The Vapor Trail May 2019

Vapor Trail Vettes, P.O. Box 5241, Santa Maria, CA 93456 www.vaportrailvettes.com President ’s Message Inside this Issue By Clay Beck Presidents Message/Birthdays 1

Weather! Can you believe it? When do you remember it Meeting Minutes 2-3 raining in May in past years? Well in spite of it raining, AHC Scholarship Banquet 3 the weather is mostly good and warming up to make it great for Corvette driving. VTV Fun Run 4 Speaking of Corvette driving, I finally replaced my WC Region Gov. Mtg/Tech Corner 5 crankcase sensor in the Z06. After lifting the car it only CareNet Golf Tournament 6 took me about an hour to do the replacement. I basi- For Sale/Business Cards 7 cally disconnected the starter motor and slide it forward a 2 to 3 inches that gave me enough access to the sen- Home Motors—Corvette Inventory 8 sor. I’m ready for the next run. Calendar of Events 9-11 I got my copy of “Blue Bars” magazine the other day and looking threw it I saw last years points results on May 2019 Birthdays page 60. Listed below are the REGIONAL WINNERS for 04 Brenda Parks 2018: 12 Clay Beck Men's: Women's: 13 Patty Santmyer Bee Jay Jones Holly Palmer Larry Wright Dave Schultz June 2019 Birthdays Cliff Harris 01 Wayne Mancebo Jeff Palmer 05 Kevin Sullivan

07 Chuck Robertson Workers: Club Standings: 21 Paula Malone Clay Beck Vapor Trail Vettes

Gerry White Pacific Coast Corvettes Charles Robertson The Vette Set Jeff Palmer Orange County Vettes

Corvette Super Sports 2019 Board Members For a small club, we sure do a good job with Regional points. President Clay Beck 481-4597 Vice President Holly Palmer 588-0246

Treasurer Chuck Robertson 934-0694 Later, Clay Beck Secretary Beverly Erickson 941-786-6575 Governor Gale Haugen 773-4515 Newsletter Gale Haugen 773-4515 Sunshine Lady Brenda Parks 315-0070

Webmaster Chuck Robertson 934-0694

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May 2, 2019 VTV Meeting Minutes May 2, 2019 VTV Meeting Minutes By Chuck Robertson/Beverly Erickson By Chuck Robertson/Beverly Erickson

In attendance: Larry Wright, Holly Palmer, Clay Treasurer’s Report– Chuck Robertson Cont’d Beck, Gerry White, Brenda Parks, Jeff Palmer, Clay asked for a motion to approve the report and Chuck Robertson, David Schultz, Jan Webb, Cliff Dave made the motion, which was seconded by Erickson, Beverly Erickson Holly. All present approved the report. Clay opened the meeting at 6:30 and announced VP Report– Holly Palmer the month’s birthdays: Brenda, Clay, Patty Santmyer and Mary Carson. He reminded every- Holly was up next to give the VP report. She said one that Mother’s Day was on the 12th. that Gale Haugen had forwarded an email about the Sport Cars at the Museum Car Show on June Approval of Meeting Minutes 16th in Bakersfield. Holly said that the Kern Coun- Clay asked for a motion to approve the April ty Museum was a great location for a car show. If minutes. Dave made the motion and Gerry se- anyone is interested, they can contact Holly for conded it. It was approved by all present. more information. The next fun run is on May 11th. The route will be down Foxen Canyon to the New/Old business– Clay Beck Ridel Winery and then maybe go to the miniature The April autocross was a success according to horse farm. The June fun run will be up highway Clay. There were 57 drivers and we didn’t have 1 and possibly do a picnic lunch. She is still plan- any timing problems except for one person walk- ning on doing a Morro Bay cruise in July when the ing through the timing lights. There were eight May gray/June gloom season has passed, and in runs and the event was finished by 5:30. the fall, a run to one of the car museums in the LA area. Gerry asked about participating in the Sol- Clay passed on that we have been invited to the th annual scholarship awards banquet at Alan Han- vang 4 of July Parade. That is fine with her and cock College. Chuck indicated that he planned to she will get the necessary information out to the attend to take pictures and Clay asked if anyone members when she can. else wanted to go. It will be on May 23rd. Larry Governor’s Report— Clay Beck for Gale H. said that he enjoyed attending last year. The on- There was no Governors meeting in April, but Gale ly restriction was that we only had two invites. had provided Clay with the points that members The nice food that Joe Garcia provided at the last had accrued so far this year. He went over some autocross was by way of saying good-by as he of the points and had the sheet if anyone else was and his wife are moving out of state according to interested. Clay said that he thought that there Clay. The good news is that a niece was taking was a meeting in May but didn’t know the date. over the business. We will see how she does at He encouraged anyone who was interested in go- the next autocross in June. ing to do so. Clay announced that we had signed up 4 new Around the Table members at the autocross. The new members Gerry related that he and Brenda were at a play are Karl, Brenda and Sam Johns, and Phillip Rob- and ran into the owner of Home Motors. Gerry erson. thanked him for their support. He had also at- Another item that Clay covered was the great ar- tended a draft party for the 49ers. He entered a ticle in the newsletter on the C8 Corvette and he raffle and won a numbered jersey and a t-shirt. encouraged everyone to read it. Cliff brought up Brenda said that the party was so loud her ears some of the problems that Chevrolet apparently rang for some time afterwards. This was her first haven’t fixed. One was that the chassis flexed in trip to San Francisco, and she enjoyed it very the high horsepower version that caused the rear much. Jeff said that he and Holly had used their window to pop out. Cliff also said that the C8 lost PDRs to record their runs at the autocross and in drags against the Hellcat. said that he determined that the Michelin 3+ all Treasurer’s Report– Chuck Robertson season tires stick as well as the Super Sport tires that come with C7’s. He added that the experts at Chuck went over the income and expenses from Spring Mountain also said that they couldn’t see a the last autocross and then the monthly report. difference between the two types.

