Drag racing season started to kick in for me this month. I was out to the track to test out the new short throw shifter and thanks to Dale, one of our new members, I was able to shoot some video footage for the next You Tube video. I also took Dale for a passenger run and he is now recovering  The video also served a useful technical purpose because I noticed from this and previous footage that I have rear wheel hop happening. The solution appears to be changing out the control arms, which is now underway.

We held our second ice cream run with 15 club members on May 10th, destination, the Dairy Queen over by the Manning Freeway. We then met with 20 club members for our Saturday brunch on the 15th at Ricky’s by the municipal airport. So the numbers at these events are growing on a monthly basis. Remember, if you are planning to attend the monthly brunch, please let Rick know so that we can reserve the space. Otherwise, someone ends up having to wait until a table becomes free. We are literally taking over the restaurant one table at a time!

At the monthly meeting we discussed making some changes to the club structures. In essence, we want to begin looking at doing some advance planning for our social events, keeping in better touch with our members, acknowledging the contributions of members and creating a variety of products (hats, tee-shirts, etc.) that might be used to market the club. Finally, we want to create a vibrant homepage so that we can show off all the great things that the club is doing. Stay tuned for a follow up e-mail to start getting you involved in this process.

One final note about the monthly meeting, an award of recognition was presented to Albert for his extraordinary efforts to sign up new members. (This is where I got the idea that maybe we should recognize more club members for the special things they do for us all).

Just a reminder that our third ice cream run will be happening on Monday, June 14thth , departing from Healy Ford at 7.30; destination TBA. Our fourth Saturday brunch will be happening at Ricky’s by the municipal airport on Saturday, May 19th. Our monthly meeting will be taking place in the Healy Ford boardroom on Monday May 21th. Other important events this month include the Children’s Make a Wish Show N Shine on the 13th and the Devon Cruise on the 24th. and the Poker Run to the Bruce Hotel on the 26th with the Corvette Club. For both of these events, we still need approximate numbers so please let Rick know.

Next month is the Healy Show so Daryl and Rick who are quarterbacking the event are helping me to track down Mark to finalize the details. If it is like past years, the Show promises to offer a great cross section of awesome Fords, tons of people and great prizes, so mark your calendars! We hope to see you out at this month’s events and look forward to continuing to see you at our events throughout the season. Stay tuned and remember to check us out at www.amoaweb.com .

Cheers,
John Church, (a.k.a. Johnny Mustang)
AMOA Club President

Related posts:

1. May 2010 President’s Message
2. President’s Message – April 2010
3. President’s Message – July 2010

Well another month has come and gone and what a month it was! We launched our first ice cream run with seven club members on April 12th, destination, the Dairy Queen beside Westmount Mall on Groat Road. We then met with 13 club members for our Saturday brunch on the 17th at Ricky’s by the municipal airport. During these two events we recruited volunteers to show their cars at the pre-game event of an Edmonton Rush game and of course Powerama. Thanks to Danny and Bryon for stepping up on short notice for the Rush game. Danny managed to make it into some news footage that I forwarded to you by e-mail a while ago.

Powerama turned out to be a great success for the club. We signed on 38 new members and 20 associate members during the weekend. A lot of credit for this membership blitz goes to Albert (the Membership Machine) who single-handedly signed on about 80 percent of the new members. The six members’ vehicles that were included in our display won awards in four categories. Overall, we had a high level of interest around our club display and a huge amount of traffic. By the end of the show, people were dropping by because they had heard about our cars from other people at the show. I also want to note that Les, also a club member, won in two categories for his 55 Chev that was featured in last month’s newsletter. Tom, our diecast Corvette buddy, won about eight awards for his racing Camaro display. What a weekend! If there was any doubt out there about our presence in the Edmonton car club scene, Powerama put that to rest. A special thanks to Alberta, Rick, Fred, Daryl, John, Neil, Bob and Lisa (daughter), Tony, and Bryon and Brenda for volunteering their cars and/or their time during Powerama. What a great way to kick off the season!

The event’s schedule continues to evolve. Aside from the Healy and Freedom Ford Show n Shines, we are finalizing the details on a joint autocross slalom event with the Corvette club to be held at the Edmonton Garrison on July 24th. We are also still working on a Texas scramble golf game as a warm up to our Annual Corn Roast in mid-September. The golf game will be in honour of Dale Haluschak, one of our well known members, who passed away suddenly last fall. Proceeds for that event will go to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. Finally, we are hoping to host a Diecast Show n Shine in mid-October for the kids and kids-at-heart to raise money for a Christmas childrens’ fund.

