VCCA Judging Committee Report for 2004
1. Mission Statement
The function of the VCCA Judging Process is to provide a way for our membership to evaluate the historical correctness, workmanship, authenticity and condition of our vintage Chevrolets. It is the owners’ understanding that when they decide to have their vehicles judged, that we, as club members, are comparing their vehicles to how the manufacturer delivered the vehicles to the dealer and (on) to the public. The goal of VCCA National Judging Committee is to have this be regarded as the standard to which all Chevrolet vehicles are held. The result of the Judging Process will be a fair and consistent evaluation of the vehicle being judged and the awarding of a proper and deserved VCCA award for the owner’s efforts.
2. Judging Form
The VCCA Judging Form has completed its sixth year since it was last revised. We have made a lot of progress with the form and we have very few changes to make, but we do have areas where we can make it better. The Judging Committee will be going over the form, and revisions for the 2005 season will be completed by the date of the Board Meeting. We are especially proud of the fact that we have an instrument that is able to adjust to any vehicle that is judged in our system. We are also confident that we will be able to use a single form in the future. Thanks to Jean and Dennis Fink for all of their cooperation and effort in making the Judging Form a reality.
3. Judging Manual
This year we are making corrections and revisions as usual. There are no new policy changes to implement for 2005, however there are proposals which would affect the manual if they are passed at this year’s Board Meeting. Thanks go to Steve Leunig who spent his winter proofreading the manual. He found quite a few small errors and improved the language of the manual. In the last three years we have sent out over two thousand five hundred Judging Manuals to members of the VCCA. To save on printing costs, it is the goal of the committee to have a manual that will be printed every five years. We are still setting a goal of 2006 for the final revised edition to be printed.
4. 1980 Vehicles Become Eligible for Judging This Year
Well, it has not taken long, but the 1980 vehicles have come on board this year. There are some changes in some of the classes and we have only one new class this year. One other nice issue is that we will not need any more new classes of vehicles until the 1980 vehicles are on board. We have looked ahead and are planning to condense some of the years. This is due to the similarity in body styles that continued as the '80s and GMAD were approaching. For example, this year we add a 1980 full-size class, W6. These are all 1977-80 Impalas and Caprices. They are totally different than the 1976’s. However, the 1977 to 1990 Impalas and Caprices are quite similar, so we will not need to open up a W7 class until twelve years from now. The small block 350 is the largest engine you can find in a Chevy in 1980. Tower hose clamps are still used. We added an AA5 class this past year for the Malibu, which replaces the Chevelle. We had two of these vehicles attend a meet this year. The 1977 Chevelle was still the same as the 1973 A-body style. In 1978 the style changed. This style will not change until the 1984 models, when the Malibu was discontinued. That gives us until 2009 before we will need to adjust the AA class.
5. 1981 and 1982 Are Display This Year
It’s hard to believe that these years are already approaching the 25 year threshold. We should encourage 1981 and 1982 owners to register and participate at this year's meets. That's why we have the Display class. There are some interesting 1980 and 1981Chevy models.
A new vehicle will become eligible for class judging in two years. The Citation models will be eligible in 2005. The RPO X-11 coupe is an interesting vehicle. However, we won't have to make a new class for Citations since they took the place of the Nova; we can put them in Class Z6 when the time comes.
6. Area Meets
We had eight National Meets in 2004. The meets were:
Area State Chair Chief Judge
Area 11 Connecticut Larry Jamaitis Bob Dayton
Area 4,5,6 Iowa Alan Larson Roger James
Area 7 Michigan Linda Harbron Wayne Jackson
Area 8 New Jersey Ron Marciano Don Simmons
Area 3 Washington Mary Nell Mahler Gary Albertson
Area 1 California Gloria Palazzo Larry Pearson
Area 9 North Carolina Alan Banner Bob Denison
Area 10 Maryland Dottie Miller Jack Anderson
Special thanks to all the people who worked so hard to make sure these meets were a success. We are very excited that meets took place this past year in California (Area 1) and in Washington/Oregon (Area 3). This year there were 30 vehicles judged at the Area 1 Meet in Los Angeles and 40 vehicles judged at the Area 3 Meet. Nine out of the twelve areas of the VCCA had Judging Schools and Judged Meets available to its members. We hope, someday, that all twelve areas will be included on the list.
