From the President. May 2016 Beyond the Glass 1

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1 From the President As I write this letter the forecast is for a long string of cool rainy days, but quite likely as you read this letter it may be warm and sunny. April and May are transitional months where the weather pendulum swings wide. It is a transitional and busy time of year for all of us as well. There is a seemingly endless list of tasks to be done. Springtime house and garage cleaning, maybe a trip to the dump, applying fertilizer, weed killers, planting flowers and gardens will keep you busy and the drone of lawnmowers signals the start of another mowing season. It s not all work though, it s time for walkers, bikers, golfers, boaters, and of course Corvette owners to get out there and enjoy. Reward yourself after a hard day of work by taking a cruise through the country on these longer warm evenings. A group of your fellow club members were out at the Cedar Rapids airport on April 18 to welcome Honor Flight Veterans, and Larry Bushaw (Guardian) back from Washington DC. I hope you read Larry s to the club about his experience. It certainly confirms the value of our club s Honor Flight Veterans Appreciation Plaque effort. The next flight is Wednesday, May 18. Some reminders Coming up soon (May 15) is Cruising for Camp Courageous (all hands on deck for this one to make sure CRCC continues to win the Participation Award). Also, our Cruising the Avenue Car Show is June 11. Get involved to help if you can. Register your car whether you can go or not (it s a donation). Check our website regularly as Larry updates the rapidly expanding calendar of events with timing and details of these activities and many others. Speaking of the website, I thought I would add a little narrative to the picture on the website showing yours May 2016 Beyond the Glass 1 truly parked on the edge of the Bonneville Salt Flats. This picture was taken in October. Typically in October and November the Flats flood to a depth of three to six inches before drying out again in December. Normally anyone can drive out onto the Flats and drive as fast as they want at their own risk, and I had intended to take advantage of that. My plan was to let Linda out of the car so she could call 911, then proceed to run the car up to the limits of my nerve and stupidity I m thinking about 175 mph or so (easy to talk brave now). Being thwarted by the annual flooding was a blessing as I probably would have been the subject of a spectacular yet tragic story on the evening news. If you haven t already, try to determine the number of years you have been a member of the CRCC. Please report the result for you and your spouse (if applicable) to me at: clthompson623@gmail.com. Drive safe, Chris From the President 1 Executive Board Meeting Minutes 2 April Meeting Minutes 3-4 May Meeting Notice & Agenda 5 May a Glance / Save the Dates 5 May CRCC Monthly Dinner Cruise 6 Note from the Treasurer 6 May Birthdays & Anniversaries 6 Message from the Vice President 7 Camp Courageous Needs List 8 Cruise to Camp Courageous / Omelet Breakfast 8 CRCC Night at the Ballpark with the Kernels 8 Governor s Notes April 23 Governors Meeting 9 Cornering Therory for Autocross CRCC Officers & Committees 11 Tech Talk for May In Honor of Mother s Day Eastern Iowa Honor Flight Larry Bushaw 13 Former Members 13 Cars and Coffee 14 NCCC 2016 National Corvette Convention 14 In Appreciation CRCC Photo Gallery 15 Pat McGrath Chevyland 16

2 Cedar Rapids Corvette Club Executive Board Meeting, April 11, 2016 President Chris Thompson called the Executive Board Meeting to order at 6:33PM. There were 13 members present. Topics for Discussion: 1. Election ballot accountability: termines the number of eligible voting members. (All members as of December 1 st ). and submitted to the Secretary. from the Treasurer and the quantity mailed. Trustees. made to destroy all used and un-used ballots. Ballots will not be destroyed if someone requests a review of the ballots. 