National Driving Tour, Sept. 18–21, 2023
Kick off your shoes and prepare to get your feet wet as you cruise the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The fun starts in Norfolk, VA, and includes many historical and auto-related activities. Here’s a link for more info: Driving Tour Fun!
2022 Grand European a Great Success
The week just before our CLC GN in Chicago, our fellow European Cadillac enthusiasts were enjoying themselves in Germany. Given the tight timing of the two events, it is remarkable that several Europeans made the trip to Chicago to continue what became a two-week Cadillac vacation. Check out this video and see what you’ve been missing.
Hotel Reservations Now Available for Albuquerque NM CLC Grand National June 20–24 2023!
The “Land of Enchantment” beckons you and your Cadillac to explore this unique Southwest venue. Hotel reservations are already available at the host hotel, the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North. Follow this link to get started: Host Hotel. Keep your eyes open for upcoming news concerning the registration process and activities.
Big Meet: Austrians Will Gather Again August 20, 2023
Still hungry for some Cadill-action? Well, another opportunity to rub bumper guards with international Cadillac enthusiasts will be August 20, 2023 in Kremsmunster, Austria. Follow the link below to their site.
The Cadillac Fall Festival & Concours d’Elegance will take place at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, MI September 22-24, 2023.
Australian Grand National 2018 Renmark South Australia: a Fair Dinkum Experience
- On the banks of the Murray
- A little early for the show, but you get the idea.
- Saturday’s car show in Renmark
- They don’t skimp on their cars down under.
- No shortage of fins in Oz
- Caddies under the gum trees
- It pays to protect your LaSalle from, well, whatever?
- Beautiful town–and cars
- You know him, you love him, VP Ron Zahn
Tom and Lynn Keegan were able to attend the Aussie Grand National in Renmark, South Australia March 21 to 26. Smaller than our GNs, the event hosted about 200 Cadillac enthusiasts from Australia, the US, Germany, and New Zealand. Because we were a smaller group, members drove their own cars to the many outings. In a way, it was closer to one of our driving tours. Our headquarters was the Big4 Holiday Park on the Murray river. Very comfortable, it offered a range of accommodation. We stayed in a little pre-fab bungalow, while others brought their camping trailers. One bloke camped in a tent next to his Cadillac. The activities were well-planned and well-executed with the help of many volunteers. But, untimately, it’s the Cadillac people who make the trip worthwhile. It was wonderful to make new international friends and catch up with the ones we knew. Of course, all received an invite to Kansas City to attend our GN in 2020.
2017 CLC Grand National Tysons Corner. VA
- Good crowd at USA auto parts
- Good food, too. Thanks Mike and Hannah
- Seems like there is always time for a winery
- solid gold
- Members enjoying a great tour of the Air and Space Museum
- Club icon Yann Saunders admires the ’42 Limo
The 2017 CLC Grand National is in the books, and ranks among the most successful and well-attended events in Club history. Many thanks to the Potomac Region and the Valley Forge Region, for hosting the July 31 – August 6, 2017 event. Chairpersons Ronnie Hux, Scott Minesinger and Jack Hotz are to be commended for planning the events which were much appreciated. As to be expected at an east coast event, many overseas members attended. In fact, the long distance award was collected by a team from Venezuela!
Cadillac Grand European August 23–27 Copenhagen Denmark
Cancelled!
Not Cancelled! What?
- Eddie from Alabama right at home in Copenhagen
- Another international event about to begin
- Navigating the streets of Copenhagen in these big boats not for the faint of heart
- First stop, Hamlet’s castle, Elsinore
- Lunch at a fabulous fishing village–weather mostly co-operating
- Classic Cads attract a lot of attention in Denmark
- How’s this for a host hotel, the Bella Sky–largest in Scandinavia
- Ron Zahn photographs our gathering, Chuck in the yellow shirt
- Recognize inspector Colombo’s decapotable?
The 2017 Grand European in Copenhagen Denmark was cancelled due to the low number of members who signed up to show their cars. But did this stop Cadillac lovers from around the world from creating their own GE? One must ask: Is the international Cadillac & LaSalle Club populated with such diehards that they must attend even a cancelled event?! Well, if you already have your plane tickets, hotel reservations and your English/Danish phrase book tucked into your backpack, then the answer is yes. Astoundingly, 20 Club members from all over Europe and North America gathered in Copenhagen and enjoyed the hospitality of the Danish Cadillac Club August 23rd–27th. Members arrived for the “cancelled” event from Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Czech republic, and the good old US of A to do what we do best: Drive Cadillacs, visit great venues, and break bread.
CLC Announces New Directory, Member Software
The following information courtesy of SWVP Tim Coy
The 2017 CLC International Membership Directory will be mailed in late October to most of you along with your November-December copy of The Self-Starter; for those on First Class and Life memberships, the Directory will be bulk mailed separate from your copy of The Self-Starter. If you are an online-only member, you will not receive a printed directory; it will be available as a read-only PDF in a protected area of the CLC website. A postcard will be inserted in an upcoming issue of The Self-Starter asking members if they wish to continue receiving the printed copy for 2018 and beyond. If the member returns the postcard and/or e-mails the CLC Office, they will continue to receive a mailed directory. Otherwise, they will not, and will be able to log in and look up the information on the CLC website. This is a huge cost-saving move and hopefully will ward off a dues increase for a while longer.
Use the new Directory for membership recruitment
I did this for years when I was the editor of my Region’s newsletter. Look up all the names in your assigned area, send all non-Region members a letter and/or a newsletter along with a membership app and ask them to join your Region. My experience was that 20 percent of those people will respond and join your Region, with the new revenue you receive far outpacing your postage expenses asking them to join. The CLC experience is best at the local level.
New membership software coming
The board, in a majority vote, approved to allow the CLC to move its membership records to YourMembership.com by the beginning of 2017. The Club will save money in the long run, while offering members the ability to update their own information without having to notify the CLC Office. Every member will be given one login and password for all functions, which will work for updating your membership information, renewing your membership, viewing The Self-Starter (if you have an upgraded membership), viewing the online Directory, participating in the Discussion Forum and a lot more. Once you’re logged in, you can search for every member in your state, members who own the same body style you have, and you can even search for owners using multiple model years. YourMembership.com will allow Regions access to conduct business, so get ready for this exciting change.
New officers appointed
Dan Cress of the Badger Region (Wisconsin) has been appointed Grand National treasurer beginning with the CLC-operated 2018 Grand National. Chuck Swanson of the New York Capital District Region has been appointed vice president of Information Technology, and will oversee the implementation of YourMembership.com. DR Rawson of Las Vegas has been appointed chair of the Membership Promotion and Public Relations Committee, and will spearhead efforts to bring in new members and retain existing members.
CLC Museum mortgage retired
The building at the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, is paid off; however, there are still operating expenses and an upcoming fundraising campaign will take place to expand the building.
Tom and Lynn pictured with former European President Dirk Van Doorst and his wife Lilianne