President's Report

Once in awhile, someone comes along who just naturally makes everyone feel just a little happier. Doug Rogers was that someone. Kathy and I join all of you in expressing our deepest sympathy to Soon Hee and her children during this most difficult time. Doug will be profoundly missed.

The fairly mild weather in January did not prepare us for the arctic cold blasts we have been experiencing recently. I trust that each of you has stayed warm and safe. I know many of you escaped to warmer  places!

Meanwhile, those who remained in town enjoyed free pizza and pop at the February Membership Meeting, where we gave preliminary acceptance of the 2015 budget. Our March meeting will include formal approval of the budget and election of three Directors. We also will have a presentation by Mitch Frumkin about prototypes and one-offs. I encourage you to bring friends and family members to this meeting. Remember to arrive early to enjoy dinner and socializing before the meeting and presentation.

Our driving season starts with the April 18 Tech Session,this year at the home of Joe and Barb Esdale. Also on April 18,the ladies will meet at Judy Bruin's home to assemble their hats for the Spring Tour Derby Party.

Bill and Liz Werth have finalized plans for the May 1-3 Spring Tour and I encourage you to reserve your hotel room now and to send your Tour reservation form and check to Liz as soon as possible.

Mark your calendars and plan to join us on an outing to have lunch and see The Eddie Cash Show on June 7. We certainly enjoyed his show last year and he promises a completely different show this time! Let's fill the place up!

The calendar is filling in, but there is always room for more activities, so if you have an idea for an outing, let me know! Here's hoping we have an early spring so we can begin to enjoy  driving our Thunderbirds again.   I look forward to seeing each of you at meetings, events and car shows throughout the year.

Ken Smizinski, President

President's Report 2-14

PRESIDENTS REPORT

Hello Members-

WITH TEMPS REACHING 16 DEGREES Below, it is hard to think about out Thunderbirds. But with warm weather right around the comer (WE HOPE), the season is already set with the  Annual Tech Session. It will be held on April 26th.  Bob Wenderski has put together a great program, This will be a "dust off" as the Spring Tour to Springfield, IL will be the following weekend (May 2-5). Len and Mary Keil have put in a lot hard work and planning, including inviting clubs from around the country.

Also, don't forget about March16'" at Fuddruckers for the presentation on Chicago's famous Riverview
Amusement  Park. This program is open to your family and friends, at no charge. So, make a day of it
and start with lunch at Fuddruckers.

- Ken Smizinski

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

PRESIDENT'S   REPORT

As the Holiday Party draws near, we close
another great T-Bird year, and award a
member for  outstanding service to  our club.
This year's nominee for the Bert Eisenhour
Award is Pete Kramer. Pete has stepped
down as President, but he is still very active
in the operation of CTCC. He and his family
have done a lot for the members of our club.

We are looking forward to another great year.
We are going to start our year with the Dudes
and Divas Dinner in the early part of January.
Pete and Marylu have put together a Drury Lane
Brunch and Young Frankenstein performance at
the end of January.

Our Pizza Party has a new location, and it will be
on a Sunday afternoon, making if easier for our
members to attend.

Our March meeting will also be on a Sunday afternoon.
We will have a presentation on Chicago's Famous
Riverview. This meeting is open to members, along
with their family and  friends, so watch your  BIRD-NEWS  
for details.
.
Enjoy your T-Bird and have a great year with CTCC.

Ken Smizinski, President

P.S. Remember to mark your calendars for  the CTCC
Spring Fling in Springfield, Illinois.  May 2-5, 2014.

