Where was NCRS at Bloomington?

[mike cobine]

Yes, I know all about them being two very separate organizations, but the NCRS table and display has been there for years.

My NCRS membership is up and I planned to renew in person, partially to get the freebies they always give away. You do it on line or the mail, you get nothing. To do it at the show, there often is a shirt or a book or something.

How many remember when you used to get a calendar as a gift for being a faithful member?

[Terry M.]

Re: Where was NCRS at Bloomington?

Mike,
The last year NCRS was at Bloomington Gold was 2002. It has been longer than that since any gifts were given with renewals. Calendars were 1994, 1997, & 1998.

[mike cobine]

Re: Where was NCRS at Bloomington?

I believe that at Old Town, they were giving away shirts with memberships. And if you didn't want the sirt, there were a couple of small items instead.

At the shows, they compete with every magazine subscription going, who all give shirts and bags and other things to hook a subscriber.

[Warren F.]

Re: Where was NCRS at Bloomington?

Terry:

Why wasn't there a booth for NCRS promotion?

[Terry M.]

Re: Where was NCRS at Bloomington?

Mike I guess I missed that offer at Old Town.

[Terry M.]

Re: Where was NCRS at Bloomington?

I don't know why Warren. I just posted what I do know -- that there hasn't been an NCRS booth at Bloomington Gold since 2002.

[mike cobine]

Re: Where was NCRS at Bloomington?

So did I. Can't have too many t-shirts, can you?

[mike cobine]

Re: Where was NCRS at Bloomington?

I ran across two interesting observations about the lack of an NCRS booth.

First, many NCRS members were sure they were there, but didn't remember where they were. Thus, they were missing for three years and no one noticed.

Second, there were a few who had heard stories (which I won't repeat to spread rumors), but they had only heard vague stories and had no actual knowledge of what went on as to why they were not there.

In some ways, it is a shame they were not there to recruit the people who show up, especially since they have been at Bloomington for som many years, but in view of how the Bloomington Gold show has shrunk in size, they may not have missed out on all that much.

[David D.]

Re: Combine Bloomington & Carlisle *NM* *NM*

[Warren F.]

Re: Combine Bloomington & Carlisle

Heck, I want to go to more shows not less!

[Dick W.]

Re: Combine Bloomington & Carlisle

Don't even think about combining the two. One is a very enjoyable event with lotsa parts, cars, and most of all friends. The other has fewer cars, parts, and people each year.

[David D.]

Re: OK, how about Bloomington Gold and NCRS? *NM*

[Bill Stephenson]

Re: Combine Bloomington & Carlisle

Dave,

-------I think its safe to say that will never happen!..........Bill S

[Bill Stephenson]

Re: Combine Bloomington & Carlisle

------My response was actually for the BG and NCRS combo..........Bill S

[mike cobine]

Re: Combine Bloomington & Carlisle

I think it is safe to say that most of us have very fond memories of Bloomington long ago. And that will not happen again. We got away with a lot, because the times were different, we were younger, and Bloomington/Normal was happy to see this huge pouring of cash into their cities.

There was the same weekend as BG a car show in Naperville or near it. I didn't go by, but Sunday morning as I left, there wee streams of street rods and street machines coming up I-55 and IL-59 to Naperville. So BG was not the only game in town.

Ten weeks pay and you had an old Corvette back then. You hotrodded it, ran it hard, and build it back to do it again. Corvette = performance and you wrung every bit of it out of it.

Today Corvette = Restoration, and you will spend 10 weeks pay on the down payment of a restoration. A year's pay for an old Corvette, half a year for the restoration. While Corvettes were never cheap compared to others, they were a bargain compared to today.

Then the crowd ranged from mid 20s to mid 30s. A 40 year guy in a Corvette club was an old guy. Today, the 40 year old is the young guy. And you don't find a lot of grandpas out runnign wild for a weekend, doing burnouts in the parking lot, and street racing their Corvettes. Not at today's prices.

So it is safe to say BG will never be what it was.

If you want another, you have to create an all new show, along the lines of the Mid America Corvette show in Effingham.

Find a small town, centrally located, and start bring them in for a weekend that doens't conflict with anything else. Do it on a have fun basis. Don't charge for eeverything, but set it up where everyone can make some of their own fun.