Just a reminder that our second ice cream run will be happening on Monday, May 10th , departing from Healy Ford at 7.30; destination TBA. Our third Saturday brunch will be happening at Ricky’s by the municipal airport on Saturday, May 15th. Our monthly meeting will be taking place in the Healy Ford boardroom on Monday May 17th. We hope to see you out at these events this month and look forward to continuing to see you at our events throughout the season. Stay tuned and remember to check us out at www.amoaweb.com .

Cheers,
John Church (a.k.a. Johnny Mustang)

Related posts:

1. President’s Message – April 2010
2. President’s Message – March 2010
3. Powerama 2010

Wow, the month of March has come and gone in the blink of an eye. I spent most of the month out of the province and everywhere I looked I saw Mustangs! While in Hawaii, I discovered that the car-of-choice for the Waikiki Police Department was, yes, the Mustang! It was literally Hawaii 4.6. With the remake of Hawaii 5 O already underway, I expect to see the 2011 Mustang 5.0 showing up. To top off the trip to Hawaii, we rented a Mustang convertible to drive up to the north coast to see the big surf. As if that wasn’t enough, when we were skiing in BC last weekend, what did I find at the top of the hill but a run called…Mustang Sally. I think someone is trying to tell me that car season is close!

With that in mind, Rick and I have been busy getting things rolling and firming up the rest of the schedule. Our first Saturday brunch at Ricky’s by the municipal airport attracted six members and two potential members. As a result of the conversation that we had over brunch, we decided to take the plunge and enter a club display in this year’s Powerama (April 23-25). So come on out and say hi and take a look at the five members’ vehicles that will be part of the display, not to mention all the other cool rods that will be part of the show. Leading up to Powerama, we will be hosting our first Ice Cream Run of the year on April 12th. We will be meeting at Healy Ford at 7.30 and going from there. All you need to do to participate is show up with a vehicle; mustangs are not required. We are also sponsoring our second Saturday Brunch at Ricky’s on April 17th. If you let Rick know you are coming we can try to get a group of tables reserved.

Finally, the effort to coordinate and promote racing and everything to do with cars in and around Edmonton that I was telling you about last month was officially launched during the last week of March. We are part of that initiative too. Check out the link to the story … http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/Edmonton+start+your+engines+Race+Week+2010/2749610/story.html

While we are still working on a few additions to our standard car show events at Healy and Freedom, we’ve warmed up the tires and are ready for an action-packed season. Stay tuned and remember to check us out at www.amoaweb.com .

Cheers,
John Church (a.k.a. Johnny Mustang)

Related posts:

1. May 2010 President’s Message
2. President’s Message – March 2010
3. President’s Message – June 2010

With spring fast approaching, I am starting to hear the call of the drag strip. In preparation for the disappearance of snow, I am changing out my stock shifter for one with a short throw. Hopefully, this will bring my times down into the low 12 second range. I am also looking at doing a couple of cosmetic things to enhance the look of my ride.

On that note, Rick and I attended another meeting of the “The Edmonton Race Experience”. This is the effort to coordinate and promote racing and everything to do with cars in and around Edmonton. Well, the month of July is going to be jammed packed with events leading up to the Indy.

If all goes well, there will be a number of show n’ shines, including our Healy show (July 10th), a Super Slalom
and Super Cruise, and a racing movie night. So, if you like cars, and I know you do, block off the month of July on the calendar and plan to four wheel it through. Once the schedule for this is finalized, we will get it out to you.

Speaking of schedules, this month marks the (re)start of the Saturday breakfast club. As I mentioned last
month, on the third Saturday of each month, we are going to host a brunch at Ricky’s Grill on Kingsway
Avenue at 11 a.m. (across from the Aviation Museum). The brunch is open to members, their families and
potential members. If you are interested let either Rick or I know so we can book enough space. I hope to see you out on March 20th.

One final thought, I’ve noticed that a lot of the things we do tend to be geared more towards the guys. I’d like to hear from the women who are members or affiliates about activities that the club might sponsor that would be value-added for them specifically.

Well, that’s about it for this month. Remember to check us out at www.amoaweb.com.