2. Membership effective dates: A CRCC annual membership shall run from January 1 st, until December 31 st. CRCC membership fees shall consist of an initial $5.00 fee and annual dues of $ Annual dues for a spouse or dependent age 18+ of a full paying member shall be $ Initial and renewal memberships paid after September 1 st will carry over throughout the next calendar year. Members paying their renewal dues after October 31 st will be required to pay an additional fee of $5.00. Previous members of CRCC who left in good standing will not be required to pay the $5.00 initiation fee or meet the requirements of By-law #2. A National Council of Corvette Club membership will be required of at least one member of each household to maintain the NCCC 51% rule. 3. Understanding of voter eligibility: 1. Monthly meeting membership voting: New CRCC members will not become official members of the club until being voted in at the monthly meeting and also have paid their annual dues. However, they do not become voting members until the first day of the following month. This is defined by the voting quorum calculation defined in By-Laws para Annual election voting: All members (new or existing) as of the conclusion of the November regular club meeting, regardless if they have paid their renewal or not, shall receive a ballot for the election of officers. 8. Ballot counting procedure when a Trustee is on the ballot: TRUSTEES: Audit the books semi-annually. Propose job description changes for all positions. Monitor and recommend changes in the By-laws and Standing Rules throughout the year. Count attendance at all regular meetings, and advise President of count for important votes (50% approval rule). Recommend secret ballot vote, as necessary at regular meetings, for issues that they see as important concerns. Advise and enforce By- Laws and Standing Rules. Count the annual officers election ballot votes, and announce their results at the Christmas Party. In the event one of the Trustees is on the ballot, the other two Trustees shall enlist a CRCC member who is not on the ballot or current officer, to assist in counting the votes. Other projects as recommended by the President. 9. CRCC Governor travel reimbursement policy CRCC will pay mileage at the current IRS rate. It will be figured one way to the Governor s meeting location. Lodging will be reimbursed under the host hotel and /or reasonable rates. Lodging and meals will be reimbursed by turning in receipts to the Treasurer. 10. Contract Authority The signature of two officers is required to sign a contract for the CRCC. A contract shall be signed by the President or Vice President and one Trustee. Bernie Willenborg has the original newsletter and picture for the Blue Bars. Bernie will resubmit it now that the Blue Bar editor realized it did not get published. Jim presented events that will be coming up this year. Tickets to the Kernel s game, golf tournament with a steak fry, cruise to the 61 drive-in theater, Boone Train ride, host and greeters for the cars that are coming in from the Great Race, car shows, and parades. Meeting was adjourned at 8:37 PM. Respectfully submitted by Secretary, Lori Brendes May 2016 Beyond the Glass 2

3 Cedar Rapids Corvette Club April 21, 2016 Meeting Minutes President Chris Thompson called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. He thanked John Baker and Pat McGrath for providing the food for tonight. President Chris Thompson asked Dick Butschi, Car Show Co-Chair, to introduce Olivia Mineo from Reflections Auto Detailing. Reflections Auto Detailing is a new major sponsor for the car show. Reflections Auto Detailing would like two cars to demo at the CRCC car show. President Chris Thompson welcomed and thanked members for coming to the March meeting. There were 80 members and four guests in attendance: Olivia Mineo, Curtis Ette, Brad Brown and Irv Graver. President Chris Thompson read a thank you letter from the Catherine McAuley Center for the hygiene items we have donated. CRCC received a certificate from the East Central Chapter of the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa for our ongoing financial support. Dick Butschi, Wayne Martin and Lori Brendes attended the Brain Injury Alliance banquet at Mercy Hospital on March 29 th. Good and Wellness: Paul Hildebrand thanked the club for our support and well wishes for his shoulder surgery and recovery. President Chris Thompson read the list of members celebrating birthdays and anniversaries during the month of April. President Chris Thompson thanked Jim McLaughlin for setting up the dinner at Tanner s Bar and Grill on Tuesday, April 14 th. Approval of Secretary s Report President Chris Thompson asked for any corrections or additions to the minutes of the March 17, 2016 meeting. There were no corrections or additions to the meeting minutes. President Chris Thompson called for a motion to approve the March meeting minutes. A motion was made by Paul Hildebrand and was seconded by Dianna Knutson to approve