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May 2, 2019 VTV Meeting Minutes Allan Hancock Scholarship Banquet By Chuck Robertson/Beverly Erickson By Larry Wright

Around the Table Cont’d The annual Allan Hancock Scholarship Banquet called " Rising Stars" was held in the Joe White Brenda added that her daughter was graduating Gymnasium building at Hancock College, Santa from Texas Tech. Cliff warned everyone not to Maria, CA on May 23, 2019. use PayPal as users were having problems with the service – especially with larger dollar Vapor Trail Vettes Corvette Club awarded two (2) amounts. He added that banks were also experi- Scholarships in the amount of $500 each to Gerar- encing problems with the service. Beverly said do Mendez and Jose Velasquez, both students in that they were late to the meeting due to attend- the automotive studies programs. ing a grandson’s graduation from 6th grade and A very nice Santa Maria BBQ style buffet meal was would leave early to attend a granddaughter’s re- served to recipients, their guests and scholarship cital. Larry said he had attended the CareNet donors. I enjoyed the meal and the evening of event and presented our check to them. He had visitation with our two recipients and their a picture for the web site and will write up a short guests, after which, presentations were made and account for the newsletter. Holly asked for more pictures were taken. Both were very interested in recommendations for future fun runs and monthly our club's activities. meetings. The June meeting will be at Pappy’s Restaurant. Clay talked about his problem at- Over 400 people were in attendance and close to a tending the Long Beach Grand Prix. While on the half million dollars was awarded in total donations Ventura Freeway in the fast lane his car died. He to students of Hancock. A very successful evening managed to get across most of the lanes until a and the officials from Hancock orchestrated a very truck blocked him and he had to stop in the next "top-notch" event. to right lane. Fortunately, the truck driver I received personal thanks to our club from Mr. stopped as well and helped him push his car onto Jan Hooten, Hancock College Executive Direc- the shoulder. He couldn’t open his door because tor, College Advancement, for our donations and of the cars zooming by so close. He called and who liked our "big check" idea for picture taking, arranged for AAA to pick him up. While waiting (although not our first time to do that). for AAA a highway patrol did a traffic break and slowed traffic down a bit. The officer set out Thanks to the club for allowing me to present some cones and stayed until AAA showed. Clay these scholarships and I certainly have no doubt decided to have the car towed home, which was as to how much they are appreciated by these further than his membership would pay for. It students. ended up costing him $490 to get the car home. He then got into another car and drove down to Long Beach. After getting home after the races, he scanned his car for fault codes and got a bad crankcase sensor that is at the back of the block near the flywheel. So that will be his next pro- ject. Cliff related that he had a different electrical sensor go bad on his corvette that was in the wheel well, not in the dash as he expected. Drawings Jan won the 50/50 drawing; Roberta wasn’t pre- sent so $5 will be added to the name tag drawing and Holly won the Door Prize drawing. Meeting Adjourned/Next Meeting:

