NCRS Florida 32nd Winter Regional Meet
Old Town; Kissimmee FL
January 20-23, 2010
Always one of my favorite events of the year,
this was our 11th appearance here. It was memorable
for a number of reasons, and
Ed Augustine and his dedicated team are to be congratulated for
dealing swiftly
and effectively with a couple of unusual circumstances.
Thanks to NCRS FL, we were able to raise $2339.00
for the American Cancer Society!
Wednesday, Jan. 20
Leaving home was quite a contrast from last
year: a day trip instead of 2 days, and 53° at start vs. -20°
last year!
Arrival in Kissimmee.
The
view from my room.
Thursday,
Jan. 21
The daylight view.
All
set up in our usual spot, ready to distribute cancer information and sell 50/50
tickets to benefit the American Cancer Society.
Yes, ALL of that display came out of the Vette, including the
tent!
This
was the windiest day I've ever dealt with while set up like this! The tent
stakes were pulling out of the ground and the hood on
the car kept blowing shut! I finally gave up and secured the display by 4:00. Check the banner on the fence
- standing straight out!
At least I could keep an eye on the display from the room. See that black wall
approaching in the last photo?
Overnight
I was frequently awakened by crashing thunder and torrential rain pounding on
the window.
Each time, I looked out to see that the table was still there!
(We found out the next day that a tornado briefly touched down about a mile West
of us!)
Friday,
Jan. 22
This was the view in the
morning: Hey, that lake wasn't there yesterday!
More
views of the new "lake-front" properties within 200' of my table. That
golf cart with the pump was there ALL DAY.
Bill Herron dubbed this the "swamp meet"!
All
the "laundry" (tarp & rags) drying on the fence.
Saturday,
Jan. 23
Panorama from my seat
behind the tables where we continued to push cancer information and sell 50/50 tickets.
Once
again, I apologize for not having any photos of the rest of the cool stuff going
at this great event.
Since I was solo for the 2nd year in a row, I had a short tether to the table
for the duration.
Saturday evening
This
was an incredible evening!
I arrived at the Radisson at 5:45 to get to work pushing 50/50 tickets
at the Awards Banquet, only to find the parking lot gated, and the hall, dark!
What the... ???
Thinking I might have misunderstood the location, I cruised the Ramada next
door. Not a Corvette to be found. Back at the Radisson, I went completely
around
the complex and spotted a Vette. The owner was just coming out of the lobby with
a dazed look on his face. He said that he had just been
told that the Corvette
banquet was scheduled for SUNDAY night!
WOW...
I dashed back to the Comfort Suites to spread the word. Everybody was
stunned! About 6:30, Tyler Townsley
pulled a Suburban up to the CS entrance and
announced that THERE WAS A BANQUET, and this was the
shuttle!
I went back over to the Radisson to start selling the 50/50 tickets. Somehow the
banquet was, indeed, ON!
The bar was set up in the lobby as usual and inside the hall, the banquet was
nearly set up!
I started selling tickets, and I swear, if you got there 15 minutes late, you
would never know there had been a "problem"!!!
How NCRS-FL and the Radisson managed to pull this off is mind boggling. Both are
to be highly commended for their massive effort
that
overcame what could easily have been a total disaster! They managed to set up a
full banquet for about 200... in 45 minutes!
Once
again, Ruth
Stieglitz helped sell the 50/50 tickets. Despite the somewhat shortened time
to sell, this great NCRS group came through
with a pot of $1039. The winner was
Bill Clupper: The past NCRS President graciously donated his winnings back so
that the entire $1039 pot
goes to the American Cancer Society. Thank you, Bill!
Ed Augustine then auctioned off 2 NCRS judges totes, bringing an additional $300
to also go to ACS.
NCRS also matches event charitable donations, up to $1000.
That brought the total contribution to the American
Cancer Society to $2339.00!
Sunday,
Jan. 24
After packing up my
display I went over to see Rich Van't Hof of Advanced Design Coatings at his
display of hood insulators.
These aren't just painted - they are sealed with a
nearly indestructible coating. Here's a sample:
He will be making one for our C6, using the flags as the center of our Corvettes
Conquer Cancer logo. I'll post a photo of the finished product as soon as it is
installed.
And here it is:
Thanks Rich!
Then I checked out the Classic
Corvette of Orlando's Wonderful World of Corvettes show
that was in progress.
As I started in,
there was "Corvette Mike" Milian, one of our sponsors.
Gorgeous
62 "mod rod".
Unique
midyear hardtop (I'll bet that gets a little warm!)
My
50/50 helper, Ruth Stieglitz, with hubby, Joel.
Thanks again, Ruth!
Samples
of the show:
Leaving
Old town for a visit with Sandy's sister & her husband in Ft. Myers.
Her parents were also there and we had a great visit!
Monday,
Jan. 25
On the way back home form
Ft. Myers, I stopped in at Don Garlits' Museum in Ocala. In a former life, I was
part of a team that ran
against him many, many times, and I wanted to show him
some photos of the old days of drag racing. I just missed him!
( See: http://www.corvettesconquercancer.com/old_drag_photos.htm
)
Back
in Sweet Home Alabama, enjoying the fact that this is now a day trip...
Thanks
again to Ed Augustine and the wonderful NCRS family!
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