the March meeting minutes. The motion passed. Secretary Lori Brendes had no report. Approval of Treasurer s Report Treasurer Larry Bushaw read the April financial report. President Chris Thompson called for a motion to approve the April 2016 financial report as presented. A motion was made by Lyle Knutson and was seconded by John Watertor to approve the April financial report as presented. The motion passed. Webmaster Larry Bushaw shared that he continues to receive information for the website calendar. Please check the calendar for car related events in the area. Vice President Diane Bowen reported the 50/50 drawing amount. Vice President Diane Bowen sent letters out to the newsletter advertisers. We have lost a couple advertisers and would like to find some new ones to replace them. Governor Garland Groom shared that May 1 st the price for the convention goes up. At the Governor s meeting next month Garland will let NCCC know our charity of preference is St. Jude s Children s Hospital. Competition Director Mark Hamer was not present. There was no report. Social Director Jim McLaughlin shared that the May dinner will be Tuesday, May 10 th at The Vine in Iowa City. We will leave the Marion Wal-Mart at 5:30 PM. Camp Courageous caravan will leave from the Marion Wal-Mart at 9:00 on Sunday, May 15 th. There will be an Omelet Breakfast at the Marion American Legion at 7:45 AM on May 15 th. Reminder: 1. Sunday, April 24 th is the Omelet breakfast at 8:00 to noon at Camp Courageous. 2. Friday, April 29 th and Saturday, April 30 th is the Vintage Torque Fest in Dubuque at the Fairgrounds. Homecoming Director Tracy Rudd had no report. Editor Kathy Willenborg was not present. Bernie Willenborg shared that newsletter articles are due Wednesday, April 27 th. Bernie Willenborg thanked people for the toiletries for the Catherine McAuley Center. May 2016 Beyond the Glass 3

4 Historian Sue Rudd had no report. Messenger Bob Bowen shared that members need to keep him up to date on new addresses. He also reminded members to reply to the person that needs the information, do not reply to the club . NCCC Executive Larry Beebe had no report. Car Show Committee President Chris Thompson confirmed with the State authorities that we no longer need a raffle license. Co-Chair Wayne Martin shared that Quaker Oats have donated Quaker Bars again this year. Hills Bank has given us a $100 gift card. The Kernels will allow us to have 9 cars on the warning track the night of the Kernel s game on Saturday, May 28 th. Dick Butschi shared a list of things members can do to help make the car show a success. He asked that each member take one book of tickets for the Klein Tool raffles. We will have breakfast at HyVee at 6:30AM before the car show on Saturday, June 11 th. If the parkade is not available for the car show it will be moved to the HyVee parking lot. Old Business Paul Hildebrand thanked people who helped get things ready for the Hawkeye Downs Swap meet. New Business A. Cedar Valley Street Rods would like four volunteers to help with set-up for Camp Courageous on Saturday, May 14 th at 8:30. They also need help cleaning up after the car show. B. Vote on proposed Standing Rules updates Election ballot accountability process (New topic) A motion was made by Paul Hildebrand and was seconded by Linda Thompson to vote to approve the Election ballot accountability process. The motion passed. Definition of annual membership dates (Added to Club Dues para.) A motion was made by Lyle Knutson and was seconded by John Stutzman to vote to approve the definition of annual membership dates. The motion passed. Voter eligibility (New Topic) A motion was made by Pat McElliott and was seconded by John Dolphin to vote to approve the voter eligibility. The motion passed. Ballot counting process when a Trustee is on the ballot (Added to Trustee s Duties) A motion was made by Dean McCall and was seconded by Tracy Rudd to vote to approve the ballot counting process when a Trustee is on the ballot. The motion passed. CRCC Governor travel reimbursement policy (New topic) A motion was made by Dianna Knutson and was seconded by Pat McElliott to vote to approve the CRCC Governor travel reimbursement policy. The motion passed. Contract signature authority (New topic) A motion was made by John Dolphin and was seconded by Jan Elm to vote to approve the contract signature authority. The motion passed. The 50/50 drawing winner was JB Baker. John Dolphin won the door prize. President Chris Thompson called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. A motion was made by Jim McLaughlin and seconded by Larry Beebe to adjourn the meeting. The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 PM. The next CRCC monthly meeting will be Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 7:00 at Pat McGrath Chevyland. Respectfully submitted by Secretary, Lori Brendes May 2016 Beyond the Glass 4