Cheers,
John Church, (a.k.a. Johnny Mustang)
AMOA Club President

Related posts:

1. President’s Message – April 2010
2. President’s Message – February 2010
3. President’s Message – July 2010

Well, it’s been two weeks since Barrett-Jackson and my ears are still ringing from the auctioneer’s call. As a first timer, I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of great cars and the number of great people, including the many folks from Edmonton and our club.

On the matter of great cars, there was a nice 65 Mustang GT coupe, black with red leather interior that would have made a nice book end to the 06 that I currently own, same colour combo. Of course, my wife, who is a mid-60’s Corvette fan, would have preferred one of the many Corvettes that crossed the stage, some at reasonable prices. I would have been set for life if I had picked up one of those. Unfortunately, my budget only allowed me to purchase a couple of T-shirts! On that note, one of our members had a slightly bigger Barrett Budget; more on that in this month’s newsletter.

We kicked off the month of February by spending an afternoon looking at what is probably one of the largest private collections of diecast cars and memorabilia in Alberta. The collection includes an array of Mustangs, Shelby, Corvettes, and Mopars, not to mention a huge number of magazines, documents and photos specific to the Edmonton car scene. Just to make things interesting, those who attended were asked to identify a number of unique aspects of the collection for prizes. Rick Funk, Wayne Ingraham and Craig Shanley were the lucky winners! A special thanks to Tom for agreeing to entertain us in his home.

As the year is unfolding, we are starting to move forward on a number of suggestions received from club members at the January meeting. The web site continues to develop with new content being added as we go. There should be a few pictures from last summer’s Healy show up their soon. Rick and I have attended a meeting with a couple of other car clubs to look at participating in a coordinated effort to promote racing in the City of Edmonton. The upside for the clubs is more visibility through advertising and of course more opportunities to pool our resources for joint events.

Starting in March on the third Saturday of each month, we are going to try a brunch at Ricky’s Grill on Kingsway Avenue at 11 a.m. (across from the Aviation Museum). We are planning this for the members that can’t make the regular meetings/events, but all members, including their families and friend are welcome. Bring a potential new member. You never know, there just might be something of interest for you at these events. We are also planning to hold a number of informal cruises throughout the year. On an evening during the week, we will gather at Healy Ford and drive to a place of the members’ choice. During the winter months it will be a coffee run and summer months an ice cream run. We have a few more ideas on the drawing table, so stay tuned for details on these events.

Well, that’s about it for this month. Remember to check us out at www.amoaweb.com.

Cheers,

John Church (a.k.a. Johnny Mustang)
AMOA Club President

Related posts:

1. President’s Message – March 2010
2. May 2010 President’s Message
3. President’s Message – June 2010

On that note, we kicked off 2010 in January with an evening of bowling and socializing with The Northern Alberta Corvette Owners Club. Thanks to the Linda Martens for organizing the event and hosting us! This is the second event that we have partnered on with the Corvettes. Last year we went for a cruise to Viking and were hosted by Rose and Earl Kjelland. We look forward to co-sponsoring a couple of events with the Corvette folks over the coming year.

Our first monthly meeting is set to go on Monday January 18th in the Healy Ford boardroom. Please mark this on your calendar and plan to attend because we will be starting to make plans for the coming year. The meeting will be dedicated to having a good discussion about what we want to do. One of the goals of the new executive is to increase the number and range of social activities that we offer for our members and the general public. We will be building on the core events that AMOA sponsors each year such as the Healy and Freedom Ford Show ‘N Shines and adding in a range of other less formal, but very fun events. We hope to do a few things that will appeal to all members of the family. So, if you have some good ideas about events or activities that we might do, come to the meeting and be part of the discussion, or drop me an e-mail to share your ideas.

A second goal that we are pursuing this year is increased communication with the membership and the general public to raise awareness about what we do. We hope to get more of our existing members involved and pick up some new members along the way. We took the first step to doing this over the Christmas Holidays. Deb Taylor and daughter Erin worked hard to rebuild our website and it is up and running again. In the coming year, the website will be a source of information about upcoming events, photos from past events and links to other interesting websites. The President’s monthly message and other club specific information will also be posted to keep you up-to-date on what’s happening. Check it out at www.amoaweb.com.

