Maine2005
6th Annual Official C5/C6 Registry Regional Event
Parkwood Inn; Brunswick, Maine
July 8-10, 2005
This event, created and coordinated by Russ Caron, has become the
runaway biggest fundraiser for the American Cancer Society
of any that we participate in. It is also the most fun!
The total for ACS raised by this event stands at $20,000!
Friday, July 8
The first thing that caught my eye when I arrived at the Parkwood (after a slightly abbreviated day at work) was John Wakefield from the Corvette Plant showing off this Velocity Yellow 2006 Z06! This is an early "evaluation" car; regular production of saleable cars won't begin until around August 1. With an aluminum frame and 505 horsepower, maybe it should be called "Screaming Yellow!"
For dinner, we cruised down the chain of islands to Estes Lobster House.
Since Frank Genova (yellow shirt) could not stay until the final banquet on Sunday,
Russ took the opportunity to present him with an appreciation plaque for his unique
ability to acquire unusual and highly collectible items for the Auction.
More on that below.
Saturday, July 9
Visit to the fabulous private collection of Bob and Sandra Bahre
on Paris Hill in Western Maine.
Pit stop in So. Paris, and orientation by Jeff Orwig (white shirt). Jeff has the responsibility for keeping every one of these cars ready to drive at a moment's notice.
Gorgeous '61 Ferrari. Can you say "Ferris Bueller"?
Studebaker! No, not a car, but...
This '38 Alfa Romeo I first saw at the 2002 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where it received the F.I.V.A. Award. One of only four known to exist, it is estimated to be worth $10-15 Million.
Photos I took of it at Pebble Beach 2002
...so is this Mercedes. (Worth $10-15 Million)
Jeff shows off the star of the collection. Arguably the best Duesenberg in the world, it was totally restored in Bahre's shop by Jeff and his staff. It won the Best In Show at Pebble Beach!
More samples of the Upstairs collection.
Downstairs proved just as interesting.
Jeff started 3 of the cars - the old wagon via hand crank.
One of the 51 Tuckers ever made. Bahre has 2, and declined to allow their use in the "Tucker" movie.
This dual cowl Cadillac was built by GM for Harley Earl. I saw it (and Jeff) at Pebble Beach in '02 also.
Russ presents Jeff with a token of our appreciation for his
gracious hospitality and good humored & informative tour.
So, what does the guy in charge of this incredible collection drive?
A Classic, of course... this Rambler Classic! (Hidden out back.)
(In reality, he also drives all of the collection: his goal
is to run a tank of gas through every one, every year!)
The front of the main collection building, and the house above. The house,
fyi, was originally owned by Hannibal Hamlin, who was Lincoln's VP!
We reluctantly let Jeff go back to work, and headed off in two groups:
the Freeport Shopping group and the Touring group.
No choice there: Touring, led by Steve & Bev Adams.
And a great lunch at Mac's Grille in Auburn.
Then we enjoyed some more "spirited" touring, ending at the Adams' house
in Woolwich. There we put the Z06 on Steve's lift for a close inspection of
all the hidden goodies underneath. Neat stuff like the factory exhaust
"bypass" and the dry sump oil system.
John repaired the dislodged front lip, and will be working
on a design change to address the problem.
This photo op was Steve's reward for the use of his lift.
Sunday, July 10
Scenes from the spectacular scenic boat ride from Boothbay Harbor.
Final banquet at the Taste of Maine Sunday evening.
Bidders line the Silent Auction tables.
This huge banner was Frank Genova's contribution: This flew from the Chevrolet pavilion trackside at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. Framed photo shows it hanging on the building. It will be autographed by all of the Corvette C6-R team drivers.
The Silent Auction bids are closed, and checks are written.
The Banner was a live auction. Steve Adams was the high bidder at $900 -
with the stipulation that everybody in attendance had to sign it!
While Russ tallied up all the money, I spoke briefly and fielded questions about
Corvettes Conquer Cancer, what we have done and what we hope
to be doing in the future for the American Cancer Society.
Russ then announced the grand total collected for
the American Cancer Society of $19,444!
While everybody was cheering and congratulation ourselves, Doc Tobia
quietly got up, went up to Russ and wrote a check to round the total up to
$20,000!
Thank you to every one of the very special people who made
this event so enjoyable and such a spectacular fundraiser,
especially Russ Caron who put it all together.
The usual final statistics: This is probably the lowest miles I covered
for any event, and it was by far the highest dollar amount raised!
Monday, July 11
The event was over, but I stopped by the Parkwood in my company car to see the departing friends off. John Wakefield offered me a ride in the Z06. It was a tough decision, but I took him up on it. Let's just say that he achieved 2 personal bests from the instrumentation during that ride...
Final shot leaving town as we lined up at the traffic light, both heading back to work
in our company cars; me in my Escort, John in his Screaming Yellow Z06.
Thanks, John!
