February 2007 Newsletter
Visit DtRC on the web at: www.downtheroadcorvettes.org
Visit the Rocky Mountain Region NCCC at www.rmrnccc.org
Visit NCCC on the web at: www.corvettesnccc.org

Next Meeting: Thursday, February 22nd, 7 PM Go Chevrolet - 7320 North Broadway near I25 and the Boulder Turnpike.

Guest Presenters - Limit of 2 presentations per meeting, please make arrangements with the President at least a day in advance to be placed on the agenda and to see if the limit has been reached for this month.

2007 Down the Road Corvette Club Officers

From the Prez

Greetings,

I was reading thru my newsletter letter from Feb 2006 today. It talked about how great the weather was and that we already had a club autocross and Corvette Season was well underway…….Oh what a difference a year makes. My car is still sitting in the garage and the battery is now dead (yes, I forgot to start it up every now and then due to the snow).  However, the driveway is clear and I am predicting warmer weather ahead!

Rain, Snow, or Shine, Corvette season is still underway. The April Fool’s Rally committee is already hard at work picking a new route for the rally. As this is one of our big events for the year, we will need everyone who can to volunteer and help with a position. The committee will be passing around sign-up sheets for different areas that need volunteers. April 1^st will be here soon.

Also, it would be great if we could get some different ideas for social events for this next year. I keep hearing from people throughout the group that although we have a bunch of events with our Autocrosses, Car shows, and Rally we still need more social events – formal and informal. I liked Bill’s idea of people emailing each other to inform them of an impromptu event or gathering. If anyone doesn’t know how to use the club email, then be sure to see Dave B. or myself at the meeting and we will show you how.

Remember to mark you calendars for the Rocky Mtn region banquet on March 3^rd and our informal car show at Coal Creek Elementary school on March 10^th.

Hope to see you all at our next meeting on February 22^nd.

P.S. since Patty probably won’t see this letter, be sure to ask her how her cats (yes, plural) are doing. She’ll never guess how you all found out about them (Two Cats – Male and Female – named Will & Grace)

Save the Wave!
Rick Cavallaro
President
Down the Road Corvettes
"Denver’s Premier Corvette Club"

Misc. ramblings from the Editor:

Hi Everyone,

Sorry this seems so late - the meeting is early this month - so I started the month behind.  Dave & I spent 5 hours Saturday driving around potential rally roads - and a route is starting to gel.  Then today some of us spent another 3+ hours - and made good progress on clue identification, etc.  And I believe we now have a great end spot (whew) - so it is fast becoming a reality.  And what a gorgeous day it was.  I think you will all enjoy the route this year - and a theme is shaping up.  We'll talk about it at the meeting - but it may be time to pull those cowboy boots out of the back of the closet and dust of those hats.  HeeHaw!!

If "club stuff" has migrated to your house - John M. would like to round it all up.  Al & Dolene - we know you have the big stuff, tables and canopies - thanks for storing those - and if you could hang on to those - that would be great.  Other "stuff" - especially items we'll need for the rally - if you could bring to the meeting this week - that would be great.  Any checkpoint signs, games, banners, etc.  It needs to be found before the rally.  John has offered to collect it all and see if we have everything we need for the rally.  If you can't make the meeting - let him know what you have.

See you all Thursday.
Nancy B.

Minutes of Past Meeting
Down the Road Corvettes              January 2007 Minutes

NEW GUESTS - None
NO VISITOR'S PRESENTATIONS
QUORUM was present.
PREVIOUS MINUTES - Previous minutes were approved.

OLD BUSINESS
2006 Tim's Challenge - We need more members to help with this yearly event. Contact Carol if you would like to help. Pat B, John and Mike volunteered to help with the next Tims's Challenge.

TREASURER'S REPORT
Checkbook balanced and outstanding bills paid. It was decided that the term MONEY GODDESS be retired and that it would apply only to our past Treasurer, Gail.

NEW BUSINESS
The dealership has a new name "GO" Chevrolet but there will be no changes to our club because of this. We will still receive a 15% discount on parts. It is important for the club to support the dealership.

APRIL'S FOOL RALLY
There will be a 7 p.m. organizational meeting on Thursday, February 8th at the dealership. Many workers are needed for this event.

