Welcome BCCC Test Pilots!

Hi to all my fellow BCCC members!

Please have a look around this blog, and judge its usefulness to the club.  As you know, the Newsletter is dead (anyone want to take over the editor role and revive it?  Didn't think so...) so I've been looking at a way to get the same basic content - stories about events and topics of interest to our members - out to you gals and guys.

The idea is to take articles that would normally be found in the newsletter and post them to the blog.  Links to other articles and to photos and such can be included in the blog.

The advantage is that

• it's easier to produce and maintain a blog
• it can be interactive, through comments
• it is real-time - there's no publishing dates or deadline; we can post as we get stories
• more than one person can submit stories
• it has the potential to tap into a bigger readership

This blog currently just has sample articles with a very basic look and feel.  With a graphics artist we can take this where ever we want.  What I am looking for is

1. General impressions
2. Usefulness as a replacement for the newsletter
3. Potential as a replacement for the website

The current website is basically an events list and a gallery.  This blog would be story-centric, but each story would have embedded pics and links to the larger gallery.  An events list is easy to add too, as are sponsor pages, shop and swap, and so on.

Anyway, like I said, take a look around and let me know if it is worth it for me to take this to the next step.

Summer Autocross Smiles

– Saturday, June 26, 2010

Twenty three Corvette drivers went home happy and smiling from the BC Driving Centre at Pitt Meadows.  While initially a little cool in the morning, the weather warmed up as did the tires, and most of the fastest times occurred on the last run of the day.  Our intrepid starter Stewart Heyes, and our precise timing crew of Jim Waugh, Gillian Heyes, and Rosalie Sinden worked hard to keep the cars moving and everyone enjoyed eight runs.  Jim did wear a path in the asphalt between the start and the finish box in order to keep the timing box calibrated, but managed to keep smiling.

Click on the photo to go to the BCCC photo gallery.

Our entries included five guests from Vancouver Island, one of which, Jim Sandwith, made fastest time of the day with his propane powered C4 (possibly due to the fact that it was tuned by Brad Shelby).  I rode with Jim on one of his runs, and his wide Hoosier slicks seemed to glue into the track and defy the laws of physics.  Second fastest time was performed by our own Paul McAlduff in his C5 Z06, no doubt inspired by the threat of being beaten in his own car by his wife Terry and his daughter Krista.

Club members also dominated the other car models, as C3 corvettes were represented by “jaws” driven by Dan Maxwell and Doreen MacMillan.  C4’s included Blair Degenstein, David Mitten, Brad Shelby, Patrick Tran, Ken Butcher and Marj Bowen.  C5’s and C6’s were represented by Ed Painter, Jim Howell, Nigel Wheway and myself, along with the McAlduff’s who all showed how fast  the C5’s and C6’s were.

The club contingent was bolstered by Dan Ward, Terry Paauw, Leslie Shelby, Marie Wheway, Lew Berry and Gail Berry, who attended to take pictures and cheer us on.  All in all it was a fun day, and we hope that we can entice all members to plan to attend our September 25 date to learn how to really smile.  Put it on your calendar.

Vic

The Great Garage Sale

by Jim

The idea of a garage sale surfaced during the November 2009 general meeting. It was mulled over during the winter and in March a committee was organized and volunteers stepped forward. Momentum gathered and a call to action was sounded for club members to scour basements, attics and garages for treasurers that had lost their former luster. They would be donated to BCCC and the proceeds used to fund club events. The sale would be held on the spacious semi-circular driveway of Marie and Nigel Wheway’s home. All over the Lower Mainland and out to the Fraser Valley members responded enthusiastically donating boxes and trunk-loads of hoardings. Along with traditional garage sale items were golf tournament winnings, Corvette memorabilia, garden plants and Christmas decorations. Members and friends spent time gathering, sorting and pricing items to ensure the sale would be a success.

Clicking on this photo will get you to the Blog photo gallery.

