VETTE NEWS Volume 31, Issue 07 JULY 2012 President s Corner When the NCCC is talked about at our club meetings most members think the only purpose is insurance to cover the club and officers. This is only one aspect of being a NCCC member. Last week 3 couples headed to the NCCC convention in Topeka Kansas. We were gone 12 days and traveled 1,100 miles one way. Our first stop was in Dayton, Ohio to see the US National Air Museum which was very big and it took us a whole day to see most of it. It took 3 complete days to get to the Convention, but we had a great time at all the hotels along the way. The convention is only partly about racing and it was fun to watch the high speed event where some cars went over 150 miles on the track. We also watched Jim Brett race the low speed event (Auto Cross) and Rich Kirkland win his class at the Drag races. All the race events were at Heartland Park Raceway a large three track complex, about 7 miles from the hotel. The Brett s won 6 th place in the rally which is great if you ever ran one (you would know). We went on a bus tour to the beautiful botanical gardens of Lake Shawnee, Combat Air Warplane Museum, and had lunch at the Top of the Tower Club on the 16 th floor of the Bank of America building, were we had wonderful view of the whole city. We also had a stop at Wade- Meade Park a small 1854 town, family mansion and more. The girls (Rose, Patti, Nicolet) had fun making a table top center piece for our club which won 1 st place over all the other club displays, which was very exciting and rewarding. Nicolet and Jim won the costume contest for the Wizard of Oz. Jim was the best Scarecrow and she was the best Munchkin. There was something for everyone at the convention, like a party every night, dinners, door prizes, golf outing, parades, three different bus tours and watching your friends participate. I almost forgot that Patti took 2 nd place for the People s Choice Award for her Valve Cover. The weather was a little hot (104 to 109), but the hotel was big, beautiful and cool. All 3 couples had a great 12 days together and will be going to the next convention in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Rose and I have gone to last 13 out of last 15 conventions and would like to invite all of COB to join us next year. This event is only about 570 miles. There will be pictures and articles in the next Blue Bars. Check it out and make plans to join us next year. PETER R. OFFICAL PUBLICATION OF What s Happening COB Club Meeting July 14 th, 2012 Clarence Church 7 pm July 7 Pirates Festival Car Show - 9am Olcott, NY July 8 Ford Lords Custom Car Show - 8:30 am Williamsville, NY July 9 Tread City Cruise Night - 5pm Genesee St. near Union Rd. July 12 Akron Cruise Night - 5:30pm Akron, NY July 13 Paddock Chevy Car Show 4:30pm Kenmore, NY July 15 Geneseo Air Show 10 am See Frank Pastore July 18 COB Salvatore s Super Cruise 5pm Transit Rd. July 19 Charcoal Corral Cruise - 4pm See Frank Pastore July 21 Orchard Tea Rooms Luncheon, Burt, NY See Sue Brownlee & Patti Kirkland July 22 Buffalo Waterfront COB Cruise - 12 Noon See Mel Skeide July 25 Fireside Inn Cruise Christmas in July Corvette Super Cruise Rt. 20 5pm July 25 Root Beer Float Cruise 6 pm Getzville, NY July 26 Akron Fireman s Cruise 5pm Akron, NY July 27 St. John Vianney Cruise -5p Orchard Park, NY July 29 Sylvan Beach All Corvette Show Sylvan Beach, NY July 29 Dick Pendleton Car Show 10am Grand Island, NY www.corvettesofbuffalo.com CORVETTES of BUFFALO pg 1
Officers President Vice President Secretary Treasurer Peter Ricigliano 716-634-6101 Lowell Rothenberger 716-675-9467 Skip Polowy 716-201-1889 Larry Ienco 716-570-7110 Board of Directors Sue Brownlee 716-693-4654 Mike Buccilli 716-648-2037 Reas Graber 716-830-7500 Sam Iraci 716-831-8623 Mel Skeide 716-876-1194 Dan Wroblewski 716-430-4238 Rich Zahner 716-688-8214 Breaking News It has just been learned that the Editor of Corvette News has been kidnapped while he was on a trip out to Kansas. He was reportedly taken by a pair of disgruntle Munchkins and one old Scarecrow. It was not clear if any harm has befallen the Editor as of this time. They were last seen heading down the Yellow Brick Road with a troop of flying monkeys. All efforts are being made to locate him. State and Local Police are sparing no expense to locate this poor victim Photo just in Committees Membership Newsletter Phone Comm. Sunshine Comm. Webmaster Activities Dir. Club Photographer Barbra Lipome 716-691-8845 Richard Kirkland 716-304-1818 Donna Biggie 585-492-2927 Karen Rothenberger 716-675-9467 Jim Bonus 716-695-7643 Patti Kirkland 716-304-1818 Dan