The View from the top.

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1 November 2008 Help & Support Needed: Over the 33 years of its existence, the WMCC family has always rallied around its members and friends that are in need. On August 22 nd, long time member, Dave Edlund suffered a massive heart attack. The next day (Dave s 58 th birthday) he underwent triple bypass surgery and now is recovering and going through heart rehab. However, Dave has no medical insurance and the medical bills are quite substantial. Dave & Sandy s family and friends have organized a special benefit event to help them with the medical bills. The benefit will take place at the VFW Hall located at 6285 Apple Ave. in Muskegon on Saturday, November 1st. The event will begin at 2pm. Activities will include a benefit spaghetti dinner, a silent auction and a live band. Let s show our support and fill the parking lot with Camaros (or at least fill the hall with WMCC members if the weather is bad). I m sure Dave & Sandy will be thrilled to see us. Congratulations: Wade & Stacie Shindorf- Stacie had their baby Friday, October 3rd at 7:14pm. His name is Grant Alexander Shindorf. He was 7 pounds 14 ounces and 20 inches long. Stacie ended up having a C section because the baby was not moving down November 2008 The View from the top. By Doug Warren, WMCC President 1 and they were afraid the umbilical cord was wrapped around something. It turns out it was wrapped around his neck, so it was the right choice. All is well with both baby Grant and Stacie! November WMCC Club meeting: Sunday, November 2 nd is the date for our November Club meeting, and like the last few years, we plan to head south to the Three Rivers area for another nice autumn drive through the scenic country side of southern Michigan. We will be meeting at B & G Discount, which is located about ½ mile south of Schoolcraft on US131. The address is: S. US131, Schoolcraft, MI We ll be LEAVING B&G s parking lot at 12:30pm, for the color tour cruise, so if you plan on shopping (and it s recommended) plan on being there early enough to be done by then. They open at 9am. Hopefully we ll be able to enjoy one of those glorious, clear and crisp fall days and one last cruise as a group, before we put the cars up for the winter. At the end of our cruise, we ll stop at the Fantail Brewing Company for lunch and to hold our Club meeting. The address is 119 S. Nottawa St. Sturgis, MI. Their phone number is (269) Reservations were made for 2:00 pm. We ll be talking about Autorama and our plans for our Club display among other things.

2 A note from Club Secretary, Anne Kohler: I was reminded yet again just why I love our club...recently, when I went to the Indy 08 show...i had to go by myself this time...but I was never alone!! As soon as everyone realized I was there, the fun began. It reminded me of all the great things that I have received by joining this club. I have gained a huge family, friends who have common interests, a best friend, an adopted daughter and grandson, and so many more things!! I have been involved with WMCC for ten years now and it seems as if it only started yesterday!! Three Camaros and one sold to a brother (member) later...and I will never regret making the decision to join!! I think back on all of the amazing things that I have been involved in and I can't believe that an ordinary, everyday teacher got to do those things!! It has been so much fun and I am looking forward to many more years to come!! Thank you to all of you who take care of all of us!! Thank you to all who I consider good friends!! And thank you to all who I definitely consider my Camaro family!!! Sincerely, Anne Kohler Your Secretary Annual Christmas Party / December Club Meeting: Mark your calendars for Saturday, December 13 th for the Annual WMCC Christmas Party and Club meeting. Teresa & Carl Lins have bravely offered to host the party at their home once again. The Christmas Party is always one of the highlights of the year and should not be missed. Festivities will begin around 6pm and will go until the wee hours of the morning, if the past is any indication of what to expect. We will discuss the party briefly at the November meeting and all the final details will be in the December newsletter. Grand Rapids Autorama, Jan 9-11, 2009: We have been busy planning our Club display and have already acquired some nice props to enhance our Used Car Lot Theme. We will continue to discuss the layout and refine our display at this month s meeting. I will have Autorama Entry Forms with me at the November Club meeting, but if you can t make the meeting, please run off the form from the website and send it in to Mark Black. You can print the form here: entry/form/grandrapids_entry.html These are the cars we are planning to have in the Club display this year: 1) Doug Warren s Project DZ74 blue 74 Type Lt/Z28 2) John Falkenhagen s blue 69 Camaro 3) Marc Bouman s blue 69 Camaro RS 4) Nick Kemp s blue 01 SS 5) Steve Ogrodzinski s blue 78 Z28 6) Ken Miedema s blue 01 Berger SS 7) Jan Boyer s red th Anniversary SS 8) James Hoffman s white 85 LS1 IROC-Z 9) Ray Shafer s black 01 Z28 You may notice there are 6 blue Camaros out of a total of 9. However, there are several different shades of blue and the three other colors will make things look great. Because of the number of blue cars, we ve decided to call our display Blue Moon Used Cars. That should be fun! October WMCC Club meeting 2

