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ANNUAL DINNER & THEATRE EVENT
March 2, 2008
Approximately 50 members of the Minuteman Section of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America attended the 2008 Annual Dinner and Theatre Event held on March 2nd. This gala event, organized by the same dedicated club member, Rich Garick, for over 21 years, was complete with laughter, good company and fine food making it, once again, amongst the finest events sponsored by the Minuteman Club for its membership.
This years theatrical, Fable Attractions, was the first to be performed by Harvard University's Hasty Puddings Theatrical Group at the refurbished New College Theater on Holyoke Street in Harvard Square. Following the show, members were off to the Grafton Street Pub and Grille for the Annual Meeting and Dinner. While the annual meeting was held short to tradition, the following activities were completed:
Officers were nominated for 2008 and unanimously elected for another term: President - John S. Piekarczyk, Vice President - Mark Fancy, Secretary - Ernie Fancy, Treasurer - John Slamin, Newsletter Editor - Ron Beaton, Web Master - Nancy Piekarczyk, Membership Chairman - Jim O'Sullivan.
The Officers and Board of Directors were recognized for their dedication and contributions to the Club by John Piekarczyk and each presented with gold membership badges. Rich and Ann Garick were presented Lake Chargoggagoggmanchaugagoggchaubunagungamaugg sweatshirts - the patron lake of Rich's alma mata - the University of Cornell. The meeting concluded with Vice President, Mark Fancy, announcing the winner of the 2007 Member of the Year Award. A plaque was presented to Nancy Piekarczyk, the club's webmaster for her contributions to the Club.
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EAS TECHNICAL SESSION
April 12, 2008
 Pictures
On April 12, 2008, EAS held a Tech Session for Section members. Each member's vehicle was put on a lift for Technicians to inspect. This is something that every car needs after a harsh winter. Members were made aware of potential and existing problems and what steps needed to be addressed immediately.
I would like to thank Mercedes Benz of Westwood for again providing items for our raffle. Included were an SLK Peddle Car and Mercedes Benz Watch. The 5 month old who will get the car is sure to be a Mercedes Benz enthusiast. The Grandfather scored huge points on this one!
Thank you to the Staff of EAS for a great event. In three short years they have become one of the biggest supporters of the Minuteman Section.
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PRIVATE AIRCRAFT & AUTOMOBILE COLLECTION
COLLINGS FOUNDATION - May 10, 2008
Pictures
Thanks to the gracious invitation of The Wachusett Old Car Club (WOCC), MBCA-Minuteman members were amongst some 60+ visitors who enjoyed a private-showing of the aircraft and automobile collection of the Collings Foundation housed on the private grounds of its founder, Bob Collings in Stow MA. The non-profit Foundation was formed in 1979 to support "living history" events that enable Americans to learn more about their heritage through direct participation. Funded by individuals and corporations through donations - flight-ready restorations of historically significant aircrafts are made possible.
A significant accomplishment is the "Wings of Freedom Tour" where the public has the opportunity to participate in a flight experience in honor of our WWII veterans.
In addition to the aviation museum, the Stow facilities showcase a vintage automobile collection of sixty-six American-built automobiles and vehicles from the first half of the century. Included in the collection are midget, sprint and Indy race cars. A big thanks to Ernie Fancy for organizing this event.
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NATIONAL BOARD AND REGIONAL PRESIDENTS MEETING
May 15-18, 2008
Pictures
Nancy and I had the pleasure of attending the meetings held at The Inn on The Lake in Canandaigua, NY. The event was hosted by The Finger Lakes Section; President Peter Van Denburg did a fantastic job as Event Chairman. You would not believe the amount of work that goes into running an event like this. Everything seemed to go off like clockwork, probably because Peter is a Clockmaker. He did this with an ever present smile. My father was a Watchmaker and I don't remember him smiling as much as Peter.
I was impressed with the way the meeting was run. The members that make up the National Board are passionate about our Club. They are totally dedicated, professional, and put in a tremendous amount of time to make this the best Car Club in the world. Attending a National Board Meeting is something that I encourage every member to do.
The Regional Presidents Meeting was held on Sunday. The Northeast Presidents are as dedicated a group as the National Board. They truly have what's best for their Sections as their main goal. A major reason for this is the example set by our Regional Director Doug Dees. He is an even keeled, dedicated man who leads by example.
It was my pleasure to present a donation on behalf of The Minuteman Section to the Mercedes Benz Club of America Educational Foundation in the amount of $500.00. I would like to thank the Board of Director's of the Minuteman Section for their leadership in supporting the Foundation.
To top it all off, Nancy and I won the raffle at the Closing Banquet. A beautiful Musical Wall Clock provided by Peter Van Denburg's company.
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KEN BOURQUE'S ANNUAL NAUTICAL CRUISE & FINE DINING
Mystic Seaport & Captain Daniel Packer Inne - August 10, 2008
Presented by AlphaCars
Pictures
Sunday, August 10th was a picture perfect day in Mystic, Connecticut - none finer to set sail for our 2.5 hour private cruise on the majestic Schooner Argia. Fourty-eight seafarers from the Minuteman Section of the MBCA gathered (many tried-and-true "regulars" and nearly as many new friends to be made) awaiting the crews preparation of the vessel.
