Vol 1, Issue 5
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Tragedy Strikes Star City Hot Wheels
Last week the President of the Virginia Chapter of East Coast Hot Wheels was on his way to our meeting when his van caught fire. Apparently he had a set of keys underneath his seat that shorted the electrical works out. Both Carl and Ruth were fine, because Carl thought fast and grabbed his fire extinguisher. Ruth thought even faster and got out of the car and ran.
This week Mr. Freddie Graham (Kruzers) was on his way to our meeting when his 67 Chevrolet Camaro ran out of gas. A distress call was received, and we went out to rescue him bringing him enough gas to get him to a gas station. An hour later another call was received – he was on his way down Williamson Rd, when the car vapor locked and stopped. He ended up calling a friend to pick up his car, and Tim drove to the rescue in his 86 Ford Bronco. It was later found out that a simple wooden clothes pin on his fuel line would have prevented the vapor lock on his high performance car.
What is this with people trying to attend our meetings? Is someone sabotaging us? Is there a case of cosmic bad luck going around? Are aliens trying to take over the club one member at a time? Or could it be…
Star City Motor Madness
Star City Motor Madness will be holding their annual Cruisin’ Night (July 3) and Car Show (July 4). On Cruisin’ Night cars can legally cruise Williamson Rd and everything from import tuners to classic street rods to restored antiques can be seen roaming the street. Star City Hot Wheels will set up a promotion table at Grace United Methodist Church (across the street from Richee Freeze) on Williamson Rd. We will be passing out flyers to parents to promote the show and free Hot Wheels to children 12 and under. On July 4, we plan to hit the car show to pass out flyers to participants at the car show and talk up our show.
Be sure to check out the photo gallery by Tuesday, July 5 for the pictures of real hot rods from both Cruisin’ Night and the car show.
Collector Corner
Since we’ve given Freddie Graham such a hard time in this newsletter, we thought we’d take the time to let you know the behind the scenes story. Freddie is a collector from waaaaaay back in the day who has in excess of 10,000 cars. He went to Nationals in Atlanta and not only managed to get his hands on every car he went after, but was also able to obtain some of the most sought after cars at the show. He even had the gold Camaro from button BINGO, which was only offered in two of the games at each session. He sold the car and witnessed the buyer opening it on the spot. (Wanna see a photo of the historic even? Click Here.) He has already started passing on his Hot Wheels mania to his two daughters, Samantha and Sophie.
K-Mart Day Success
K-Mart Collector Days have become a tradition for many collectors; we gather together, meet up with friends, laugh, talk, and generally have a good time. Our families complain about waking up at the crack of dawn on a Saturday morning and skipping breakfast, “just for some toy cars.”
This collector day, Star City Hot Wheels arrived with a different goal: promotion, promotion, promotion. There are three K-Marts in the Roanoke Valley and we divided them among our members and separated to pass out flyers and draw in new members. We handed out around a hundred flyers advertising the show and got the contact information for about 50 interested parties.
I’d like to take the time to welcome all those who signed our paper as an interested party who are receiving this newsletter for the first time. Thank you for your interest and support!
Apparently, the bad luck that has been striking lately wasn’t hitting on K-mart day. Around eight members found Treasure Hunts! Some of them even found two and gave them away to other members.
The SCHW Show Promotes Nationally
Amber began searching the internet for Hot Wheels clubs across the country, and e-mailed the webmasters for a link exchange and to ask them to promote the show. We have already heard from clubs as far away as Oregon and Rhode Island, as well as others.
SCHW would also like to thank Jeff for his effort at giving us additional national coverage. If you would like to promote the show, but need flyers or some type of advertisement written, don’t hesitate to contact us at starcityhotwheels@cox.net. We are open to any suggestions to get us more coverage! Be sure to mention to national clubs that we are willing to help arrange hotel accommodations and for anyone flying in to the show that we will be happy to provide free transportation from the Roanoke Regional Airport.
Show Preparations
Alright customizers… the question of the day: have you picked out your car for the special music related custom class? You’ve got just under a month to get your customs together. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING ON?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
The track is coming together, but we want to keep the final construction a surprise. If you want to see it, make sure to come to the show… or a meeting!
We are still collecting raffle and door prizes, so if you have anything to donate please bring it with you to the next meeting or to the show. We are going to begin giving out small door prizes at each meeting – if you want to enter you have to show up!
Next Meeting
Our next meeting will be held Friday, July 7, 2006 at 6:30 pm. The meeting will be held at 2504 Avalon Ave (Fred’s House). Anyone interested in attending who has not been to a meeting before should call 293-7800 or e-mail starcityhotwheels@cox.net, so that we can arrange for one of our members to meet you at Richee Freeze on Williamson Rd at 6:15 pm to show you the way to Fred’s House.
Contact Tim: starcityhotwheels@cox.net View the Star City Website
Contact Freddie: klassickruzers@yahoo.com
Contact Fred: BFROG327@aol.com