5 CRCC Monthly Meeting Notice The next CRCC monthly meeting will be Thursday, May 19 th at Pat McGrath Chevyland starting at 6:30 PM. PLEASE NOTE: We will have a guest speaker before the meeting starting at 6:30 PM. (See Diane s article on Page 7). We invite you to come to enjoy this presentation before the start of the meeting at 7:00 P.M. It is important for you to attend! Our meetings wouldn t be the same without your attendance, participation, and ideas! May CRCC Meeting 1. Welcome & vote in potential new members 2. Good & Wellness 3. Review & approve the previous meeting's minutes 4. Review & approve the Financial Report 5. Officers Reports 6. Committee Reports 7. Old Business 8. New Business 9. Adjourn 1 st May Day! 8 th Mother s Day! 10 th CRCC Monthly The Vine 15 th Camp Courageous Car Show 18 th Veterans Honor Flight 19 th CRCC Monthly Meeting at Pat McGrath Chevyland-earlier start 6:30 PM 21 st Armed Forces Day! 21 st 30 th Annual 4 th Street Cruise - Waterloo 28 th CRCC Kernel s Game 28 th 30 th Marshalltown 21-Event Weekend 30 th Memorial Day! Be sure to continue to check the website on a regular basis for details and updates May 2016 Beyond the Glass 5 Saturday, June 4 th 9 th Annual Cruis n For The Kids Car Show in Iowa City Saturday, June 11 th Cruisin the Ave CRCC Charity Car Show

6 Happy Birthday in May to: GET READY TO CRUISE!! Our May Dinner Cruise will be on Tuesday, May 10 th to The Vine located at 39 2 nd Street (Hwy 6) in Coralville. We will depart from the Marion Wal-Mart at 5:30 PM. Please RSVP to me at bread1112@gmail.com if you plan to join us. Hope to see you there. Thanks, Jim McLaughlin From Your Treasurer: CRCC members. When you write a check for any club event, activity, or membership dues, simply write that check to the Cedar Rapids Corvette Club or CRCC. Do NOT write those checks to an individual club member. When that happens, either the check needs to be re-written or the club member chased down for an endorsement prior to the club endorsement. The check does not need to be written to CRCC Car Show, CRCC Autocross, etc. simply CRCC. I need actual store receipts for club expense reimbursement NOT just some handwritten receipt. Paul Pate 05/01 Sharon Groom 05/02 Lowell Phelps 05/05 Nyla McCall 05/09 Sharon Goldsmith 05/11 Fawn Shatek 05/15 Jan Gilmour 05/16 Cookie Phelps 05/22 Cecilia McCrea 05/26 Todd Davis 05/30 Diane Gienapp 05/30 Happy Anniversary in May to: Richard & Deb Rozinek 05/01 Dennis & Terry Primrose 05/02 Dan & Barb Colby 05/06 Jack & Jan Gilmour 05/06 Don & Sandy Johnson 05/06 Bob & Julie May 05/07 Jerry & Jan Elm 05/08 Todd & Kayla Davis 05/10 Jerry & Kathie Adams 05/13 Jim & Laura McLaughlin 05/13 Jeff & Elizabeth Kurth 05/14 Del & Kathy Winter 05/20 Mark & Sue Hamer 05/25 Dan & Karla McMurrin 05/27 Lyle & Dianna Knutson 05/29 During club events such as the car show or autocross, DO NOT make purchases from money received that day. I can NOT show a line item debit when the money has never been deposited into our account. It may be a hassle, but please purchase the item personally, save the receipt, and you WILL be reimbursed. Thank you, Larry Bushaw, CRCC Treasurer May 2016 Beyond the Glass 6

7 Another month has flown by. May is coming up with our first car show being Camp Courageous on Sunday, May 15. Please sign up even if you can t attend. It s a donation to a great charity. Also if you have another special car, not a Corvette, you and your friends can sign up under the club name. We are trying again this year to win the top award for the club with the most participation. The Cedar Valley Street Rods would also like some help setting up on Saturday at 8:00 AM and help after the car show with tear down. They are a small group but do a great job putting on such a large car show. As the saying goes: many hands make light work. We didn t discuss this at the meeting, but we usually bring up some needed supplies for a donation. Check further in the newsletter for more information on this. Also, check for the caravan leave time from the Marion Walmart. It s quite breath-taking to see all those Corvettes (Cars) entering the Camp