November 2005, Volume 8, Issue 11


General Meeting - November 1, 2005

The November General Meeting of the Trans Am Club of America, Golden State Chapter, was called to order by President Keith Thorson at 7:09 PM.

It was moved by Jim Nakata and seconded by Dennis Trimble that the Secretary's Minutes for the month of October be approved as printed in the Trans Script.

The Treasurer's Report was given by J.O. Raff, Treasurer, and approved as presented.

Old Business:
The Trans Am Club of America, Golden State Chapter, was well represented at the Vacaville Pontiac Car Show on Oct. 8th. The Club was presented the Club Participation Trophy and individual trophies were received by Dave Gershon, Charlene Thompson, Irene Raff and Dennis Trimble. Ted Klein was there as well. The only raffle prize received was a "Boom Box" that Irene won.

On Oct. 22nd, the Apple Hill Run was attended by John Bonner and Rachel Gershanoff, Jim Nakata, J.J. Apilado, Dennis Trimble, Gary Vollstedt, Ted and Aaron Bechtel, Allen Blanchfield and Julie Haddix. The caravan ran well but crowds at Apple Hill caused long waits and separations. A good time was had by all participants although a damper was placed on the festivities when it was learned that Allen and Julie will be moving to Illinois and this was probably their last event with the Club.

The Halloween Party at Frank Brown's on Oct. 29th was attended by Dennis and Terry Trimble, Rachael Gershanoff and Leo Brown. Leo is still not feeling well as a result of his recent surgery.

New Business:
The paperwork is all in for the Veteran's Day Parade on Saturday, Nov. 12th. We still plan to meet at the Levitz Parking lot at 7:30 AM and depart at 8:00 AM for the parade staging area. Additional verification of times and location will be coordinated with Leo Brown and everyone will be notified.

The trip to San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf and all of the tourist traps that are located there is still planned for Nov. 26th. as shown in the Upcoming Events.

Christmas Tree Decorating at the Towe Museum is planned but details are not available at this time.

The Christmas's Party and Annual Club Meeting is still planned for December 10th and it is believed that we will order off the menu. The Club will supplement the expense with a $10.00 allowance per Voting Member for this event. This will be a fun event.

J.O. passed out information concerning Autocrossing with the SCCA. If you are interested, log in at www.sfrscca.org and check out Solo 2. It is a very interesting web site.

Election Results:
President: Keith Thorson, Vice President: Terry Trimble, Secretary: Irene Raff, Treasurer: J.O. Raff, Activities Director: Ted Bechtel.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:14 PM with Dennis Trimble making the motion and Ted Bechtel seconding.

Respectfully Submitted, Irene Raff, Secretary.

VETERAN'S DAY PARADE By J.O. Raff .

On Saturday, November 12th, the participating Club Members assembled, almost as planned, at the Levitz Parking Lot on Watt Avenue in North Highlands. When I arrived at 8:31 AM, as instructed, I was the only one there but in a few minutes, Keith Thorson, accompanied by Steven, Maddie and Desire' arrived, carrying the Club Banner in his Explorer. Shortly thereafter, Nichole Rajkowski, accompanied by Christy, then Terry and Dennis Trimble and John Bonner, accompanied by Brandon and Derek, rounded out our four Trans Am's and one Explorer.

We headed out in a dysfunctional caravan for down-town Sacramento and the parade assembly point. There we found Robert Olsen, who when finding no one at Levitz at the appointed time, took off for down-town. We were roughly two and a half hours early for the scheduled start of the parade at twelve noon and spent our time brushing the falling leaves off of the cars.

One major discrepancy in the parade planning was the provision for porta-potties for participants and spectators alike. There was only one in sight with a 20 to 30 minute line! Some of our members were resourceful enough to use the Capitol Building or sympathetic restaurant owners facilities.

Prior to the start of the parade, Rachel Gershanoff arrived with Sarah.

Finally, around noon thirty, the parade got started and Steven and Maddie carried the TACA GSC banner and led the Club around Capitol Park. Terry and Dennis had been asked if Master Sergeant John Ubaldi, USMC, resplendent in his Dress Blues, could ride in their car since his ride did not show up. He accompanied our Trans Am Princess Sarah Gershanoff as Terry drove. As we drove around the block, I was surprised at the small crowd of spectators and would venture a guess of a maximum of perhaps 1500 people, more or less, that had gathered to watch the parade. The most densely populated spectator area was at the Grand Stand in front of the Capitol building where we were recognized but anywhere else along the route, there was no problem finding a spot with plenty of room to watch.

After the parade, we all cut out and went our separate ways.

TOWE MUSEUM CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATING.

Sunday, November 27th, 2005; Arrive at the Towe Museum 2-2:30 PM prepared to reserve table for group and decorate the tree. Bring Christmas Ornament. Last Names A-J bring Main Dish; Last Names K-R, bring Side Dish (veggies, potatoes, etc.); Last Names S-Z, bring Dessert for Potluck dinner beginning at 4:30 PM.

CHRISTMAS PARTY / ANNUAL MEETING.

Saturday, December 10th, 2005; Arrive Radisson Hotel, 500 Leisure Lane, Sacramento for No Host Bar by 5:30 PM. Dinner is at 6:00 PM SHARP instead of 6:30 PM. Expect to be seated at six person tables, order off the menu and pay your own bills. The Club will discount 2006 dues $10.00 for each adult, dues paid, voting member attending. Bring a gift to exchange, not to exceed $20.00. We will try to do our traditional 2 or 3 - steal game if space and time permits. Please call Ted Bechtel, (916) 783-3819 or J.O. Raff, (916) 961-5800 if you plan to attend since the Hotel needs a final count.

Birthdays.

Frank Brown, Nov12th
James Nakata, Nov 20th
J.J. Apilado, Nov 24th
John Bonner, Dec 10th
Irene Raff, Dec 31st

Upcoming Events.



IMPORTANT: GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING - 11/01/05
7:00 PM, CARROW'S Restaurant.
4601 N. Watt Ave.
North Highlands, CA 95660.Elections of 2006 Officers.


VETERAN'S DAY PARADE - 11/12/05
Meet at Levitz parking lot at 8:00 A.M.
Depart at 8:30 A.M.


SAN FRANCISCO/ FISHERMAN'S WHARF, WAX MUSEUM, ALCATRAZ, TEDDY BEAR FACTORY - 11/26/05
Meet at K-Mart parking lot at 8:00 A.M.
Depart at 8:30 A.M.


CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATING - 11/27/05
Towe Musuem, see separate article in this edition.


CHRISTMAS PARTY AT THE RADISSON HOTEL - 12/10/05
5:30 P.M with no host bar.
Dinner is at 6:00 P.M. sharp. Gift exchange, see seperate article in this edition.