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Updated 8/17/09 FloridaAugust Update It’s almost here! Get your car maintenance taken care of and take a look at the Guide Book for suggestions and details for our Caravan! Download the Guide Book as a MS Word Document (~10MB) Please, if you have not yet notified us regarding your attendance at the BBQ on Tuesday night, do so NOW! (If you already contacted us regarding this, do not notify us again). Send to 2009FloridaCaravan@verizon.net Thanks again for all of your support. We look forward to a great Caravan! Ernie Hello Caravan Participants! I'm Ernie Zager, and along with my wife Millie, will be leading the caravan from Florida. We were on the 2003 caravan, and it was one of the most exciting road trips we have ever been on, so we decided to accept the challenge of organizing the Florida leg of the 2009 Caravan. A little of my history: I have wanted a Corvette since I was 8 years old (1957). Currently I have a Velocity Yellow '06 Convertible, (my 3rd Corvette). My license plate is SNCI WS8 (Since I Was 8). I drive it every day trying to make up for lost time! The photo, (which was very cropped) is of Millie and me at our Suncoast Corvette Association Halloween party. The theme was "Decades, from 1920 to 1980". We selected the '50's, and went wearing a home made, very authentically styled '53 Corvette. I think that qualifies us as "Corvette Crazy"! I'm sure to have a photo of it when we get together, so if you want to see it... Motel contact info for Lake City for Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009
Motel Contact info for Atlanta (Kennessaw) Wednesday Sept. 2, 2009 1. Hampton Inn $100+Tax=$114 10 king and 10-2 bed Queens, Contact Malika 770-426-0017, 871 Cobb Place Blvd 2. Comfort Inn $85 +Tax 10 / 10, Contact Dee, 770-499-9200, 2489 Geo. Busbee Pkwy 3. Hilton Garden 25 / 25 and Homewood Suites 94+Tax, Contact Stephanie, 678-322-1140 @ 895 Cobb Place 4. Country Inn 89+Tax 10 / 10 Contact Priti, 770-423-7105, 3192 Barrett Lakes Blvd 5. Best Western in Carterville for $58 + Tax Not yet confirmed. It is at GA 20, exit 290 on I-75 January '09 Update From our South Florida Local Leader, Carrie DeLeon: Join us at Ed Morse Sawgrass,14401 W. Sunrise Blvd., Sunrise, Fl. 33323 (THANK YOU CARRIE!) There will also be a kick off event at Bill Buck Chevrolet in Venice, FL on the same morning. Details will be available shortly. Our main &Kick Off" celebration will be hosted by Ferman Chevrolet in Brandon (Tampa) on Tuesday 1. Several of the local caravans will meet us there. More details as they unfold. We will be leaving Ferman's around 2 p.m. Our first evening will be hosted by Bruce Glueck Chevrolet of Jasper, Florida. Bruce and Becky have graciously invited us to their home for a BBQ, much like they did for the 2003 Caravan. (As I recall, there were nearly 500 Corvettes on their property, with room to spare!) We will be spending the night in nearby Lake City.
These details came in from Joe Owens, Georgia Captain, who made the track arrangements for us. (THANKS JOE!) There will be a mandatory drivers meeting and a tech inspection on your Corvette. (A covered pavilion will be provided to get some shade during the event.) Road Atlanta will open their concessions for us so we can have lunch while we are there. There will be 2 different types of laps available, Hot Laps and Parade Laps. Hot Laps will be Lead/Follow. That means that there will be a pacing car in the lead, and a chase car at the end of the group. This is for your safety and enjoyment of the track. Helmets will be required for the Hot Laps. There are some loaner helmets available if you don't have your own. Pricing is as follows: Hot Laps---5 laps for $75 (per car, per session) Parade Laps---3 laps of $10 (per car, per session) We are limiting this to one "Hot Lap" session and/or one Parade Lap session per car. You can reserve your space now; there are limited spaces and once the spaces are full there will be no more. If additional spaces are available, you can purchase those the day of the event. For those of you that have already sent in money for Hot Laps at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, you need you verify that you want me to put that towards the Road Atlanta laps. Also, for those of you who sent in $30 for garage space, let me know if you want it refunded, or donated to the caravan expenses. Those of you who sent money for both Road Course and Oval Track laps, you need to let me know what to do with the Oval Track fee you paid in. After the track event, we will either be going the Kennesaw area to stay overnight, or, if we can raise enough money, we will be going to Stone Mountain for a very entertaining evening. Details will follow. We will leave the Atlanta area early Thursday morning for the final leg of our caravan, Bowling Green. Once there, the NCM will take over the activities. I know that you all will be thrilled to see the multi-million dollar expansion to the NCM. What they have accomplished is nothing short of amazing! Most of us will be leaving on Sunday, but that is entirely up to you! (Remember, Monday is Labor Day). For those of you who have not yet purchased your Caravan static cling decal or flag, you can get them now. When I order decals and flags (especially flags) I must order fairly large quantities. As we get closer to the event, when I run out, I will not be replenishing my supply. Order Now! Decals are $10 each plus shipping which comes to $11.25. Up to 5 decals can be shipped for the $1.25 shipping charge. Flags are $15 each plus shipping which comes to $20. Up to 2 flags can be shipped for the $5 shipping charge. Make payments to: 2009 Florida Caravan
