President's Message

 

Runabouts to Rockets
Volume 45 #1-2
January - February 2026

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On behalf of the NAOC, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! I hope that
everyone was able to enjoy the holiday season with friends and family.

As I start the new year, I look forward to having a great 2026. My new year resolutions
include losing weight, getting in better physical shape, and getting a few of my car
projects completed. My heart bypass surgery last February was a great success, so
now I need to do my part to get the most out of it. I also need to step up efforts in the
garage to complete some of my long-awaited projects.

During the month of November, I spent a lot of time in Dayton finalizing the details of our 2026 NAOC National Meet. The results of these trips are reflected with the Registration Form and Registration Details included in this issue. I hope that everyone considers attending the annual meet this year. The Marriott at the University of Dayton is a very nice hotel, and offers great parking areas for our Show Cars, Vendors and Trailers onsite. Tours are set up at the Wright Patterson Air Force Museum, America’s Packard Museum and the British Transportation Museum. All three of these museums are very close to the Marriott, so it will be easy to drive our Oldsmobiles on these tours. We will also have a dedicated parking lot at the Air Force Museum behind their outside aircraft display. When I visited the Air Force Museum, I learned that they have a large number of handicap scooters and provide them free of charge. I have set up a guided tour of the Packard Museum. The museum was originally a dealership and has a fantastic display of Packards ranging from 1902 to 1956. The British Transportation Museum has over 60 cars on display and volunteers were working on several cars when I visited the museum. Dayton also has many other attractions such as Carillon Historical Park that we can explore on our own. I will provide more details in a future issue.

Please make your hotel reservation and send in your Registration Form as soon as
possible so I can get more rooms if necessary. As an incentive, I will give away one
free room night at the end of January. To be eligible you for the drawing, you must have
your room reserved and your Registration Form to me by January 31, 2026.

As I have noted in previous President’s Messages, we lost some of our great NAOC
members in 2025. I am sad to report that we lost two more of my good friends from
Ohio recently. Judi Patterson from Cincinnati, Ohio passed away on October 21 st . Judi
was a regular attendee of our annual meets with her husband Harry and their 1973
Delta 88 Convertible. Tom O’Brien from Delaware, Ohio passed away on November
21 st . Tom was a long- term member and enjoyed showing his 1951 Super 88. Our
thoughts and prayers go out to the Patterson and O’Brien families.

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Thank you for being a member of the NAOC!

 

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Greg Minges

President

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