CONVENTION FACTS/FIGURES/TRIVIA
As noted in the article on the convention, CTCC members were able to capture a significant number of Trophies at the Dayton event! The story behind the construction of the Awards is a very interesting one. Ohio Valley Early Birds member Glenn Forsell had located a fallen Red Oak tree, the victim of a lightning strike. Having determined that the once majestic Oak was to be cut up for fire wood, Glenn decided to take over 'ownership!' His plan was to fabricate the many Trophies his Club required from this giant tree. Glenn's monumental effort required the acquisition of special equipment, including the Laser machine, vital for performing the engraving process. Obviously, the energetic project also required burning the mid-night oil!
Glenn's talent and effort paid off handsomely, as the finished product was indeed unique, and very attractive.
Liz Werth was recognized as Director, Region 2.
The Early Birds of Hoosierland Club was thanked for staffing the Hospitality Room.
Bob Wenderski was the Chief Touring Judge.
A special thank you was extended to
CTCNO, CTCC and an anonymous
CTCC donor for providing the Judges'
Luncheon.
CTCI Newsletter Contest:
Touring Class: BIRD-NEWS-Silver
Of the total 117 Judges, the following CTCC members served in this vital role:
Perry Anthony, Joel Greenberg, Bill Jurkonie, Ken Smizinski, Len Vinyard, Bob Wenderski and Jim Wilson.
Liz Werth - Served in Scoring Room
Bert Eisenhour - The only CTCI member who has attended every International Convention.
There were 328 Registrations, 592 persons, and a total of 1,304 room nights! Cars registered (not all came): Concours I - 57; Concours II - 25; Touring - 59; Display - 65; [Retro - 14] There were 57 Trailers and 3 Motor Homes on site.
Museum Caravan - 143 signed up, 98 drove (due to early morning rain).
465 persons attended the Awards Banquet
The total bill for the Hospitality Room was $8,296.77, with the cost of donuts alone representing $1,235.25 of the total!
T~Birds driven to the Convention amassed a total of some 84,000 miles!
CTCI CONVENTION HISTORY
1964 -Dearborn, MI 1986 -Bend, OR
1965 - Estes Park, CO 1988 - Dallas, TX
1966 - Berkeley, CA 1990 - Williamsburg, VA
1968-Tulsa,OK 1992-Tulsa, OK
1970-Durango, CO 1994 - Dearborn, MI
1972 - Palm Springs, CA 1996 - Bend, OR
1974 - Dearborn, MI 1998- Dallas, TX
1976 -San Jose, CA 2000 - Chicago, IL
1978 - Dallas, TX 2002 - Parsippany, NJ
1980 - Cleveland, OH 2004 - Miami, FL
1982 - Toronto, Can. 2006 - Wichita, KS
1984 - Dearborn, Ml 2008 - Portland, OR
The next International Convention will be staged in Memphis, TN - August 21-25, 2012. The Memphis Classic Thunderbird Club Concours will be held indoors, a plan that worked very well, as we avoided the heat at the Wichita, KS event in 2006, - Ed.
The Ohio Valley Early Birds, CTCI Chapter Number 68, are to be commended for their dedication to accommodating a larger turnout of 'Birds and members than had been anticipated. Also, a note of appreciation to the members of the Early Birds of Hoosierland for staffing the well-stocked Hospitality Room during the entire event.
The Club reports that 99% of the feedback on the Convention is positive. It was indeed an enjoyable and memorable event!
Editor
Saturday, July 17, 2010
2010 Convention Facts, Figures & Trivia
2010 Dayton Convention
CTCI INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION
Birds and Planes - The Wright Place Again in 2010
This year, instead of a Spring Tour, the CTCC ventured to Dayton, Ohio for the Classic Thunderbird 2010 International Convention, June 15 - 20.
We started out early Wednesday morning to meet other members of the CTCC at the Lincoln Oasis to caravan to the Hope Hotel, Fairborn, OH. We were a group of eleven T- Birds, all shiny and ready to go. As we drove through Indiana, Sandy & Joe Kraatz joined our group.
About 135 miles into our trip we stopped for gas and lunch. There were several places to get a fast meal and Steak & Shake seemed to be the people's choice. (I think most of them were having Culver withdrawal.) Continuing on, we made one more stop to stretch our legs, etc,, and we were on the road again.
Bill Werth radioed that his 'Bird's O.D. was overheating. Joel stopped to assist him and they reported things were okay and caught up with the group very quickly. Everyone was glad to hear that there was no serious problem.
We arrived at the Hope Hotel and Convention Center around 2:30-3:00 Ohio time. The hotel is located on the Wright Patterson Air Force Base. Len & Mary did an excellent job of giving explicit directions. Not a soul got lost!
There was a specified parking space for all T-Birds and what a SPECTACULAR SIGHT. Approximately 200 classic 'Birds of every color, categorized by year & classification; Concours I, Concours II, Touring and Display class.
Time to check in, freshen up and get ready for the Welcome Social that included a singer who sang all evening. A FULL DAY!
Thursday morning, breakfast in the hospitality room; juice, coffee, sweet rolls, fruit, bagels and then off on an aviation tour. Some buses went to Huffman Prairie Flying Field & Interpretive Center where the Wright Brothers learned to fly and included the Wright Memorial. We were on one of the buses that went to the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park & Museum where we saw a very interesting and informative movie about the Wright Brothers: how they made their first "aeroplane", their disappointments and successes, and how their ambition and curiosity kept them striving toward further achievements. There were many more items to see, but not enough time.
