John Spinella
Greetings Fellow Rocketeers,
I certainly hope everyone is well and chipper heading into this holiday season; if not, I hope whatever is ailing you comes to pass. We’ve finally had a break in the weather, a little desperately needed rain helped out with the above normal heat and we ended up with some chilly mornings and beautiful afternoons. That’s what I call a great trade off! Enjoy it while you can because before we know it we’ll be back in the ol’ Florida furnace again. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a great and happy holiday season and a prosperous and happy new year! It seems like it sneaks up on us a little quicker every year… I need to get a slower calendar! Maybe it’s those Oldsmobile’s on my calendar that make things go by so fast… a Ford calendar should be much slower (I crack me up!)
Let’s get down to what this letter is supposed to be about, Club activities! If you missed the Club Meeting in November, you missed a good one. Plant City is old school Florida, a sleepy little suburb of the craziness of Tampa. A lot of farm land, cattle and friendly down to earth people. I know this first hand… I lived there once upon a time. The “Strawberry Classic Cruise In” was the destination of choice and once again, it did not disappoint. We started out meeting at the Whistle Stop Café for some delicious lunch and our monthly Club Meeting. I reserved the Car Room once again for us to eat and meet. It’s a very nice automotive themed semi private area of the restaurant where we took care of Club business… You know, ate! But wait! There’s more, yes, we also had our monthly Club Meeting and held elections for Club Officers. The results are as follows: President, John Spinella (yeah, you’re stuck with me for another year) Vice President: Pat Whissel, Secretary: Kerri Berman, Treasurer: George Maniates, and last but certainly least Chapter Rep. Pat Higgins. Pat’s not really least, I figured I’d get his attention! Those are your 2024 Club Officers. I’d like to thank Karen Stutzman for all her years of loyal service to the Club. I’m sure George will hit the ground running trying to keep things as up to date as Karen did.
The Cruise In, as always had a couple of hundred cars all lined up and sparkling clean. There was such a great variety to look at and be amazed by. Everyone had a great time, several vendors were in attendance and the various antique shops as well as other various shops were open for business. As usual, the occasional Am Trak Train came cruising by. There was plenty to do and enjoy.
Well, that’s all the senseless babbling I have for now, please stay safe, enjoy the Holidays and as always, keep those Rockets rolling!
John