Variety - BCCC on Global

The presentation of the cheque from the BCCC to Variety-The Children’s Charity will be broadcast on Saturday February 16, 2013, between 11:00pm and midnight on Global TV. If there is a change in the schedule we shall let you know.

                                Save the wave, Brad  

Message from the President

         We had a good turnout on Saturday, at Global Studios, for the taping of our cheque presentation to Variety. Thank you to all who joined us. Once we hear when this segment will air we will let you know.

The Club Roster is still in the process of being completed. If you DO NOT want to be included in this listing please advise Leslie Shelby no later than February 28.

         The following link has been recommended by one of our members as one of the best on the new C7.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUrtMZ20rFk

                                                Save the Wave, Brad

Michael Heads South

Barb and I needed to go to Phoenix for a few days so we decided to take the newly acquired red '01 Z and figured we’d also hit a few Route 66 spots along the way.

Needles Chevron

We pushed hard the 1^st day and hit the sack in Woodland, Cali, just north of Sacramento but we did stop for a  “In and Out” burger and fries in Redding.  Day 2 saw us make it through to Kingman, AZ using US40 with stops in Barstow, Needles, and Baker city.

Take note: don’t buy fuel in Needles 'cause a few miles later in Arizona it’s a dollar a gallon cheaper!  However do drive the main street in Needles ‘cause there are a lot of the original buildings and signs beings maintained. We also went to Joshua Tree forest en-route.

When you cross to Arizona, the speed limit jumps to 75 and everyone including the police go 80, so not too boring in the middle of the desert. Weather was warm - around 90 day and 50 at night. We stayed at a BW in Kingman, which is a great hotel except the trains ran about 20 feet from the rear of the building and each had 100 cars. Better than the 25-cent vibrating bed!

We hit the Route 66 museum and other spots in Kingman and then headed east and down the 93 through the great town of Wickenburg, arriving in Phoenix in the late evening.  More Canadians are setting up to live in Wickenburg - very cheap. 

After family time in Phoenix we came home with a stop in Palm Springs, saying hello to Gerry Swan, but missing the Drewitts . Next day we went through LA, enjoying the beautiful weather and after an overnight in Medford, we hit the most intense rain/sleet storm from Olympia, Washington to home. A little scary in a low slung car but the Z served us great, chocking up 3406 miles round trip, using a ½ litre of oil, and destroying a set of wiper blades.   

- Michael Moore

Banquet Left People Happy, Right?

The 2012 edition of the BCCC Awards Banquet had us back at Redwood's Golf Club, as organizers Brenda and John sought to build upon the success of last year's banquet.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!  And that was fine by me, as I had a great time in 2011 and an even better time in 2012.

When I arrived, I found that Blair and Marj had saved my wife and I a spot right next to the bar - they know us so well!  And so did the bartender, Tim, who practically had a bottle of wine ready for us before we even sat down.

Our hosts left us to mingle for a bit, enjoy our drinks, and catch up, but soon enough the buffet opened and a line-up promptly formed right past the bar.  Not that I was at the bar, mind you, having managed to be one of the first tables to get called.  It's funny how Ginette can be totally oblivious to the subtle differences between a '58 and a '59, until there's a trivia contest to determine who gets to partake in the buffet first; then all those car facts come flooding right out!

Bartender Tim Serving It Right - and getting me a bottle of wine!

The food was delish, especially the roast beast which was cooked just right.  I may have had a second helping, and I left not a morsel.  Unfortunately that meant I missed out on some of the desserts, as I found that my fellow BCCC-ers left me only a few sweets, by the time I got around to visiting that particular table.  But that was all right - I simply ordered another bottle of wine!

Of course, awards were handed out to the many people in the club who volunteer on different committees, and who help organize all the events which the members enjoy.  And then our Membership chairperson, Leslie, did something that I thought was just right.  She had ordered anniversary pins, and gave them out to club members who have been with the club for a significant number of years.  I don't recall everyone who received pins, but people like Nigel and Al and Marie and Bev Tyrell received 10 year pins, and I know that Dan Ward got a 25 year pin.  And then there's Dan Maxwell, who's been with the club for over 40 years!  I know I left the vast majority of people out - sorry - but I had to mention Leslie's idea, as I thought it was a great one.