Across from the Dayton Aviation Museum was the Wright Brothers original bicycle shop "The Wright Bicycle Co," where they made and repaired bicycles. Their knowledge of bicycles is what intrigued them to build planes and engines.
We later boarded our bus and headed for Carillon Historical Park where all buses met for a B.B.Q. lunch under a huge tent area. We then had time to walk around the 65-acre outdoor museum. It was exciting to see the original 1905 Wright Flyer 111, the world's first airplane. The park had many wonderful exhibits; historic buildings, Deed's tower, Kettering Family Education Center.
Later that afternoon some of the members went to the judges training session. Others were outside in the hot sun putting the finishing touches to their T-Birds, checking every inch to be sure it was ready for inspection & critical judging the next morning.
The Kelly's, Schellin's, Pete Kramer, Eddie and I crammed into a cab and ventured into town for dinner at Giovanni's, a nice little Italian restaurant with good food and plenty of it. Took "doggy bags" back. We called our cab driver to take us back to the hotel and he was delighted to have a bunch of crazies riding with him (we made his day). Time for more fun - dancing & singing to the 50's-60's band.
Friday morning while the judging was going on we had some free time so Irene, Karen. Joan, Mary and I joined a busload of (mostly) women to The Greene shopping mail. When we arrived, we were greeted by a. representative of the Convention & Visitor's Bureau of Greene County and given a bag of goodies & coupons. It was another hot, muggy-day but we shopped anyway. The Greene was a very nice mall with lots of restaurants and little boutique shops with Von Maur as their main hub. We had lunch, continued shopping and, of course, came back with "stuff we couldn't do without.
At 5:00 that night the CTCC group gathered for our traditional Pizza Party - 35 in all... Jane & Bert introduced past members who also joined us: Susie & Dick Boehm & Marilyn & Bernie Stadick. Members Perry and Alyce Anthony & Sharon & Bill Jurkonie, now living in Tennessee, were also enjoying our party! We had a wonderful time, laughing, conversing, joking, sharing stories and just relaxing with friends. An abundance of pizza, beer, wine and soft drinks were consumed. Fun for all!
We then went to see the Allies, a barbershop quartet and David, the magician. They were performing in the convention hall. Both were very entertaining. The magician included a lot of audience participation in his act.
Saturday began as a rainy day but cleared by the time about 150 plus fabulous Thunderbirds caravanned to the National Museum of the United Slates Air Force. What an awesome sight. Our motorcade was treated like royalty as the police blocked traffic to allow all T-Birds a smooth access along the roadway.
'The museum contains a collection of rare aircraft as well as memorabilia and artifacts relating to the history and development of aviation. It is a treasure of aircraft & missiles and historical items from the Wright brothers to the Stealth age.
We spent a whole day in the museum. It is so expansive that it would take several days to see it
in its entirety.
That evening, the highlight of the Convention was the Awards Banquet with everyone anxious to hear the winners.
At the beginning of dinner, after cocktail hour, a band played a few songs for our enjoyment. The centerpiece on each table was a cardboard T-Bird with cookies in it, a cooler filled with a bottle of "Thunderbird " wine, 2 wine glasses and 2 cloths to keep your cars glistening. The person at each table with a picture of a T-Bird on their water bottle, which each person had on the table, took these items home.
After our delicious dinner, the Awards were presented. I am proud to announce that many CTCC members walked away with Trophies. Congratulations to all of our winners.
A PERFECT ENDING TO A WONDERFUL TRIP!!!!!!
Sunday morning - departure time - We said our goodbyes to each other and were homeward bound.
- Rose Kovalenko
Those in attendance: Mary & Len Keil, Liz & Bill Werth, Joan & Lloyd Schellin, Karen & Larry Kelly, Pete Kramer, Jane & Bert Eisenhour, Gordon Gluff, Judy & Tom Bruin, Kathy & Ken Smizinski, Irene & Len Vinyard, Rose Kovalenko & Ed Levin, Joel Greenberg, Jim Wilson, Sandy & Joe Kraatz, Bob Wenderski, Ron Pavlak, Mike Pavlak, Gary Smithe, Bob Lindsten, Alyce and Perry Anthony, Jill and Dick Burdette and Sharon and Bill Jurkonie.
CTCC- In The Winner's Circle!
TOURING
'56 TOURING-Sub Class A- 2nd- Lloyd Schellin
'57 TOURING-Sub Class C- 3rd - Dick Burdette
'57 TOURING-Sub Class C- 2nd - Len Vinyard
SENIOR TOURING Class B- 3rd- Bert Eisenhour
CONCOURS DIVISION ~ CONCOURS II
'55 PRIMARY NON-ORIG. GOLD- Joel Greenberg
'55 PRIMARY NON-ORIG. GOLD- Bill Werth
'56 PRIMARY NON-ORIG. SILVER- Karen Kelly
'57 PRIMARY NON-ORIG. SILVER- Judy Bruin
'57 PRIMARY NON-ORIG. SILVER- Dave Osborne
'57 PRIMARY NON-ORIG. SILVER- Bill Jurkonie
'57 PRIMARY NON-ORIG. GOLD- Len Kell
'57 PRIMARY NON-ORIG. GOLD- Peter Kramer
CONCOURS DIVISION - CONCOURS I
'57 PRIMARY NON-ORIG. SILVER Perry Anthony
'56 PRIMARY ORIGINAL SILVER Bob Undsten
'55 SENIOR ORIGINAL GOLD Ron Pavlak
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