37th
Middle West Meet – It’s a wrap
Marilyn and Ron, Darlene and Tom, and Poor
Bob and I, just can't thank everyone that helped at the Meet enough! Thank you for helping deal with things that
came up before the Meet and during the Meet. There were many things that where in our
control but there were things that weren't in our control. Everyone just seemed to know what needed to be
done and just did it. It couldn't have
run more smoothly.
Bob and I had planned to stay on Saturday
night along with our daughter and Granddaughter, Maddy. When we got there on Saturday we were
surprised to find other out of state guests already there. The trailer parking had been marked by the
hotel as well as the Swap area. Sunday arrived
and members were there to help set up the Registration Room and get the Raffle items
set up. The Northern Illinois Group was all ready to help Charlie with the
Field Entrance and we were off and running. Barb and her committee had samples of the
Ladies Day items made for display. Many vehicles were put thru field entrance
on Sunday, which helped for Monday and Tuesday. Gene put out signs for the
different areas.
Monday there was a large group ready for
the Madison trip. Someone talked to
Gary's son, Eric, who said that Gary had his sons working for two months to get
everything ready for our visit. I think
about 90 people went thru his shop. During
the day the ladies were busy with crafts with Barb, Janet, Darlene, Kathy
Jones, and Patty. The ladies loved it
and thought it was a great idea. During
the day I was asked by Rick from the hotel if we would consider moving the
Taste of Italy to the upstairs restaurant. I said no because we had entertainment. Our "FAB THREE" were a hit! Everyone loved the "Oldie Wed Game".
Someone came up afterwards and asked for
the questions so they could do it for something they were involved in. Thanks to everyone who helped make Sunday and
Monday a success.
Tuesday we were off to the Observatory. People commented that they had never seen
anything like this. There was a delay
between the 1st and 2nd group because of an accident
almost where we had to cross the highway.
Thank goodness it didn't involve anyone in our group and we were On the
Road Again. The menu at the dealership
changed which we were unaware of and we had a nice gathering of about 180
people. I'm sure the dealership was
happy we came. I think they sold a pickup
and also the Faux 1953 Vette. It was
then back to the hotel for the Costume Judging. Janet was attending her first Meet, but was
happy to do the Costume Judging. Mary
was a judge for the first time. Everything went just great.
The buses were on time for the Cruise on
Lake Geneva. As our bus pulled into the
Marina it was a perfect picture with calm water and sail boats – a perfect
night for our Cruise. People were happy
to have the lifesavers, and glad they didn't have to use them. Our thanks go to everyone that made Tuesday a
day to remember for our guests.
Wednesday was judging day and a little
concern for the weather. Not to worry,
like I said at the Banquet, I was sure that Bill Ferguson, Bob Lemminger, Romie
and Roy had the weather under control.
The Ladies Luncheon Committee was ready to
spring into action and view the site (which they were pretty sure the site
wouldn't change again). Ralph was actually able to see the back seat of his car
for a few hours. The Hunt Club was
beautiful. The food was wonderful. The
Treasure Chest sold out of keys in about 15 minutes. The commemorative book marks were awesome and
the beach theme decorations and door prizes were a very nice touch. Now the entertainment – bear in mind that NO
ONE had ever heard them before so another limb Jane and Mary trusted us
on. I think everyone in the audience
could have listened to them for another hour.
There was a room change for the Directors Meeting so we got complimentary
cookies, brownies, and coffee. Thanks to
all those that helped with the weather and judged the cars, and Jane and Mary
and their committee for all they did to make the Ladies Luncheon a huge success.
Thursday was the plaque tour arranged by Gene and Ralph. Just to add to the excitement (without
checking with Gene and Ralph first) someone removed a bridge. But all the guys rallied and the tour was
great.
Then the long awaited Awards Banquet. While everyone was touring a group stayed back
to help setup the table decorations and move all the wonderful raffle items
downstairs to the Aspen Room. The group
we were sharing the rooms with all week left at 5:00 and we watched the banquet
crew orchestrate the removal of all their items and move in 26 banquet tables,
set them, move in chairs and put on the centerpieces. Lastly, the trophies were all arranged. At 7:00, the doors opened and the guests never
knew what happened behind the closed doors.
A huge thanks to Tom Gawronski for getting
the PowerPoint all set up for the awards. Thanks to everyone who helped take photos
during the week. Dave Denemark did a great job on the trophies (Dave maybe you
should think about doing decorative welding all the time. Ha-ha)
Congratulations to all the winners! Wisconsin Region was well represented with
trophies.
We want to thank everyone who helped with
the planning, all the things you just did that I'm sure we were unaware
of. We couldn't have had such a successful
meet without you, your help and your ideas.
I especially want to thank the Ohm's,
Griepentrog's and Poor Bob for trusting some of my crazy ideas and all their
support.
We have received wonderful emails, phone
calls, cards. I also heard that the
Chevy Chat Room was saying how great it was.
-JoAnn