grounds. Also at the May 19 meeting I have arranged for Alan Zumbach (hope I m not butchering his name) from Country Auto Restoration to give us a presentation and tips on what we can do to get our Corvettes ready for summer and all the car shows and events. Most of the presentation will be driven by your questions, so start making your list. It will start at 6:30 PM at McGrath s service center. I will have some goodies for us to snack on. I have had feedback from a number of you wanting some ideas as to what can be safely used on your Corvettes. Also, in the results in the questionnaire I had a number of you (men?) say that this would be a good topic for the women of the club. I suggest if they are not interested, maybe they could gather in the lounge to visit. Alan is a good friend of club member, Tom Oakley. He has done the artwork under Tom s Corvette s hoods and George Letson s Corvette. He also did the ghost flames on Larry Beebe s red Vette. I believe he did the beautiful paint job on Larry Bushaw s little toy, the red Fiero. Come early for the meeting, have some snacks and maybe pick up a helpful tip or two. For those of you turning in Scholarships, the deadline for the National Scholarship is past, but you still have time to make a copy of it and turn it into Club member Larry Beebe for consideration for the West Region Scholarship to be awarded in September. Put your tops down (on the Corvettes), open your windows and enjoy the beautiful Iowa weather and scenery. See you out and about! Diane Bowen May 2016 Beyond the Glass 7 THANK YOU to all of our advertisers that support us through the CRCC newsletter and our Cruisin the Ave Charity Car Show!

8 To follow up on Diane s article on Page 7 referencing donating supplies to Camp Courageous, listed below are the categories of the items that the camp is in need of. As you look these over, if you would like to take any supplies to Camp Courageous on the 15 th, you can go to their website at to see a complete list of their needs. The categories include: Program, Nature Center, Travel Program, Dietary, Pharmacy, Office, Outdoor Living, Medical Supplies, Arts and Crafts, Maintenance, Housekeeping and Train. The website s Needs List is color-coded to highlight their commonly and urgently needed supplies. If this is something you would like to do, just bring your items with you to the car show. I m sure any and all items will be greatly appreciated. Kathy As is our custom, we will cruise together to Camp Courageous for the car show. We plan to leave from the Marion Wal-Mart at 9:00 AM. Also that morning, the Marion American Legion is serving their Omelet breakfast. The breakfast includes omelets made to order (from a choice of foods including ham, olives, peppers, cheese, and mushrooms), breakfast potatoes, toast, link sausage and beverage for $7.00! Quite a bargain and delicious! We are having a CRCC "Night at the Ballpark", with the Kernels on Saturday May 28 th! We have 50 tickets and can get more, all in one area behind one of the dugouts, in the more comfortable seats. The seats are $8.00 each (even for children). The tickets are available for all CRCC members AND you can purchase them for family and friends. It s going to be a fun night with the usual games and antics between innings!! They will have fireworks scheduled on that night after the game. To reserve your tickets, Jim McLaughlin at bread1112@gmail.com. You may pay cash or make checks out to CRCC. You can receive tickets at the May regular meeting or you can make other arrangements with me. Please notice that no refund will be available. You may sell or give tickets to friends or family. Also on that night, the Raffle/Door Prize Committee will be selling raffle tickets for the Klein Tool collection from a booth on the concourse in back of home plate. You do not have to sell tickets. You are under no obligation to help with the sales that night. There also will be a pregame activity where 8 to 10 Corvettes will be parading around the warning track with some of the Kernels players. If you are interested in that aspect of the night, please contact Dick Butschi at captart66@fmtc.com. First come, first serve. At present there is no special parking for the Corvettes that night. It also is suggested to park your daily drivers a ways from the stadium in case of foul balls. Activities will start around 5:45 or 6:00 PM. Game time is 6:35 PM. Gates open at 5:30. Parading Vettes should be there a bit earlier at 5:15 PM. More information to follow on this. Jim McLaughlin The American Legion staff will be ready to serve at 7:45 AM. You might want to plan to be there a little early. This should give us all time to eat and get on the road at 9:00 AM. Jim Chevrolet trademarks used with the written permission of General Motors. May 2016 Beyond the Glass 8