This is an open invitation to T-Birders from around the
country. And it looks to be a fun, fun, fun, weekend.
Call Len Keil for details-(815) 759-8763

President's Report

PRESIDENT'S REPORT Meteorologically at least, spring has flown and won't return until next year, and another summer is underwater - oops! - I meant to say underway! The floods we have experienced in early summer seem to be the worst ever - but according to the State of the Climate" website, through April 2011, we have received more rainfall than through April 2013. Is this possible? The good news is that we appear to be gaining ground against the drought which has plagued the Midwest in recent years -except this past week when we have experienced high temps, and drought conditions. As the hot weather approaches - remember the following bit of information from Ken, during our Tech Sessions: "Use only Conventional Green Antifreeze coolant from Auto-zone or Car Quest. Do not use Extended Life if you have a cast iron block" - as most of us have. (See: June 2013 Bird-News) In the latest Early Bird (July-August 2013), there are a number of interesting articles: 1. Congratulations once again to Bert, for receiving the Golden Quill Award "Regional Sub Compact". Page 4 2. "Don't Leave Home without Them" Page 20 This list suggests items you should take on a tour. Wow!! If we took the "Need, Nice and Extra" items, our trunks would not even carry it all with no room for luggage. Thank God for Ken and others for the "First Aid Kit" they bring along on our Tours. Incidentally, our Board has developed the "Tour Attendees Guide" - available on our Website, which deals with some of these items. Page 20 3. Thanks to Bill and Liz, for their article on C.T.C.C.- Past, Current, and Future Activities and Events. Page 51 4. "For The Birds" Central Illinois Area Mitch and Pat Mitchell (members of C.T.C.C. and FTB) and other FTB members joined us for lunch and the museum visit during the first leg of our Spring Tour to Decatur. Page 53 5. 40th Annual Birds in the Dells - Door County If anyone is interested in tagging along to Door County with the Fox Valley Thunderbirds of Wisconsin on September 13-15. Sign up and registration deadlines are fast approaching. Page 64 Last Saturday, we went on our annual Day Trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire. It was their "Swashbucklers" theme event, and we had three wenches in our group. My favorite show was the "Greatest Show on Earth" also known as the "Mud Pit". If you like the Three Stooges, you'll love this show and 1 loved it! Must be a guy thing. Several of us saw it. Look lor the Complete Event report. Shout outs to Annie and Joel for coordinating. The Board is in the process of obtaining C.T.C.C. window flags to be used by Non-Classic Birds at the rear of the caravan to indicate to the non-caravan cars to not cut into our group. Thanks to Bill and Liz, for heading this up. Please review our C.T.C.C. Calendar on Page 2 for Events for future events. RSVP with each coordinator as soon as possible, and make an effort to attend as many events as possible. Remember -the C.T.C.C. is Your Club - Get Involved! Stay Healthy and Drive Safely - President Pete

President's Report, June 2013

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

For Calendar: June 22 Afternoon-Evening Cruise Night - Fox Lake - Tom Bruin

Oct. 13 Day Cruise & Brunch at Crandall's Lake Geneva Museum - Bob Hoge

On behalf of the CTCC Board and Membership I would like to give Rose and Ed a big shout out and thanks for all the work and planning on our recent Spring Tour to Decatur in early May. Unfortunately, the rainy weather precluded driving our Baby 'Birds.

Please review the Events Calendar, as there are some revisions and additions.

"Hemmings Daily" indicated in their last newsletter, that a proposal for increasing the ethanol level to E-30 is being considered by the EPA. Currently, we have 10 % ethanol in our fuel. Even an increase to 15% would be detrimental to our engines, let alone any additional increase. The high cost of corn, plus the cost of production and more pollution, would result in much higher cost and impact on our atmosphere. Please contact your legislator, objecting to any more ethanol percentage increases. There are other extreme concerns about the ever-changing chemical changes to coolants and oil, as indicated in the May-June Early Bird. Ken Smizinski has identified the concerns at our recent tech session. The recent additional reduction in zinc containing oil is a problem. We should be using Accell Motor Oil or a ZDPP additive. Our thanks to Ken, for obtaining a large supply of Accell oil for our members. Ken also recommends using standard, regular green coolant from Auto-Zone. Never use extended life or any coolant with "oal" -only coolants with IAT inhibitors.