Krakowski 719-675-5880 They are considered to be extremely dangerous and should not be approached. UPDATE The Editor has been found alive and somewhat well. When he was interviewed he had one thing to say and that was he felt bad that the Newsletter was going to be late, but he was glad to be alive. That s All Toto Meeting every second Saturday of the month at First Presbyterian Church 9675 Main St. Clarence, NY Meeting starts 7:00 p.m. Corvettes of Buffalo is open to all Corvette owners and enthusiasts over the age of 21 Visit us at http://www.corvettesofbuffalo.com/ Birthdays 1 st Mike Erdey 13 th Carl Balmas 21 st Roberta Strychalski 22 nd Steve Dworzack 25 th Jim Zelasko 29 th John Heffernan 30 th Jim Bonus Send Articles To: Rich Kirkland, 10318 Loretta Drive Niagara Falls, New York 14304 E-Mail : mailto:razzor888@roadrunner.com Submissions must be in by 24 th Anniversaries 24 th Patti & Rich Kirkland 25 th Kathy & Dave Huber CORVETTES of BUFFALO pg 2
New Member My love affair with corvettes started when I bought my first corvette which was a white with red interior, 1977 coupe. My wife, Joanne and I would take the coupe out for a cruise and the first time we came across a fellow corvette, the driver waved at us. Joanne noticed the wave and asked if I knew the person? I replied that maybe he taught he knew us. Then the next time we were out cruising it happened again. We came to realize that the wave was meant as a hi! to a fellow corvette owner. When I would cruise around I would then look out for a corvette and give the wave. It was like belonging to a fellowship or club. As the years past and owning two corvettes my love strayed and I traded my corvette for a BMW Z3 roadster. The first time I was out driving I waved to a fellow BMW roadster and did not receive a returned wave. After years of owning a couple of BMW's I found the road to be a cold place to travel. In May of 2011 as a retirement gift, I traded in my roadster for a millennium yellow 2004 Corvette coupe. I realized that I had missed the wave and fellowship associated with owing America's Sports Car and would like to take the next step from being an unofficial member of the corvette fellowship, to being a member of Corvettes of Buffalo and spreading the love and joy of owning a CORVETTE. Sincerely, Paul & Joanne Brozyna A S ad Good-By It s with a sad heart that we have to say good-by to Reas & Nancy Graber. As you all know they bought a new home and moved to Florida. Well they may be gone but not forgotten. May God bless them and keep them well. They will be back up from time to time and we can all catch up with the latest news. See you soon. COB Some photos from his luncheon Vette Girls Luncheon Ladies, I just want to take a moment to thank all of you that attended this year s luncheon at the Asa Ransom house. All 24 of us arrived this past Weds to this wonderful Inn, many of you even brought your vettes (wish I had). Although Asa normally doesn't have groups this large for lunch it went off without a hitch and the food overall worked out great. Of course the best part of the day was all of us being together, getting time to talk about all the things going on in our lives and have many laughs along the way. Having the opportunity to belong to a club as wonderful as C.O.B. has been truly a pleasure with times likes these made more memorable by the many great friends we've made over the years. Once our lunch was done we of course did what women love to do WE SHOPPED! The Hiding Place a terrific gift store in the heart of Clarence was more than happy to open their doors to our group, especially on what normally would be a slow Weds. All in all another wonderful afternoon spent by the "vette girls. Special thanks go out to Patti and Sue for capturing our day on their cameras. I look forward to continuing this tradition of the ladies of C.O.B. getting together and sharing time together. Sincerely, Mary Mangan CORVETTES of BUFFALO pg 3 THE RISK FACTOR Any time you volunteer or join a club you do accept some risk. I was an auxiliary fireman in the Buffalo Fire Dept. for 12 years and a volunteer Fireman in Clarence Center for 4 years. Our treasurer Larry Ienco has been in the fire service twice as long as me and we talked a little about our insurance coverage as firemen. In my 16 years as a fire fighter I attended every meeting for both companies that I belonged to I always knew we had insurance but I do not recall any fire fighter in either organization want to see their insurance policy Larry said it never came up in 35 years in his fire company either. I think the reason being we knew we had to watch