• The meeting was called to order at 10:06 by Dave Adams.
• Dave gave well wishes to Maria for her broken arm. He also noted the absence of Guy and Mary, Nick, and Don and Lisa.
• The Christmas party is on December 16. Those going need to make their menu selections and pay for their meal. Cost is $65 per person. Please send your checks to Lisa Perry by December 1. The party itself is from 12-3, with the bar opening up at 11:30. There will be a piano player and this musician will take requests. We are exchanging gifts with values between $25-$30. These need to be wrapped. It can be car related. This is not a traditional “White Elephant Exchange” in that we are looking for nicer quality of gifts being shared. We are also collecting for Toys for Tots. Please bring an unwrapped toy. We may even do a T Bird Excursion to deliver the toys to a location to be determined. Suggestions include fire stations, police stations, Shriners in San Francisco, Oakland Children’s Hospital. We will also be funding a $100 gift to our server Carlos from Buttercup.
• The Friendsgiving celebration is November 19 from 1:30-4:30 in Livermore at Cattlemen’s. The club paid for a bartender. It is off Airway Boulevard.
• We are changing things up a bit and we will have the raffle throughout the meeting.
• Dave extended a thank you to all the Veterans for their service.
• Lisa Brill-Nadler talked about the club jackets. If you want one by Christmas, she needed to know immediately. They are $95 each. Those ordered in November will be available in January, as the customer designer is extremely busy and can’t get to all the orders by mid December.
• The Santa Clara club had some new grill plaques made. Our manufacturer went out of business. They can get them for $23 each. We will be looking into their manufacturer.
• Congratulations to Larry Blodgett! Yes, he got his club jacket. More importantly, his 1956 bird made it to the meeting. It went out on the freeway. This was a labor (of love) after 8 months of Sundays to restore the car after 30 years of not being on the road.
• Dave told us about someone who has a red 1960 Thunderbird that ran 3 years ago that they would like to donate. It is a project car. It is now being stored outside. The car is local to Lafayette/Walnut Creek area. Please follow up with him if you are interested.
• Bob May (inactive member) is a machinist. He manufactures oil filter adapters for the 55-57 cars. The new filters don’t seal properly. His adapters work better than those of most retailers. Please contact him if you would like to know more about the adaptor.
• John Villaneuva moved to Portland and is a member of the Rose City Club. They would like him to be president. Because of mostly wet weather in Portland, the club is inactive. They don’t meet regularly, they don’t plan outings, so there isn’t much energy in the club. Dave said that the job of the president isn’t too difficult – it is to motivate people to participate in activities and their cars. He encouraged him to take on the President role.
CTCI Convention was last month in Florida, but there hasn’t been much news about what happened there. New officers take over in January, including a new regional director here. There is also a new president. Dave is hopeful for new momentum and members. As well, there is CTCI information on the back table. Our club doesn’t require, but heavily encourages us to be CTCI members. Other clubs do require membership in CTCI.
• Dave reported on the annual Board Meeting in January, and he is opening it up to all members, not just the board. This is a planning meeting, and all ideas are welcome. Looking for new energy for the club. The date and place are to be determined.
Activities 2024
• James Gibson and Guy Cummins are planning a Rib Cookoff – possibly in May.
• The Guthries will host a Superbowl Party in February.
• Dave will host the President’s Mystery tour in January. It will be a lesson in situational awareness – landmarks and the like, out of order. It will be in the immediate Bay Area and as a day trip.
• Dave is also looking into Thunderbird Lodge at Lake Tahoe as an overnight trip, possibly in June.
• Other suggestions include Winchester Mystery House and Safari West. Cost is a consideration.
• The Grech’s are thinking about a driving cruise either up or down the coast. This could be in the spring – possibly April.
• The Nadlers are looking to organize a progressive dinner in July. It would be 3 houses, 10-15 minutes apart. The cost to attend the event would cover the cost of the food, so no one would have to cover it themselves (the hosts, that is).
• The Evensons talked about Derosa Art Museum in Napa as well as the Sterling Winery in Calistoga. There is a restaurant near the museum. The time frame would be late August/early September. This would most likely be two separate trips.
• CHP Academy – Nick is planning to lead this. It does need to be on a weekday as they are closed on the weekend.
• Note: There is NO meeting in December!
• Sue Mathieson reminded everyone to donate to Coins for Charity, and we need to decide where they should go.
• Paul Grech is working on big project, but it is almost done. It is for a 1957 and it is the dashboard replacement.
• He is also a small business owner and is part of a suit against Mastercard for $5.9 Billion for using a 2.9% rate. He is waiting to see if he gets some compensation. The years involved were 2004-2019.
• Legislative Day will be held in Sacramento in March 2024. There you have a chance to present your side of an issue with our lawmakers. Paul was successful with Workman’s Comp rates for small businesses; he suggests looking into it for legislation on old cars.
• Pleasanton’s Ronald Wacek had his 1955 Thunderbird showcased in the East Bay Times on October 15. He also has a 2005 Thunderbird. The article has a very brief history of how the Thunderbird came about and how Ronald has restored his “tired car” to one that is “as perfect as possible”. He drives it about 2,000 miles a year to keep it running.
• Cathy Hager discussed our Facebook group page – Bay Area Thunderbird Owners Club – and how people recently have posted ads for COVID tests and merchandise. She is now an administrator for the group and suggested have new posters be approved before they can post. There are over 230 members in the group, many of whom really don’t have any reason to follow the cars.
• James Gibson also had a suggestion for parking the cars to allow room for all – put the driver’s side on the left line in the space.
Respectfully submitted by Cathy Hager, Secretary