I would like to say thanks to the many people this weekend who helped make this event not only a gathering of great cars but also a gathering of great people, a devoted group of diehards to the cause of Buick Performance. This was my first time being part of an event and the amount of thanks I got and hugs and high fives meant a lot and truly showed that hard work does not go un noticed. This is in no particular order either:
Sean Ryder- Keeps everything organized and leadership capabilities keeps the event flowing smoothly and also has a really great sense of humor when you know how to deal with sarcasm, as I have learned.
Brad Conley- Diehard Buick through and through, fellow Ohioan, always willing to go above and beyond and look at all the angles to get the job done right. Great person and great sense of humor to get you through whatever challenges may lie ahead.
Adam Martin- Buick guru and always willing to help out and advise people like myself with no knowledge of car shows to get the job done right and always has a smile on his face. A great guy who deserves more credit than he definitely gets.
Richard Clark/Dennis Kirban/Anthony Petridis- My other crew of judges who worked separately and did a fantastic job as well. Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing them all in one location and it was great to have all these people at the event in one location as well.
Jason/Dean Papageorge- Both diehard Buick/TTA owners who always are on hand for the event and always willing to help out and do more without being asked. Truly great father/son combination and always a pleasure to talk and be around. True car guys!
Marco, Yardley, Jacob Martinez- Great people who made me feel well at home and helped out whenever it was asked of them.
Renee/Denny- Ran the race program very well and dealt with racers first class. I heard many positive comments all weekend so they obviously know how to treat customer aka the racers the right way!
Rod/Danie- The best race crew in the world. Whether its grilling out or busting my chops they are awesome to be around and it was great to see Rod crack a 7 sec pass after swearing at the race car for not running during Round 1 of Quick 16. Super fun, and down to earth people and always a lot of fun to be around as well.
Huber, Jeff, the Magna crew- always there to help and did a great job assisting me and running the sound for the guest speaker presentations. Huber did everything we asked of and then some to make everything run super smooth.
Last but not least, Jim Chaudrue. Between many 2-3 hour phone calls him and i shared prior to the event, sometimes several days a week (as in every day lol) he never let up with a passion for Buicks and TTAs that is few and far between. It is easy to complain and be negative on the internet and say you can fix all the problems of events. But he is a person who can deliver an event, AN AWESOME EVENT, and i feel very fortunate to have been able to work with him delivering in my mind a great collection of cars and the men who put these cars from the chalk board to the street/track. The undertaking as others can tell you to run, promote, execute and market a fantastic event is tiresome and thankless. I have gotten a great many emails, phone calls and texts saying how much they enjoyed the event and im glad everyone enjoyed themselves. Jim did a fabulous job for an event 2 years in the making and many of the owners came up to me and were so happy to be put in the event and to have a place to meet other owners it was awesome for me to see and obviously more so for them to participate and be a part of something that may never happen again, EVER. But if I know Jim, im sure he is keeping a few ideas for another down the road. He is exceptional in the logistics, management and execution of what needs to be done and his crew of Frank, Frank Jr, Hooper, Dean/Jason, Jeff and others who helped him is second to none. I couldnt have done my presentations without them and they did an exceptional job. People do not realize how hard it is to formulate an idea to get people excited to shell out a large amount of money to attend an event and feel they got their money's worth. For years people on this board and others i frequent shred or rip other event promoters or track reps to know end with some unbelievable childish and condescending words, to some that may be hurtful. To me its the people and fun of seeing and meeting new Buick friends which is what burns inside me to turn out a great product. Im a virtual nobody in the Buick world which is how i love it and i will never get my name on a track or on a Wheaties box, i really dont care to either. But to me its about delivering a great product. I invite the naysayers and critics to take on the task of finding a track, hotels, logistics, calling vendors, owners, print/internet/video media to get the word out about an event. Before you criticize step into our world, its a tough one with tough decisions that sometimes can aggravate people. So next time when you are at an event say thanks give a handshake do something to make the volunteers or directors feel that their time hours energy etc was put to good use. I hate hearing the negativity and complaints like a bunch of old ladies, even my 85 y/o grandma doesnt complain that much. The community is getting smaller and what little we have left cant we let bygones and grudge issues from 20 years ago go away for the sake of fun for the Buick community. If not who knows as the Buick community and the word dying i heard a lot this weekend. I dont want to accept that fate and neither should you, just lets do our part to keep it all alive. Because if not, well i dont have to tell you what will happen.
Im going on the back burner for now but later this year i should be involved with something more local to Ohio TR owners as well as some other ideas im trying to map out for the Buick horizon.
Thanks again for everyone who came i had a blast and i may have some surprises in store soon hehe.
Also thanks to Andrew Fillipone who had a wonderful time recording the presentations for his movie. Outstanding person who is really devoted to his work and im glad he came. Cant wait to see the movie as he sounds already like a guy who has been around these cars since '87. And that makes me happy and peace of mind as well!