Payment for Road Atlanta Laps can be made to me, or go to the Georgia page and follow their instructions. Thanks to all who are working hard to make this the best caravan ever. We look forward to seeing you all on the road to Bowling Green! Ernie & Millie Zager November '08 Update Miami / Fort Lauderdale / Palm Beach Area 2 caravans departing at 8:30am, Caravan #1 will go across "Alligator Alley" to arrive at Ferman Chevrolet around 12noon and Caravan #2 is going east on the Sawgrass Expressway to catch the Turnpike north through Orlando on to Lake City. October '08 Update Still no word on the replacement for Atlanta Motor Speedway, but we are asking everyone to be patient while arrangements are taking place. As soon as we get word, we will let you know, and also post motel information for the area we will be staying at. Until we get official word on the track event, the Stone Mountain event is temporarily on hold. Here is the information on the motels for our first night on the road in Lake City, Florida:
Caravan Flags are now available! These flags look great on our Corvettes! Order yours now, and get even more attention while you are driving to and from events. Our club used them when we paraded the Home Coming Queen and their Court around the football field at various local high schools. What a great impression we made! Flags are $15 each plus $6 shipping. If you are ordering more than 1, let me know how many and to what zip code, and I will calculate the correct shipping costs for you. August '08 Update We had booked the Atlanta Motor Speedway for our kickoff event on Wednesday September 2, 2009. Unfortunately, NASCAR has changed some dates and now they are having a night race that week/weekend. We are currently working on alternative plans and will have them updated on this website as soon as they are finalized. We apologize, but this was out of our control. Also, we now have the official Caravan Logos available in a static cling decal, suitable for the rear window. It is an awesome decal, and the sales help to pay for the cost of the caravan activities. Cost is $10 each. Please include $1.25 to cover cost of sending them ($1.25 covers up to 5 decals). For Static Cling Decals, make check payable to: 2009 Florida Caravan and send to: November 19, 2007 Day 1, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2009 The kickoff event for the caravan begins at 10:00 Tuesday morning, at one of the foremost Corvette dealers
in our area, Ferman Chevrolet in Brandon. Feeder caravans from Miami/Palm Beach areas, Naples/Ft. Myers areas,
as well as other nearby counties will meet us there. Ferman was the starting point for the 2003 Caravan, and
they have agreed to do it again, even bigger and better! Radio station(s) will be broadcasting live, and
reporting on the event. I spoke with Mason Dixon last week, and he is anxious to be a part of our kick off
ceremonies! Mason currently drives a 2008 Corvette Convertible, and tells me that he enjoys his Corvette(s)
more than his Muscle Cars (for which he is well known). For those of you who are not from the Tampa Bay area,
and want to know more about Mason, you can visit his web site at: We are very proud to announce that Andy Pilgrim will, once again, be our Honorary Grand Marshall for the Florida Caravan! Andy is one of the most talented drivers on the track, as well as a leading advocate for educating safety to young drivers. For those of you who do not follow the racing news, you can find out more about Andy at: www.andypilgrim.com. He will lead us on our way, leaving Ferman's at 2:00. (Of course, Andy's participation is subject to his racing schedule, which has not yet been established for those dates). Along the way, we will pick up more feeder caravans at Ocala and Gainesville. Our first overnight stop will be in Lake City / Jasper, home of Bruce Glueck Chevrolet, (another very well respected Corvette Dealer). As in our 2003 event, we are invited to his home for a BBQ and entertainment. (In 2003, we had about 500 cars parked on his property!) Bruce and Becky are very gracious hosts, and we are sure to have a great evening! (I wonder if they still have the paddle boats on the Gator Swamp?!?) On Day 2, Wednesday, we will head for Atlanta, where we will be able to drive our cars on the Atlanta Motor Speedway. We plan to have the road course track as well as the oval available to us for some driving fun! As in the past, we did pace laps (at a pretty good clip), or for an additional fee, HOT LAPS in your car, with a professional driver as your passenger! (Your Corvette must pass a tech inspection before you are allowed to do hot laps). They may also offer to have a professional driver take the wheel of your car to show you what it is capable of! After the track event, we are planning an evening at Stone Mountain, where they will put on their famous
laser light show just for us. This is not just a bunch of flashing lights. It is a very entertaining and
patriotic show that you are sure to enjoy, and have a lifetime of memories to add to your week. If you want to
learn more about it, go to: Day 3, Thursday, it's on to Bowling Green. Wednesday will have been a pretty full day and evening, so we will plan to leave the Stone Mtn. area at 9 am, and arrive at the NCM around 3:00 pm. After that, it's up to the Museum to keep us entertained! (And they are very good at that!) There is still a lot of planning to do. Please, get signed up now! It is not too early! Signing up early will give us a better base on which to continue our planning. If you know of any companies (or individuals) who would like to help sponsor our caravan, please let me know. The costs involved in providing track time at the Atlanta Motor Speedway (and insurance) as well as the $4500 to have Stone Mountain open for us, are staggering! We need sponsors so we can pay for these events. (All donations and sponsorships are tax deductible). For more information, please contact me at: 2009FloridaCaravan@verizon.net We look forward to seeing you all in 2009! Sincerely, Ernie & Millie Zager Please make sure you are signed up for eNews to keep current on the latest news: |
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Wednesday we head north to ROAD ATLANTA (YEAH!) our very favorite track! We plan to arrive around
1:00. If you have ever been there, or saw it on TV, WOW! This is what the Corvette was really made
for!
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