Hail from the Chief

By Brian Novak

Hello all!  First I would like to thank all the officers from 2005; what a great job they did!  I practically had to beg Ron and Peggy Bone to allow me to run for president!  After an uncontested, yet surprising close vote, you allowed me to be the president (again) -- silly people.  Seriously, Ron (President) and Peggy Bone (Secretary), as well as Tommy Taylor (Vice President) and Connie Lamprecht (Treasurer) did a fabulous job; thanks for your effort.  Also, our events coordinators, Trish Bargman and Debbie Morris, planned all kinds of fun events for us. Way to Go!

This year you have elected myself as president and Bill Madsen as vice president, Bev Novak as secretary, and Connie Lamprecht as treasurer (she couldn't get enough last year).  We hope to continue the tradition of having fun and enjoying America’s only true Sports Car!!

I will be looking for someone to help with coordinating fun weekend style runs as well as the annual big trip of the year.  It should be great as usual. Also, we will be putting together a call line to help spread the word of upcoming events quickly, so if you are willing to help out, let myself or any other officer know.

Finally, I have arranged with the Cellar Restaurant (on the corner of Ammon and 17th street) to host this year’s Sweetheart Brunch.  The Cellar is probably the best restaurant in town, and they are putting together a menu for us and we will have the whole place to ourselves.  The date is Saturday February 11th at 10:30 am.  This should be a fantastic food experience.  Hope to see you all there, and again, lets have fun this year!

Thanks from the Ex- Prez

by Ron Bone

I would just like to acknowledge the exceptional support that our officers and chair appointees have given to the club during the last year. They have given freely of their time and abilities and our club is stronger because of them.

Tommy Taylor, our outgoing Vice President, was involved in many things but always kept his ear to the ground and came through with good advice when needed. Our membership ranks are deeper and wider because of him.

Connie Lamprecht, who is continuing on for another term, was an organizer without peer. Besides cleaning out the club file cabinet so that things could actually be found, she always knew where we stood financially. No guessing was allowed around Connie. We knew to the decimal point!

Bill and Dana Madsen chaired a very successful Wild West Vette Fest 2005. Anyone who has been involved in the show knows what an all-consuming job that can be. We owe them, and their various activity chairs, special thanks for making our Christmas for Families program possible.

Trish Bargman, Debbie Morris, and Jack Larsen kept us entertained with activities and trips. These things take a huge investment in time and creativity. We were especially grateful for the Glacier and Waterton Parks trip. Thanks also to Trish and Debbie for organizing the shopping for our Christmas for Families.

Jim Thompson, one of our founding members, continued to serve as our Newsletter Editor. Somehow this note of gratitude seems to be inadequate acknowledgement of his contribution. We continue to be enriched and united by his efforts.

And last, but certainly not least, a special thanks goes to our Secretary, Peggy Bone. If you want to know who made sure that we were expected at our various meeting places, think Peggy. If you want to know who thought of the myriad of essential details, and either did them or hounded me until they were done, look no further than Peggy. I could not have even remotely managed it without her.

Finally, thanks to those of you who soldiered through the lengthy business meetings and lent your voices to the solutions that were fashioned. No one said they would be short or easy, but you seemed not to mind when they weren’t.

Minutes of the January Meeting

by Peggy Bone

The January monthly meeting was held at The Teton Grille. There were 22 members present. President Ron Bone called the meeting to order at 8:00 P.M. He acknowledged club member’s birthdays.

The issue of insurance for competitive driving events was the first order of business. President Ron Bone said that he had done more research on the issue. Two Corvette club associations are available in our area: the National Council of Corvette Clubs (NCCC) and the Northwest Alliance of Corvette Clubs (NWACC). Both NCCC and NWACC use K&K Insurance commercial liability insurance. NCCC also includes limited participant accident coverage, while NWACC does not.

Membership costs were then discussed. If our club were to join NCCC, annual membership dues would be $55 per couple, and at least 51% of our members would have to join. If we were to join NWACC, annual membership dues would be $11 per couple, and only those members who pay would be insured. Our own annual club dues would be in addition to these, and would continue to be $25. If we were to insure ourselves with K&K, instead of through NCCC or NWACC, our minimum annual premium would be $1,500 for liability insurance only. Both NCCC and NWACC would require us to appoint a “Governor” who would attend their association meetings, which would generally be in the Denver or Seattle areas. It would be up to our club to reimburse our Governor for travel expenses, which would raise the true cost of membership in the associations.

Finally, K&K Insurance has several requirements for underwriting autocross events that our past location in West Yellowstone would not satisfy. A 100-foot restricted area has to completely surround the track, and no spectators are allowed inside. Also, no light poles or other structures are allowed within 25 feet of course straights or 75 feet of course outside turns.

Wayne Campbell suggested that we find out if we could join the local sports car club in order to be insured during autocross events. We could also investigate the Sport Car Club of America (SCCA).

Ron said that our current insurance policy covers only show-and-shine events and that the premium payment for 2006 is due. He recommended that the policy not be renewed this year, since we are not having a show, and asked if anyone had any objections to dropping the policy this year. The cost of obtaining the insurance next year may be more. No one disagreed with dropping the policy. The decision on what to do about insurance to cover our next show was deferred until planning for the show begins next year. It was pointed out that member Frank Bell’s agency has the ability to provide the type of insurance we now have.

Election of club officers for 2006 was next. The following new officers were voted in: Brian Novak, President; Bill Madsen, Vice President; Connie Lamprecht, Treasurer; and Bev Novak, Secretary.

