WCC 2005, Hopefully, the last post Options

[Howard]

OK, this is really long winded, but wanted to let you all know the 'results'. rather than reinvent the wheel, this is my welcome speech with some stuff added. Pardon the fuzzy format, did a cut and paste from Word.

Hi. My name is Howard, and I’m an alco.... oops, wrong meeting.

HI! Welcome to WCC 2005

Three years ago I was a happy guy. Kids grown, house almost paid for, business going well, life was good. I drove an SUV. Never got around to canceling my subscription to Road and Track, but it’s arrival was not that big of a deal.

Then a ‘friend’ calls and says, “Hey, didn’t you used to race a Shelby? There’s a Cobra club event at the track this weekend. Wanna go and watch?” Oops, wrong question. Well, wrong answer, anyway, and soon we were on our way out to one of the most desolate places on earth, Willow Springs.

As luck would have it, that April day brought perfect weather and the cars were beautiful. The smells of hydrocarbons mixed with brake and tire dust were intoxicating. Every driver came off the track with a huge grin, and I realized my addiction may have been in remission, but it was never cured. One especially nice 914 3.6 really caught my eye. Never owned one of these ugly ducks, but always liked the concept of removable top, 50/50 distribution, and two trunks.

So I perused eBay, found a 73 2.0 that looked good. Bought it sight unseen at the ‘buy it now”, and the seller delivered it a couple of days later. It was exactly as described and ran perfectly. All the right suspension goodies, street and racing wheels, tires and a roll cage. That afternoon I had the same grin, and still haven’t lost it.

That would have been the end of the story if not for finding this club. I had used the web for business, but had never gone into a BBS. After watching the wealth of knowledge, shared so freely, and the BS on this BBS, I knew it was for me. Threads on how to fix your clutch turned into political debates, name calling and dirty jokes.

Whatever you bought, you paid too much. Whatever you sold, you sold too cheap. Whatever you fixed, you did it wrong. Your religion, politics and personal hygiene were all suspect. But in the middle of all this abuse came an outpouring of help, free parts and support that still amazes me. It’s always a good place to come when you’re down.

But the depth and free sharing of knowledge goes far beyond the cars. Have a problem with your plumbing, your love life, your kids, your computer network? Just post it; the fix is on the way. Need a document translated from Mandarin to English? Easy! Thanks Jen! The club has become my internet search engine.

The WCC is when we actually meet each other and look at the cars. Enjoy yourselves! You worked pretty hard to get here.

And now, a word for our sponsors. Thank you Mercury Insurance Group. Mercury’s is paying for today’s events, including the truck from IN-N-OUT that will be making double doubles to your heart’s content. So call Mercury before you pay your next car insurance renewal. Bet they will save you some money. Oh, and call me directly if you live in California.

Craig Laughlin and Camp914. In addition to the car plaques, Craig is picking up the tab for our Sunday Night Fiesta dinner in Lancaster. Buy something from him NOW!

Auto Atlanta is buying our lunch at the track (shipping not included)
LN Engineering provided the Hats.
Streamload donated the shirts.

And gracious contributions from:
914 Appearance and Performance
Callicott Motor Sports
Mike Mueller
Peridot
Hagerty Insurance
9R Parts
Kerrys914
JWest Engineering
MSDS
SBWY
Megiuars
Mothers
Village Coffee Roaster
GTS
WEVO/Windrush Evolutions
The Howard Agency
Artechnika
Bowlsby Harness
Felix's Automotive Art and Design
Lawrence Designs
Recycler Core Company
Type4Parts
TRE Motorsports
Because of these people, a substantial portion of your entry fee will go to support to the Special Olympics athletes and their programs. A real win/win situation. Thank you all!

Next item. Lots of people have worked very hard on this, so everyone please say thanks to:

Jeroen, for doing the web stuff.
Sir Andy, for printing the programs
Alberto Banuelos for the badges and lanyards
Rob and Linda Dekker, for the Pizza party and nifty banner
Martin Jansen, for today’s Poker run
Mike Z for emceeing this afternoon
GWN7 for the fabulous chocolate 914’s
Jim Tabor for organizing the raffle and silent auction and donating so many gifts
Joe Sharp for making the pieces fit for Sunday’s car wash, car show, and tech
Otto for just being Otto
Alberto Banuelos and Carlos Molina for Sunday Night dinner and Karaoke party
Melba for the CD’s
Slits for being Slits
And to the beautiful and gracious Marianne, Suzanne, Lisa and Melba for handing out the goodie bags.

And special thanks to Andy Ritter for taking charge of the track day at Willow. What a Guy!!!

Tell them you appreciate their work, and don’t be bashful offering to help! I’m sure I missed someone, so please accept my apologies. It took a shitload of people to pull this off!

Your printed program has an overview of the events. Please take a look at that and the maps, so you won’t miss any of the action. Events start at specific times, so be there if you want to participate. For today:

We’ll be leaving here to take a twisty road tour and poker rally. If you don’t want to participate, just take the 101 to Kanan Road to get to Paramount Ranch. I’ll be there and we’ll find something to do. Or just hit the outlet mall across the street of if you want to do something really scary. Just try to be at Paramount noonish for the festivities.

If you are going...The roads we will use are inherently dangerous with severe drop offs. The Highway Patrol is out there with radar guns and a zero tolerance attitude. There may be bicycle riders, rice racers, water and rocks on the road. Please, wait for the track events to prove how fast you are. Let me put it this way, if you sail off the road and don’t kill yourself, our friendly staff will finish the job. Oh, and adult beverages? Not at Paramount, Not at the track.


Final Tally
Since this event was thrown for charity, I believe a full disclosure is in order.

12,276 Received from entry fees
6,900 Received from sponsors
900 Silent Auction

Total Income: 20,176

Expenses:

509 Paramount Ranch
400 Got Cones hats
1153 Bucket hats
1238 Shirts
560 Emergency Med services track
800 Corner workers track
2646 Track Rental (including track insurance)
1266 Sunday night dinner
200 Badges and Lanyards
500 Friday Night pizza and drinks
235 WCC Banner
50 Wristbands and stickers for track
150 CD’s
450 Refunds
1786 IN-N-OUT lunch at Paramount
400 License Plates
838 Track lunch and radio rentals
383 Non Track event insurance
188 Kazoos

Total Expense: $13,752

Net Profit: $6424

There are expenses (shipping, follow up bills, etc.) that are not yet known. Likewise, income from sales of leftover goods is still in the works. I have decided to donate $5000 to Special Olympics. Any amount left over when all the $$ and expenses are known will be dedicated to a scholarship fund for WCC 2006.

Thank you all for being a part of this event. Best party I ever attended!