Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration Up-Date January 15, 2013 Ron Bramlett, Executive Director, ron@mustangsplus.com Steve Hall, Assistant Director, steve@acmeapparelgroup.com Steve Prewitt, MORE Program Chairperson, gtpony94@aol.com C. Steven McCarley, Track Events Chairperson, GZCRacer@bellsouth.net Ed Hockaday, Insurance Committee Chairperson/Ford Liaison, ed@ednancy.com Austin C. Craig, Advertising Chairperson, austincraig2007@yahoo.com Craig Chesley, Mustang Build Chairperson, cmchesley@appraisal-associates.com John Farmer, website Chairperson, john.farmer@acxiom.com Jim Smart, Publicity Chairperson, thesmart67@msn.com Bib Fria, Early Mustang History Committee Chairperson, E-Mail Not Available at this Time Chris Hall, Youth Committee Chairperson, chall@epix.net Sandy Boleware, Kick Off Party Committee Co-Chairperson, probkauz@gmail.com Bill Bradford, Kick Off Party Committee Co-Chairperson, webradford@live.com Joe Grace, Liaison Committee Chairperson, djgator1@gmail.com Rodney Shorty Brown, MCA 50 th Awards Committee Chairperson, rshortybrown@bellsouth.net David S.Turnbull, Pony Drive Committee Chairperson, ponydoc@juno.com More to Come, As We Roll Along, to 50 Years of Mustang! Fellow Mustang Club of America National Board of Directors and Regional Directors, Although I've been allowed a few minutes to speak about the 50th at the MCA National Board of Directors meeting in Phoenix, I thought it would be better to put this Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration up-date on paper so it could be shared with all of you and the members of the MCA Regional Clubs. First of all, I want to say "Thank You" to all who are involved in helping to make the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration the greatest Mustang celebration the hobby has ever seen! To be sure, there are tons and tons of enthusiasm for this milestone from Mustang owners, vendors, and Ford Motor Company, just to name a few. I ve been involved in car clubs for over 35 years. I ve been in the Mustang parts business for over 30 of those years. I ve been involved in other brands milestone anniversaries. I can honesty say that the Mustang s 50 th birthday is generating more enthusiasm then I have ever seen for any one automobile. And we re still well over a year away! As I travel through the Mustang Nation, everywhere I go, and everyone I see has to ask me about the Mustang 50th and how they can become involved. It's truly a remarkable time in Mustang history and we re all living it, right now! But, and unfortunately there is a "but" that goes along with what I have to say, it's hard to tell everyone exactly what's gong on. Many pieces of the puzzle for the 50 th aren't in place at this time and many others are yet to be identified. It would be very easy to go out and mis-inform all of the very enthusiastic Mustang owners and supporters. We don t want to do that. So, until something is really locked down, we don't want to announce it. We will wait, get the correct information before we send it out, and that will keep the enthusiasm high! As I write this up-date, we're still right at 15 months away from April 17th, 2014. Getting solid commitments over a year away is sometimes hard to do. As anyone who has ever been in charge of planning and executing such a large event as the Mustang 50 th will tell you, there's a lot that has to be done before you can start giving out specific details to the public. We re doing that work now. That's what's been happening behind the scenes. We ve been working out the details. Not a lot of glamour, but very necessary. There are those of us who are still laying the foundation for
the wonderful celebration that we are planning for Mustang enthusiasts all over the world and I hope everyone understands that. With that said, here's an up-date of where we are today, January 15, 2013, in the planning and execution of the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration. Three Mustang 50th Birthday Celebrations, Not Just One The biggest complaint that all of the previous Mustang Anniversary Executive Directors will tell you they heard over and over from Mustang enthusiasts was that the previous anniversary shows were all held in the east and the west couldn t be a part of them. We just couldn t let that happen with the Mustang s 50 th. The Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration is a very, very special event that we, which are the clubs, the vendors, the Mustang owners and especially Ford Motor Company, want to assure that as many Mustang enthusiast as possible are actually going to be able to participate in, on some level. This means that one event, whether held in the east, in the west or even in the center of the United States, would leave a lot of Mustang enthusiasts, vendors and supporters of the Mustang hobby unable to be involved in the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration on any type of a national level. It's very important for all of us to realize that. In our lifetimes, the Mustang 50th will be the biggest milestone and the most important Mustang Celebration we will