Merle Stone C8 Reveal

Merle Stone C8 Reveal

We had a nice run up to Tulare less than an hour north of Bakersfield this past Wednesday to view the brand new 2020 C8 Corvette. Nine intrepid travelers plus a guest drove north on the 99 to Merle Stone Chevrolet and were met up by several other members of our club (16 Corvettes in all) that showed up later. The object of our trip was to see the local unveiling of the new mid engine C8 Corvette and boy were we impressed. Many minds were changed and who knows how many members took the plunge to get on the ordering list for the new mid engine Corvette. At least three members have committed to get on the waiting list and put in an order.

Many thanks to the managers and sales people at Merle Stone Chevrolet for hosting this event. We had a great time taking turns getting into the driver’s and passenger’s seat of the gorgeous Elkhart Lake Blue Corvette and asking a multitude of questions about its capabilities.

Food was provided by Mariscos Colima of Fresno, Hanford and Oakhurst. The tacos were delicious and were provided the whole day for all customers coming to the dealership in conjunction to its grand opening.

Click on link to our Flickr page for more pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/158760832@N02/albums/72157710789465271

Board Minutes – September 2019

Corvettes of Bakersfield, Inc.

Board of Directors Meeting

9/3/19 at Lorene’s on 23rd St.

Call to order:  5:57 PM by President Larry Young

Present:     Larry Young, Virgil & Kim Miller, Betsy Slauson, Danny Ellison, Carl Lange, and Liz Zaninovich.

Absent:       Bill Dean, Dave Kielty and Adrian Medina.

Guests:       Chris Espitia, Dale and Bill Frye, and Cathy Telese.

Minutes:     Carl moved to approve minutes from the last BOD meeting. Betsy seconded.  Motion passed.

Vettes For Vets:  Virgil submitted a budget for the car show.  Carl moved to approve the budget. Liz seconded.  Motion passed.

Christmas Party:  A budget for the annual Christmas Party to be held on 12/14/2019 was submitted for review/approval.  Carl moved to approve the budget.  Betsy seconded.  Motion passed.

There were questions about the liquor license.  The topic was postponed, and Larry will do some follow up.

NCCC:         Greg Brott has resigned as the club’s governor due to personal obligations.  There are four meetings annually that the governor has to attend.  Larry will cover the meeting on 9/14/2019 in Anaheim but he can’t take the position and a replacement needs to be found.  Subject will be taken to the general membership meeting next week.

Membership:  The membership application and the information regarding membership  were both updated online.  The information matches the bylaws.  There is a 60-day waiting period from the time an application is submitted until membership is granted.  This gives the committee time to review the information and time for the prospective member to attend a couple meetings and/or events.

Virgil put together and gave Betsy 6 new membership packets.  It will be up to the Membership Committee to pass out and replace the packets as needed.

Video Postings:  It’s been noticed that there have not been any video posting to the COB website since March 2019.  This is about the time Greg resigned from doing it.  Larry will talk to Adrian and see if the process can be continued.  There are several videos available that are not on the website.

Gifts:          Larry pointed out that we have several events coming up before the end of the year where we are requesting gifts or raffle prizes be donated by members; wine run, car show and Christmas party.  This will be added to the agenda for next week.

Christmas Parade:  Do we want to participate?  The board didn’t really jump at the opportunity.  This will also be put on the agenda for Tuesday’s General Membership meeting.

Corvettes and Coffee:  Larry would like to host a “breakdown shakedown” event at his shop in the area of Oswell St. south of Hwy 58.  There is room for 35 cars and he has 3 bays, a compressor and vacuum available.  He is proposing to have the event on 9/21/2019 in the morning.  This will be put on the agenda for next week’s meeting to see if there is interest from the general membership.

Vettes For Vets:  Copies of the car show application will be made to be handed out at the next general meeting.  Liz asked about the media and if any PSAs were being done.  Virgil said he is working on it and it is still too early to get them out.  Need to start getting out about 30 days before the event.  Liz also brought up Bakersfieldnow.com.

By-laws:     Question was asked if anything further has been done about updating the by-laws.  Carl has been in contact with Zelma once, but no further has been done.  Virgil mentioned his concern about the officer terms.  They need to be aligned between the 501(c)7 and 501(c)3 since the officers are the same between the two entities.

Adjourn:     6:36 PM

General Meeting – August 2019

Download Minutes

Corvettes of Bakersfield, Inc.

General Meeting

8/13/2019 at Three Way Chevrolet

40 members in attendance. 

6:32 P.M.  Meeting called to order by President Larry Young.  Thanks to our sponsor, Three Way Chevrolet, for the meeting room and the monthly financial contribution to the club.

Flag Salute: Led by Dave Kielty.