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11 2016 CRCC Officers & Committees Elected Officers: President Chris Thompson Vice President Diane Bowen Secretary Lori Brendes Treasurer Larry Bushaw Social Director Jim McLaughlin Homecoming Director Tracy Rudd Governor Garland Groom Competition Director Mark Hamer Editor Kathy Willenborg Historian Sue Rudd Trustee (1 year) Dave Marsden Trustee (2 year) Paul Hildebrand Trustee (3 year) Brian Richardson Appointed Officers: Messenger Bob Bowen Webmaster Larry Bushaw Car Show Committee Chairpersons: Co-Chairperson Dick Butschi Co-Chairperson Bob Bitterman mastertoolmfg.com Co-Chairperson Wayne Martin NCCC Officers from CRCC: WR Regional Executive Larry Beebe WR Regional Secretary Chris Beebe Our big day, Saturday, June 11 th, is not far away! Hope everyone is ready to help in any way that they can. There was a check list in last month's newsletter of things you can do to support the show. Remember who we're trying to help out with this event. It's not about us, but 4 very worthy local charities. The big news with the show involves the current construction being done on the parking lot adjacent to the top of the parkade near Younker's. It certainly looks like at this time that the show will be held in the Hy-Vee parking lot, just west of the parkade. The lot is owned by Lindale and apparently we have the blessing of Hy-Vee to move it there, at least for this year. Many details will have to be worked out with Lindale, Hy-Vee and some other businesses there, but your cochairs and the other usual suspects are working on this plan. So spread the word to anyone you know that would be coming to the show. We will do what we can to ease the confusion. We are really pushing our raffle sales this year for our Klein Tool collection. Klein Tools, Inc. has generously donated a high grade tool collection to us for the past 4-5 years. This year they even upped their donation to a collection worth over $1,500! This should be our single-largest moneymaker for the show, or at least a close second. We had a great start at the April 9 th Swap Meet at Hawkeye Downs, selling over $300 worth of tickets. We have a night at the ballpark for a CR Kernels game scheduled on Saturday, May 28 th, (complete with fireworks following the game) where the raffle committee will be set up at a table on the concourse, selling more raffle tickets. You can personally get involved with the sales by contacting co-chair Dick Butschi at captart66@fmtcs.com. He will get tickets to you, and a list and photo of the collection to aid in your sales pitch. We hope that every member will do their part. It's an easy way to pitch in. The tools make excellent gifts, if you don't really need tools. Sign the names of kids, grandkids and other family members and friends. It's a heckuva collection and your odds are much better at winning this than the Powerball! And you're going to help a lot of people less fortunate than yourselves. Thank you! Your humble car show co-chairs May 2016 Beyond the Glass 11

12 Installing a 4-post lift by Larry Bushaw OK, let's talk about an item that most of us car lovers would love to have - a 4-post lift! I personally have participated in the installation of 6 lifts including my own of 20+ years. We store our Corvette up above one of our Hondas. I'll just touch on the basics so that you get an idea of really how simple they are to install. One lift brand that we are currently very pleased with is the Direct Lift brand which sells in a very reasonable neighborhood of $2500. When this lift package of pounds arrives at your home you will need the assistance of 4 "young" guys or in the case of our club, 6-7 "old" guys (I did install mine by myself but nobody believes me - of course that was 20+ years ago). The lifts are packaged with the two long HEAVY runways bolted to large disposable end brackets with all the other pieces packaged inside the runways. One big package! The 4 post are simply laid on the floor so that each of the 2 cross beams can be slid down to the first locking position. When the post are then stood up, this locking position holds the cross beams approximately 2' off the floor. Now one end of each of the runways are lifted and bolted to