ever be able to be a part of. As much as I hate to say it, the 55 th, 60th and even the 75 th will be more in years, but they will not carry the significance of the 50 th. Until the 100 th Mustang Celebration, the 50 th will always be the big one! In the spirit of trying to bring as many Mustangs and Mustang owners together for this Celebration, there will actual be three separate 50th Celebration events for everyone to attend. So, I will address each of these as a single 50 th Celebration and give you as much detail as I can of each at this time. They are: 1. The Pony Drives from all over the United States to Norman, Okalahoma for the "Kick Off" Celebration 2. The Eastern Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration at Charlotte Motor Speedway 3. The Western Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The Pony Drives to Oklahoma - For Mustang enthusiasts who want to drive their Mustangs to the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration, here's a very special way to start celebrating; join the Mustang 50th Pony Drive to Norman, Oklahoma! From wherever you live in the United States, or from wherever our foreign brothers and sisters fly into the United States from their home countries to join our Celebration, there will be a Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration Pony Drive that they can hook up with and be a part of. This will be the greatest Mustang caravan that has ever crossed the United States to meet up in one place! This will be, the Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration Pony Drives! Thanks to the efforts of David S. Turnbull, who many of you know as the founder and leader of the Great American Pony Drive, we will have many different routes to follow to Norman. He has been working on routes from many different cities in several states which we ultimately will put on a map detailing all of the routes for this nation wide Pony Drive. Also, Joe Grace has been traveling the country, working with Mustang enthusiasts, clubs, hotels, and even entire cities to insure that the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration Pony Drive is an extraordinary experience for all who make the trip. Many of these cities and towns have pledged to have welcomes that will blow our socks off! Joe is well versed in what it takes to make these events fun to attend. You may know him from the Blue Ridge Mustang club in Ashville, SC, which hosted the MCA National Show, "Mustangs at the Mansion". To coin a phrase, We re in good hands, with Joe Grace! All of these points and details will be on the map when completed. When completed, this map and all of the details will be put up on the event website. For each route, it will show the starting points, major cities on the route, lunch stops, side trips for sight seeing along the way, hotels for overnight stays, evening car shows and planned get togethers in many cities that the Mustang 50 th Pony Drives will pass through. It will also have the exact arrival
time in Norman, Oklahoma for the kick off party for the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration for all the different routes. The map s importance will be very high as Mustang enthusiasts will be able to use it to plan for the time off they will need and for the expense of the trip. One of the biggest benefits they will get from this map is that they will be able to feel secure in driving their Mustang, whether a 1964 1\2 or brand new from the factory, across the United States. They will be traveling with a group and not alone. Starting points, such as Boston, Seattle, Jacksonville, FL., Los Angeles and even Ford World Headquarters, will assure that Mustang enthusiasts from all across the United States can come to a familiar point for the start and then be surrounded by new friends as they take the Mustang Drive of a Lifetime. Or, if they can't make it to the starting point, they can jump in anywhere along the way. They can even jump in, drive for a couple of hundred miles, and then go back home. This may sound like a trivial point, but in doing so, they will be able to say that they were a part of the Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration. No doubt, there will be a small gathering at the starting points and hundreds more Mustang enthusiasts and their Mustangs by the time they reach Oklahoma! Once in Oklahoma, thanks to the hard work of Sandra Boleware, Bill Bradford, and the Oklahoma Mustang Club, we will have a great Kick Off party for the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration. At the start of the planning for the Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration, this was not an event. It was just a gathering place for the Pony Drives. But, as we talked to Sandy, and Bill, an event was born through their enthusiasm. And, it has grown into what will be a great Mustang event. With the Oklahoma Mustang Club s involvement, that just kicks it up to another level and hundreds of Mustangs will be there. They have hosted some of the most successful MCA National Shows in past years. There s nothing like experience and success and there s