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Join Our Club
We welcome you to join BATOC and come travel with us on the open road in a group of Classic Ford Thunderbirds; what an awesome experience – One you don’t want to miss!
BATOC is affiliated with the Classic Thunderbird International Club which allows us to stay connected to other Thunderbird clubs around the world http://www.ctci.org
Guests are welcome to attend our breakfast meeting in person or remote. Our club meets the 2nd Saturday of every month at the Buttercup Restaurant, 660 Ygnacio Valley Rd, Walnut Creek, CA 94596.
We start gathering at about 9:30 and start the meeting at 10:00
or join our meeting remotely (click here)
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President’s Message
On one of our last days north of Lahaina, Maui, Matthew photographed this complete double rainbow. The rainbow pulled everyone out of their hotel rooms to the hedge above the beach. During a moment of soft drizzle, along with a gazillion other hotel guests, we awed at this amazing sight. Of course, the only thing missing to this photo truly perfect is a Thunderbird on the beach or floating in the middle of the ocean. Maybe Don Perry can use his AI skills to help us out?
THANK YOU to the club for giving Matthew and me the space to take this extended vacation. I am especially grateful to Lisa Perry, who facilitated the monthly meeting while I was out. Leveraging the language of MS-DOS, Matthew called our trip a “Ctrl-Alt-Delete vacation.” It was a MUCH needed reset for both of us!
Friendsgiving
Unfortunately, due to the Maui trip and other commitments, we were unable to attend the Friendsgiving event. However, reports back from various members, along with Guy’s excellent pictures, show that it was another very successful BATOC event. Thanks, again, to the efforts of Guy and Mary Cummins; they did a fantastic job of pulling it all together! I was also pleased to hear that no one got kicked out of the restaurant for being too rowdy, so perhaps we can use Emil Villas again in the future?
Goodguys Event Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Ford Thunderbird
I also missed out on the 70th Anniversary Thunderbird display for the final Goodguys Event of 2025 at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds. Thanks to Larry Blodgett and John Hagar for pulling this together. And congratulations (and welcome!) to Stan and Judy Hall for winning the Staff Pick. I sure hope that Stan and Judy have a spare bedroom or can easily add one to their house. If this is any indication of the future, they’re going to need the extra room for all of their Tbird trophies and awards…and maybe even an extra garage if they win the drawing for the 1940 Ford Coupe hotrod!
The Charity Fundraiser
This year is for our local food banks who are in a more dire need this year than in the past. Hunger in this country has become a political football and funding is at its lowest levels in some time. The club is looking for donations to add to the funds that have already been collected as part of our Spare Change for Charity program. If you are able to make an additional contribution to our fund (which the club will match!), please bring it to the Christmas party or contact Sue Mathieson. Her cell 510-318-2517. Sue will accept checks, cash, and of course, change (even increasingly rare and valuable pennies, I am told)!
Holiday Party
I look forward to seeing everyone at the Holiday Christmas Party and gift exchange. The BATOC Holiday Party is Saturday December 13 at the Pier 29 Waterfront Restaurant in Alameda. (Please see the flier for menu and details.) We need to give the headcount to the restaurant by Monday, December 8th, so please contact Sue Mathieson at 510-318-2517.
In case you are unable to attend the holiday party, from our family to all of yours…Have a wonderful and joyful holiday season and a very Happy New Year!
Cheers!
Joe Adams
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BATOC is affiliated with the Classic Thunderbird International Club which allows us to stay connected to other Thunderbird clubs around the world
