Minutes of the March 2002 Meeting

by Ron Bone

 

Southeast Idaho's premier group of Corvette enthusiasts met at The Relay Station on March 15, 2002 at 7 P.M.  Twenty five members were present, but Corvettes were few and far between in the parking lot. 

 After some discreet prodding by Farrell Davidson, the meeting was called to order by the club secretary while waiting for the meal to be served.  Hoping that a joke would be forthcoming, the secretary quickly turned the floor back over to Farrell who, however, had business on his mind. 

 

 Farrell described once again the upcoming trip to Lehi, Utah.  This will be the first overnight outing this year and will feature a visit to Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, followed by dinner at the Mayan Restaurant in Salt Lake City.  After spending the night at the Crystal Inn in Brigham City, the club will breakfast at Logan and return home via US-89 through Montpelier and Afton.  This trip has been rescheduled to May 4 and 5, instead of May 18 and 19 as reported in the last minutes.  Meet at the old Ernst parking lot on the 1500 block of west Broadway (across from Motel West) in Idaho Falls at 8:00 A.M on May 4 for the departure. 

 By that time, Farrell was on a roll and efforts by the secretary to regain control of the meeting were futile.  He went on to describe again the four-day loop through Grand Coulee, which has now been scheduled for June 7 through 10.  This will be a GREAT trip!  It will pass through Arco and Sun Valley, spending the first night in McCall.  After breakfast in Riggins, we will pass through Lewiston into southeastern Washington, pausing to see the fish ladder at Starbuck.  After taking in the evening laser show at Coulee Dam, we'll work our way back down to Leavenworth.  Chill out, Connie; shopping is definitely on the agenda!  Then it's on to Yakima and the Tri-Cities area before entering the northeast corner of Oregon.  We'll wave at Pendleton, La Grande, and Ontario before passing through Boise and setting sail for home.  Farrell has lots of diversions planned for this trip, so don't miss it! 

 Farrell also announced that there will be an evening dinner run to Angler's Lodge in Island Park, just as last year.  Meet at Taylor Chevrolet in Rexburg on April 25 at 6:00 P.M. to enjoy this season opener. 

 At this point, Farrell yielded the floor to concentrate on his salad.  The club is very much in debt to Farrell for his dedication in planning trips for us to enjoy. 

 Janet Miller announced that the Taylor Chevrolet car show will be on August 17 this year.  The ACorvette Lady@ also informed the meeting that Rotary Club of Teton Valley will host a three day road rally event for all car enthusiasts starting on August 16.  It will include a timed rally up newly paved Ski Hill Road to Grand Targhee Resort.  An autocross at Grand Targhee is also being considered.  A Agimmick rally@ will be offered, looping from Teton Valley over Pine Creek Pass and along the Snake River to Ashton, then back to Teton Valley on Highway 32.  Prices haven't been set yet.  Proceeds will go to a scholarship fund for Teton Valley students.  For more information contact John Hansford at 208-456-2560 or hansford@drawknife.com. 

 Janet also announced that Melina's Restaurant in Rexburg will be a new sponsor for Wild West Vette Fest.  Stop and say ABienvenido and Gracias to Melina's when you're in Rexburg. 

 

The next club meeting will be at Melina's Restaurant, 27 W. Main, in Rexburg, on April 12 at 7:00 P.M.  Janet says that if you turn right onto Main at Me -n Stan's, it's right across the street from the Taco Bell. 

 

The meeting was adjourned at about 7:45 P.M. for dinner. 

 

 

                             April Birthdays

Deena Larsen                  

4            

Amy Forman  

14  

Gary Hilliker         

22
Jan Knight   28
Pam Valentine       22

 

 

Show Committee Shifts into Second Gear

by Ron Bone

 

The show committee met following dinner at the March 15 club meeting at the Relay Station.  A lot of work is going on behind the scenes as event chairpersons fill in the framework that will become Wild West Vette Fest 2002. 

Chair Linda Moore opened the meeting at 8:40 P.M. with some organizational changes.  Todd and Pam Packer have had to step down as co-chairs due to the demands of a new job.  Wayne and Pam Valentine have answered the call to take over as Co-Chairs.  Rich and Linda Morris have stepped up to fill the Food subcommittee position that Wayne and Pam had held.  And, in another change, Jim and Judy Hobbs will take over Parade and Parking duties from Marv Bennett, which meshes with their roles as liaisons with the city of West Yellowstone. 

The committee is evaluating ways to allow guests who arrive during the show to participate in a limited number of events, as allowed by their schedules, at reduced registration prices.  It was decided that these guests will be allowed to register for just the events on Saturday or Sunday for $40 per couple or $30 single.  Access to driving events will require vehicle stickers that will be given to those who are properly registered for the events.  Linda is checking sticker types and prices. 

 Dick Bargman showed several types of trophies and dash plaques to the committee.  Besides the usual plastic trophies, options include laser-engraved wood picture frames, pen sets, and clear acrylics, as well as cast pewter types. 

 After an extended discussion, the committee concluded that the show logo will require some revisions to be made print-ready.  This will probably require redrawing the car photos so that the logo is not a mixture of graphics and photos.  The extent of the changes will depend on the capabilities of the supplier of the shirts and hats.  The year 2002 will also be added to the logo. 

Jim Hobbs reported back to the committee after several discussions with the West Yellowstone Chamber of Commerce and businessmen. 

