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How’s it goin eh®
Its early June already and the summer is coming up fast. As usual, I’m not ready for any of it.
In Chapter business, we still have one opening to fill on the Board of Directors, as we need someone to volunteer to serve as Meeting Notice Correspondent. The main responsibility of this person is to mail in the GLC meet notices in time to be published in the AOMCI Newsletter, which is issued 8 times per calendar year. If you would like to be part of the team that keeps this Chapter running, please contact either Jeff Bahr or myself to volunteer your time for this job.
For the folks who have not renewed and paid up their annual dues for the 2008 season, they will not be receiving this newsletter. Fortunately, from what I’ve heard, our membership is stable and probably we will see the same amount of names appearing on the roster. While stability as far as overall population of the Chapter is concerned can be a good thing, we still need to take steps to improve the growth of the membership base. Remember, recruiting new members is part of everyone’s responsibility who chooses to sign on with the Great Lakes Chapter, so do what you can to entice new people to come out and visit us at one of our functions and they can see for themselves how enjoyable collecting and running old iron really is.
The new meet held at the end of March at Lockeman’s Marina in Del Ray (near Zug Island) was a lot of fun for all who could make it out. We were very well received by the meet hosts and they are enthusiastic about having us back as their guests again next year, so we have another chapter function to help break up the monotony of those long Michigan winters The sixth meet of the season is coming up already on June 28th at the Harbor Club in Algonac. I hope the good weather helps boost attendance a little, as from what I see on the sign-up sheets so far in 2008, while the meets have been enjoyable and entertaining, our attendance is suffering. Lee & Fran’s meet at the end of April typically sees
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anywhere from 100 to 150 registered visitors; this year we barely got 70 people signing in. No doubt gasoline costs are going to hurt, and fuel prices are not going to be decreasing in the future, so perhaps its time we look into car-pooling and sharing expenses to help defray some of the costs incurred for going to the meets.
One meet that was enjoyed immensely by all who participated was this years Holloway Reservoir meet. Brad Duggan and his family took the lead and organized a very enjoyable expedition around the Holloway Reservoir, with a planned stop onshore for a picnic lunch. Eleven boat and motor combinations started out, and all but one of them completed the voyage under their own power. Among the motors out running were several Mercurys, (including two pushing Flying Flivvers, where else are you going to see boats like that eh), a Johnson OK on an Aerocraft that stayed upright the whole trip, a variety of small antique and classic motors run by Jeff Bahr, an Elto Lightwin, a Martin 60 and, in the spirit of being environmentally friendly to offset the smoke coming from Lee Holland’s antique Johnson, some fool had a four-cycle outboard out there too. A huge thanks to the Duggans for helping to make this venture a huge success, and I’m sure many members look forward to the fall version; lets hope the weather is fantastic in September as it was in May.
For those who want to join us, plan on spending at least two or three hours on the voyage, so you should plan accordingly and pack your lunch, some basic tools and extra fuel for the trip. Those who don’t wish to be part of the GLC flotilla are still more than welcome to attend and organize their own activities at the meet as they see fit.
Algonac Boat Show will be held on June 28TH and not the 21ST as originally announced. Please review the updated “Upcoming Events” page supplied with this edition of the Newsletter. Constantine is right around the corner, don’t be afraid to contact Joe Brincat about volunteering to fill in the remaining vacancies on the job sheet; it takes more than just a few good men to make this thing work. Remember, we’re all in this together. |