September 2014

President’s Report 2

Club Minutes 3

Cruises 6

Calendar 6

Checker Convention 4

Fall Car Show Flyer 5

Sponsors 7

Editor’s Comments 8

A monthly publication of the South Georgia Classic Car Club

Driver’s Seat

Table of Contents

About SGCCC

The South Georgia

Classic Car Club was

founded in April, 1984 as

a not-for-profit organiza-

tion dedicated to the res-

toration, preservation,

and enjoyment of special

interest automobiles.

The Driver’s Seat is the

official publication of the

SGCCC. It is printed,

published, and distrib-

uted during the last week

of each month to all club

members. All information

contained herein is not

necessarily the opinion or

the position of club mem-

bers, its officers, and/or

advertisers.

To submit content for

inclusion in the newslet-

ter, please e-mail the

editor, editor@sgccc.org

or mail to SGCCC News-

letter, 4017 N Oak St

Ext, Valdosta, GA 31605.

All other correspondence

should be sent to,

SGCCC, P.O. Box 403,

Valdosta, GA 31603, or e

- m a i l t o : p r e s i -

dent@sgccc.org

Your Officers President:

Rick Hastings

1st Vice President:

David Boyd

2nd Vice President:

Walt Prettyman

Secretary:

Bob Raffaele

Treasurer:

Donna Roberson

Chaplain:

Paul Worth

Driver’s Seat Editor:

David Boyd

Web Master:

Madonna Terry

C. Rick Hastings

Aw September--cooler days, longer nights and, of course, “are

you ready for some football”. And, thankfully, cooler nights for our cruise-

ins. Our three monthly cruise-ins-2nd Saturday, 3rd Thursday, and 1st Friday-

have all been well attended. The most recent event, held at Wild Adventures

on August 16th, was likewise well attended with eleven club members’ rides

and three guests in attendance.

Our club mascot--the Police Cruiser-continues to be worked on at Lang-

dale Ford in Valdosta. Repairs are in progress with no real completion date

to report at this writing.

Up-coming activities for club members and guests include our monthly

meeting scheduled on Tuesday, September 2nd at Austin’s Steak House from 6

-8pm. Our 1st Friday cruise-in is scheduled for Friday, September 5th from 6-

8pm in downtown Valdosta on Valley St. by the old Lowndes County Court-

house. Our second Saturday of the month cruise-in at Steak N’ Shake will

be on September 13th from 5-8 pm. The Third Thursday cruise-in for Sep-

tember will be the 18th at 6pm at Steak N’ Shake in Valdosta. These events

are open to all car clubs or individuals that wish to display their vehicles.

Our Fall Car show is scheduled for Saturday, November 8, 2014 and will

be held at the Valdosta Mall. The organizing committee has met twice at this

point-the next scheduled meeting is on September 9th at 6:30pm--location

to be announced. We are excited that the show is “right around the cor-

ner” and will need everyone’s help to ensure success of our show.

Keep your copy of the “Drivers Seat” handy to keep track of everything

going on. And, of course, consult our Facebook page and our website-

SGCCC.org, for on-going updates of club activities, car shows, etc.

Let‘s have a great month………..Rick

President’s Report

August 5, 2014

Meeting: Convened at 6:55 pm by Club President, Rick Hastings, at Austin’s Cattle Company. The Opening Prayer and Pledge of Allegiance were led by Paul Worth and Logan Birdsong respec-tively. There were 28 members and 2 guests in attendance.

Minutes: The July minutes were read by club Secretary Bob Raffaele and were accepted by those present.

Treasurer’s Report: Donna Roberson gave the July Treasurer’s Report and it was accepted as read. For a copy of the report, contact a club officer.

Old Business:

Walt Prettyman reported the club cruiser is currently at Langdale Ford. One of their senior technicians is working on repairs as time permits.

Rick reported that both attendance and foot traffic were down at the most recent Steak-n-Shake Cruise-Ins. At this point no one is sure if this due to the new location or the high summer tempera-tures.

The July cruise to Burton’s Peach shed was enjoyed by 2 dozen members who braved the heat and gnats.

The August edition of downtown Valdosta’s First Friday program was attended by 6 members and their cars. Unfortunately a downpour ended the event early.

New Business:

A Cruise to Wild Adventures is planned for August 16th.

Details will follow via e-mail.

The Downtown First Friday on September 5th may be the last one with our participation unless atten-

dance improves.