Hope to see everyone at the Top Golf event with our Baby 'Birds. Well, that is enough tech stuff for me.

Stay healthy and Drive Safely. - Prez Pete

President's Report

P RE S I D E N T * S REPORT


Calendar update: April 27th - Tech-Session at Wenderski's Garage

Happy New Year to all of our CTCC Members!

Our Holiday Party on 12/01/12 was really wonderful with 69 members attending. I would especially thank Kathy and Ken Smizinski for the fabulous door prizes and oil filters, Marylu Kramer for providing "girly" goodie bags" and Liz & Bill Werth for the beautiful table center pieces and hand-Grafted cookies that were a favor to take home. This personal purchase benefited the food pantry — thank you to Liz and Bill for thinking of this awesome idea and for being so generous — I ate mine before I got home!!

I would also like to thank my son, Steve Kramer, for producing and providing all attending member families with their very own copy of the "Year in Review" DVD. This was shown at the November Meeting and The Holiday Party. If any member who did not attend the Holiday Party, and would like a copy of the DVD, please contact me and we will get you one.

The Year in Review is a pictorial treasure set to appropriate music of all the events and activities of 2012. Keep it in your DVD library along with previous years as "CTCC Family Photo Albums". We had 25 events and activities during 2012 — a record. They included overnight tours, day trips, brunches, plays, social events, car club cruises, car shows and museums, etc. I encourage everyone to attend as many events as possible and experience and share in all the fun and fellowship our club offers.

Your Board is planning the 2013 calendar and needs more activities than indicated in the preliminary calendar included in theBird News. Please consider organizing and hosting an event or give the board ideas -- we're always looking for new events. Remember, it's your club -- get involved. We especially need tour leaders for the 2013 fall tours. Our club will not be hosting the 2014 CTCI InternationaFConvention,
as previously considered.

Our next event is the Dudes and Divas mid-winter romantic dinner at The Palm Court Restaurant in Arlington Heights on Friday, January 18th. Can Ken for reser­vations. Our CTCC annual FREE Pizza Party will again be at Jake's in Mt. Prospect, on Thursday, February Nth (Valentine's Day). Please bring personal care products for donation to the Food Pantry. The regular Spring Meeting will be at Fuddruckers in Schaumburg. The Board members will select a permanent meeting place between me interim meeting places we've attended recently, and it the membership has additional suggestions for meeting places, please contacf me.

Please feel free to contact any board member - or myself, with ideas, thoughts, or concerns. I look forward to a great year T-Birding. Stay healthy and drive carefully.

- Peter Kramer

President's Report

Greetings from your new President:
The new Board is ramping up for 2012. At our next membership meeting on November 10th, we will once again have the Year-in Review program and the nominations from the floor for the Bert Eisenhour Award. If you can't make the meeting, you may nominate a candidate for this award by mailing the name of the member or couple to Liz Werth, CTCC Secretary, A lot of the newer members may not know what the Bert Eisenhour Award is all about. See the article below. The Board reviewed the tentative budget that will be proposed at the February Pizza Party.

We will celebrate our 50th year of CTCC and the Bird-News Newsletter at our Christmas Party on December 3rd at Chandler's, as well as the Bert Eisenhour Award and Ken's Krazy Auction door prize extravaganza

2012 will feature our regularly scheduled events: Pizza Party, Tech Session, Spring Tour to Hannibal Missouri, Picnic, Fall Tour etc. Additional events such as day tours, social activities, brunches, plays, car shows and cruises are being planned. If any of the membership has ideas for events, please contact any Board member to coordinate the activity. We are attempting to have two activities per month, especially between May and October. Help us to have another great year.

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank all of those who have served on the Board and as Officers this past year, and those who are serving this year. These are the people who construct the frame, body and interior of the club. However the Club membership is the engine. Without the engine, the Club goes nowhere. Let's build a strong engine in supporting the club by attending any events you can or even by lending a helping hand. A little extra help goes a long way in making a better engine.