each other s backs to try and limit our risk and by doing so hoped we never had to use our insurance. The same should be true for COB. Our Club runs two major events a year of the two the Caravan probably has more risk than the Super Cruise. We as a club took a vote whether to run that event or not even though that vote was a secret ballot, for the record I did vote against it, but after the vote was taken and the club decided to run the event I have supported it and attended last year. When your part of a club that s what you do! Now the risk factor! More important than our insurance is making sure the event is as safe as we can make it and you can t do that by not being there! The more club eyes we have at the caravan and are on the lookout along our route the safer it will be. It really is a great event and when you see all the smiling faces at the dinner after the drive along the route, it reminds you why you joined COB, to be together with all your Corvette friends. Hope to see your there so I can wave to you. Dan Wroblewski
Cruisin Around the Mountains Saranac Lake, NY Given the chance to join our special friends from Found Caravan Corvette Club in Saranac Lake was a perfect start for our first 2012 Corvette Road Trip! An extra bonus was being able to leave on Thursday, May 31 st with John and Donna Biggie & Larry & Donna Petro to enjoy wonderful weather and fantastic scenery! And with the added excitement of seeing John and Donna arrive to meet us at Pembroke in their gorgeous new 2010 convertible that matches the 2010 Corvette brochure cover car! We planned a stop in Old Forge for a leisurely lunch at the restored Van Auken Inn and a chance to enjoy some great shops, including Old Forge Hardware the Adirondack s Most General Store! Lots of laughs and the best selection of gnomes anywhere! But, that s a story for another time, gnome-matter what! We checked in at the Best Western Hotel in Saranac around 4:30 p.m. with plenty of time to get settled before dinner at the home of Joanne and Mike (Beef) Bevilaqua founders of the Found Caravan Corvette Club. What generous hospitality and a great chance to spend an evening with our friends from Found and make new ones, as well. True to their mission to have fun, get together with other vette owners from all over, share stories and experiences our evening was that and more! Special thanks to Joanne and Beef for a superb dinner! We learned more about what to expect with a new event of the weekend planned on Saturday afternoon called Cruisin down the River. Of course, the Adironduck Race of 2012 was being born. On Saturday at 1:30 PM after our scheduled cruise around the Adirondacks, the ducks would be dropped from the Broadway Street Bridge to cruise down the Saranac River to the finish line just past Woodruff Street, where the Win, Place and Show ducks would be plucked from the water. And we met Roger, their neighbor and resident kayaker, who had accepted the essential role of being the only person to retrieve the winning ducks from the river on Saturday. Certainly made us decide that buying just one duck would not be enough. And, since all the funds raised by the club go to the Holiday Helpers event in December for Christmas for over 300 area children we were even more excited about the new plans for Saturday. After breakfast on Friday, we registered, selected our ducks for their Saranac River cruise, place out bets and headed for Lake Placid. We found some new shops and enjoyed stopping at some favorites, made a stop to the Olympic Ice Rink and drove around Mirror Lake to The Cottage restaurant located right below the Mirror Lake Inn on the water for a luscious lunch! After arriving back at the Best Western, it was time to get the cars ready for the Saturday morning show and join the rest of the group for the Welcome Party. The annual crowning of the 2012 Cruisin Queen, Lori Braverman from Geneva, NY was a highlight of the party along with recognizing the Adirondack Corvette Club of Glens Falls, NY with the club participation award. The Cruisin Corvette Show on Saturday morning at the Best Western had many exceptional corvettes from the eastern United States including Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York. Judges truly had many tough choices to make with their selections. At 12:15 PM, our group was led out of town by the Saranac Police and Beef Bevilaqua, taking a grand cruise around the magnificent Adirondacks and ended just past the Woodruff Street bridge to await the Adironduck Race of 68 rubber ducks all wishing for their moment of fame! The ducks had been dropped in a 1000 ft upriver, just as we