FATHER'S DAY EVENT
A Vette Car Show will be held at Heritage Square on June 11th and it will be sponsored by Alex's shop - Rocky Mountain Corvettes.

MERCHANDISE COMMITTEE
We are losing money on many of our items. It was therefore decided to markup the items being sold to the next dollar plus add $2.00 to each item. This will enable the club to make some money on the merchandise sold. Also discussed was the idea of having no more than $200 worth of items displayed. Any additional items could be ordered by the merchandise committee, special orders need to be pre-paid. This was approved by the members present.

GOVERNOR'S REPORT
- There will be 3 Autocross Races at Grand Junction on March 25th.
- March 3rd will be the date for the NCCC Banquet. It will be at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Havana and I 70. The cost will be $20 per person and top 15 mens and ladies awards will be presented at the banquet.  RSVP required by Feb. 20th.  Flier on the regional website.
- NCCC Convention will be in Nashville this year. It will be the week of June 17th.  John M is the head of the steering committee for the bid to get the NCCC Convention in Colorado in 2009.

MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
Directories will be available at the next meeting.

NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM AMBASSADOR
- There will be a C5/C6 Bash at the Museum in April. Labor Day 2009 will be the 15th Anniversary of the Museum. A caravan will be organized for this event. The Colorado Captain for the Caravan will be Tim Barnes.
- March 6th the Museum  will raffle off a 2007 Vet. Tickets are $250. Tickets are limited for this raffle.
- April 28th they will raffle off a Victory Red Corvette and tickets will be $10.
- May 6th tickets will be sold for a build your own Vette. Cost of the tickets are $100 each.

AUTOCROSS DIRECTOR
- May 20th - DtRC will host at least 2 autocrosses at the State Patrol Track in Golden.  More details to come.
- Bill M filled the club in on what is happening in the autocross area.  DIA is unavailable for autocross at this time.
- He then discussed the potential of using the track at Colorado National Speedway to hold an autocross.  Some potential dates to pick from include July 15, 22, August 5 and 26th.  He mentioned the possibility of co-hosting these with DCA.  He also mentioned the possibility of a 3rd autocross day at the State Patrol Track - but there has been no decision on this at this point.

DRAG RACING DIRECTOR
It was approved that the club pay the team fee at Bandimere.

Phil O. proposed another TSD Rally but there seemed to be no interest in putting on this event.

SOCIAL COMMITTEE
People need to sign up for snacks for the meetings. Contact Mary Kay if you are interested in sponsoring a Mystery Meal or providing snacks for a meeting.

MEETING ADJOURNED
Minutes Respectfully Submitted by
Carol Perez
Secretary for DtRC

Club News: 

The 2007 Club Directories are available - you can pick them up at the upcoming meeting.  Many thanks to Pat B. for keeping track of all the membership info and getting the directories printed.

March Birthdays: - 8th - Rick C.; 25th - Joe B.; 29th - Patty C.

Thanks to all who have responded to the club email check.  Over half of you have replied so far.  And the prizes go to:  First to respond - Bill M. 1 a.m. (and I sent it around midnight) - so my guess is he stays up even later than we do.  Got up earliest to reply (assuming Bill hadn't been to bed yet) - Tammy B. - 4:30 a.m..  Furthest away reply - not Roger and Deana (San Diego) or Nancy K (Albuquerque) - but YellowVette Bruce - all the way from Costa Rica.  Wherever the email caught up with you - I hope you're having fun and staying warm.

Past Events

Hmm - this must be the only month of the year where there is no items for past events.  And that isn't normal - even in January we are usually out there doing something.  I blame this on the weekly snow storms we have been having.  There will be lots to report on in this section for the rest of the year - I'm sure of it.

Upcoming Events
Remember a current schedule of NCCC events, access to flyers, event results and regional points standings can be found at www.rmrnccc.org .  As it is still early - remember, as clubs (ours included) firm up plans dates may change, events may be added, etc - so check back often. 

RMR Regional Awards Banquet - March 3rd - RSVP required by Feb. 20th

Come on out and celebrate the achievements and remember all the fun we had as a region last year.  Our club finished first in points, and we've got several members that will be individually recognized for finishing in the top 15.  To kick off the year and to recognize all that was done last year - the Regional Awards banquet will be March 3rd - at the Embassy Suites at I-70 & Havana (north east corner).  Last year the region subsidized most of the cost.  This year the cost is $20 per person.  That is for the food and for a live band (the usual suspects).  Still quite a deal.  Here is the info from the flyer (the flyer can be found at www.rmrnccc.org).