Stay healthy and drive carefully. Pete Kramer.


The Bert Eisenhour Award (What is it?)
The recipient of the Bert Eisenhour Award is determined by the voting of Club members for a member or couple who has shown outstanding service beyond and above the expected level for the betterment of the Club.

Why is this award called THE BERT EISENHOUR AWARD? A few facts:

1961: Bert and five other T-Birders started your Club (Founded as T.S.C.C.C.- Thunderbird Sports Car Club of Chicagoland) The Volume1, Number 1 issue of the BIRD-NEWS was published in March of 1962.
1970: Bert assumed the title of BIRD-NEWS Editor, continuing to serve in the capacity, uninterrupted, to the present; even though there were some serious health issues, Bert has never missed an issue.

Being editor, he is responsible for the entire publication of the newsletter, i.e., content, format, etc. (Color printing was courtesy of the Valley Community Bank, St. Charles.) Since accepting the Editor's position 41 years ago, Bert has overseen the printing of 492 issues of the B-N. This equates to approximately 16.184 individual pieces, be they articles, pictures or whatever is to printed for the CTCC newsletter. (This number is purely a guess on my part.)

Go ahead- count the individual pieces in the monthly copy. Let's do some math:

Time needed to create each issue: this is a guesstimate: 40 hours. 40 hours time 492 issues equates to 19,240 hours using 2080- as the average hours worked per years equals an average of 40 hours per week.

Numbers figure out that Bert has worked on the B-N for 9 1/4 years in real time. Bert has set the standard for dedication to our Club. In addition to having earned any number of plaques in newsletter competitions, Bert has earned a Gold Award in the CTCI Newsletter Contest of 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Golden award and has never missed a CTCI International Convention. This in a few sentences is why it is called the BERT EISENHOUR AWARD.

'Now you know" (Reprinted and updated from an article in the B-N Edition, January '09 by Len Keil).

President's Report

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

Happy New Year, fellow CTCC members!

I wish to extend my sympathy to Judy Bruggenthies on the death of Otto. He will be missed by all of us. I also wish to extend my congratulations to Joe and Sandra Kraatz who were presented with the Bert Eisenhour Award for 2010 at the CTCC Christmas Party.

Some of you were not expecting to receive this issue of Bird-News in your mailbox. Your Board is continuing to develop an electronic delivery system. Meanwhile, Valley Community Bank continues to print our wonderful Bird-News in full color. Several of you paid extra to receive a black and white copy along with or instead of the electronic version. The Board will address that subject in the coming months and I will keep you informed of developments.

By the time you read this, we will have started 2011 with an outing to Drury Lane Theater for brunch and Monty Python's "Spamatot". Thank you to Pete and Marylu Kramer for planning this fun activity to brighten up a freezing January weekend. Club members will enjoy the annual Pizza Party in February as we examine the 2011 Budget prepared by Doug Rogers.

Your Board is planning a full calendar of activities for the year. I hope each of you will participate in many of the events. The schedule begins on Page 2 of this issue of Bird-News. The driving season starts with the always-helpful April Tech Session that will be followed by the May Spring Tour to Bloomington led by Tom and Judy Bruin. Please plan to join us for brunch and a brief meeting on Sunday, June 12 at the lovely home of Pete and Marylu Kramer.

Please feel free to contact me or any other Board member with thoughts, ideas or concerns. I look forward to seeing you throughout the year.

Len Keil, President

President's Report- Sept. 2010

In a recent issue of BIRD-NEWS, we touched on the Spring and Fall Tours, hoping that a CTCC member would step up and volun­teer to organize a tour for 2011.

As. fate would have it, while enjoying a cool drink with Tom Bruin - in the hospitality room at the recent International Convention - the topic of organizing Club events came up. After a long conversation, Tom agreed to organize the Spring Tour for 2011.

