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, [email protected]
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 -
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: [email protected]
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 [email protected], 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