TJ, first, I'm no longer a member of the EFV8 Club for a number of reasons, not the least of which is their refusal to put such things as event dates (
weekends or not) up for a vote, for example. To your other questions; we schedule the
Florida "Barner's Bash" in February,
the height of tourist season and we negotiate room rates at nationally recognized high quality hotel chains. Tampa Bay is, has always been, and will continue to be, a prime vacation destination. Glad you approve of people wanting to make return trips to the area, I'll sleep much better knowing that...
As for specific $ discounts, that depends on the venue, its proximity to the beaches and/or other tourist venues, as well as the number of rooms, but you should already know that. Typically, we select a centralized location, making it easy for all participants. One thing we don't do, is utilize the hotel grounds
aka parking lot, to stage any of our weekend events. If the EFV8 Club would like to avail themselves of my negotiating skills, I'd be happy to discuss a proposition. As for my bias toward the EFV8 Club, as you put it, I'll get over it when the club starts recognizing, appreciating and acting on the wishes of the membership, not just the few that hold positions in the hierarchy. As for our group, the
Cigar City Flatheads, we are
not a structured club, we're just a group of people that share a common interest in Flathead Fords. We do not collect dues nor do we have chartered chapters, produce a magazine or hold national/regional events. One of our members, from New England, Bill Wzorek created the
"Miss Shelly" Award for our
Florida "Barner's Bash" event. There is no car judging, the award is given by majority vote to an individual that has contributed to the continuance of the hobby, they don't even have to be in attendance or drive a Flathead to receive the award. Further, anyone is welcome to attend our events, they don't have to drive a Flathead although many of them do, and in fact, they drive a considerable distance to participate and enjoy the event and the Tampa Bay area. Make no mistake, I did, and do, enjoy attending EFV8 Club Meets, in fact I hold three awards in the Touring Class, Two first and one second place for my '47 & '53 Convertibles. I sincerely hope that you continue to enjoy participating in the EFV8 Club and its National & Regional Meets. I know I will continue to promote
Cigar City Flathead events as long as people want to attend and enjoy them, in Tampa Bay or Dawsonville, Georgia or anywhere else we might want to congregate,