The Tour is now official, Tom and Judy have settled on a tour to the "Art Coast" of Lake Michigan, in the South Haven - Saugatuck area.The dates are: May 20, 21, 22 of 2011.
More information will appear in future issues.

Thanks to Tom and Judy for their efforts. Is anyone ready to design the Fall Tour for 2011?

Our one-day trip to Cedarburg Wisconsin is scheduled for Sunday, October 17th. Cedarburg is similar to Long Grove, antiques, crafts, etc. See the October issue of BIRD-NEWS for complete information on this last road trip on our 2010 schedule.
- Len Keil

President's Report- June 2010

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

As all CTCC members know, the traditional Spring Tour was cancelled due to the International time frame. Your Board decided that one event would take away from the other. Our Spring Tour is usually held in late May; the CTCI Convention is being held in mid-June. In lieu of an overnight tour. Bob Hoge has planned a (special) One Day Outing on June 27th.

The Fall Tour planning is well underway with CTCC members traveling to Door County, Wl. Pete and Marylou Kramer and Larry and Karen Kelly are organizing this year's Tour.

This brings us up to the Spring Tour for 2011. Your Club is looking for someone to step foreward and start the ball rolling for this outing. Organizing a tour is not as difficult as one might think; pick out a location and a date. CTCC will reimburse you - up to $200.00 - for any expenses you will incur. (Receipts required, of course.) CTCC members who have run these trips will certainly lend a helping hand.

Our Annual Hot Dog & Brat Day will have a new format this year; no longer will we be attempting to go to a local Drive-ln Movie - too many variables, including weather and the available movie title. Henceforth, the day will be designated as: The Annual Hot Dog & Brat and 'Driveway' Movie Gala. Keep the date (July 17th) open and look for details in the July issue. [Sneak Preview: The feature movie this year is the classic, American Graffiti] The film will be shown on a BIG screen in our driveway.

Call Len or Mary to make your reservations.
PHONE: (815) 759-8763
- Len Keil

PRESIDENTS REPORT

Happy New Year, Fellow CTCC Members!

2010 is shaping up to be a busy year for us. We started off with a great outing planned by Bob and Helen Hoge. The delicious Brunch at the Onesti Restaurant in St Charles was followed by a riveting performance at the historic Arcada Theater, featuring the magic of Terry Evanswood, Bob and Helen's very talented son.

A capacity crowd enjoyed free pizza and pop at the February Membership Meeting where we gave preliminary acceptance of the 2010 budget. Our March meeting will include formal approval of the budget and election of three Directors.

Many members have expressed an interest in attending the CTCI International Convention in Dayton in June. On March 6, Ken Smizinski is offering a planning meeting to discuss and answer questions about the Concours. The CTCC Board decided to eliminate the Annual Spring Tour this year and encourage members to attend the Convention.

A Spring Tech Session is scheduled for April 24 at Bob and Sue Wenderski's home. June 27 is the date of a one-day outing to Joliet and July 17 is the date of the 4th Annual Hot Dog Gala. Please refer to the "Calendar of Events" for information about all of the Club's planned activities

I look forward to seeing you throughout the T-Birding season.
- Len Keil

PRESIDENTS REPORT

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

2009 saw CTCC enjoying a great year. Club events, especially the Spring and Fall Tours, were a great success, due in no small part to the efforts of the organizers. THANKS to all of the members who planned events for the Club.

If you have an idea for an outing, contact any Board member.

The Board is in the process of developing a schedule of events for 2010. Our old standbys - the PIZZA PARTY & PICNIC - are already on the schedule.

We would like to do some ONE-DAY outings this year. Any ideas??? Contact me, or any Board member with your suggestions.

2010 promises to be an exciting year with the June 15-20 CTCI INTERNATIONAL in Dayton and the CTCC Fall Tour to Door County, Wisconsin. The Fall Tour, a four-day event, is being planned for late September by Pete and Marylu Kramer.