All aboard and packed to capacity, the Captain successfully navigated through the historic Bascule Bridge, and was helped hoisting the 78 foot sails by three adventurous members of the Club. Following the cruise, we were off to the Captain Daniel Packer Inne for a truly magnificent meal. We have Ken Bourque, once again, to thank for organizing a spectacular day amongst friends in the sunshine and fresh air of the beautiful New England waterways!
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GERMANFEST XXII CONCOURSE D'ELEGANCE
Larz Anderson Auto Museum, Brookline MA - September 7, 2008
Presented by Intercity Lines
Germanfest Winner Circle and Field
Germanfest XXII Presented by Intercity Lines went off without a hitch in spite of hurricane Hana. When I went outside at 3:30 AM and the rain had stopped, I drew a big sigh of relief - we were on!
John Slamin did his usual fantastic job, as he has done for the last 15 years. Imagine doing an event for 15 years, and it's no small job. Made even more difficult this year because John's laptop was stolen, and he had to recreate the scoring program and all the forms. We thanked him with a car care kit. I would like to thank all the sponsors of this year's event. They are listed along with our winners. Please support them, as they support us.
Germanfest has a support staff that works hard every year to keep John Slamin and the Chief Judge {forgot his name} from being overwhelmed. Without these members it would be utter confusion. They deserve a big thank you, and they are:
The Registration Staff: Cathi Sheehan, Bonnie Fancy and Nancy Piekarczyk.
Chief Judge: John Piekarczyk. Class Judges: Ernie Fancy, Dave Sheehan, Dave Bryant, Steve Wiener, Ed Owen, Mark Fancy, Bruce Kline, Jim O'Sullivan, Al Copper, Dick Divitto and Peter Vanderveer, and thank you to Lee Slamin for your help parking cars.
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CONCOUR de MUSIQUE
Beautiful Cars & Beautiful Music
Presented by M. Steinert & Sons of Natick
September 21st - 2nd Annual Piano Recital and People's Choice Car Show
M. Steinert & Sons of Natick graciously hosted the spectacular 2nd Annual Concour de Musique on Sunday, September 21st at their Natick store. Members of the Minuteman Section of the MBCA were entertained by some of the most talented young pianists in the area. The piano recital lasting approximately 90 minutes had members bedazzled.
The concert was followed by a silent auction of memorabilia commemorating the Steinway Daimler American Mercedes Connection with proceeds benefiting a non-profit organization dedicated to introducing the not-as-privileged children to the art of music.
In conclusion, club President John Piekarczyk, presented awards to the People's Choice Car Show winners.
Thank you once again Elizabeth and Steve of M. Steinert & Sons of Natick for orchestrating this wonderful piano recital and bringing together MBCA members for the second annual Beautiful Cars and Beautiful Music - Concour de Musique.
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FARBERAYLLE XXXI
A Celebration of Fall Colors!
Presented by European Auto Solutions
On the weekend of October 10-12th members of the Minuteman and Northern New England Sections of the Mercedes-Benz Club of America gathered in picturesque Keene, NH at the Best Western Sovereign Hotel for Faberallye XXXI. This years event took rallyers through the winding roads and quaint scenic towns of the Manadnock Region of Central New England. Approximately 20 valiant teams participated in the fun-filled competition.
The rallye was organized by our rallye masters Mark and Becky Fancy and a wonderful job they did.
The weekend began on Friday evening with cocktails and hors d' oeuvres. Teams were presented with a bag of goodies containing survival items (stress ball, cookies, bottled water and mints) and other tokens unsuspectingly containing answers and clues to questions on the upcoming rallye.
On Saturday morning after a hearty breakfast, teams gathered outside at 9:00 a.m. for the driver's meeting. We could not have asked for a better day. All participants made it back, safe and sound and reconvened at 6:00 p.m.for an evening of entertainment, awards and fine food. A hearty thank you to our sponsor European Auto Solutions and round of applause to Becky and Mark for organizing such a fun-packed event.
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PRE-1971 MERCEDES WINTERIZATION TECHNICAL SESSION
OldTimer Restoration Center
Jim Cosgrove opened his state of the art restoration center to Minuteman members on October 18th. Jim is one of the premier restorers in the country and covered topics on restoration and winterizing older Mercedes Benz vehicles.
Jim explained the time it takes to research and make sure that a restoration is correct. He deals with older Mercedes Benz and records and pictures are hard to find. He went on to say every car tells a story as you dismantle it and will give clues as to what has been done during its life. It will also tell what is not correct. He strives to make the car as original as possible. Jim has what has to be the biggest, self-designed and well-crafted rotisserie I have ever seen!
Jim Cosgrove (center) explained the winterization process for the classic Mercedes-Benz and his unique approach to restoration. |
WINTER CAR STORAGE TECH SESSION
AlphaCars
On October 25th, members of the Minuteman Section met at AlphaCars in Boxborough for a tech session which included talks on winter storage of cars and detailing. There was quite a lot of discussion as to whether or not it is necessary to start a stored car every so often; general manager Dmitry Bykhovsky said it wasn't necessary if the car was being stored for a short time, approximately three or four months. Another point of conversation was the use of Sta-bil © and products like it. Basically, whatever works for the individual is fine.
As far as detailing the car, it was interesting to find out that the reason many professionally detailed cars look better than the ones done in the home driveway is because some cleansers available to the professional are not available to the amateur, in part because they require special handling and ventilation. However, a demonstration on how to use clay and various other products will make the job easier for those who do their own detailing.
 
Dmitry Bykhovsky (left) and AlphaCars technician (right) show how to inspect a
car before winter storage.
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