By the way, if you are heading down to Barrett-Jackson, there are quite a few of us going. We are planning to meet up, probably on Friday or Saturday night, to swap stories and enjoy the show. Drop me a quick e-mail and let me know if you are interested in grabbing a beer at Barrett. If you have club colours, bring them with you for a group photo. I’m a first-timer so I haven’t been able to concentrate on work since the start of January. Only ten more sleeps until Barrett-Jackson!

As you can see, 2010 promises to be a busy year for AMOA so keep an eye on the events calendar and plan to come out and join in the fun! We look forward to socializing with you at these events.

Cheers,
John Church (a.k.a. Johnny Mustang)

Related posts:

1. President’s Message – March 2010
2. President’s Message – February 2010
3. President’s Message – June 2010

The AMOA Executive elections are done & the 2010 AMOA executive are poised to take over running our Club! I would like to welcome the 2010 executive & congratulate all those who have made the commitment to help run our Club in 2010!! For a full list of those holding executive & volunteer positions in 2010, please check out the list in this month’s newsletter!

It was another great year for the Club and by hosting our usual events, we were able to make another sizeable donation to the Cancer Society…thanks to everyone who attended and especially to those who helped out at the shows!!

Our Social Director and Vice President Barb did a fantastic job organizing the AMOA Xmas Party…dinner at Chili’s & a comedy show at the Laugh Shop. Despite the rather poor weather conditions, we had a good turn out for this event and it was a wonderful evening! So thanks to Barb for arranging it and thanks to those who braved the snow to show up, enjoy a tasty meal and some very entertaining comedy!

You may have noticed that our website is not exactly operating at peak efficiency these days…in short something went VERY wrong with it at some point recently and very little of the actual site was working, so with the help of my daughter, Erin, the entire site is being re-done! This will take some time and effort, but unfortunately the old site was not salvageable! I will keep you updated on the progress! Hopefully, in the not too distant future we can have a website that does all the things we would like it to!

Finally, I would like to thank all of you for your support during my 3 years as President! This had been a very fulfilling experience for the most part and I enjoyed my time in the “big chair”!! I would like to take this opportunity to thank 2009’s executive for all their support and efforts! I would especially like to thank Barb Royer, who kept me sane and was always there to pick up the slack, no matter what that entailed! And after the devastating loss of Dale, Sharon heroically stepped into the treasurer’s position and has decided to continue on in that post for 2010, Sharon you are a rock and your strength inspires me! John you continue to work magic with the newsletter each & every month making it a joy to read! And before this message gets as long as a regular newsletter, I finish by saying to the rest of the 2009 team…all of you who chose to regularly go that extra mile in the positions you held, you made me look good and I sincerely thank you for your efforts!

On behalf of the 2009 AMOA executive, I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic 2010!!

See you around,

Deb Taylor
The Pink Prez!

Related posts:

1. President’s Message – November 2009
2. Jan 2010 President’s Message
3. President’s Message – March 2010

Let me start by saying that I have been sick for a few days, so I apologize in advance if this month’s message seems a little dull; my mind is feeling less than sharp at the moment! As I started this month’s message I realized that there isn’t a lot of news to pass along this month!

First off, I would like to thank Barb Royer for jumping in at the last minute at last month’s meeting to perform as Super Secretary once again… I guess there are things you never forget how to do, hey Barb? Thanks again for pitching in!

In relation to the minutes, you will see in this month’s edition that there were a number of nominations and volunteers who stepped forward at that October meeting to run the club in 2010, which is fantastic! If you are getting this via email, you still have a bit of time to get involved in running the club, but now is the time! The 2010 Executive Committee will be chosen at the November meeting, so if you’re interested please come to the November meeting…and even if you aren’t planning on taking a position come out and support those that are!

Also, the Red Deer Club now has the 31st IMM registration form on their website, along with a lot of other news. Their planning is well underway and although it seems the IMM is so far away, it will be here before we know it, so if you are going, please make all your reservations as soon as possible. You will not only be helping the host club, but you will also ensure you aren’t disappointed!

Finally, in relation to the 2009 AMOA Christmas Party, if you have already contacted Barb to reserve your spot, don’t forget the big day is December 5th! The Laugh Spot is a great place and our group is bound to have a great time there! If you have any questions about this event, please contact Barb Royer!

Well that’s about it for this month!

Until next time…

Deb Taylor
The Pink Prez!

Related posts:

1. President’s Message – December 2009
2. President’s Message – February 2010
3. Jan 2010 President’s Message