Club membership remains quite stable at II6.
The success of our Club is due to the active
participation of its members.

We are looking forward to seeing all of our
members at the upcoming CHRISTMAS
PARTY.
- Len Keil

President's Report- June 2009

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:

During the March General Club Meeting, a very emotional Urszula Mounts, announced to the membership that this would be the last [CTCC] function that she and Paul would be attending, as they are moving to Florida in early May.

Although Paul has talked about moving for sometime, this announcement surprised a lot of members. Paul has been an active member for more years than he probably wants to remember. He is also the reason Mary and I joined the Club in 1994. I recall the times Paul drove his T-Bird past our home, and giving me the "Thumbs Up" when I asked his advice on purchasing our '57 'Bird. He will always be our great friend.

Anyone who has attended Club outings and tours knows of Paul's ability to bring his childhood experiences of being raised on a farm in rural Kentucky, to present- day happenings. Paul would mesmerize Club members with his anecdotes on everyday life. Perhaps you may have noticed Paul's aversion to chicken; it seems that when growing up on the farm, it was his job to take care of the chickens - from beginning to end. Need I say more?

Let's not forget Urszula! This delightful lady, a more recent member, has won the hearts of everyone she has met. We wish them great success and happiness in their new venture. Urszula, when making herannouncement at the meeting, invited all Club members to visit them when in Florida. She may regret this, since so many of our members winter in Florida! (Ha, Ha!)

Paul is one of those really great guys who is always ready to help anyone in need. He and Urszula WILL be missed by all.
- Len Keil

President's Report- April, 2009

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

BAIL OUT - WHY NOT ?
We are all fully aware of the serious financial conditions of the American auto industry. This financial situation has made it necessary to request funds from the U.S. Treasury, although not as much as the banking industry was to receive. After much berating by the senators, funds were approved, along with many caveats to be instituted before the money would be forthcoming. That is, most senators voted in favor of the funding, with the exception of six southern senators who voted against funding. It must be noted that these states have large, foreign car plants. These plants were built in states that gave these companies the largest tax breaks; in essence, the general public is subsidizing these companies. It appears like these senators would like to have the American auto manufacturers go broke. Wonder why?

Immediately after the announcement was made, "Letters to the Editor" started to appear in all matter of print. Letters suggested that the American auto industry be allowed to disappear. Writers' claims of American cars being inferior to foreign brands - at one time, certainly - are no longer true. It seems that writers think of auto workers as being expendable. If the auto industry were to fail, human and monetary costs would be incalculable. Yes, there are problems in the industry, including salaries and benefits, but new policies and procedures are being established to address these issues. I would guess that many of these writers would have no problem attending sporting events where ticket prices are over one hundred dollars for a single ticket! In addition, a beer at seven dollars and a hot dog at five dollars are typical "add-on" expenses.

Most professional players receive at least 1-million dollars per year. Big names command 10's of millions - or more. Case in point: A pitcher for the New York Yankees will be paid $161 million for seven (7) seasons! This equates to $24.2 million per year. Starting major league pitchers will probably start 30 games a season, on average. Figuring 4 hours per game x 30 (games) equals 120 hours of actual pitching per season. Based on the foregoing, the payment figures to be $201.666 per hour! I don't see anyone complaining about these salaries. SO: Are we still complaining about salaries and benefits that the U.S. workers receive?

If it were not for the auto industry [production] during WWII, we would not be able to complain about anything!!!!

- Len Keil

PRESIDENT'S REPORT- MARCH 2009

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

'SUBSCRIPTION MEMBER': Their only Club activity is reading BIRD NEWS. How many times have members read the CTCC Membership Roster and wondered, with all these members, why are only one-third ever seen?