Also thanks for the warm welcome from Jeremy Wood, Jason Maxfield, Filip Cvetkovic, Mark Fennel, Bill Roberts, Paul Beal, the Ontario crew and many others for their support and thanks again for your help!
Sean Ryder- Keeps everything organized and leadership capabilities keeps the event flowing smoothly and also has a really great sense of humor when you know how to deal with sarcasm, as I have learned.
Brad Conley- Diehard Buick through and through, fellow Ohioan, always willing to go above and beyond and look at all the angles to get the job done right. Great person and great sense of humor to get you through whatever challenges may lie ahead.
Adam Martin- Buick guru and always willing to help out and advise people like myself with no knowledge of car shows to get the job done right and always has a smile on his face. A great guy who deserves more credit than he definitely gets.
Richard Clark/Dennis Kirban/Anthony Petridis- My other crew of judges who worked separately and did a fantastic job as well. Everyone seemed to enjoy seeing them all in one location and it was great to have all these people at the event in one location as well.
Jason/Dean Papageorge- Both diehard Buick/TTA owners who always are on hand for the event and always willing to help out and do more without being asked. Truly great father/son combination and always a pleasure to talk and be around. True car guys!
Marco, Yardley, Jacob Martinez- Great people who made me feel well at home and helped out whenever it was asked of them.
Renee/Denny- Ran the race program very well and dealt with racers first class. I heard many positive comments all weekend so they obviously know how to treat customer aka the racers the right way!
Rod/Danie- The best race crew in the world. Whether its grilling out or busting my chops they are awesome to be around and it was great to see Rod crack a 7 sec pass after swearing at the race car for not running during Round 1 of Quick 16. Super fun, and down to earth people and always a lot of fun to be around as well.
Huber, Jeff, the Magna crew- always there to help and did a great job assisting me and running the sound for the guest speaker presentations. Huber did everything we asked of and then some to make everything run super smooth.
Last but not least, Jim Chaudrue. Between many 2-3 hour phone calls him and i shared prior to the event, sometimes several days a week (as in every day lol) he never let up with a passion for Buicks and TTAs that is few and far between. It is easy to complain and be negative on the internet and say you can fix all the problems of events. But he is a person who can deliver an event, AN AWESOME EVENT, and i feel very fortunate to have been able to work with him delivering in my mind a great collection of cars and the men who put these cars from the chalk board to the street/track. The undertaking as others can tell you to run, promote, execute and market a fantastic event is tiresome and thankless. I have gotten a great many emails, phone calls and texts saying how much they enjoyed the event and im glad everyone enjoyed themselves. Jim did a fabulous job for an event 2 years in the making and many of the owners came up to me and were so happy to be put in the event and to have a place to meet other owners it was awesome for me to see and obviously more so for them to participate and be a part of something that may never happen again, EVER. But if I know Jim, im sure he is keeping a few ideas for another down the road. He is exceptional in the logistics, management and execution of what needs to be done and his crew of Frank, Frank Jr, Hooper, Dean/Jason, Jeff and others who helped him is second to none. I couldnt have done my presentations without them and they did an exceptional job. People do not realize how hard it is to formulate an idea to get people excited to shell out a large amount of money to attend an event and feel they got their money's worth. For years people on this board and others i frequent shred or rip other event promoters or track reps to know end with some unbelievable childish and condescending words, to some that may be hurtful. To me its the people and fun of seeing and meeting new Buick friends which is what burns inside me to turn out a great product. Im a virtual nobody in the Buick world which is how i love it and i will never get my name on a track or on a Wheaties box, i really dont care to either. But to me its about delivering a great product. I invite the naysayers and critics to take on the task of finding a track, hotels, logistics, calling vendors, owners, print/internet/video media to get the word out about an event. Before you criticize step into our world, its a tough one with tough decisions that sometimes can aggravate people. So next time when you are at an event say thanks give a handshake do something to make the volunteers or directors feel that their time hours energy etc was put to good use. I hate hearing the negativity and complaints like a bunch of old ladies, even my 85 y/o grandma doesnt complain that much. The community is getting smaller and what little we have left cant we let bygones and grudge issues from 20 years ago go away for the sake of fun for the Buick community. If not who knows as the Buick community and the word dying i heard a lot this weekend. I dont want to accept that fate and neither should you, just lets do our part to keep it all alive. Because if not, well i dont have to tell you what will happen.
Im going on the back burner for now but later this year i should be involved with something more local to Ohio TR owners as well as some other ideas im trying to map out for the Buick horizon.
Thanks again for everyone who came i had a blast and i may have some surprises in store soon hehe.
Also thanks to Andrew Fillipone who had a wonderful time recording the presentations for his movie. Outstanding person who is really devoted to his work and im glad he came. Cant wait to see the movie as he sounds already like a guy who has been around these cars since '87. And that makes me happy and peace of mind as well!
Also thanks for the warm welcome from Jeremy Wood, Jason Maxfield, Filip Cvetkovic, Mark Fennel, Bill Roberts, Paul Beal, the Ontario crew and many others for their support and thanks again for your help!
