President's Message

 

Runabouts to Rockets
Volume 42 #5-6
May - June 2023

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As we turn the calendar to May, I get the opportunity to celebrate another birthday!  Wow, where have all of the years gone?   I have been retired for almost 7 years and don’t see my list of car restoration and house projects getting finished like I had anticipated.  I also find it amusing when some of my friends and family members tell me that they would like to retire but they have no idea what they will do when they are retired!  I think it’s safe to say that anyone that is in the car hobby can keep very busy in their retirement years trying to finish those long overdue projects.

As you can see with this issue of R2R, the NAOC has completed a smooth transition with our editor change from Brad to Rick.  I again would like to thank Brad for all of his efforts over the years publishing our magazine, and I especially want thank Rick for agreeing to take this on moving forward.  Rick has spent a great deal of time learning the software, and completed this issue way ahead of schedule.  He will have it to the printer once he gets this President’s Message. 

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The NAOC will have a tent set up at this year’s Homecoming Show in Lansing, Michigan on June 17th.  This tent will be used to recruit new members, and give members a place to rest and socialize.  Special thanks to Judy Badgley for coordinating this with the Homecoming Committee.

Jan and Mark Santos have a great meet planned in La Crosse Wisconsin this year.  Our car show kicks off the annual La Crosse Riverfest celebration this year on Saturday, July 1’st.  They have asked me to remind everyone to be sure that you include the names of all of your guests on the registration form so that you receive the required name tags and credentials required to get into the Riverfest event.  We will be moving all of our cars to the adjacent Riverfest Park on Saturday for judging and to take part of the festivities.  The only downside to this year’s event is the limited space that we have available for vendors.  We are limiting each vendor to one space (2 parking spaces) until we get a total show car count for the rest of the parking lot at the hotel.  Unfortunately, we cannot move the vendors with the cars to Riverfest on Saturday, so your opportunity to sell is reduced to Wednesday through Friday.  Please be sure to make your hotel reservations and get your show registration form to them as soon as possible.

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On a sad note, we have been informed that the NAOC has lost three long term members, Rich Hilko, Donald Samuelson, and Wayne Peterson.  Rick has provided an abbreviated obituary in this issue for these three members.  I never had the opportunity to meet Donald or Wayne, but have known Rich for many years, and always enjoyed spending time with him at NAOC Meets, Rocket Fest, and Hershey over the years.  Our thoughts and prayers are with their families.

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Now that the weather is improving, I hope that everyone gets the opportunity to get your favorite Oldsmobile out to enjoy.  I am looking forward to seeing everyone in La Crosse Wisconsin in a few months.

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—Greg Minges, President