7. Membership Participation Statistics
2003 Statistics
Total number of judged vehicles = 304
45 HPOCF Certifications (1 min, 1 board, 18 tabs, 25 ovals)
83 1st Junior and Tabs
31 1st Seniors
34 Preservation Boards
76 Preservation Miniatures
18 2nd Juniors
1 2nd Senior
5 3rd Juniors
0 3rd Seniors
10 vehicles scoring below 901
1 vehicle scoring below 801
Multiple Awards = 0
Mandatory Deductions:
Engine = 1
A/C = 1
Body = 0
2004 Statistics
Total number of judged vehicles = 341 (10% increase from last year)
63 HPOCF Certifications (1 min, 10 boards, 21 tabs, 29 ovals)
82 1st Junior and Tabs
48 1st Seniors
31 Preservation Boards
99 Preservation Miniatures
12 2nd Juniors
1 2nd Senior
1 3rd Juniors
0 3rd Seniors
11 vehicles scoring below 901
2 vehicles scoring below 801
1 vehicle scoring below 701
Multiple Awards = 1 (2 1957 Bel Air)
Mandatory deductions:
Engine = 0
A/C = 1
Body = 0
8. HPOCF Certification
This was the third year for members to be certified for the Historical Preservation of Original Chevrolet Features class. The idea and the decision to adopt the HPOCF certification program was a very successful and positive decision by the Board. We are extremely excited about the future of this service to our members. We had 63 vehicles certify this year. The Certification Form worked very well and was easy to use. Revisions that will be made for next year include trying to find a way to speed up the process with members who have been certified and have not made changes to the areas of the car that have been previously certified. With this revision, it would not be necessary to have them go through the whole procedure as if it was the first time. As you can see, we had a 30% increase in participation in HPOCF. We are now getting members who are receiving their Board and Miniatures for their Board. Thanks to all of those who volunteered to be on the various Certification Teams.
9. Junior Tabs, Preservation Tabs and Judging Awards
Another success this past year was the issuance of the 1st Junior Tabs, and we continued to hand out the Preservation Tabs. Tabs were issued to all members who attended Meets this year where they also received their Preservation Boards and Miniatures. Thanks again to Chris for his hard work. We had very few mistakes and those that did happen were corrected within a short time. For the fourth consecutive year, the Gold, Silver and Bronze Certificates have also been a success. The decision to utilize the certificates in this fashion has helped the National Board put these certificates to use instead of storing them in a box and wasting membership money. Thanks to Tim and Karanel Larson of Burlington, Iowa for their hard work this year as the National Judging Records Coordinator. Tim has kept a database on all of the participation cards that we have collected from the various meets.
We have now had 55 members receive the Louis Chevrolet Award pin and certificate for judging at a National Meet. Tim Larson has got just about everybody grandfathered who is entitled. The deadline for corrections or additions is December 31, 2004. We have saved a lot of postage money by bringing the pins to the Area Meets where most of the members are, and we have been able to distribute them at the Meets by sending the pins to the Chief Judges of the Meets. Beginning in 2005, the current awards will be mailed to the members after the Meets.
10. Judging School Program
A special thanks to outgoing coordinator Jack Anderson, who gave his time and efforts to get the Judging School Program off the ground. Steve Leunig has now taken the program over and is developing the expansion of offerings as well as curriculum improvements and additions. He is now getting ready for the 2006 Anniversary Meet seminars that will be offered to the membership.
Individual 2004 Judging School Presentations
The following summaries provide details for each Judging School presentation that took place in 2004:
… Iowa City, Iowa -- June 19, 2004
Hosted by the Mid-Mississippi Valley Region in conjunction with the Middle West Meet. Steve Scott
presented followed by a seminar on HPOCF by Bill Dirnberger. Bill and Steve conducted a hands-on
session out in the parking lot after the lecture presentation. Over 60 attended.
… Nashville, Tennessee -- August 2004
Hosted by the Music City Region and presented by Bob Denison. Twenty attended. A special thanks
to Bob.
… Hanover Township, New Jersey -- November 20, 2004
Hosted by the Historic New Jersey Region. Forty attended. Presenters were John Mahoney and Mike
McCusker. A special thanks to Dennis Siciliano.
… Midland, Michigan … July 24, 2004
This school was presented in conjunction with the 41st Central Meet, and took place at the Meet
Headquarters hotel. Roger Williams presented the full school curriculum, including the
classroom session and field demonstration to 51 members, who then completed and
submitted judging participation cards. Though originally requested to be part of the Area #7
Director’s meeting in April, the school was rescheduled and included as part of the
Central Meet activities. This was done in order to accommodate additional members. We also had
additional classes added for credit. Bill Barlage developed a class on Field Entrance Checks, which
was well attended.