RSVP by mail, or to rmrnccc@aol.com or 303-739-9515 by Feb 20^th
Please send checks payable to RMR NCCC, postmarked by February 22^nd to:
Cindy Urenda, 15854 E. 10^th Place, Aurora, CO 80011
Please state name of each attendee, club affiliation, and preference for beef, chicken, or fish
Event is dressy, but not formal
Rooms are available at $79 + tax. Indicate you are with the Corvette Club.

3 Autocrosses - Fruita (CWCC) - March 25th

CWCC will be hosting more races per day in Fruita this year.  Instead of the usual 2 races/3 runs per race - they are holding 3 races - 2 runs per race.  Same amount of runs - 50% more points at stake.  The price remains similar - $10 per race or $25 for all three races.  These are national sanctioned events and classification will be in accordance with the National NCCC Rulebook.  If the weather - and our April Fool Rally planning allow it - we intend to make the trip over, as do some others in the club.  I've done just a bit of checking - and as usual - the Super 8 in Fruita is cheapest of the couple I checked.  It's not fancy - but it is clean, inexpensive and convenient to the race location.  And you can walk to Rib City.  The quick check I did showed a AAA rate of $50 for two people, a little less for one person.

DtRC April Fool's Rally - April 1st
held in conjuction with the Regional Sanctioned Poker Draw Car Show Charity fund raiser

The Rally is the clubs biggest event of the year - at least from the amount of time it takes to plan, and the amount of resources needed the day of the event.  Even from an entrant stand-point - last year the April Fool's day rally had almost as many cars as the car show - and given that all the cars have 2 people in them - the actual head count of entrants may have been more.

Given the turn-out last year - this year there will be two routes, with two sets of trophies, etc.  This will reduce the wait time at the start and at the end by quite a bit.  Probably not by half as we sent them out last year closer than desired due to the great turnout - but it will reduce all entrants wait time significantly.  So if you are reading this and thinking - it was great last year - but because there were so many people - maybe we'll skip this year.  Don't skip.  Come on out - with the entrants split between two routes - there will be a lot less waiting.

Here's the logistics for Rally Day itself, followed by a schedule for club member activities in support of the rally.

April 1st:  
Rally
Starting location - Burger King - at Broomfield MarketPlace.  US 287 & Miramonte. About a mile north of the US287 and US36 intersection.  The address is 1080 US Hwy 287.
Registration - pre-registration starts this week as soon as the flyer gets finalized and posted.  On April 1st registration will start at 8 a.m. and end at 8:55 a.m.   Drivers meeting at 9 a.m.  NOTE: this is an hour earlier than last year - but the clocks do not change that day as usual - they change in the middle of March - so the committee heads thought it would work to get going a little earlier this year.  
Cost - $20 for preregistration, $25 for day of registration.
The Gimmick Rally is a non-sanctioned event.  The flyer will be posted this week on www.downtheroadcorvettes.org and www.rmrnccc.org .

RMR Regional Sanctioned Poker Draw Charity Car Show
This event will take place at the Burger King at 1080 US Hwy 287 during the registration time of the Gimmick Rally.  The event is open to all entrants, with all entrants being eligible for the prize and awards.  Three regional competition points to RMR-NCCC members (if they qualify per the same rules as a people's choice car show).   The cost is $5 which all goes to the DtRC Charity Fund.  This event will start at 8 a.m. and end at 8:45 a.m. with the prize and the awards being announced during the drivers meeting for the Rally.  This flyer will also be posted this week at www.downtheroadcorvettes.org and www.rmrnccc.org .

Club Schedule between now and April 1st.
Feb & March meetings - bring your door prizes to the door prize committee - Nancy K and Patty C.  If you can't make the meetings let them know you have door prizes and I'm sure they'll arrange for pickup.  Last year we had around 75 cars - and are expecting at least that many again this year if the weather is nice - so they need all club members to get some door prizes.  There is no goodie bag chair yet - but if you have goodie bag stuffers - bring those also.

Feb & March Meetings - your rally chairs - John M., Nancy K, and Dale & Tammy B will have sign-up sheets for workers for the day of the event.  They need your help - please sign up.