Currently we have 111 members; yet the largest turn out for a recent event was the 2008 Christmas Party, which 62 persons attended. Even the free pizza party and summer picnic do not bring out more than one third of the membership. The active Club members would enjoy meeting the other two-thirds of the Club membership. If part of the reason you haven't attended any Club meeting or outing is due to not having an operable T-Bird, don't worry. In fact, you dont even need to own a T-Bird, just be an avid enthusiast!

Your Club has arranged a variety of activities for this year. Look thru the Calendar of Events in BIRD NEWS and try to attend whenever possible. In the coming months, there will be a Tech-Session and a Spring Tour; read BIRD NEWS for all the necessary information. If you would like to suggest some other event, contact any Board Member with your idea. Better still, attend one of the general Club meetings and present your idea.

Certainly, we realize that all members can't attend all events, due to circumstances or choice, but we would like to put a face with your name.

Give your Club a try; you will be pleasantly surprised. CTCC is comprised of a great group of T-Bird enthusiasts.

- Len Keil

Presidents Report- Feb. 2009

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

C.T.C.C REFERENCE LIBRARY

On the masthead of the BIRD-NEWS you will find all the names and responsibilities of all Board Members. Next to Bob Wenderski you will find the Title of Librarian. The obvious question to the uninitiated, what does a librarian have to do with a car club? Obvious answer: to organize, catalog all T-Bird related materials. For example: shop manuals of every description, chassis, engine trim etc. The collection includes related magazines of all descriptions, and nearly any article ever written about our 'Birds - from day one to the present time.

Your club has the most in depth-collection of this material to be found - anywhere!

Think you have a problem or situation unique to your T-Bird; think again, any "happening" is most likely covered in this library.

Alas, our CTCC library is not fully used by club members, this writer included. Maybe, with this editorial, more members will take advantage of this great source of information.
Bob is known for his absolute pursuit of perfection, as evidenced by his Gold Medallion '55; his quest for perfection rolls over to his stewardship of this great library.

Since the CTCC Spring Tech Session (tentatively) scheduled to beld at Bob's garage in April of 2009, this event would be a perfect time to check out your Club's extensive library.

With winter here, and most projects on our 'Birds soon to start, it is an ideal time to utilize this treasure trove of information.

Contact Bob at anytime for library access.

- Len Keil

President's Report

Bert Eisenhour Award

The recipient of the Bert Eisenhour Award is determined by the voting of Club members for a member who has shown outstanding service, beyond and above the expected level, for the betterment of the Club.

Why is this award called THE BERT EISENHOUR AWARD? A few facts:

1962: Bert and five other T-Birders started your Club. [Founded as T.S.C.C.C. - Thunderbird Sports Car Club ofChicagoland] The Volume 1, Number 1 issue of Bird News was published in March of 1962.

1970: Bert assumes the Title of Bird News Editor, continuing to serve in this capacity, uninterrupted, to the present; even though there were some serious health issues, Bert has never missed an issue.


Photo- The Bert Eisenhour Award

Being editor, he is responsible for the entire publication of this newsletter; i.e., content, format, etc. (Color printing is courtesy of member, Bob Hoge, President of the Valley Community Bank, St. Charles.)

Since accepting the Editor's position, 38 years ago, Bert has overseen the printing of 456 issues of the B-N. This equates to approximately 15,000 individual pieces, be they articles, pictures or whatever is to be printed for the CTCC newsletter. (This number is purely a guess on my part)
Go ahead - count the individual pieces in the monthly copy. Let's do some math:
Time needed to create each issue: this is a guesstimate: 40 hours. 40 hours times 456 issues equates to 18,240 hours, using 2080 - as the average hours worked per year - equals an average of 40 hours per week.

Numbers figure out that Bert has worked on the B-N for 8 3/4 years, in real time. Bert has set the standard for dedication to our Club. In addition to having earned any number of plaques in newsletter competitions, Bert has earned Gold Awards in the CTCI Newsletter Contests in 2007 and 2008.

This, in a few sentences, is why it is called the 'BERT EISENHOUR AWARD'.

"Now you know."

- Len Keil, President