Ron Hamrah has accepted the position as the captain of the Mid-Atlantic Caravan. The sudden and tragic passing of Bob Mahler certainly left a hole in the caravan and in
our hearts but Ron will be more than able to take up the organization, planning, and operation of the caravan. Ron and his wife, Antoinette, are present residents of
Washington,D.C. Ron originally hails from Brooklyn,NY and Antoinette is a native of Los Angeles,CA. Their first Corvette was a 1966 427/425hp outfitted in Mosport Green,
which they purchased while Ron was still in the Air Force and they presently drive a 2002 Electron Blue convertible. Ron is the Governor of the Corvette Club of America,
ER-001, the oldest Corvette club. Ron participated in the 2009 caravan and is looking forward to leading the 2014 Mid-Atlantic caravan to Bowling Green. When not hanging
out with his fellow Corvette enthusiasts, Ron is skiing with the Sun, Snow and Surf Ski Club. Sounds like he likes speed in any form.
We are having to make some changes with regards to a move by one of our captains and an open vacancy in one of our caravans. Roy Carman has changed states on us and
moved from Texas to Kentucky. He will now be the new captain for the TN/E.KY caravan and will take over that responsibility immediately. Not much need to re-introduce Roy
as he is a fixture at the NCM functions and will do a great job getting his new caravan in shape. I know he will be looking for some help from the western Tennessee region
and wherever else in the area, so give Roy a shout out if you would like to help with the caravan. This move does leave a vacancy in the Central Texas Caravan. We are now
looking for someone in that area to pick up the baton and start running with what Roy has started. He will be available to fill you in on all the plans already in
place.
Paul Mariano
National Chair
2014 NCM Caravan
2014 Caravan National Chair Announced
They come from miles around...lines of colorful Corvettes, all generations represented, traveling from every continental United State and even a few foreign countries to
gather in the Home of the Corvette. 2014 will bring the 5th National Corvette Caravan and will mark the 20th Anniversary of the National Corvette Museum. Leading the
spectacle is Paul Mariano of Huntersville, NC, a 20-year Museum member who is not only a lifetime member of the Museum but also a founding member.
Paul is currently the ambassador to the Museum for the Queen City Corvette Club in Charlotte, NC, and previously was the ambassador for the Corvette Club of Santa
Barbara, CA. He is a member of the NCRS and was a participant of the Southern California caravan in 1999, co-captain of the Southern California caravan in 2003, and
sponsorship/advertising chairman for the 2009 North Carolina / South Carolina /
Virginia caravan.
"When Roc Linkov, NCM Events Manager, asked if I would do it, I did have a little trepidation," said Paul. "But as when I agreed to take the Southern
California caravan at the last minute, I thought if not me then who? I have such a deep love affair with the museum that I want to contribute as much as I can, wherever I
can. Without the great help that my wife Barbara provides, I could not manage to take on any of these caravan tasks. I just hope I can provide the service that everyone
has entrusted to me."
Paul is an avid supporter of the National Corvette Museum, the Corvette Race Team and the Corvette lifestyle. He currently owns a 1967 big block coupe Corvette and a
2007 Z06.
The 5th National Corvette Caravan will take place the last week of August, 2014. Regional caravans will form and join other caravans as they travel across the
United States to gather in Bowling Green, Kentucky for four days of festivities at the National Corvette Museum. "A national caravan such as this requires years of
planning and coordinating and the Museum is fortunate to have a volunteer like Paul to take on this monumental task," stated National Corvette Museum Executive
Director, Wendell Strode.
We're excited to have Paul leading this event!
2014 Corvette Caravan - Letter from the Chair
Many thanks to all of you who have already sent your best wishes and offers of help. All support is greatly appreciated. I most certainly will be soliciting your
assistance, advice, and action in the days and months to come. Although the next caravan is three years away, the time will pass so rapidly we will wonder why all the
planning didn't start in 2009!.
I am soliciting inputs from all those who would like to captain a caravan segment in 2014, both past and future captains. If you felt like your area of the country was
not served by an authorized caravan and you think an added segment is warranted, let me know. If you are a past captain and wish to assume the task again, let me know. If
you weren't a captain on the last caravan, but would like to lead a group this time, let me know. In other words, to paraphrase the rum commercial, "calling all
caravan captains". Please let me know your telephone number when responding.
Once the captains have been installed, we can begin to massage the routes. Not down to the rest stops, but the overall plan to ensure we have optimized all the routes.
The traffic pattern from the past caravan will be the basis for the one in 2014. Some additions, deletions, and modifications may occur, but in general, not much will
differ from that successful event. I do want to review all the past routes so I am familiar with how the segments were connected.
Having been involved in the organizing and funding of two caravans, I know all the hard work is done by the caravan captains and their local teams. My job will be to
help make that task as trouble free as possible and keep everyone informed, on a timely basis, of the caravan status. In addition, the NCM will be streamlining the
registration process and further reducing the workload of the captains. I solicit all participants to join in and help support your captain. It is a huge task to raise
funds, book venues, publish route books, time daily routes, etc. Please volunteer and become part of the caravan process. You won't be sorry.
This caravan will mark the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the museum and the silver anniversary of its conception. We have the opportunity to make it the
largest and best caravan ever. All we need is an abundance of new ideas and a ton of hard work.
You can contact me at vettltd@aol.com. I promise to get back to you within a 24 hour period.