3 WMCC Hot Rod Fall Color Tour report: As I have said in the past, and continue to say, this is my favorite Club activity every year. I want to send out a big Thank You to John & Christi Falkenhagen for organizing, planning and leading us on an amazing adventure and very enjoyable weekend. The visit to Kalitta Air was a very pleasant surprise. I think everyone was blown away by the activity at their facility, and of course by the sheer size of those 747s! We could not have asked for better weather and we hit the fall colors at or near their peak. After seven years in the Traverse City area, the change to the east coast side of Michigan was very nice. The roads were nice and the scenery was great, from light houses to beautiful parks and scenic overlooks. We basically went from Ionia, across the State to Tawas City, up to Alpena and back home through Houghton Lake. I m sure this will come up in future conversations about our trip, so I ll mention it here myself. I inadvertently added some drama (or comedy, depending on your perspective) to our Saturday morning activities by locking my keys in our Camaro. While I was in a semi state of shock, beating myself up over such a bonehead move, Ray Cochran, Carl Lins and Dave Kemp quickly formed a plan to get into our car and retrieve the keys. Within minutes, using a combination of Camaro radio antennas, a small piece of steel rod and a roll of electrical tape, a tool was fashioned to slide the door lock forward and regain access to the interior. While an audience of 25 Club members watched, they soon got the door open, and our day returned to its initial plan. Thanks, guys! You did a great job. MacGyver would have been proud. J A big part of these weekends is the socializing and just plain hanging out with our WMCC family. I am always very proud of the family atmosphere we have in the Club, it s what makes our Club special. I m sure there will be stories told for a long time to come of the Saturday evening deck party that migrated to the hotel bar, but that s a story best kept out of print! Enjoy the photos and mark your calendars for next October, when we ll plan to do it all over again. I can t wait... you might want to ask Tracey how to stop a hotel room from spinning. LOL (See the pictures from the trip on pages 4, 5, 7 & 8) Carrie Farrell s Marathon/Fund Run: On Sunday, October 19 th, Carrie ran her first Marathon! Yup, a real marathon: 26.2 miles! She finished in 5 hours, 41 minutes and 29 seconds. She was running to support the Safe Haven Ministries who help victims of domestic violence. We were honored to witness Carrie finish this grueling event. As Carrie neared the finish line, she grabbed James out of the crowd and dragged him along with her for the last hundred yards of the marathon. That was pretty cool. Way to go, Carrie! 3

4 From the Photo Desk: Two of the better pictures from the Color Tour. If you would like a copy of either, prices are : 11x14 = $15 16x20 = $25 Prices have increased slightly as now I have them all mounted so they will never wrinkle. Delivery at the Christmas Party as I will miss the Nov meeting. Thanks, Ray Cochran zmanrc@hotmail.com

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6 Project DZ74 After thrashing really hard to get Project DZ74 ready for the Berger Show, we took some time off from working on the Z. Doug and I did take the Camaro on it's first long cruise. We drove her about 130 miles including down to Oval Beach in Saugatuck. DZ74 performed great with no surprises. With the 6 speed she just cruises right along at interstate speeds. We will now start getting her ready for Autorama. We need to install the new rear springs among other things. We have decided to keep the original interior but will have the seat covers removed and restitched for better support. As Autorama is only a couple months away we have decided to wait until spring to install the AC and the Security System This months pictures are of our finished product, sans the AC and Security. DZ74 Project mgr. Ray Cochran zmanrc@hotmail.com 6