Clay adjourned the meeting at 7:23. The June Vapor Trail Vettes Scholarship Recipients, Gerardo Men- 6th meeting will be held at Pappy's Restaurant in dez on left and Jose Velasquez on right.

Santa Maria. The address is 1275 East Betteravia Road. Reservations are for 5:30, meeting starts at 6:30.

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VTV May Fun Run VTV May Fun Run Cont’d By Holly Palmer By Holly Palmer/Pictures by Beverly Erickson

On May 11 a small group of VTV members trav- I am planning a Fun Run for June 15: probably a eled to Solvang. In attendance were Chuck Rob- Highway 1 up through Guadalupe (for those who ertson, Cliff and Bev Erickson, and Jeff and Holly live in Lompoc), Oceano, and maybe north of the Palmer. Chuck and the Palmers left from our fa- that to Morro Bay. If nothing else, we get to drive vorite Chevron meeting place in Santa Maria and and go somewhere for a yummy lunch (TBD). And met up with the Erickson’s at Rideau Winery on if anyone wants to wine-taste we can include that Alamo Pintado near Los Olivos. As usual, it was a in the trip. I’m open to suggestions for a place to beautiful day in the Santa Ynez Valley. We en- have lunch and/or wine-taste. joyed tasting wine and eating Charcuterie (meat, cheese, fruits etc.) and pizza at the winery. It was In July, August, Sept we are looking at the Chow- a quiet day there, so we enjoyed individualized der Cruise in Morro Bay, and possibly either the attention. Nethercutt or Pederson Car Museum. What’s nice about that winery is that the tasting The museums are day-long trips. On June 22 we have our VTV Autocross; July 4 the Solvang Pa- room is a real adobe Inn built in 1888 by English rade: July 6 is the VTV Annual BBQ. So we have a business owners. The winery owner restored the lot coming up! building on the property in the 1990’s, and then Hopefully we will see more of you on June 15. I planted a 5-acre vineyard and other buildings will get more details about times and locations where they make their own wine. Some of the soon, and will also announce at the June 6 meet- oak trees on the property are 300 years old. It is ing, which will be at Pappy’s in Santa Maria. a beautiful for a picnic or just walking around the property. The grapevines are right there also, in case you want to go check those out. They have tours daily for people to purchase wine-tasting, where they go out in the vineyards and into the wine-making facilities. After lunch and wine tasting, we drove across the highway to the Quicksilver Miniature Horse Ranch where they had 1 four-week foal and 2 very preg- nant mares (and lots of other miniature horses). It is a clean and well-kept ranch and makes for a nice little walk around the place. The plan had been to go to the Santa Ines Mission afterwards, but they had an event in Solvang which made it difficult to get through that way. Chuck offered to treat us to another winery, Dier- berg Starlane on the 246, where he is a member with free tasting privileges. The Erickson’s decid- ed to head back to Lompoc, so it was just Chuck and the Palmers, in their pretty white C-7’s. I personally love the drive along Foxen Canyon Road from the Eastern side of Santa Maria to Los Olivos. We didn’t have to deal with any bicyclists this time, but it is a common road for groups of bicyclists and marathons. Jeff and I drive the route often in the Corvette(s), and I would do it every weekend if I could. We are members at Rideau Winery and try to go there often as well, as it is always so beautiful and relaxing.