Club Member Dry Runs to check the rally - March 11th and 18th:
After the initial rally route is firmed up by the route committee - we need club members to check the route.  Afterward we'll use your input to do any fine tuning that is necessary.  The club drive through dates are March 11th and March 18th.  The start location will be the Burger King mentioned above.  We'll send the first car out a few minutes after 9 a.m. - at one to two minute intervals depending on how many club cars we have.  If you want to grab a bite at Burger King and socialize before we send you out - please come a little early.  There are two routes this year - so we'll have two test drive dates.  On both dates we'll send half of the cars each way.  On March 11th we'd also like to take a couple new club car pictures at one of the checkpoints.  So we hope you can make it.  If the weather permits - please drive your Corvette on these dry runs as we would like to make sure all the clues are visible from a Corvette.

Committee Updates

Social Committee 
This years social committee is Deana D., Mary Kay K., and Ronda F.  At the meeting Mary Kay let us know that the social committee for these cold winter months is down to one - her.  So please contact her if you have ideas for activities or are willing to lead a mystery (or non-mystery) meal, or activity.  Some of the things we have done in past years (other than the many driving and/or eating events) - bowling, indoor go-karts, IMAX, plays, comedy clubs, etc.  Mary Kay can assist you with finding a date that doesn't conflict with other club events, and give you suggestions on making plans for a large group.  If you are willing to organize something - please contact her.

Governor’s Report - 
By Nancy B.

The regional calendar does change periodically as clubs firm up dates and places - so please make sure to check the regional website periodically.

The upcoming regional events are listed earlier in this newsletter.  Not much else new - just waiting for the first autocross.

Merchandise Report

This year's merchandise committee is composed of Patty C., Jackie M and Tonya R.  If you need any merchandise or have any ideas - let them know. 

NCM Ambassador’s Report
Tim B - National Corvette Museum Lifetime Member

To check up on the latest happenings at the museum you can go to their website - http://www.corvettemuseum.com/ .  While there sign up for their email newsletters - it is a great way to get brief updates on what is happening at the museum - including any promotions, activities, etc.

A Puzzle for you

Here are the words for the word find from last month -

AUTOCROSS, CARSHOW, CONE, CORVETTE, COUPE, CROSSEDFLAGS, DETAIL, DOWNTHEROAD,
FIBERGLASS, FIFTYTHREE, MYSTERYMEAL, POLISH, RALLY, ROADSTER, RUNFLAT, STINGRAY

S T I N G R A Y J N U Y M G R 
T V Y A C Y E S B D V P Y M U 
Z B U M R L L D B N Y Y S B N 
C R O S S E D F L A G S T L F 
D E E R H T Y T F I F F E E L 
Y O J S E C C E P K I I R T A 
L K W N S H A O P B H J Y T T 
L D O N P O L R E U R V M E N 
A C T E T I R R S E O I E V Z 
R N H X S H G C T H Q C A R M 
V K A H W L E S O G O N L O X 
Y F H X A H D R G T F W J C P 
Q O F S P A L A O H U F D K X 
D A S V O P M G Z A B A P V T 
L L E R L I A T E D D A A C R 

ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
2007 EVENTS CALENDAR
Please check the Regional Website - www.rmrnccc.org for the latest regional schedule.  If events are added or dates changed - it will be current there.  The regional website will also contain links to the event flyers as they become available.  

Remember to check our website www.downtheroadcorvettes.org for even more events the club has been notified of and for events that may change (added/deleted) between newsletters.

DtRC Meetings are the 4^th Thursday of the month.  
There are no club meetings in November or December, except the annual Holiday Party.

Want to Advertise?
If you are a member of Down the Road Corvettes, you may place a For Sale or Wanted Ad for any Corvette related items in our newsletter for free. Submissions must be received via  E-mail to the editor no later than the 15^th of each month. 

Disclaimer: All prices listed here are not guaranteed.  You will need to confirm any and all prices with the selling party.

Advertising
*********************************************************************************************

For Sale:  *** Price Reduced ***
Set of four wheels off a 1996 corvette, very good condition complete with lug nuts and covers. Sold as set only $300.00.
Please call Bill or Cathy Schultz at 720-872-1259 or email CWING85B@AOL.com