Presidents Letter for November 2010

Presidents Letter for November 2010

November is a wonderful month in our great state of Florida. The weather cools off and our snowbird friends return. It is the month that is noted for Thanksgiving which we celebrate this year on the 25^th. We all have personal reasons to give thanks. Hopefully this Thanksgiving season will bring your family and friends together in the finest spirit of this season.

Floridians are not opposed to a good controversy, and our recent election is proof of that. As many already know from reading my other articles, St. Augustine Florida is noted as “Our Nations First City”. What may be more controversial to our Northern friends is that St. Augustine is less known as the location of the first Thanksgiving which took place over 50 years before the one we all traditionally celebrate that occurred at Plymouth Rock! The real first Thanksgiving was held at a grassy spot on the Matanzas River at what is now the city of St. Augustine where Spanish Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles came ashore on September 8, 1565. At this spot he along with500 soldiers, 200 sailors, 100 civilian families and artisans, and the Timucuan Indians who occupied the village of Seloy, gathered at a makeshift altar and said the first Christian Mass in what is now the United States. Afterward, this is the spot where they held the first Thanksgiving feast. The Timucuans brought oysters and giant clams. The Spaniards carried from their ships garbanzo beans, olive oil, bread, pork and wine.

The Florida Suncoast Region is proceeding with its plans for the first Cadillac & LaSalle Club Grand National in Florida in 2012. Unlike the primitive conditions the Spanish endured in 16^th century Florida, we will enjoy the luxury of the Marriott Renaissance Hotel at World Golf Village. Located just off of I-95 at St. Augustine, we can enjoy modern comforts and may also explore the history of this area that goes back 447 years (by 2012) to the eventful landing of Admiral Pedro Menendez de Aviles.

If you would like to read more about this first Thanksgiving you may enjoy reading an article from the Pittsburg Post Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09326/1014871-37.stm or Google “Florida First Thanksgiving”

Don’t forget to mark your calendar to our Florida Suncoast Annual Picnic in the park which is our region’s Thanksgiving to our members and friends.

Florida Suncoast Region is planning 2012 Grand National

Grand National Meeting Notes                  November 6, 2010

We held a GN planning meeting on November 6. We were lucky to have Joe and Linda Pinson attending from the east coast. They’ll be running the car show and can help with a number of other tasks as well.

We focused on three issues. The first was a review of the contact with the hotel, which has now been signed. We’re guaranteeing the hotel 749 room nights over four days as well as $30,000 in total food and beverage sales. If these goals aren’t met, we’ll owe them only lost profit not gross receipts.

The second major issue was a preliminary budget discussion. We looked at our sources of revenue and expenses. A major effort will be made to enlist well-known national sponsors whose business involves the hobby. CLC already has a relationship with Haggerty Insurance and has just negotiated an arrangement with Barrett-Jackson.

The third major issue discussed was establishment of a presence on the internet. We’ll expand our Facebook page and are looking at website design.

It was noted that the new CLC coordinator for GN’s is Marsha Redman, who was the meet chairman for this year’s GN in Kansas City. She and Mike Book, CLC office manager and meet chairman for next year’s GN in Columbus have already been contacted for information that will help us make realistic projections.

Remember we’ll need volunteers for a lot of individual tasks. Don’t be afraid to step up…we’ll guide you to make each job easy.                      Len Berman, GN 2012 Chairman

Annual Region Picnic

2010 Annual Autumn Picnic

Philippe Park, Shelter 1 Safety Harbor, Florida Sunday, November 21, 2010


Come as early as 11 am, lunch will be ready around 1 pm.

Chef Tony will be preparing hamburgers and hotdogs and maybe even a chicken and brats! Slaw, baked beans and drinks will be provided by the club. Feel free to bring a favorite side dish or dessert to round out our holiday feast! A raffle with door prizes will also be featured. Raffle benefits our Grand National 2012 Fund.


RSVP to John Fleming at usnjohn62@aol.com to

confirm the side dish you chose to bring.

Our Annual Autumn Picnic was really great, what a beautiful day to go to Philippi Park. Shelter 1 in right by the bay so we have a lovely view while we eat and converse about our Cadillacs.

 

Here are a few photos