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West Coast Region Governors Meet- West Coast Region Governors Meet- ing Minutes May 11, 2019 ing Minutes May 11, 2019 By Ron Peake, NCCC WC Regional Secretary By Ron Peake, NCCC WC Regional Secretary

The West Coast/Northwest Region of the National Because there are fewer NCCC events in our re- Council of Corvette Clubs Governors meeting held gion, our bank is not growing, be we are solvent. at Logan’s Roadhouse, Fontana Ca, on Saturday, The Corvette Museum in Bowling Green Kentucky May 11, 2019. will hold its 25th anniversary in August. A caravan The following are highlights from that meeting. from the West Coast to the museum will take nd The West Coast/Northwest Regional Executive, place on August 22 . A $2000 budget has been Allen Morris, called the meeting to order at 1:00 allocated from National to have NCCC represented PM. at the Museum. Money will be used to purchase water, soft drinks, and rental of tent, tables, and Membership Report: Cliff Harris chairs. Volunteers are needed to staff the booth at Mid America will no longer support NCCC and the Museum from August 29th through the 31st. NCCC members will no-longer receive a discount. Contact Linda Goebel 423-368-9025 for details. Regional Competition Director: Joe Orrico Under Old Business, the next Regional Meeting will th It was mentioned that participants in NCCC be held on September 14 , in Orange County. OC events keep their membership card with them. Vettes and Super Sports will look into a site to The waivers for NCCC are to kept by the club gov- hold the meeting. ernors for 3 years instead of 7. It’s important to send Joe Orrico a sanction request, flyers and re- The calendar has the following sanctioned sult forms for a NCCC event. Joe will help with the events: results and send NCCC members their standing. It June 22 Autocross Vapor Trail Vettes was stated that the competition calendar is on the NCCC website. It was noted that some car clubs August 10 Poker Run O.C. Vettes on the East Coast are reporting that they are August 10 Autocross Vapor Trail Vettes judging as many as 7 car shows in a single day. It was pointed out that these car clubs are chasing October 19 Autocross Vapor Trail Vette points.

It was stated that the Red Line copy is on the NCCC web site. In the new NCCC rule book, car’s Tech Corner—The Origin of the Cor- to be raced, only have to be Teched once a year. vette Name It’s the owners responsibility for the safety of their car. Many people know the Corvette as a motorsports In the previous February 2 minutes, award win- icon or the ultimate Muscle/Sports car, but few ners were announced for the various divisions. know the meaning of the name. We all know that Award plaques were presented to club represent- the marketing team over at Chevrolet came up atives to hand out to the winners in each club. with the name Camaro out of thin air. but the Vapor Trail won club of the year with 1400 points meaning behind Corvette goes quite a bit deeper.

Regional Executive’s Report: Allen Morris Corvette was the first mass-produced post-war Curtis Richmond is organizing a road trip to the American sports car, but when General Motors in- th 2019 convention. He will be leaving on July 4 , troduced the car to the public as a prototype the and traveling through New Mexico to Colorado. production name was still undecided. Out of over The trip will take 3 days with 2 nights lodging, 300 submissions, the name suggested by Myron E. and so far he has 5 or 6 cars committed. So far Scott would be the winner. 450 signed up for the convention. The 2020 Na- tional Convention will be held in Indianapolis from Scott went to work for Chevrolet in 1937, as an July 6 through the 10th. As of yet, no-one has assistant director for the Public Relations depart- made a bid on the 2021 convention. ment, where he was responsible for photography of new cars, designing of press kits, graphics, and It was reported that there is $676,000 in the special events. He was also known for being the NCCC account. A large portion of this money is creator of the All-American Soap Box Derby. made through memberships. The way our region makes money is off of NCCC events. Continued on page 6.

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CareNet Charity Golf Event ~ April CareNet Charity Golf Event ~ April 27, 27, 2019 2019 By Larry Wright By Larry Wright

CareNet Pregnancy and Resource Center hosted a Charity Golf event on 27 April, 2019, held at Ran- cho Maria Golf Club, in Orcutt, CA.

I was privileged to be invited and participate and to present our donation to their organization, headed by Christina Soltan, Executive Director.