The evening wrapped up with door prizes (including a left / right prize, which is the theme of this post; you'll understand if you were at the banquet) and dancing.  At the end, only a few of us were left - crowding around the bar, of course - and, oddly enough, taking a lot of photos and video.  Jenny seems addicted to her camera!  Eventually, when the music died, we, too, left, feeling that the night went just right.

Test Drive @ Preston's

So, who went to the Test Drive fundraiser at Preston's?  In case you didn't hear about it (first, shame on you - don't you read the Upcoming Events at the BCCC website? ;) ), Preston GM sponsored a fundraiser for the BCCC, to help support our charities.  To help with this fundraiser, all you had to do was show up at Preston's and drive one of the 7 or so cars that they had lined up for us.  For each person that showed up, Preston's donated $25!

Thank-you, Preston GM!

Anyway, we had 75 people signed up to go, last I heard, but it was quite the soggy day on Sunday, so I wonder if everyone did show up.  I hope so!  Ginette and I, accompanied by our daughter, test drove 3 different vehicles:  the GMC Terrain Denali, the GMC Acadia, and our daughter's favourite, the Caddy SRX (it had TVs in the back).  I gotta say, I liked all three as potential replacements for my aged F*rd Explorer; I need another SUV/CUV that'll carry my hockey bag, that will handle well in bad weather, and that could negotiate snow-covered, unpaved roads leading to backcountry ski trailheads.

I liked the 3.6L engine that was in all of them - very smooth, with good performance.  I liked the roominess of the Acadia - although it might be too big.  I loved the interior of the Caddy - but Ginette drove that one.  And I liked the all-around usefulness of the Terrain.  Plus, after years of enduring 15mpg in the Explorer, I shivered at the thought of 23mpg that all 3 offered!

So, which would I get?  No idea!  That wasn't the point of the event, and I wasn't subjected to a hard sales-pitch.  But, now I know that GM offers at least some vehicles that fit my needs, and when I do get serious about getting replacing my F*rd, I'll be heading out to Preston's.

2012 Year End Banquet

Hi all!

I just wanted to give a quick plug to our annual awards banquet.  Once again, it will be held at the picturesque Redwood Golf & Country Club (22011 88th Ave, Langley).  Tickets are an amazing $20 for BCCC members, and $45 for non-members.  Hard to beat that!

If you are interested, contact Brenda (johnandbrenda@shaw.ca) for tickets.

To get you in the mood, here are few more pics from last year's banquet...

Smooth and Fast

On Saturday, September 22, there were a lot of smiles.  Our autocross event ran flawlessly for 28 drivers, who enjoyed 8 runs each, thanks to some great volunteers.  The timing crew smoothed the process to allow so many runs.  The crew included Rosalie Sinden, Cindy Vodermayer, Leslie Shelby, and Angie Langston.  Pregrid was led by Jeanie Robb and Eva Staley.  The timing board handled by Jack Langston and Ted Taylor.  The stop box and all round workers were Barry Cook and Stewart Heyes, whose help was key to the event setup.  Claude Larabie handled spotting duties, coordinating the course workers, and was assisted in the starter job by Doug Mitten (David’s father).  They certainly made my job easy and enjoyable.

We used the Justice Institute Course at Pitt Meadows, and modified it to allow the use of some Corvette horsepower at the start of each run.  The sea of cones made a unique environment for drivers, and added to the skill challenge of the event.  Autocross requires you to hone your concentration skills and work on improvements through the event.  Our participants were up to the challenge and everyone’s times improved throughout the day, with most fast times being set on the 7^th and 8^th run.  Very few cones were hurt in the process.

For the drivers, I saw lots of smiles.  While we enjoyed the usual mix of Fiero’s, Subaru’s, Acura’s, there was even a Chrysler Sebring and an 85 Oldsmobile Delta 88.  But, of course, the fast time of the day was won by a Corvette.  A total of 14 Corvette drivers enjoyed their ride.  Gifford Robb blazed his slick shod C6 to a 56.370 second fast time, other C6 drivers were Lorne and David Staley, Peter Resch, Brian Kulyk, and myself, Vic Nightscales.    Marj Bowen was the fast lady in her C4, or should I say she was the quickest lady.  C4 drivers included Ken Butcher, Blair Degenstein and David Mitten, with David being the fastest.  C5 drivers included Brad Shelby and Walter Vodermayer, with Walter taking the honors.  Nigel Wheway was the fast C5 Z06.

-Vic