… Los Angeles, California … August 29, 2004.
Instructor Larry Pearson presented the Judging School in preparation for the Area 1 Meet. Twenty-five
members completed and submitted judging participation cards. Larry has done a fantastic job in
California in terms of bringing judging back as an interest to members.
Total Attending Judging Schools = 152
11. New Proposals To Be Presented To The National Board for 2005
… Establishment of a Special Body (Historical Interest) Class (from 2004 Board Meeting)
Last year the Judging Committee had only one Special Body (Historical Interest) Class proposal, which was generated by author Bill Dirnberger. These vehicles would be certified in a manner similar to the way that HPOCF vehicles are certified now. These vehicles would be defined as any Chevrolet chassis with a body that is a GM-approved body for that period of time. Examples: Airport Limousines, Ambulances, School Buses, and Police and Military cars. The committee was in favor of the concept, but felt that more discussion and work needed to be done. The result was that the Board was asked to send the proposal back to the Committee to form a sub-committee for further research. We are going to ask the Board to approve the concept by supporting a sub-committee to develop both suitable policy language and a method of implementation of this program, with implementation to be scheduled at a date that is approved by National Board.
… Addition of a Driver Participation Class
In our travels this past year, we did hear a lot of interest by the membership for a touring or driver class. This is something that the Board needs to look into further. The Committee has gone on record as recommending that the Board support the development and implementation of this program. A sub-committee will need to be organized to come up with policy language and award implementation to be scheduled at an approved time period.
… The Addition of Class Judging and HPOCF Advancement at Anniversary Meets
This original proposal asked for a change in the present system of awards at National Anniversary Meets, to a system similar to that which is used at all Area Meets. The proposal would have eliminated the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awards that we have given out in the past. After discussion, the Committee did not recommend this motion. However, the idea of including Class Judging and HPOCF Certification at the Anniversary Meet, in combination with the present system, was brought up as an option to consider. We now have an awards system that is electronic, and with Regions cooperating with each other across the country, we could have advancement of awards and also award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places as well. There are pros and cons to this idea, but the one thing that keeps coming up is that not all of our members can attend Area Meets, especially those who live far away.
12. Kudos and Thank Yous
I want to thank all of the members of the National Judging Committee for their hard work, input and support during this last year. I want to especially thank John Mahoney, Steve Leunig, Roger Williams, Tim Larson, and Russ Heim for their continuous efforts and support of our program. Without these coordinators and assistants, we would not have had the successful improvements to the VCCA Judging program. I feel that we are making a difference in this organization.
Respectfully Submitted,
Steve Scott #12609-National Judging Chair
721 Penn Blvd.
Lindenhurst, Illinois 60047
847-356-3684
novasscott@aol.com
Vintage Chevrolet Club of America
National Judging Committee
Jack Anderson 222 Ritterslea Ct
Owings Mills, MD 21117
Bill Barlage45 Tulip Ln. Dayton, OH 45432
Bill Dirnberger 2200 Ericon Dr. Brooklyn Ctr., MN 55430
Bob Denison 185 Devon Rd. Fairfield Glade, TN 38558
Ken Farley 5104 Kenwood Dr. Annandale, VA 22003
Al Freehauf 210 S. Reed St. Joliet, IL 60436
Glenn Honeyman 2645 W. Peebles Rd. Troy, OH 45373
Tim Larson 3104 Crystal Dr. Burlington, IA 52601
Steve Leunig PO Box 101 West Minot, ME 04288
Mike McFarland 455 Almont Ave. Almont, MI 48003
Mike McCusker 23 Featherbed Dr. Flemington, NJ 08822
John Mahoney, Jr. 17 Sunset Ave. Glen Cove, NY 11542
Rex North 5333 N. Alcony-Conover Rd. Conover, OH 45317
Larry Pearson 1108 W. Palm Ave. Burbank, CA 91506
Brownie Peterson 20 West 4300 North Pleasant View, UT 94414
Steve Scott 721 Penn Blvd. Lindenhurst, IL. 60046
Forest Sweet PO Box 201 Lake Jackson, TX 77566
Roger Williams 13888 State Rt. 348 McDermott, OH 45652