CareNet is a faith based organization and all of their services are free and confidential. Their free services include pregnancy tests, limited obstetri- cal ultrasound, parenting classes, baby and ma- ternity clothing and supplies, presentations on STDs, healthy relationships and fetal development in all of the high schools and at Allan Hancock, Tech Corner— Origin of the Corvette and after-abortion support. Name They are a private organization, one of 1200 cen- ters nationwide. They are affiliated with CareNet Myron thought the name Corvette rolled off the tongue well and thought a tie to the fast strike National at care-net.org. Their website is care- ships called "Corvettes" from World War II would netsm,org. Located at 201 S. Miller, Ste 101, appeal to the American men, many who had Santa Maria, CA. 805-928-9285 served. This would go on to form the foundation for the nautical names that would be applied to Again, they are a faith-based organization and Corvettes and concepts such as the Mako Shark receive no government funding. They are a non- and Sting Ray (later to be used as Stingray). profit 501(c)3 and rely solely on donations from The name Corvette was first used on ships in the from businesses, individuals, churches, fundrais- 1670s by the French Navy. These small, light and ers and and clubs such as our club, Vapor Trail fast ships would often be used as escorts for larg- Vettes of Santa Maria. er ships. While they generally were under 100 feet long and only had one gun deck, their maneuvera- Because their services are free of charge, they bility and speed gave them a unique advantage serve clients who are low income, have no in- against the larger ships. Literally, a Corvette could come, students and men and women of all ages, run circles around larger ships and in the era of and those just needing help. They receive refer- cannons fast moving targets were hard to hit. The rals from CWS, the county, and Probation for cli- British would keep Corvettes in their fleet during ents who have had their kids removed from their the colonial incursions into the rivers of the Far- home, and their classes are a way they can be East and Africa, at this point, most Corvettes were reunited with their children. steam powered. Their “ mission” is to provide practical support to The name was revived in World War II when Brit- anyone facing a pregnancy decision no matter ish naval designer William Reed drafted a plan for what situation they find themselves in. Their goal a small escort/patrol ship. They saw much success is to reach abortion-minded women and men and as anti-submarine escorts in the Atlantic. Later in encourage them to choose life and proclaim the the war, some Corvettes would be outfitted as Gospel of Jesus Christ ! minesweepers and saw action in the Pacific. Cor- They currently have 20 volunteers serving their vette ships are still used today, mostly has light clients, who initially receive 23 hours of training missile ships or support vessels for fast attack and quarterly training on relevant client issues. boats.

I firmly believe they are a fine dedicated organi- Reference: zation who are worthy of our support. They are just a really nice group of people. Thank you to Author unknown (2019 May). Origin of the cor my friends and fellow members of the Corvette vette name. The Gentleman Racer club known as Vapor Trail Vettes for agreeing to [Online]. Available: https:// help support them. www.thegentlemanracer.com

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Club Members Business Cards For Sale

Gopher Buster’s 2014 Corvette Stingray Commercial Gopher Control Extras include radar detector , front and rear camera system, added audio system with sub- woofer that looks OEM and has dash control but- ton, superior car cover, Corvette trickle charger that simply plugs into back of hatch area, Call Bill 805 325 3750 has approx. 9800 Environmentally Safe no poison miles. He has the pink slip. Original price was $72,055. He would like $46,500 which includes extras. Negotiable.

This is a 3LT with several Z51 features and after- market subwoofer, radar, and front and rear cam- era. It has HUD and so many options that one can see from original win- dow sticker. It is priced below Kelley Blue Book! This could be your business Really loaded with equip- card. ment and on top of all that it is Laguna Blue! Owner located in the Trilogy/Nipomo area.

Contact: Jerry Swift [email protected] 760-417-2506

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Vapor Trail Vettes Sponsor

Home Motors Current Corvette Inventory

2019 Grand Sport Coupe 2007 Pre-Owned Coupe 2019 Stingray Coupe 1LT 2LT, Arctic White $76,095 $25,763 $61,185

* Inventory & prices as of June 2, 2019. Please check Home Motors website for latest updates.

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2019 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

NCCC, VAPOR TRAIL VETTES & LOCAL EVENTS

Day Date Event Location Sponsor Comments May 2019 Thursday 2 VTV Monthly General Café San Martin 112 N. Meeting starts at Meeting A Street, Lompoc 6:30 pm Fri-Sat 3-4 National Governors’ Meet- Sheraton Westport, St. NCCC Allen Morris 949- ing Louis, MO 367-9000

Saturday 11 West Coast Regional Gov- 13480 Baseline— Pomona Val- Allen Morris 949- ernor’s Meeting Logan’s Roadhouse, ley Corvettes 367-9000 Fontana Saturday 11 VTV Fun Run Foxen Canyon