the cross beam. After that, do the same with the other end of the runways and the other two post and cross beam. Now - the MOST important step. The lock release shaft has to be inserted from the front of the runway. Since we rarely listen to the person (sorry Bob) reading the instructions, we miss the part where 10-12' of clearance from the front is required. JD had to drag his lift out the garage door with his tractor for us to have the clearance. If you have room, put the lift together sideways and then turn it after the release shaft has been installed. It's surprisingly easy to turn. Now it's just a matter of hooking the cables to the brackets at the top of the posts, pouring in the hydraulic fluid, and plugging in the power. After the lift is run up and down a couple of times, it's a simple procedure to adjust the cables so that they are all the same tension. In Honor of Mother s Day... Were You Homeschooled? My Mother taught me... Religion You better pray that will come out of the carpet. Foresight Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you re in an accident. Weather This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it. Wisdom When you get to be my age, you ll understand. Behavior Modification Stop acting like your father. Envy There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don t have wonderful parents like you do. My lift allowed me to get 5 of my cars in the garage - Genetics You re just like your father. unfortunately, I still have to rent garage space for number 6! May 2016 Beyond the Glass 12

13 CRCC Members, Monday (April 18) I participated as a guardian on my second Eastern Iowa Honor Flight. I want to thank the members who came out to the airport Monday night to welcome the veterans back to Cedar Rapids. You just can't imagine how moving this welcome is to the returning veterans. The veteran that I was assisting was just in shock and awe that strangers would come out that late to welcome him and the other vets home. Marjory had embroidered the CRCC logo on my honor flight shirt. The veterans thru out the day saw that and questioned why my shirt had that logo on it. I explained (without going into detail about the plaques) that our club has sponsored the last 22 of the 23 flights of EIHF. They were impressed that our small club has had such an impact on the flights. Later on the flight home when they received "mail call" which contained the EIHF/CRCC plaques, I had many of them stop at my seat to thank me and our club. WELL DONE CRCC let's keep this going. We have enough funds in the budget to handle the remaining 3 flights this year but will have to do something to raise money for next year's flights. I am so proud of this club and our philanthropic efforts. If you have a chance to sign up as a guardian, DO IT. It will be an adventure you will not forget! Larry Bushaw Reminder: The next Eastern Iowa Honor Flight is scheduled for Wednesday, May 18 th. Come out to the Eastern Iowa Airport to welcome our Veterans home! Former CRCC members living in The Villages, Florida When Jim and Laura McLaughlin vacationed in Florida earlier this year, they made a stop at The Villages, Florida to visit with former long-time CRCC members Kurt & Connie Crispin. Memorial Day May 30 th Honoring our Veterans this Memorial Day and Every Day. Thank you for your service! May 2016 Beyond the Glass 13

14 The following story is the result of a high school English class project of my granddaughter Mikayla Bowen. She came to our coffee one morning to "observe", unknown to the rest of us. She didn't take any notes, she wrote the story from memory. This is her "observation" she called the story "Cars and Coffee" and she got a grade of "A" for it. Enjoy, Bob Cars and Coffee It gives me something to look forward to and get up. Bob Bowen and his buddies have been going out for coffee and breakfast every weekday morning for 8 years. This is a morning ritual that Bowen, my grandpa, looks forward to every morning. This morning I was honored to attend this daily tradition with my brother. As we walked into the Lindale Hy-Vee, we could smell the rich, piquant aroma of coffee, hear the bacon sizzling in the pans, and taste the greasy sausage in the air. We place our order; a country style skillet with no mushrooms for me and a ham and cheese omelet for my brother. Then we walk over to where Bob Bowen and the usual attendees are holding court in the middle of a small corner of the grocery store chock full of mostly empty tables. All of the occupants of the