lots of that here. Plans call for a Friday, April 11th, 2014 arrival by the all the Pony Drives and a Sunday, April 13th, 2014 departure for either Charlotte in the east, or Las Vegas in the west. Sandy, Bill and the entire Oklahoma Mustang Club have some great events planned for everyone who attends. This includes shopping trips for the ladies (men, optional), track events for those who want to drive fast and not get a ticket and tours of local places such as Mustang, Oklahoma which is just a few miles from Norman. Of course dinners, speakers and sponsors will also be a part of the Kick Off party. Then on Sunday morning, it's back on the road for either Charlotte or Las Vegas, whichever Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration is best for you. More details will be announced as they become available. If possible, put this drive on your calendar. You will want to add this Mustang driving experience to your Mustang 50 th dance card! The Charlotte Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration - The trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway from Norman, Oklahoma is right at 1,150 miles, about 40 miles more than to Las Vegas. Arrival is planned for the afternoon of Wednesday, April 16th, 2014 for those on the Pony Drives. We know other Mustang enthusiasts will be pouring in that are not with the Pony Drives, even before the Pony Drives get there. This will be the first day of the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration where the vendors will be set up and enthusiasts can come see what is actually planned and happening. However, the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration Opening Ceremonies will not be until Thursday, April 17th, 2014, the actual 50th birthday of the Mustang. From this point on, the Celebration will be in full swing. Thanks to the hard work of C. Steven McCarley, we are planning Open Track and Drag Racing for those who want to drive their Mustangs above the speed limit and not have to worry about that police car coming out of nowhere! Now, you have to choose which Mustang you want to bring; the one for show, or the one for go! Maybe both, if you can get your spouse or friend to bring the other one! Also, Mark Young, Tom Henning and the entire Carolina Regional Mustang Club are working hard on the Charlotte event so that every Mustang enthusiast who attends will leave with great memories. Now, here's where we have a lot of those pieces of the puzzle which are either not finalized or not identified at this time. The host hotel is going to be the Embassy Suites, right down the road from the Speedway. They will not be taking reservations until sometime in
February when the Housing Authority will be set up and ready to start accepting reservations. At that time, you will also be able to make reservations at the other hotels in the area and get the special event rates. Check the website for additional information and to stay up to date. We have dinners planned but guest speakers are not booked at this time. There will be tours of the local sights and we are working on trying to get as many discounts in place as possible for those who are attending the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration. As these pieces start falling together, you, as an MCA BOD member or as an MCA Regional Director, will be informed. The Las Vegas Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration - As above, the trip to Las Vegas from Norman, Oklahoma is right at 1,110 miles, about 40 miles less than to Charlotte. As with Charlotte, arrival is planned for the afternoon of Wednesday, April 16th, 2014 for the Pony Drives. We know other enthusiasts will be pouring in that are not with the Pony Drives, even before the Pony Drives get there. As in Charlotte, this will be the first day of the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration where the vendors will be set up and enthusiasts can come see what is actually planned and happening. Again, the Mustang 50th Birthday Celebration Opening Ceremonies will be on Thursday, April 17th, 2014, the actual 50th birthday of the Mustang. The exact time is still not pin pointed down but on this day, the Celebration will be in full swing. Again, thanks to the work of C. Steven McCarley, we are planning Open Track and Drag Racing for those who want to drive their Mustangs at speed. The drag strip is right across from the speedway and can easily be walked to. The exact days for Open Track and Drag Racing are still not finalized, but there should be plenty of opportunity for those who are planning to track or drag their Mustang and burn up a lot of gas, tires and brakes! As Steve would say, "It's our job to make sure that they go home with the tires worn out, the brakes needing to be changed and only enough gas in the tank to get it on the trailer or to the closest gas station!" I fully agree. As for hotels, we are working with the MGM family of hotels through a Las Vegas event planner to lock down a variety of hotel rooms at several different locations, at the best possible prices for the Mustang 50 th. The host hotel has not been