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Newsletter March, 2006
New Members! The Mid-Kansas chapter welcomed Willard and Shirley Banman of Newton, into the club at the February meeting! That gives the club two more members, and two more Thunderbirds ( a '60HT and a '65HT) and the Banmans were already members of VTCI! Keep those recruiting efforts going 'cause there are other good folks out there. Vintage Thunderbirds Make the Social Scene: Saturday night, February 25 is the scene of the Classic Thunderbird Club's February event which is a Soup and Bunco party at Richard and Susan Carlisle's house. This fun event starting at 6:00PM is sponsored by the Carlisles and the Heins and our Vintage club has been invited! Bring a side dish or dessert if you wish, and BYOB. The only thing that is pressing is an RSVP to Susan before February 24. Come and join in the fun. If you still need directions to the Carlisle's house in NW Wichita, ask Susan when you RSVP at 721-4756, or ask Prez. 'Birds and Footlights: The Broadway musical version of "Grease" is playing at the Crown Uptown Theater, and we have been invited to attend on Sunday, March 26. This event has been organized by Klyda Fall. The Crown Uptown doors open at 4:00PM with a fabulous buffet dinner. The show begins at 5:45 and runs about 2 hours total. Cost of $32.56 per person includes tax, tip, and show. We pay at the ticket window but we need to RSVP to Klyda for the table reservations. Call Klyda at 554-1177 by March 24 at the latest. More Swap Meet: On March 18 from 7:00AM to 4:00PM a Swap Meet sponsored by the Mulvane Marauders will be held at the Mulvane Saddle Club, 100 S. Boxelder, Mulvane, KS. $5.00/ pickup- $10.00/trailer with concessions on site. (Hmmm…..Do
you suppose they might have brand new sets of Kelsey-Hayes wires
still in the box? Brand new 3 deuce manifold for a 390 complete
with carbs and chrome air cleaner? How about brand new 800X14 Coker
whitewalls and several new fan clutches for Bulletbirds? We can
always dream, can't we?) The National VTCI President Gives Us the Scoop: This message from the VTCI President Lou Paliani relates to a new express mail option for our VTCI Newsletter, The Scoop. Fortunately, it does not affect us much in the Midwest but in case you are interested in this option, read Lou's message: "We make a huge effort to get the SCOOP out on time every issue, however this effort falls victim to the unpredictable reliability of postal systems. Expecially affected are our Canadian and Overseas members. SCOOPS are delivered as much as 4 to 5 weeks late. The Board of Directors has just approved an express mail option for those that wish to get the SCOOP in a timely manner; 4 to 6 days postal time. It will become functional for the May/June edition of the SCOOP. Regretfully there is an up-charge for this express mailing. Costs are $24.00 a year for Canadian and $27.00 for overseas express mailings per year per member. Actual costs will vary as to a specific destination. We have fixed the up-charge at a yearly cost of $20.00 for all members. VTIC will pay the extra. So, if you choose this option it will be a yearly rate of $20.00. …the rest of this year starting with the May/June issue will be $14.00. Send payment of $14.00 US to the VTCI Executive Secretary; Marilyn Paliani, 1304 Greenwood, Schertz, Texas 78154 USA and state that you wish the express mail option. This option will then be available to you to choose on your renewal form at $20.00 per year. It is the hopes from the VTCI that this option will get the SCOOP to you in a timely manner. (signed) Lou Paliani, President, VTCI Trotter and Current Dream Car Show Plans! Show Chairperson Angela Trotter has prepared new introductory letters to be given to prospective trophy purchasers. She has also revamped the Make-A-Wish letter and compiled a new Participant Application. This enables us to update the logos and obtain other information for the benefit of the business or individual participants. Angela also coordinated the manufacture, purchase, and assembly of new solid walnut plaques in the shape of the State of Kansas. Our Dream Car Show identifying data and the name and logo of the purchaser will be affixed to these plaques, with a photograph of the winning car also affixed. Who wouldn't be proud to receive one of those? Savings from the new plaques alone can account for a good percentage of the profits for Make-A-Wish from this year's show! Angela has also acted as Liaison between New Market Square and our club and things appear to be progressing well. The only thing missing is US! Sales of trophies are lagging and contacts need to be made! At the February meeting the Prez urged all persons to take a packet of information with them and begin at the very least re-contacting those persons who helped us last year, as well as branching out to new leads. Let's come to the March meeting with some trophy sales to brag about! Angela announced that she is determined that our 2006 gift to Make-A-Wish can far exceed the $10,000 we turned over to them in 2005. Business
Cards Available: In her spare time, Angela also produced absolutely
beautiful business cards with our club logo, and identifying data!
