After several meetings with the management team of Bill Heard Chevrolet Town Center, and follow up meetings, emails, and phone calls to Corvette Atlanta members, we have a new sponsor. As of August 1, 2008, our club sponsor is officially, Bill Heard Chevrolet Town Center. They feel good about us and we feel good about them. Now, both parties to the deal must work to make it a good deal. The club is off to a good start as Marvin Payne traded in a Tahoe and an Avalanche and came away with a new Tahoe and a new Silverado truck. Marvin wants to make sure Jerry Williams, the General Sales Manager knows that one of our club members drove 111 miles and past at least twenty Chevy stores to do business with our new sponsor. That is certainly getting off to a good start, from our side of the deal.
The dealership is also getting ready to do its part, as we are already set for the 2nd meeting in August, the 19th, to be held at the dealership. The Corvette Atlanta Board of Directors discussed having some catered food brought to the dealership, as we will be meeting in their break room. We felt the old order Pizza delivered dinner was tired and kicked around several ideas, but did not come to a decision. We shall have a discussion at the first meeting and see if we can come up with dinner. We will have Dave Fulcher attending, perhaps other key personnel, too. We want to introduce the dealership and its location to our members. Hopefully, some of those living in the NW area of Metro Atlanta that don’t come to O’Charley’s, will attend. If this works well, we may want to have a quarterly meeting. I feel this is open for discussion.
Bill Heard Chevrolet Town Center has also allowed Dave Fulcher and Dan Nugent to schedule the first Saturday Shop Day. I could write a whole article on past Shop Days and things I have done (or Dave Fulcher did) to my trusty ’94. The last was when we used my car as the day’s project and Dave Fulcher, assisted by several club members replaced my radiator. That alone was worth several years of dues to Corvette Atlanta. Shop Day is an unbelievable benefit!!! Corvette Atlanta has had a number of sponsors over the years and none ever offered us the benefit of Shop Day. There are many clubs in Metro Atlanta, sponsored by other dealerships, and none, to my knowledge, offer Shop Day.
The next thing our new sponsor has agreed to is a real-for-sure Corvette Atlanta car show. The old timers reading this will remember we used to put on great car show, and we can again. However, this will take a lot of work and effort from both parties. The first Town Center Chevrolet car show is scheduled for Oct 18, 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. Chris Murphy has agreed to head up the show, but will need volunteers for a number of jobs. Dan Nugent and I braved the August heat and attended the Classic Glass car show at Day’s Chevrolet in Acworth. Those folks did a wonderful job and we plan on going to school on their fine efforts. In spite of the heat, they had lots of cars entered and lots of folks attending. They also had lots of club members working in various jobs to make the show a success. I certainly hope that Corvette Atlanta members will respond to this call and come work for the good of your club and your new sponsor. If Chris does not get enough volunteers, then I shall be forced to get out my directory and start dialing and make you say, “No” to my face, or ear.
I am most pleased and excited about our new relationship. These are most challenging times for cars, in general, and General Motors, and Corvettes in particular. The era of cheap gas is over and to quote old Bob Dylan, “The Times They Are A Changing”. Our club has had lean times with no sponsor. Those were the days when we did put on big car shows, whose primary purpose was to generate cash to run the club.
I cannot stress enough how lucky Corvette Atlanta is to have Town Center Chevrolet want to sponsor us. I shall have more to say about this new partnership as the year unfolds, and we think up new ways for each side to benefit from the deal.
Always working for Corvette Atlanta -- Save the Wave!
Corvette Atlanta would like to welcome the two newest members (#96 and #97) to our club, Tony and Vera Williams. They have three Corvettes; two 1963s and a 1998. At one time they had been members of the Santa Clara (Calif.) and the Golden State Corvette Clubs. We look forward to their participation in upcoming.events and activities.
The next Corvette Atlanta Club Meeting will be held at our new Sponsor Dealership (Bill Heard Town Center) on August 19.
We will be ordering something for food and beverage! Maybe not pizza - hasn't been decided. We will eat at 7:30 pm and have a short meeting starting at about 8:00. However, we do need to know how many members to expect - let us know if you think you may attend.
E-mail or phone Don & Betty Parks by Aug. 18.
The fall is quickly approaching. With it comes cooler temperatures, children going reluctantly back to school and the annual PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) Charity Walk/Run. September will see over 70 PKD Walk/Run events throughout the USA. The Atlanta event is Saturday, Sept. 20 at Pickneyville Park in Norcross.
Corvette Atlanta (CA) members Mary & Vince Capka will celebrate the 2nd anniversary of Mary’s successful kidney transplant due to PKD from donor/husband Vince in October. But before that, they will walk with hundreds of participants in the Atlanta PKD event—something that was virtually impossible for Mary only 2 years ago.
PKD is the leading genetic cause of kidney failure in the world with an estimated 4K persons affected in the Atlanta area alone. Currently, only dialysis & transplant are available to treat this life-threatening condition. Clinical research, much of it through target research sites such as the Emory Univ. School of Medicine brings hope for a cure or at least a viable way to stay the relentless progression of the disease.
This year, Team Manatee Cruisers, headed by former CA Secretary Tricia Dooley and joined by husband & former CA President Druce Dooley, Vince & Mary Capka and other dear friends will once again lace up their sneakers and join the cause to raise money and awareness for PKD research. Not quite up to the 5K run distance, the team agreed to walk the 1 mile course with Mary. Last year, the Manatee Cruisers were shown on Atlanta television during the walk in their yellow Manatee Cruisers team shirts as part of a PKD awareness promotion sponsored by Channel 46.
Many thanks to Corvette Atlanta for their continuing financial and emotional support to the PKD cause. To learn more about the walk/run, visit www.pkdcure.org. There is still time to join as a walker/runner or to donate on-line to the cause if the spirit moves you in that direction, or you can contact a member of the team for more information.
After an extended hiatus, we have scheduled a Shop Day on Sat., Sept. 6, at our new sponsor Bill Heard Chevrolet Town Center in Kennesaw. We are excited to be reunited with David Fulcher who had supported previous Shop Days at our previous club sponsor for over 5 years. He has always provided expert advice & assistance in diagnosing & fixing problems on our Vettes.
Shop Days offer all members an opportunity to learn more about their Corvette and have a highly respected & renowned Corvette technician inspect it on a lift for possible hazards or future problem areas. He can also help you do simple maintenance projects such as oil / filter changes if you provide your own parts and schedule the project with us in advance. BHC-TC can provide GM parts & service for work beyond the scope of a Shop Day at club discounts.
The Shop Day will be conducted 9am – Noon Saturday morning in the Used Car service shop behind the sales office where David does Corvette work. It is adjacent to the main dealership showroom & car lot at 950 Barrett Parkway. Look for the Used Car building and park in the right-side rear open parking area. In order help David & I accommodate as many members and their proposed projects, please submit a Shop Day registration form that will be posted on our website. As always, spectators and mechanic helpers are always welcome!
We are very fortunate to have folks this year that are willing to write articles for our newsletter. Please express your thanks to them for their efforts in making the publication more interesting. Should you be approached to contribute materials for one of their upcoming articles - we hope that you will look upon the request with enthusiasm and pride that you will make news and/or the cover!!
