PRESIDENTIAL PRESS MAY 2008

By the time you get this we will have had two cruises scheduled, but I can only write about the first one. It was the best first cruise this club ever, ever had. We were blessed with great weather and that made everyone want to come out. I was talking with one guy who said to me what a long dreadful winter it had been but after being at Southeastern for a half hour and seeing familiar faces he said, “It was like we never stopped.”

I hope that this sets the tone for the entire year. The girls and guys in the HRC looked like they were having a ball, the volunteers for the rest room shifts were well organized, and David Bump and Gerry Murray did an outstanding job on the 50/50. They were filling in for an ailing Butchie who is well again.

May 10th and 11th is the giant automotive flea market at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield. This is also Mother’s day for all you mothers, and if tradition follows it will rain, so get yer plants in.

The Hot Rod Café is going on the road again! We have been invited back to the LaBelle Chevrolet Show, which is being held on Sunday May 18th. Last year it was a much-needed boost for us and this year I hope we can do the same and have a fun time. We will need some volunteers, of course.

June 1st we are heading down the Cape to Heritage Plantation to see the rhododendrons in full bloom. This will be nice ride and we should be able to time it to avoid the masses leaving the Cape later in the day. Get details at the meeting.

Gerry, our editor, and I have been e-mailing with John Buchanan of the Mass Cruisers and they want to join us when we go to the Collins museum on June 29th. They will meet us there, as it would be too difficult to hook up on the way. I think it’s a great idea and I’m sure there are members in each club that know one another and we can have a picnic on the grounds after we tour this magnificent place. It will be nice to mingle and exchange some ideas on our respective clubs. Dick Benson is in charge of this event.

We will get a report on the September 14th Jamboree at the meeting.

If the weather gods stay with us and gas doesn’t go to five dollars a gallon, I feel this could be one of our best years. I appreciate the support and the good-natured ribbing that we all take part in. It’s like being sixteen again and hanging out at the gas station or the diner, only now when your friends ask how you made out, they aren’t talking about Fields Park and the submarine races, they’re talking about your doctor’s appointment!

Always a pleasure,
Joe