Prez announced that he could not have been happier with the cards
if he would have purchased them in New York! He appointed Angela
as the sole distributor for our cards and these must be purchased
directly from Angela. Once you see them, you will want some for
yourself for recruiting purposes and swapping at the Regionals and
Nationals. Speaking of Regionals Shows: The Newsletter announced previously of the Southwest Regional at Fredricksburg, Texas to be held in March. Prez has pamphlets to share and if anybody is interested let Prez know immediately. Our own North Central region's 2006 Regional Convention at Kansas City (Overland Park) is creeping up on us. Get those applications in ASAP and start working on getting those 'Birds ready for the show! This is a sacrifice for a lot of us, but is a very rewarding Thunderbird experience as well as a mini-vacation and we are hoping to provide a large number of participants and Thunderbirds for our neighbors to the northeast. Along these lines, we again heard from National President Lou Paliana in a message he entitled, "Seasonal Prudence." Lou addresses the national shows and again I quote National Prez Paliani, "…All VTCI event registrations are checked to insure participants are current VTCI members. You must be a current VTCI member or a member of another national thunderbird club to attend. This requirement is in place for two reasons; Event Insurance and BYLAWS compliance for participation. Being a member of a VTCI chapter does not mean you are a current member of VTCI. Should you wish to attend a VTCI event there is an event membership you may pay in addition to the registration fee; it is $5.00 for regionals and $10.00 for International. This gives you a VTCI membership for that event only and allows you to participate in that event. There are some limitations to this special membership: it is for the time duration of the event in compliance with insurance requirements and senior and best of show status is restricted to current VTCI members. Register and make reservations early!!!! Hosting chapters go nuts trying to figure out how many trophies/hotsl, motel rooms to block/showfield laouts/judging requirements/and banquet meals to plan for. To keep you and the hosts from getting caught short….register and reserve early…you can always cancel. Planners need numbers to make the preparations. For a smoother event, let us know you are coming so we can have everything ready for you. There are cut offs and limits to registrations!!!! These limits and cut off times are set because last minute changes are overwhelming and add too much confusion to the judging process. Each car is planned for an a specific set of judging forms are prepared. If you are a last minute show-up, the only division available for you to participate is in Display. If you wish to change judging divisions at the last minute, the only choice is to go to display. Accomodations, meals and trophies are hard to come by at the last minute. We will do our best for you, but sometimes it is no longer in our control as hosts. By being prudent this season, you can really make it a lot smoother for us and for your event experience. We will always do our best for you because we want you to participate and enjoy the event and your Thunderbird with friends. I hope this season is a memorable one for all our VTCI members and participants. Lou Paliani, President, VTCI Speaking of Locals Shows: A good warmup for our spring and summer shows, is Lois Johnson's Cruisin' Against Bruisin' show at the Kansas State Fairgrounds on April 15! Unless you are a very early riser, the easiest way to work this show is to take the car up on Friday and spiff it up and return home by separate vehicle, because the cars have to be in place by 9:00AM Saturday morning. At the February meeting, it was discussed that a possible Thunderbird cruise to Hutch by those not participating in the show might be arranged. This could include our lunch together at a suitable Hutchinson eatery, enjoying the show and silent auction at the Fairgrounds before a return to Wichita. A decision will be made and firmed up at the March business meeting. "Where Do I Begin?" Most of us have been there. A Thunderbird standing before us needing, well…, a lot. Our own club's Dream Car Show, the Regional at KC, and all those other summer shows are drawing nearer and time is slipping away. We study the Thunderbird for awhile, scratch our head for a few seconds, can't decide where to begin so we do nothing. Sound familiar? Well, a couple of things have come to the Editor's attention on that subject in the last year that should be passed on to the club members. Most of
us at the Father's Day at the Zoo show last June saw and admired
Doug Keener's totally restored 1940 Ford Station Wagon. Members
of our club who talked with Doug heard him tell that the '40 came
to him as a hood, front fenders and frame. All the wood had rotted
away and would have to be reproduced from scratch. As he pondered
where to begin this overwhelming task, one of his mentors told him,
"You know how you eat an elephant? You do it one bite at a
time." With that profound tidbit of information, Doug began
by reproducing one wood piece, then its corresponding opposite piece,
then the next wood piece and one day he had a wooden framework completed.
Then he started working on connecting pieces, and still other pieces
and one day there he was, standing before a totally awesome highly
varnished '40 Woodie being shown to hundreds of admirers. So, whether you subscribe to the, "One bite at a time" theory or " leveling off the sills first" theory, let's take hold of that Thunderbird somewhere and begin! Meetings/Events: At the January meeting at Willie C's Cafe, Prez appointed a committee headed by Secretary Bev Wake, Klyda Fall, and LaVonne Widmer to select the meeting sites for the 2006 Club Year. Criteria for selection included mandatory private meeting room, reasonable cost, convenient location, and at least half the meetings on Sunday, other than third Thursday night of the month. This for the benefit of our members who work nights. The committee scheduled the February 2006 meeting for Sunday, February 19 at Felipe's restaurant, 3434 W. Central, at 5:30 PM. After a hot Mexican meal the group was ready to talk business, and Secretary Bev announced the plans for the remaining 2006 business meeting sites: March
16 • Thursday Night Red Beans Bayou Grill, 21st & Ridge
The Big Bird Bazaar The Big Bird Bazaar is on hold. Most of our items were becoming shopworn, or had been sold or moved without the Newsletter's knowledge. Please re-submit any articles you wish to be listed in the Big Bird Bazaar. **************30*************** |