7 October 2008 meeting notes: October 5, 2008 Meeting Crazy Horse Saloon Attendance: Doug & Anita Warren, James Hoffman & Carrie Farrell, Bob & Joanne Gornick, Gib & Tammy Loudon, Dave & Angie Kemp, John & Christi Falkenhagen, Christy & Nick Kemp, Kevin, Roberta, & Leo McNamara, Dave & Gay Verburg & Jaci, Marc Bouman, Ray Cochran, Al & Jan Boyer, Allan & Brittnay Boyer, Dennis Ronnie Mykols, Greg Gornick, John & Cheryl Smith, Ed Peterson, Anne Kohler, and Jim Smith. it s a BOY! : Wade & Stacie Shindorf had their baby on Fri., Oct. 3rd!! Congratulations!! Sun., Oct. 19 th Carrie s Marathon: She is running 26 miles and would love to see some of us cheering her on along the way!! Dave Edlund s benefit: on Nov. 1 the VFW Hall. It starts at 2:00 pm!! He would love to see some camaros in the parking lot!! Member Discount: Doug registered us with Hotchkis Sport Suspension. Club members get discounts of 15% on parts. Fall Color Tour: exit at Pilot, 8:00 a.m. On the road by 8:30. Doug: honorary member certificate for fall trip. We have Ed Peterson here with us today!! Welcome!! He has 5 Camaros and hopes to find more!! Great to have you with us!! Thanks to John & Cheryl Smith for our cruise today!! Autorama: Doug has been buying display items: a neon OK Used Cars sign, 4 metal car signs, Project DZ74 in center, all others coming out from the side. Anne will make a Blue Moon Auto sales sign, laminated. Doug, let me know how big you want the sign. I will bring in an example next meeting. Vettefest: There are a few going to Vettefest on Nov. 22 nd. Gib & Tammy will drive, the Suburban is full!! 2008 Events Calendar (*denotes Official WMCC Event) WMCC Monthly Membership Meetings: * Nov November WMCC Club Meeting See newsletter for details * Dec Annual Club Christmas Party/Club meeting At the Lins again!!!!!!!!!!!! * Jan January WMCC Club Meeting The last meeting before the Grand Rapids Autorama * Feb February WMCC Club Meeting * Mar March WMCC Club Meeting All Camaro / All Chevrolet Events: Nov th Annual Nickey Chicago Chevy Vettefest Chicago, IL ( ) Other Automotive Events of Interest: Jan th Annual (Grand Rapids) Belle Tire Autorama, DeVos Place, downtown, Grand Rapids, MI Jan North American International Auto Show Cobo Hall, Detroit, MI Feb Chicago Auto Show McCormick Place, Chicago, IL Mar Detroit Autorama Cobo Hall, Detroit, MI 7

8 Don t Miss the Next WMCC Meeting Sunday, November 2nd. We will be meeting at B & G Discount S. US131, Schoolcraft, Noon The Western Michigan Camaro Club is dedicated to the enjoyment, preservation and promotion of the Chevrolet Camaro as the premier four passenger sports car ever. The club was formed in Meetings The WMCC holds monthly membership meetings on the first Sunday of each month. Times and location vary, so see the Newsletter or check the club s web site at for specific times and locations, or call one of the officers. WMCC Officers President: Doug Warren Vice President: Gary Crippin Secretary: Anne Kohler Treasurer: Anita Warren Membership: Al Boyer Webmaster: Brent Findley Newsletter Editor: Gary Crippin Club Sponsor Berger Chevrolet BERGERCHEVY.COM Website Watch for the latest info on upcoming WMCC events. Camaro Corner 8