Fri-Sat 24-25 Golden State Classics Paso Robles 805) 459-6711 Cruise/Car Show 9-4 pm

Thur-Sun 31-2 Pismo Classic Car Show Pismo Beach

June 2019 Saturday 1 Porsche Autocross Santa Maria Airport Sat-Sun 1-2 Pismo Beach Car Show Pismo Beach

Thursday 6 VTV Monthly General Pappy’s Restaurant, VTV Meeting starts at Meeting Santa Maria 6:30 pm

Saturday 15 VTV Fun Run Highway 1 VTV Saturday 22 VTV Autocross Santa Maria, Airport VTV

Saturday 22 Annual Santa Maria Elks Santa Maria 805) 934-2245 Car Show 9-3 pm of- Wed-Sun 26-30 Flower Festival Ryan Park, Lompoc fice@lompocvalleyfe stivals.com Saturday 29 Cars, Corks & Clubs Dairy Creek Golf 1-4pm Call Brandon Course, San Luis Obispo at 805-835-7200

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2019 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

NCCC, VAPOR TRAIL VETTES & LOCAL EVENTS

Day Date Event Location Sponsor Comments July 2019 Thursday 4 Solvang 4th of July Parade Solvang Saturday 6 VTV Annual July BBQ 119 Vista Del Mar, Shell Gale & Hector Beach

Sun—Fri 7-12 60th NCCC Convention Denver, CO Rocky Moun- tain Region

Sat or Sun 20 or 21 Harbor Cruise in Morro Morro Bay More info later Bay

August 2019 Saturday 10 VTV Autocross Santa Maria, Airport VTV Saturday 10 8th Annual Poker Run Orange County OC Vettes

9am-6pm— Madonna Inn, San Luis Saturday 10 Cali Auto Fest www.CaliAutoFest.c Obispo om Saturday 10 21st Annual Run to the Pine Mountain California Car californiacar- Pines Auto Show Shows shows.com Saturday 17 1st Annual Born Free Stadium805, Nipomo Stadium805 Sportsman Cup Race & Show Saturday 24 Wheels & Windmills Car Solvang Show Wed-Sat 28-31 6th Annual National Cor- T Bowling Green, KY More Details Later vette Caravan Saturday 31 Grover Beach Car Show Ramona Gardens Park, Grover Beach Groverbeachunit- Grover Beach United ed.com September 2019 Monday 2 Labor Day Fri-Sat 6-7 National Governors’ Meet- Sheraton Westport, St. NCCC Allen Morris 949- ing Louis, MO 367-9000 Fiesta Car http/sm4.org/ Saturday 14 Fiesta Car Show Santa Maria Show & 4-Sq carshow Church Saturday 14 West Coast Regional Gov- TBD Newport Har- Allen Morris 949- ernor’s Meeting bor Corvettes 367-9000 Fri-Sun 20-22 Danish Days Solvang Saturday 22 28th Annual Cruisin’ for a Orange County Fair- Cruisin’ for a Cure for Prostate Cancer grounds, Costa Mesa Cure 10 Sunday 29 Automotive Classic Trilogy Monarch Dunes

2019 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

NCCC, VAPOR TRAIL VETTES & LOCAL EVENTS

Day Date Event Location Sponsor Comments October 2019 Saturday 5 Muscle, Mutts and Meows Car Show (Fundraiser) 10-3 pm Santa Maria

Saturday 12 Concours Car Show Corvette Su- per Sports Fri-Sat 19 VTV 15th Annual Blast Santa Maria Inn VTV

Thursday 31 Halloween

November 2019 Saturday 2 Alternative Autocross Date Santa Maria Airport

Saturday 2 Annual Cayucos Car Show Cayucos (805) 995-3809 or (805) 995-1200

Sunday 3 47th Annual Nojoqui Falls Solvang 805) 736-7059 Fun Run 8-3 pm Fri-Sat 8-9 National Governors’ Meet- Sheraton Westport, St. NCCC Allen Morris 949- ing Louis, MO 367-9000 Saturday 22 VTV Back-up Autocross Santa Maria, Airport VTV

Thursday 28 Thanksgiving

December 2019 TBD VTV Christmas Dinner

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