The Fall Car Show will be November 8th at the Valdosta Mall. It takes many members to staff this

event. Early volunteers are: Walt will do trophies once again. Bill Higgins and Bob Barrett will park cars, Madonna will do publicity, Donna’s in charge of hospitality and David will do registration. Many, many more members are needed to help with these and other show positions.

The 50/50 drawing was won by Bob Raffaele and donated back to the club’s treasury.

Meeting: Adjourned at 7:40 pm

Submitted by Bob Raffaele, Club Secretary

Minutes

Don’t Take Tire Valves for Granted

Paul Worth

Checker Car Club members from across

the country gathered in New York City on June

19-22 for the club’s 2014 national convention.

More than fifty Checker cars arrived to the de-

light of New Yorkers who fondly recall the spa-

cious taxicabs of yesteryear. The last Checker

was built in 1982 and the last NYC Checker

taxi retired in 1999. The Friday block party in

Brooklyn had many natives celebrating the

chubby car that was a large part of their culture

for many decades. There was a live band, raffles,

food vendors, and lots of local and national

news coverage of the event.

Almost all Checker styles (you mean there is

more than one?) were represented at the event.

There were three 1956 taxis present as well as

most of the body styles produced from 1960 to

1982. In addition to all the taxicabs, there were

Marathon sedans, four-door, six-door, and eight-

door wagons, and one Medicar like the one Sue

and I used to own. The only model missing was

the 1976-77 eight-door sedan. We even had

one diesel and two propane cars present!

The Box House Hotel in Brooklyn, just

across the bridge from Queens, was home base

for the event. This area of Brooklyn is known as

Greenpoint. Originally farmland, Greenpoint is

often referred to as “Little Poland”. The Box

House, owned by a club member, has several

Checkers available for shuttle service to and

from airports and train stations. An unexpected

treat at the hotel was a collection of original

paintings with Checker cab scenes, one of which

was auctioned at the Saturday banquet.

Saturday night’s banquet, held at the local

Polish and Slavic Center, featured a large selec-

tion of Polish food and lots of camaraderie.

Checker owners are not a very competitive

bunch so the “coveted” awards went to those

with the most miles on their car, the ones who

drove the furthest, the most unusual interior,

and the most likely to break down

on the trip. There were many

door prizes and a large silent auc-

tion. Club members are a lot like family so the

banquet was more like a family reunion than a

convention.

Many members took in the sights of New

York City. Tours included Wall Street, Chelsea,

Greenpoint, and Manhattan. Participants in the

Manhattan tour also had the opportunity to

visit the apartment and offices of a club member

who has 6,500+ taxi die-cast models. Our host

was most gracious and his collection quite im-

pressive but the real highlight was the 30th floor

view from his apartment. We had views of the

Flat Iron Building and Madison Square Park next

door as well

as excellent

vistas of the

Empire State

Building, the

Chrysler

Building, and

One World

Trade Center.

Several club

members took

a midnight

tour to Times

Square after

the banquet

and some

stayed a few

extra days to take in the plays, museums, and

restaurants that New York has to offer.

Even though Checkers were built in Kalama-

zoo, Michigan most people associate the

Checker automobile with NYC taxicabs. This

was a fantastic “homecoming” of sorts for the

Checker. Preparations are already underway for

2015 in South Bend, Indiana and 2016 in Her-

shey, Pennsylvania. I can hardly wait!

September 2014

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

Amy Burton

2 3 4 5 6

7

Paul & Sue

Worth

Charles Dixon

8

Terry Dees

9

Terry & Amy

Burton

10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17

18 19 20

Buddy & Analease

Walker

Don & Barbara Bay

21 22 23 24

James & Cheryl

Kelty

25 26

Bob Raffaele

27

28 29

Rick Hastings

30

Doreen Barrett

2 - SGCCC Monthly Business Meeting Austin's Cattle Company 2101 West Hill Avenue Valdosta, GA eat at 6:00, meet at 7:00

4 - Live Oak Cruise, Huddle House (Hwy 129 & I-10), Live Oak, FL 6-9pm info: Ralph Towner 386-752-4725

5—Valdosta First Friday 6pm River Street—just north of the Lowndes County Court House

6 - Bainbridge Cruisers Cruise Dairy Queen, Bainbridge, GA Info: Lee West 229-246-4694