small corner looked like they were all collecting social security. We got here a little late and most of the men gathered around the table have already finished eating and have left a stack of dirty dishes, somewhat resembling the Leaning Tower of Pisa, on the booth behind their long train of tables. It was a smaller group than usual today, about seven in total. All of the men have retired. Some are Bowen s old Rockwell coworkers, others are old high school friends, or others are members of the Cedar Rapids Corvette Club. Everybody doesn t go everyday. Somebody's always there. Some days there s four of us some days there s 12 of us. It just depends on the guy s schedules are, what they got going on. Bob tries to attend every day because he enjoys visiting and learning from the others. As you look around the table, you see that almost each of the men have some sort of portable device, such as a laptop, tablet, or smartphone, in their hands. At times, you can even catch them huddled around their devices like penguins on a cold Antarctic morning. Their favorite topic to discuss cars. Bowen shares, Somebody will have a question about a car; how do you do this or that? Somebody will look it up or somebody says, Oh, my sister-in-law is looking for a car for her kid, or something so that guys will get on there (their devices) and look and go Well, here s a good one. Today is a special occasion. Dave's brother from Arizona is visiting for the week. He is staying at Dave's house so he tagged along with Dave to coffee. Rod, Dave's brother, is also interested in cars. Back in Arizona, he is taking a Corvette C5 Z06 and putting a Cavalier body on it. This didn't have any significance to me, but when my brother heard this his face lit up like a candle. Rod showed my brother and Grandpa pictures of the work in progress. My brother kept on asking questions about how he was able to move the Cavalier body on to the frame of the other car. During this exchange, I felt like a person looking into a fish bowl. About 4 months ago, Mr. Bean s in Marion, the place where they attended breakfast each morning, closed down. For about a month they went from place to place looking for a new home. They have moved before, but this was a more devastating move for them. The first year they went to McDonald s and then moved to Mr. Bean s after going and liking it so much. After a month of searching, they decided that Lindale Hy-Vee would be their new home. When asked about their recent move to Hy-Vee, Bob says, I keep complaining to them that it quadrupled my drive time but nobody has any sympathy for that because some of them are driving from the west side of Cedar Rapids or farther, he also adds, (At Hy- Vee) You get free refills on your coffee! They are hoping that Mr. Bean s will reopen, but until then at least they have a home. Bowen shares why he believes this morning tradition is so important, I think you have to have something to look forward to in the morning. You can t just get up and lay around the house. In that respect I think it has been real good for everybody. Many of the men who come to coffee have lost their spouses in the last few years, I think it s been real good for them to get out of the house and not withdraw into a shell. This daily ritual has made such an impact on Bowen and all of his companions. Make your plans now to attend the 2016 NCCC National Corvette Convention in Omaha, Nebraska from July hosted by the Cornhusker Corvette Club. There are several racing competitions planned as well as a rallye, car show and the valve cover races. They have scheduled several tours throughout the week including the Henry Doorly Zoo and SAC Museum. The evenings include a Heroes of the Heartland as a special tribute to Veterans and a Hollywood star dress-up party! This also is a chance to make new friends and see all their Corvettes as they come from across the country. May 2016 Beyond the Glass 14

15 On March 29 th CRCC received this certificate from the Brain Injury Alliance of Iowa, East Central Chapter for our financial support over the past several years from our Cruisin the Ave Charity Car Show. On April 18, 2016, Larry Bushaw went as a guardian for a Veteran on the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight #23. See Larry s story on Page 13. John Dolphin is a member of the American Legion Post 298 Color Guard and they were at the airport to welcome the returning Veterans along with several CRCC members. May 2016 Beyond the Glass 15

16 May 2016 Beyond the Glass 16