NCM Caravan and 25th Anniversary

[Mark E.]

How is NCRS participating in this event?

From the agenda, I see a "History of NCRS" presentation, and there's a designated NCRS area in the RV parking lot. But that's all I know.

I'll be there but driving up in a civilian car.

[Vinnie P.]

Re: NCM Caravan and 25th Anniversary

We have a booth, will have different Dignitaries available for interviews and autographs, also will have the exact car that was on the rotunda at the grand opening on display. The car has been through our system and will be there for everyone to enjoy. In addition we will have our merchandise for sale and a special dues package for NEW MEMBERS ONLY for the first year.

Looking forward to a great weekend.

[Terry M.]

Re: NCM Caravan and 25th Anniversary

How is NCRS participating in this event?

From the agenda, I see a "History of NCRS" presentation, and there's a designated NCRS area in the RV parking lot. But that's all I know.

I'll be there but driving up in a civilian car.

I will be there with Jon Brookmyer. We are with the North Central Caravan in my C6. A repeat of our journey 5 years ago. Jon and I will have to be dignified.

I know Mike Yaeger (also an NCRS member) is hosting a group of us in Effingham, IL.

[Mark E.]

Re: NCM Caravan and 25th Anniversary

Thanks Vinnie and Terry.

See you there!

[Terry M.]

Re: NCM Caravan and 25th Anniversary

Thanks Vinnie and Terry.

See you there!

Mark
I haven't seen you yet among the 6000 or so attendees, but I am looking. I have seen about 10 or a dozen NCRS members. I won't try to name them all, because I am sure I will miss someone. There is a group from News England that are long time NCM & NCRS members.

Those of you not here are missing one hell of an event. Consider 750 Corvettes at Mike Yaeger's place in Effingham, and that's just about half of those here. Mike fed about 1500 of his closest friends for dinner. Thanks Mike. NCM calls these Caravans, but we would know them as Road Tours. Scott Sinclair: How wouuld you like to wrangle a Road Tour of that size? Oh, Oh, met a guy who drove his 1972 from Portland OR to The Museum in a Caravan. Over 200K on the car and Original paint, interior and owner. In fairness around here a C4 is an old car. Jon did spot two C1s on the Caravan, and there are a couple of nice Resto Mods.

So far, all and all, we are having a good time. Just a little chilling for me today. No seminars for me. I'll hANG AT THE ncrs TENT FRO THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT TO LOOK ME UP FOR A CHAT AND A COLD BEVERAGE.

[Mark E.]

Re: NCM Caravan and 25th Anniversary

Terry,

You and the panel did a great job with your "History of NCM" presentation.

I'm sorry I missed greeting you in person, but I can say it was a fabulous event.

I was surprised with the mix of cars: I saw three midyears, two sharks, and a dozen or so C4s. C7 was by far the most represented.

Chevrolet showed up in force with several C8s available to touch and sit in, a cut-away chassis and engine, plus a temporary structure in the parking lot displaying two more cars and sundry option choices (seats, wheels, interiors, colors). I had an opportunity to talk with several folks on the development team about their experiences creating the car. Great time.

[Terry M.]

Re: NCM Caravan and 25th Anniversary

I know it is old news, but To give y'all some idea of the number of participants there are these photos:

https://brendanrappelphotography.shootproof.com/gallery/2019caravan/

The first picture is about 75% of the cars at Mike Yaegers Mid America for dinner. Click on the "See Galery" button on the lower right for more.

This is a little less than half of the Corvettes that participated in the Caravan to Bowling Green. Each food stop was a major logistics event.

[Michael J.]

Re: NCM Caravan and 25th Anniversary

OMG! I can't conceive of something that huge. But if a guy can feed that many people for lunch, and not run out of food, that shows great organizational skills.....hint, hint. I can imagine the nightmares of trying to find a place to eat along the road with that kind of crowd. Every NCRS Road Tour I have been on, with more than about 5 cars, always maxes out any restaurant in the rural areas, and lunch can take hours. But, it was a unique event no doubt, and I am sure many enjoyed it all.

[Terry M.]

Re: NCM Caravan and 25th Anniversary

The opening photo is part of the cars at Mid America in Effingham IL for the hot evening meal where Mike Y fed 1500 people. There was a caterer and it was well organized with four buffet lines, as you say it had to be.

In the Gallery: The Leman's Chevrolet photos were lunch in Bloomington IL There were two shifts of cars (scheduled arrival) here and the local Corvette club provided volunteers to work the parking and food lines. Submarine Sandwiches here for about 1000 people. We had police blocking the exit roads to the Interstate. I am sure the local traffic was not pleased, but it all worked well for us.

The bottom four photos in the Gallery are Ellis Race Track (horse racing) in Henderson KY for lunch (hot dogs and/or hamburgers) the last day. Someplace close to 1000 Corvettes. The race track has facilities to feed large groups of race fans, so the logistics challenge here was parking and release for the trip to the Museum. We were released in groups of several hundred cars at timed intervals so we didn't all arrive at the Museum at the same time. Nice idea, but folks drove at different speeds and a good idea in theory didn't work so well in practice. Arrival at the Museum still wasn't as bad at what was planned to be a simultaneous arrival in 1994. That experience taught us that it was a bad idea.

I was only a participant for two days. The folks coming from the Pacific Northwest had been on the road for five to six days with their numbers increasing each day. I have seen reports of their being hosted by Chevrolet Dealers all across the country during their journey. That group overnighted In Wisconsin at Chula Vista Resort before joining my North Central group in Bloomington IL. There were also Caravans from Southern California that included four or five Corvettes from Hawaii. Also Caravans came from Florida and New England. New England and the North West Caravans included Canadian participants. It took a lot of Caravan Captains a lot of work to pull it off. Caravans are launched every five years, but this being the 25 Anniversary the attendance was larger than usual.

That information focuses on the logistics of the event. The route(s) were through some of the best Midwestern scenery there is. Photos on Facebook show some remarkable scenery from the PNW group -- National Parks and such. The Southern California Caravan followed Route 66 for the most part. Lots of miles of smiles for everyone.

[Terry M.]

Re: NCM Caravan and 25th Anniversary

For those of you who do Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/jerry.neal.75/videos/10217762433285015/?multi_permalinks=972576953089578&notif_id=1567963240204395&notif_t=group_highlights

The producer just put it up on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WqKLX_UYXs&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1HRc_6BoJj0gl0Ajm77ZKazjl4twVJPm75DiEqyzjQxBXdknMBZBIw6SM

This is a more than decent summary of the Caravans. Some times it is the destination and sometimes the journey. Once in a rare while it is both.

You might also check out FB "National Corvette Caravan" for more of the trip. There are also sites for the Pacific Northwest Caravan and North Central Caravan. I am sure there are others as well.