Ron said that he had registration forms for anyone interested in attending the Big Sky event in Helena. He also showed sample Corvette calendars if anyone was interested in ordering them.

Jim Hobbs said he had contacted a representative of the Annual Rod Run in West Yellowstone. They said we would be welcome to participate in their event in September 2006.

Tim Hobley, Bruce Barton, and Bill Madsen said they have received numerous e-mails and calls about our next show. Ron stated that the club had already voted not to have a show in 2006, and suggested that we stay the course. The option of alternating shows with another club was discussed briefly, but no conclusions were reached nor actions assigned.

Ron said that the committee for identifying new ways for members to enjoy their cars will be meeting soon. Recommendations will be made to the President.

Treasurer Connie Lamprecht reported that we have $6,900 in our treasury. Dues for 2006 are due; please pay $25 to Connie before the end of the March meeting.

Our next meeting will be the Valentine’s Brunch on February 11, 2006. The meeting location will be announced in the newsletter Calendar of Coming Events.

Ron said that he had enjoyed being president and thanked everyone. He then turned over the floor to President Brian Novak. Brian said that he was looking forward to having a fun year and getting together. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 P.M.

Members Rides

by Ben Sanchez

Lynn and Betty McKinlay joined the club in August 1998. It seems that during the summer of ’98, Lynn was expecting a grant from the INEEL. When it didn’t come through he felt he needed to make a little extra money. This spawned the idea to buy, restore, and sell a car. Along with their two sons, Brian and Jeff, Lynn began his quest for the right car, specifically a Corvette as suggested by Brian. This made sense to Lynn, after all he had always wanted one and after the sixth ‘Vette they looked at, Lynn bought the ’80 they currently own. This was unknown to Betty. When he drove the Twin Falls purchase into the yard and presented it as her “birthday” present the “humor” eluded her and it seems she didn’t have much to say to him for the next couple weeks.

As we all know, Corvettes have a way of growing on people and one thing Betty noticed was that others noticed when they would drive by. This is when the malady I refer to as ‘Vette Fever’ had struck one more time. Betty was hooked! At the end of the summer Lynn told Betty they could sell it and make a nickel in the deal, to which she adamantly responded, “You WILL NOT sell that car!!” Sounds like a solid case of ‘Vette Fever’ to me.

Somewhere in the meantime Lynn spotted the Corvettes parked at Scotty’s one night and decided to stop and see what was going on. About the first person he ran into was Connie Lamprecht. It turns out they have known each other for years. After an initial hug, she introduced him to the other club members who were present. During that first summer they went to the Air Show in Rexburg, displaying their car along with other Corvettes, but claim their first real show was the 4^th of July in Ashton. It seems their son Brian also showed up with his ’72 Ford (brand “X”) Pickup. This truck is, obviously, no mill-run Ford. At the Anchorage, Alaska drag strip it has turned just under 100 in the quarter-mile with an inadequate fuel pump. Bravo, Brian!

They both claim their favorite event is everyone they have participated in (now, that’s what I call enthusiasm). And, they have taken home trophies from the ’98 Wild West Vette Fest and 2001 Elko, Nevada Gambler’s Run. In 2001 both held offices in the club – Lynn was President and Betty was Secretary.

The Corvette isn’t their only interest though because they both enjoy skiing. Lynn has been on ski patrol and instructs at Kelly Canyon and Grand Targhee. Betty particularly enjoys skiing when the sun is out (my kind of skiing too). Lynn also belongs to the Southeast Idaho Practical Shooters and since retiring from the education field will spend his free time restoring a ’51 Ford Coupe and a ’79 Caballero. Right now, he is just finishing up a ’71 Chevy Pickup. Betty, on the other hand, has been Iona’s City Clerk for 15 years. She teaches piano lessons and currently has 22 students. They enjoy spending time with their children and grand children as well as spending time at Betty’s parents cabin in Island Park. If that isn’t enough, Betty also enjoys ”scrap booking” in her spare time (what spare time?).

Do Your Dues

by Ron Bone

It’s that time of the year again. Annual dues are $25 and are due by the March meeting. You can pay them to Treasurer Connie Lamprecht at a monthly meeting, or mail them to Corvettes of Southeast Idaho, P.O. Box 3519, Idaho Falls, ID 83403. Many interesting things are coming this year; you won’t want to miss out! Stay engaged: send in your dues now.

Did You Know

By Egon Lamprecht

Boy O Boy what I have learned since we got the C-5. Thought I would pass a couple things along to the other C-5 and C-6 owners in the club.

First is lifting the car to work on it. Be this in a shop or at home for say an oil change. You don’t just roll a floor jack under it (if you could get one low enough to go under it) and jack away.

Four places on the frame are the lift points and that’s it. Now you also have to have “jack lifting plugs” to go into the frame at the four points -- this is where the jacking must take place. Gone are the days you could lift the Vette like you do other cars. These pads sell at Ecklers for $69.00 a set.

I have looked in the C-5 Registry and found a couple of articles where C-5 owners have built these pads using, of all things, Hockey Pucks. I’m going to give this a try (I’m cheep) and see how they work.  Materials are less than $10.00.

 I got scared about shops (tire and others) not knowing this info on the C-5 and C-6 so I stopped at four of them. Only one shop knew about the lifting procedure. See why I have concern. One tire shop said “oh just drive on this unit (platform that extends between the front and rear wheels) and it will lift ok”. I think you know what your “baby” will look like using that method. 

If you want more information, ask me at our next meeting.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

February

Dale Larsen 4

Steve Whitfield, Val Ball 8

Thor Miller 11 Dana Madsen 14

Frank Bell 18

Jack Larsen 24