.
Have just returned and unloaded the 33 Eagle from the 32nd Annual North West Meet.
For the uninitiated, this is an annual affair attended by all the Regions in Area 3, which included Washington, Oregon, and SW Canada. Lone Eagles are also encouraged to and do attend. Several members who do not belong to a region have attended in the past as well as this meet.
It was held this year in Auburn Washington and hosted by the Mount Rainier Region.
As has been the custom the last three years the meet is preceded by a WOOD tour. A wood tour is all the vehicles produced by Chevrolet that contain significant parts made from wood. Basically, it is all of the early pre 1929 cars (trucks) and 1929 through 1936 6-cylinder cars. The tour this year was a very laid back tour in excess of 97 miles and killed most of one day. The tour was concluded with a gathering at a local eating joint for food and good conversation.
Major highlights of the Meet included a National Judging School conducted by Steve Scott and Jack Anderson. This was a very well attended activity and was well accepted by the members. Jack and Steve presented an outstanding presentation in the classroom followed by a 'hands on' session where the major points of judging were demonstrated with several members’ cars. If you failed to attend this school this was your loss.
The second day was kicked off with the Judges Breakfast followed by the class judging. This was a well-organized event and was enhanced by the assistance of the two instructors from the Judging School, Jack and Steve. A surprising number of cars were submitted for the HPOCF Certification. In the class judging a good selection of cars were submitted to the judges for their evaluation.
The highlight of the third day was a tour to the world famous Harold LeMay Collection. Even after Harold's death, Harold’s daughter has added many cars to the collection. Perhaps the major change in the collection is to remove some of the Chevrolets from the gymnasium and replace they by other mixed makes. We were treated to a very good lunch at the dining room located on the premises.
The Awards Banquet staged at the Emerald Downs racetrack capped off the third day. Awards included crafts, people’s choice, Canadian Award, class awards, and a special treat, the awarding of the new credentials (pins) to the judges who have been certified by National. These pins included VCCA Judge Award, William C. Durant Award, Alfred P Sloan Award, and the top award the Louis Chevrolet Award. I was fortunate to receive all four of these awards. Some extremely nice cars received their class awards and the BOS Awards went to some extremely fine examples of the Chevrolet trademark.
Throughout the meet there were opportunities to participate in many short tours to local points of interest. Even the ladies found plenty to keep them occupied. A well-stocked Courtesy Room was manned and supplied by the Mount Rainier Region throughout the meet. Coffee, cold drinks, pastries, cookies, and good conversation were in plentiful supply.
In my opinion the highlight of the meet was the class judging. It was well organized, executed and professionally done. I would hope that the word is propagated to those members who have misgivings about the judging process. I suggest you talk to the car owners and the judges. Perhaps when the meet is held next year in Kelso Washington and hosted by the Columbia River Region we will be challenged just to find room to park all the vehicles that are presented for judging.
I do not have the total attendance figures, however, the registration numbers were in excess of 90+.
All in All, it was a VERY GOOD MEET.
In rereading my post I notice I left out a very important point. On the second day of the meet one of the members, along with another couple, went out to dinner. While they were eating the 1958 Convertible was stolen. Car was locked; key removed, and switch in the locked position. The owner had the car for many years and though insured, was not covered for the actual value. At the banquet the owner reminded all of us to review our insurance and insure it is up to date.
Be on the lookout for a previously painted blue 1958 convertible, with skirts, a continental kit, white sidewall tires, and in better than average condition. If you have any information please contact the police in Auburn Washington or me.