The appointed day, May 8^th arrived. All week long the weatherman had been predicting rain. But not today; today was to be a day of glorious sunshine and warm temperatures. The overhead door on the Wheway garage rolled open early and sunlight flooded in to reveal rows of tables stacked with neatly arranged items waiting for customers. Club members began to arrive to help with the set up. Potential buyers dismayed with offerings at the garage sale next door, rushed through the hedges to help carry tables and setup displays to be first in line for the best selection. By 8:15, well before the scheduled commencement time, the tempo was full throttle with more buyers arriving by the minute. The crowds on the driveway began to resemble those at the annual Army & Navy shoe sale. The frenzy continued in waves for most of the morning. Members continued to deliver more items, many lingering for a coffee and a visit.

Around noon, the women members who had assumed negotiating duties noticed that the throngs of buyers had started to wane. The call for discounts was heard all over the street and it triggered a beehive of activity to adjust prices to enhance their customer appeal. This was a marvelous idea as buyers rushed to take advantage of the bargains. Vigilance paid off again as a few members noticed that fewer customers were stopping into the Great Garage Sale. Fast thinking was called for – yes – five dollar boxes. Customers would be sold empty cardboard boxes to fill with the remaining great deals. It worked! The treasures that previously had not found buyers, now disappeared by the five dollar box full. A great sigh of relief was heard from the sidelines as the male members in their comfortable lawn chairs realized these items would not have to be gathered and stuffed into boxes at the end of the day.   

The activity continued until no more customers could be seen. The time had come to pack up the unsold items for pickup by the Developmental Disabilities Association (DDA). Another flurry of activity ensued, albeit with a little less energy than earlier, as volunteers gathered, sorted, boxed and stacked the left over stuff along a wall of the Wheway garage. At a glance it was clear that the volume of items remaining was meager compared to what had been waiting for the crew just 9 hours earlier. What an achievement!

In reflection, the platters of bunwiches and bowls of goodies were gone. The vegetable tray was empty. The flow of coffee and tea that had continued all day had dried up. The Wheways had been wonderful hosts. The club members who had worked to make the sale a great success agreed that we had had a wonderful day; lots of fun and great conversation. As for the money, the sale brought in $908 and our expenses were $114 that resulted in net proceeds of $794 for the club. The Great Garage Sale was deemed a worthwhile event and a huge success.  

Thank you to all of the people who donated items for the sale. It could not have happened without your generosity. As for all of the members and friends who volunteered and got involved with the Great Garage Sale – thank you!              

A Different Kind of Rally

We organized a different kind of rally this time – as we understand that some couples have too many arguments when it comes to giving and taking directions!

This time all the driving instructions were given out, in plain English – it was not up for interpretation – so that should have made it easier. The fun part was watching for clues and answering some questions about the sites along the way. The weather wasn’t too bad – no rain at least.  We started at 11:30 at the Starlight Casino, continued through Richmond and Ladner, and sampled our way through 2 wineries. It ended back at the Starlight at around 1:30, and we had lunch at the pub there. There were 12 cars in attendance, and Nigel and Marie Wheway came in first place, followed by Ken Butcher and Paz, and Vic and Rosalie in 3^rd place. From the comments that we received it seemed that everyone enjoyed the rally and found it less stressful.

Bob Boud Award

This award recognizes an individual who is selected by the BCCC president for his or her commitment and contribution to the British Columbia Corvette Club. The award began in 1995 in memory of Bob Boud’s enduring love of Corvettes. He joined the BCCC in 1992 and was proud to be a BCCC member. He made it his priority to attend all club meetings and functions, which was important to him as he enjoyed the camaraderie of the other members.

Bob owned several Corvettes, his first being a 1962 fuel-injected roadster, followed by a ’64 coupe, a ’64 roadster, and later a ’65 roadster. In spring of 1995, Bob was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and passed away in July.

The Bob Boud Award is a large trophy which honours not only Bob Boud, but also BCCC members, whose tireless efforts make the BCCC what it is and has been since 1965. This means the recipients of this award are recognized leaders and contributors to the success of the BCCC.

The B.C. Corvette Club congratulates 2010’s recipients.

Vic, Rosalie, and Joseph - co-winners in 2010