows the rules above you should have plenty of room for the mandatory items such as the bag that holds the cleaning items for your car, cooler, video camera, folding chairs and your car cover…

On a more serious note, below are some important items you will want to remember before heading out for the long drive to Bowling Green.

• Turn your washing machine water supply OFF! Your hoses are under extreme pressure and if one bursts while you are in BG, you will come home to a flood.
• Tell a neighbor or family member where you will be and how to reach you in an emergency.
• Stop your paper delivery.
• Arrange for your pets to be cared for or kenneled.
• Put one or two lights on a timer so it appears someone is home.
• Arrange that someone pick up your mail, or have it held at the P.O.
• Unplug your big-ticket items before you leave, i.e. - TV, PC etc.

• Have your car tuned up & your oil changed
• Check your tire pressure.
• Check your fluids
• Make sure the radiator shroud is clean and clear of debris.
• Have your brakes checked.

I know I have not thought of everything but I hope this little article has been both fun and helps you to remember a few of the things you need to do before you leave for the Greatest Corvette Caravan of the Century!!