New Members: Larry Young welcomed Eric “Skip” Schipper.  He has a gray with blue 2017 Grand Sport and has been to three events with the club.  Also welcomed Ken Stewart, a retired fireman with a gray 2019 corvette.

Birthdays and Anniversaries:  Acknowledged by Larry Young.

Prizes & Refreshments:  Dale Frye brought raffle prizes and Annie Bailey provided the refreshments.

Minutes:  Denise Hollister motioned to approve the minutes from last month’s meeting.  Mitch Townsend made a second.  Motion passed.

Larry Young/President:  Got a little more clarity regarding the NCCC vs WSCC and what has to be sent to the NCCC regarding our events.  NCCC needs to receive notification of competitive events, in writing.  We do not have to send notification of our small runs to them.

Thanks to Yolanda Atkinson for arranging for our club members to be able attend the Official Corvette C8 Reveal.

Bill Dean/Vice President:  Kevin Fennell, a friend associated with the boat races, shared that on Oct. 5, 2019 the Nostalgic Car Show will be held out at Lake Ming.  It was suggested that we get some of our cars to attend and promote our November car show.  There will be boat drags out there too.  Cost is $30.  Suggested that we all get together and drive in together.

Betsy Slauson/Membership: Most of our members have renews, but there are still a few stragglers.

Carl Lange/Treasurer Report: We have $20,406.93 in both accounts.

Dave Kielty/Sergeant At Arms: Collected for no name badges.  Also advised that Streets of Bakersfield is moving along.  There will be no motorcycle spots this year.

Virgil Miller/Webmaster: A PDF of the monthly minutes can now be found on the website.  This was added for those that wanted to able to print the minutes in a clean format.  A Mailchimp account was opened in the club’s name and is being used to send out the minutes.

Adrian Medina/Social Media:  Reminded everyone about our Facebook page.

Liz Zaninovich/Public Relations:  Nothing to report.

Danny Ellison/Events:  Greenhorn Run – we made $125 on the raffle.  We now have $1,371 to go towards the Christmas Party.  Reminder that our next monthly Corvette Owners’ Breakfast is at Riverlakes Club House on 8/21/2019 from 8:00-10:00am. The next gathering at the Firehouse Grill will probably be cancelled due to the heat. Don’t forget we meet at Chuy’s on the first Thursday of the month.  Rootbeer floats are a must at these gatherings.

The calendar has already been made up for next year.  If you want to do an event, contact Danny.  Our Memorial Day weekend brunch is scheduled for 5/24/2020.  Danny would like to find a different location (from the Seven Oaks Country Club).  Any ideas?

The annual Summer Solstice event is scheduled for 6/20/2020.  We need a location and someone to set it up. 

Brunch of Corvettes is slated for 10/20/2019.  Need someone to step up and make plans.

Annual Wine Run – September 28, 2019. Due to heavy construction going on at the interchange of Hwy 46 and I-5, we will meet at Blackwell’s Corner.  An alternate route to Blackwell’s Corner is to take Hwy 58 to Hwy 33 and then north to Hwy 46.  We will have access to the restrooms. Check-in is at 8:15 am and the driver’s meeting at 8:35 am in the parking lot on the west side. We are on the road at 8:50 am.  The third winery has changed due to an increase in the tasting price ($35).  The new drive plan has been posted on the website.

John Silliman – Camarillo Outlets Run is scheduled for 8/17/2019.  Meet at 7:30 am at The Park at Riverwalk.  We will leave at 8:00 am.  There will be a stop at the Pistachio Company on Highway 33.  Lunch will be at Aloha Steakhouse in Ventura.  After lunch, we will take Highway 101 to the Camarillo Outlets.  Everyone is on their own from there.

Carl Lange – on 9/14/2019, Brookdale Assisted Living is having a car show to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

Annie Bailey had a correction to the July minutes.  She will assist with the donations for the goody bags, NOT get the donations.

New Business

Larry Young proposed that the club join the National Corvette Museum.  The cost is $250 for the first year and then $150 for each year after that.  Carl Lange made the motion that Corvettes of Bakersfield join the National Corvette Museum.  Betsy Slauson  seconded the motion. 

There was discussion.  When asked about the benefits of membership, Larry said we could promote our events in their magazine for free.  This would enhance the club’s visibility.  Upon voting for the motion, 5 members opposed.  Motion passed.

Vettes 4 Vets Car Show –  Virgil is still trying to come up with a location for a committee meeting to include representatives from the groups we will be donating to.  Tom Jones suggested we contact Robert Villanueva from Three Way to see if can use this room.

Next month Tony Sparano is scheduled to bring snacks and Brad Hayden is signed up to bring raffle prizes.

Video of the Greenhorn Run was shown.

7:50 PM  Meeting adjourned.