Aloha Pacific Cruisers!
I hope this note finds you well and that you’ve had plenty of adventures out on the road in your GMCs this year. What a season it’s been! The sold-out GMCMI Convention in Traverse City, Michigan was a huge success—despite a little chill in the air and some rain showers, the sun broke through and the good times rolled on. The 8 Track Players (yep, formerly The Palm Beaches) cranked out a two-hour set that was our best yet—especially with our amazing fellow GMC’r, Faye Smith, joining in on keyboards and flute. For the first time in 40 years, Cinnabar stepped up to support the convention with a generous donation of new old stock maintenance manuals, which went for $900 at auction! That kind of support is a milestone moment for the future strength of our GMC community. And before I go any further, I’d like to ask everyone to dim their headlights in respect to the passing of JR Slaten (image below) this past week. JR was an icon in the world of GMCs, attending more national conventions than anyone and serving as a past President of GMCMI. He will truly be missed.
Looking forward, I’d like to schedule a Zoom meeting next week to formally discuss reincorporating Pacific Cruisers as a stand-alone 501(c)(7). That means breaking formal ties with FMCA and joining GMCMI through their affiliate member program. After a lot of discussion and research, I truly believe this is the best direction for our club and for the strength of GMCMI nationwide. We’ll continue to have the same kind of insurance coverage at rallies, and even better, folks won’t need to be FMCA members to join us—making it easier for new members to come on board. That’s the most important thing for our growth right now. So if you see someone on Facebook or Instagram who just bought a GMC here in the West, give them a shout and let our Membership Chair, Steve Weinstock, know!
And here’s the fun part: we’ve got a last-minute rally planned for October 17 & 18 at Don Lace’s warehouse. This spot features the original Don the Beachcomber sign that stood on the PCH and their own retro tiki bar, The Teliki! Two nights of boondocking, fun activities, and tiki drinks flowing. Brother Twon of the Fatoosh Bahutt will be serving up Polynesian-style pulled pork sandwiches, and for the first time ever, the LavaNauts will be spinning retro exotic tunes Saturday night. It’s going to be a blast.
Let’s all take a moment to be grateful that we get to experience this life together—from behind the wheel and through the window of a GMC. I’m fired up about the future of our club and can’t wait to see you all out on the road soon.
Aloha!
Mike Kociela
President, Pacific Cruisers
|