chosen, but it will probably be on the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel closest to the Speedway has less than 300 rooms and not enough banquet facilities for our planned dinners. Again, as these plans come together, along with the host hotel decision, we will inform you so that you can keep the members of your MCA Regional Clubs up to date. Other Las Vegas Notes - Look for Las Vegas to have a lot of Shelbys, since Shelby America is right down the street from the Speedway. There will be a lot of Shelby tours, events, parties and displays to take part of. We also have a couple of other surprises that are sure to be thrilling if we can work the details out. More on that, later. MCA Judging at the 50th - I am also getting a lot of questions as to when and how Mustangs will be judged by the MCA at the Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration. It seems that everyone wants to earn an MCA Mustang 50 th award! Here s what has been put forward and accepted by the Mustang Club of America s judging staff. The majority of the MCA judges wanted to make sure that they could enjoy the Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration and not have to worry about having to judge Mustangs all week. So, we came up with a way to pay respect to those MCA Award Wining Mustangs that are brought to the Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration. Here s how it will work. Every Mustang entered in the Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration will be awarded a Mustang 50 th award. Understand, these are not MCA awards. They are Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration awards. Those MCA Awarding Wining Mustangs, including Gold, Silver & Bronze, 1 st 2 nd and 3 rd and Conservators classes, are special and will also be awarded an MCA Mustang 50 th award in addition to the other. The award that they earn will be the highest award that these Mustangs have earned during the 2012 and 2013 MCA show season. The reasoning is that these Mustangs have already been judged by the MCA judges and, in the judge s eyes, do not need to be judged again for the 50th. The judges, along with the owners, do not need to spend the time to go
through the process again. There may be a walk through by some of the judges to make sure the Mustangs are being displayed properly, but the actual judging process will not take place. Being awarded an MCA award in this fashion at the Mustang 50 th will pay respect due to the Mustang and it s owner for their accomplishment of earning an MCA judged award within the past 2 years of the Mustang 50 th. I m sure you will want to impress upon your club s members that have not earned an MCA judged award in 2012 that they need to get their Mustang to one of the MCA s 2013 National Shows so they can earn an MCA Mustang 50 th Award at the 50 th. As more details are released, we will forward them to you. 1964 1\2 Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration Mustang - I am very pleased to announce that we have been in contact with Bob Fisher at the Drake Automotive Group. Besides becoming the newest MCA Corporate Sponsor, Scott Drake has also offered to supply a 1964 1\2 Mustang Convertible and thousands of dollars of restoration parts to the Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration. This is to build/restore a one off, very special, 50 year old Mustang Convertible as an event Mustang. Craig Chesley and the Mustangs of East Texas, which is an MCA Regional Club, will build the Mustang as they did the Pay It Forward Mustang in 2009. The Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration Mustang will be displayed at as many MCA National Shows and other high profile events as possible to raise awareness for the Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration and the Mustang s 50 th year of production. After the 50 th Celebrations, it will be sold and the proceeds will go to the charity of Scott Drake s choice, the National Down Syndrome Organization. In Closing In closing, there are so many other things going on that I can t begin to list them all here. We just don t have everything nailed down to a point where we should be talking about them just yet. I do want everyone to know that we are well aware that until there are ads in the magazines and on the websites, until you can actually send us your money and sign up for the 50 th, until you hear your friends say, I ve already reserved my spot for the Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration!, the Mustang 50 th is not real to you. It s like the new model of Mustang that everyone is talking about but nobody has seen. I just want you all to know that we are working on the 50 th and soon, real soon, it will be real to everybody! As always, my phone and my e-mail are always open to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail or call me. And, Thank You!, for your dedication to the MCA and for continuing to help move the MCA forward. I can never say that enough. Respectfully, Ron Bramlett Executive Director Mustang 50 th Birthday Celebration (209) 471-2383 cell ron@mustangsplus.com