TULSA Convention- 2009

photo caption- In between Bill and Joel was an Ice Sculpture of a 1955 T'bird.

REGION 5 CTCI REGIONAL CONVENTION

I still can't get that song ... "Oklahoma!"... out
of my head! The "T'Birds 'n Tulsa" Region 5
Convention ended long ago, but the memories
linger on. Bill and I took two days to drive our
little 'Bird out there, as did Joel Greenberg who
was accompanied by Ken Smizinski. We
joined a total of 98 cars in Concours, Touring
and Display and about 300 people from 27
states. Familiar faces included Bill and Sharon
Jurkonie, John and Deb Wrigley and Perry and
Alyce Anthony. The Tulsa Classic Thunderbird
Club did an excellent job of keeping us fed and
entertained. They arranged for rides to (and
free money at) the Creek Nation Casino, a nice
Western-themed welcome party, a shopping
tour fashion show, a trip to the Discovery Land
Dinner and Amphitheater production of
"Oklahoma" and a visit to the Will Rogers
Museum. Meanwhile, the beautiful array of
Thunderbirds could be seen from our hotel
window. We watched as they baked in the hot
sun and as they were drenched by the
torrential rains which marred Concours
morning. During the Final night's Awards
Banquet, the Greenberg and Werth cars
received Gold Awards and Ken and Joel
received recognition for judging. We stretched
our trip home to include a visit with friends who
live near Wichita. Had it not been for a cranky
overdrive, the trip would have been uneventful
... hot, but uneventful.
- Liz Werth

Ed. Note: Thanks to Bill and Liz for delivering
the CTCI Gold Award Certificate for BIRD-NEWS
(see cover).