parked our Corvettes. It was just too funny cheering the ducks, not knowing whose duck was in the lead. Some ducks were upright and others in a variety of positions and watching Roger in his kayak and Beef in his fishing waders and a net waiting beyond the finish line! So the Win, Place and Show ducks were rescued with the plan to meet at the bowling alley for the results at 3:00 PM. It was time for a late lunch for our group at Nonna Fina and to find out the duck race results! Duck 55 Won. Place was Duck 27 and Show was Duck 46 owned by Joan and Bob Meegan and we have a trophy and bag of prices as proof! Lots of planning and coordination by the committee made for an amazing afternoon! Everyone there can t wait until next year! With the Red Fox Restaurant an excellent backdrop for the Awards Dinner, there were many highlights of the day to discuss and share with everyone. After a delectable dinner, it was time for the awards. We are proud to report that each of us received recognition for our Corvettes. John & Donna Biggie with the Sponsor s Choice trophy for the Best 2010; Larry & Donna Petro with a Sponsor s Choice Award for the Best C6; Bob & Joan Meegan accepted a Sponsor s Choice Award for the Best 2007. Found Caravan Corvette Club presents very unique glass awards all of us surprised and thrilled with the results! A very busy Saturday, for sure but one we will all remember. Spending the weekend with our friends at Found confirmed the reality that it is still possible to get together with like-minded individuals who share something in common the love of driving their Corvettes and getting together socially without any pressure or hassle. The charge of the Found Caravan Corvette Club does work: show up, have fun and go home! Bob and Joan Meegan CORVETTES of BUFFALO pg 4
Akron Cruise Akron cruise had their Corvette night on the last Thursday in May. We all met at Mc Donalds at 4:30 and proceeded together down Main St. to secure our parking spots. It was only their 2nd cruise of the season as road work on John St had postponed the first few weeks. COB made a good showing with 15 Corvettes in attendance. Our club took up both sides of the street. Although the day started cool by cruise time the sun was out and we all had a nice evening between dinners and friendly chat. The Akron cruise night has been shortened an hour it s from 6-8 instead of 6-9 so keep this in mind if attending any of the cruises during the summer. Thanks to all who attended. Dan & Deb Wroblewski Awards of Excellence Tri Five Winners Gene Colucci, Dave Huber, Dan Krakowski and Ray Zielinski all won Awards of Excellence at the UAW-GM Car Show on Saturday June 16, 2012. It was a great show with many outstanding cars. You could not have asked for better weather, it was just a picture perfect day. Ray Zielinski, Dave Huber, and John Meyerhoff were all winners at the July 1, 2012 Tri Five Car Show. Great job guys. 1964 Corvette Coupe for Sale Original with matching numbers. L76 327/365hp, 4 speed, 3.70 positraction rear end. Saddle tan iridescent/saddle interior. $57,500, negotiable.call Gene at 716 754-7346 for more details. Ladies Day @ Murphy's Orchard & Tea Saturday, July 21st @ Noon Enjoy an afternoon tea in a 1850 house situated on a historic land site. Tea for 2 is $20. ($10 each) This site is known for it's involvement with the Underground Railroad between 1850-1861. Visit the barn to enjoy a brief DVD on it's history, which includes a look at the concealed room used to hide the runaway slaves.a gift shop is located on the premises also for purchasing homemade jams and jellies. In season fruits and veggies may be available too. The sign up sheet will be at the July meeting or you can call no later than July 15th. Sue Brownlee 693-4654 OR Patti Kirkland 304-1818 CORVETTES of BUFFALO pg 5
Whistle Pig Cruise A great time was had by all at the Whistle Pig Cruise Night. Lots of good music and good food. The weather was perfect for relaxing or just having some ice cream, just ask Mel. But most of the club members, after looking over the many gorges car just elected to sit around and enjoy the Night. Look Rich Kirkland 72 Corvette Restoration Not much to say for July I had a lot to do and with the big trip we took out to Kansas all I have are some photos for your enjoyment. There is a lot of detail work to do as you can see. Peter R. Let s not forg et the S uper Cruise Peter what did y ou do to y our car? CORVETTES of BUFFALO pg 6
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P. O. Box 161 West Seneca, NY 14224 ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED CORVETTES of BUFFALO pg 13