Saturday night activities after dinner will move to the host hotel parking lot to allow people to begin readying their cars for the Sunday show.  Plans are for the disk jockey to be there, and possibly a bar set up. 

The next meeting will follow the regular club meeting on April 12 at Melina's Restaurant in Rexburg. 

The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 P.M. 

 

Corvette 50-Year Birthday

Celebrations to Begin

by Ron Bone

 

An historic caravan of Corvettes will mark the official beginning of 50th birthday celebrations for America's Sports Car.  The Historic Motorama will depart from Flint, Michigan, where Corvettes were first assembled, on June 24, 2002.  Corvettes representing every production year from 1953 to 2002 will be invited to participate including the only existing 1983 model, which is owned by General Motors.  The National Corvette Museum (NCM) is orchestrating the Motorama. 

The Motorama will stop at Saint Louis, where Corvettes were next assembled, then proceed on to the Bowling Green assembly plant.  A three-day celebration will kick off when the Motorama arrives on June 27, featuring the introduction of the 2003 50th Anniversary Corvette.  Activities at the NCM will include:

More details are available at www.corvettemuseum.com  or 800-53-VETTE.  You can also register online at www.corvettemuseum.com/50th_kick-off/info.shtml. 

  

Calendar of Coming Events

by Ron Bone

 

April 12 B Regular monthly meeting of CSEI at Melina's Restaurant, 27 W. Main, Rexburg, at 7:00 P.M. 

April 25 B CSEI dinner run to Angler's Lodge.  Meet at Taylor Chevrolet in Rexburg at 6:00 P.M.

May 4-5 B CSEI trip to Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah.  Meet at old Ernst parking lot in Idaho Falls at 8:00 A.M.

May 24-27 B Great Falls, Montana Corvette Club show.

June 8-9 B Twin Falls, Idaho Corvette Club show.

June 7-10 B CSEI trip through Coulee Dam, eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon.  Departure place and time TBD. 

July 26-28 B Valley Corvettes Vette Fest, Boise, Idaho.

August 23-25 B CSEI Wild West Vette Fest, West Yellowstone, Montana.

September 6-8 B Seattle, Washington Corvette Club show.

 

 

 

Thankgiving Point Reservations

 

Reservations for the May 4th and 5th trip to Thanksgiving Point at Brigham City need to be made before April 20th due to large groups expected at the University that weekend.  Our block of rooms will be held only until April 20th.  The cost will be $65.00.  The number to call is 1-800-408-0440.  State that you are with the Corvette Club to get this rate. Thanksgiving Point is also giving us a discount.  Our cost will be $7.00 each to enjoy the gardens.  Please contact me at 356-9285 or e-mail at ddavidson@ida.net to let me know who is coming.  We don't want to leave anyone.  Come enjoy our Spring ride.

                                  Thanks,

                                  Farrell 

                                   

                                   

Seattle In September II

 

The Corvette Marque Club of Seattle is having their second show September 6, 7, and 8, 2002. Several of our members have already committed to going and I would encourage anyone to make plans to join us.

The Seattle club is new at this, but everyone that went to that club's first show in 2000 had a great time. This year there is a boat cruise to a Tillicum Village for a Salmon Dinner/Show. I was wondering how they were going to top the last dinner cruise, after all they had Elvis for their entertainment!

Registration for the show is $89 per person before July 15 and $104 per person after July 15. Hotel information: Holiday Inn Select, One South Grady Way, Renton, WA 98055.

1-800-Holiday for reservations or 1-425-226-7700, or 1-800-521-1412. Room Rates: $87 includes 2 meal vouchers with double occupancy for each night stayed. For more information contact Bob & Karen Barnott, 1-425-271-0803, krbarnott@msn.com.  CSEI contact: Trish Bargman 458-4671 bargman@srv.net.

 

 

Cars and Stripes Forever 2002

 Big Sky Meet, Great Falls, Mt

 

The Electric City Corvette Club is hosting the 31st Annual Big Sky Corvette Meet, in Great Falls, MT. They will have hors d' ouvers, funkana, vendors, show >n' shine, rally, parade, bar-B-Q, dance, autocross, and awards banquet. If anyone is a Lewis & Clark fan, Great Falls has quite a bit of Lewis & Clark sites. The Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail Interpretive Center is located there. For information contact Ron Simonetti, 1-406-5696 ronvetman@aol.com or Jim Adkins 1-406-761-5201 jadkins@3rivers.net

It would be really good for as many CSEI members as can make it to support these other clubs. They have been terrific in their support of us, and that support is what has made our CHRISTMAS FOR FAMILIES & SENIORS PROGRAM such a success. It is not just about showing your Corvette, it is about getting out meeting people, having fun, and enjoying your Corvette. Hope to see a lot of our people at these events.

 

 

First Cruise

 

We have picked the weekend of April 6 or 7 to take our first cruise. We had the suggestion to go to Hagerman to the fossil beds and possibly meeting up with some of the Snake River Club members. Please give Trish Bargman 458-4671 and/or Amy Forman 525-8715 with any ideas for this first cruise or any other spontaneous idea that you have. Also we are asking for volunteers to be on the calling tree. As soon as we figure out the time and place to meet we will call and let everyone know. Of course bad weather could void all these plans! Lets keep our fingers crossed for sun.

 

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