6 - Tallahassee Cruise-In Sonic, 5814 North Monroe Street 5:30pm until

6 - Albany Cruise-In Location: San Joe's in Leesburg 5pm start time

7 - Tallahassee Street Rodders Museum Cruise Antique Car Museum, 6800 Mahan Dr 1-5pm http://www.tally-streetrodders.com

7 - Webster Swap Meet Sumter County Fairgrounds, Bushnell, FL 8am-2pm info: 800-438-8559 www.floridaswapmeets.com

13 - Valdosta Cruise-In at Steak-n-Shake, St Augustine Rd, Valdosta(I-75 exit 18) 5-8pm

13 - Tallahassee What-A-Burger Cruise Ford & Chevy Clubs 1101 Thomasville Road, 5:30-8:30pm info: Reuben Plachy 850-894-5815

18 - Cruise-in at Steak-n-Shake, St Augustine Rd, Valdosta. (I-75 exit 18) 6-8pm

20 - Thomasville Pecan Region Car Club Cruise Dairy Queen, 14375 Hwy 19S, 6:30pm until info: Steve Gordon 229-226-2266

20 - Monticello Cruise-In at Rare Door Restaurant North Cherry St, Monticello, FL 5pm until info: 850-997-0607

20 - Albany Artesian City Car Club Cruise-In Mellow Mushroom, 2825 Nottingham Way 5pm until info: Wendell Hill 229-435-2560

20 - Perry Cruise-In 221 N. Jefferson St. Perry, GA 6-9 p.m. Call Bob Taylor, 672-0848

21 - Tallahassee What-A-Burger Cruise 1101 Thomasville Road, info: Joe Clark 850-385-3959 or Steve Curvey 750-383-0651

26 - Lake City Hardee's West Cruise info: Ralph Towner 386-752-4725

26 - Tallahassee What-A-Burger Cruise 1101 Thomasville Rd, info: http://www.tally-streetrodders.com

27—Tifton Cruise-in at Checkers—5pm untiil

Call the contact person before leaving for an out of town cruise to be sure it has not been moved or cancelled.

See the SGCCC web site (www.sgccc.org) for more info and flyers on these events.

MIKE S. BENNETT, SR.

ATTORNEY AT LAW

BENNETT LAW FIRM, LLP

1108 N. Patterson Street

Valdosta, Georgia 31601

Telephone:

(229) 242-6726

FAX (229) 242-7989

E-Mail: bennlaw@bellsouth.net

Support Our

Sponsors

P.O. Box 403 - Valdosta, GA 31603-0403

Next Meeting:

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Eat @ 6:00

Meet @ 6:45

Austin’s Cattle Company

2101 West Hill Avenue

Cruise: September 13, 2014

Steak-n-Shake parking lot

5:00—-8:00pm

Thurs Cruise: Sept. 18, 2014

Steak-n-Shake parking lot

6:00—7:30pm

Labor Day has passed, so that noe officially, Summer is

over (although the Autumnal Equinox is not until later this

month) Sure signs that Summer is over: School is back in

session, High School and College football seasons are in

flull swing, and the Fall Classic Car and Truck Show is ap-

proaching very quickly.

It should begin to be a little cooler for our cruise-ins on the

first Friday, second Saturday and third Thursday of each

month. We have had very good participation during ths

summer, but I expect that to pick up a little during the Fall

months.

Planning for the Fall Classic Car and Truck Show is in full

swing, with the committee meeting every other week to

work out the details. November 8 will be here before we

know it. We need all club members to take a part in mak-

ing this a successful show. There are several tasks that

need to be completed prior to the show, including collecting

door prizes and items for the

“goody bags.” All members

should consider in helping collect

items for these give-aways.

The flyer in this edition of the Driver’s Seat is the first ver-

sion. It can be copied and handed out when you attend

other shows or cruise-ins, or when you contact businesses

for door prizes and goody items.

Thanks to Paul Worth for contributing photos and an article

of his trip to New York for the Checker Reunion.

I am looking for other members to share stories to be pub-

lished here —simply write the story up and get it to the edi-

tor (with pictures if possible). You may email contributions

to editor@SGCCC.org, or send by USPS or hand items to

me in person. You, too, can be a published author!

Happy Cruising! David Boyd, editor

Editor’s Comments

Graphics Arts Department at Wiregrass GeorgiaTechnical College

Cover - Checker A8s at the Checker

Convention in NYC