Greetings!  Remember last month I listed some issues that the Potomac Region (PR) board is working on?  One was the Dealer Show & Automobilia Auction at Sport Cadillac.  Although it was really quite successful this year despite setbacks, which volunteers overcame, we want to make the show less adrenalin based going forward.  Here is a summary of some main resolutions that came out of a recent officers’ meeting. 

• Non-members participating in the show:  If a non-member comes to a Cadillac show, it’s because he/she likes Cadillacs.  We want to bring them into the fold.  Recruitment to join CLC and PR was hampered this year by lack of contact information to reach out to potential members.  We even missed a former NFL player.  Future registration forms will show complete information, so the Region’s Membership Director and Director will be able to meet and greet every new person on the field and follow up afterward.

• One of the problems seems trivial unless you were the victim, and the solution is paperweights.  The registration desk is always under the portico, which acts like a wind tunnel.  At this year’s windy show a supergust blew away the whole station.  People scrambled everywhere to pick up the papers all over the lot.  Heavy paperweights and strategic relocation in response to weather conditions will set this straight.

• This year a modified Cadillac and a stretch limo appeared at the show.  We had no judging classes for them, so they couldn’t really compete.  Solution:  Re-establish a modified class and a professional car class like the CLC has in order to include everybody.

• Checklists and duty rosters:  Checklists will prevent forgetting things we need to have or need to do.  Duty rosters will organize volunteers and commit them to staying at their stations for two-hour shifts, not leaving us shorthanded during unscheduled breaks.  These tools have worked well for PR at the Washington Auto Show.

• Who’s who?  Volunteers, especially the parkers, will wear bright vests for easy recognition.

• We want to increase the recognition of Sport Cadillac in return for its fantastic donation of space, time, labor and money.  There are ways we can do this, such as stage time at our ceremony, complimentary CLC membership and more Caddie Chronicle advertising.

 There were more points, but this gives you the flavor.

Congratulations to PR member Dave Durkin on his CLC V-12 The Self-Starter Author of the Year Award at the Grand National!  This award was selected by The Self-Starter editor.  (Last month we announced two other CLC individual awards selected by the Awards Committee.)  Look back in the August 2024 issue.  You can read Dave’s award winning article on how he undermined his own house to make room for a non-Cadillac (of all things!).

Please keep PR member Peter Chen in your thoughts and prayers as he attends to the serious illness of his father, Joseph Chen, in Texas.

Events!  We have events!  You’ll certainly want to consider being part of the CLC Northeast Inter-Regional Meet and Car Show at the AACA Museum in Hershey, PA, during the weekend of August 16-17.  The Museum will be open for self-guided tours each day.  On Saturday we get a “behind the scenes” tour of the storage and maintenance shops (Jim’s Place).  After that the group will travel to Giotti’s Restaurant for dinner. The car show is on Sunday.

A month later on September 13 (a Saturday) is the Region's Annual Picnic at Dan & JoJo Ruby's home in Owings, MD.  Read down in this issue for the registration flyer.  This laid-back event is a club favorite…always fun in scenic Southern Maryland.  Bring your Cadillac or LaSalle.  Their big yard makes a nice “showfield.”

The calendar shows more car events.

Finaly, who cares about LaSalles?  Answer:  The Potomac Region does!  😉  Next month we’ll address that a little, maybe 19 times.  Stay tuned.

 Larry Good