Welcome to SPRING!!!

We have been so fortunate Mother Nature being kind to us and dodging rain storms and cool weather on these past few Tours!

The Spring Tune up had a GREAT turnout of 23 cars. This year was a successful event and fortunately, everyone fixed up their cars and drove out safely with NO MAJOR “MISHAPS”, with the exception of Ray Hansen had an Oil blow out which only required the oil filter to be tightened properly.

The Spring Brunch, Chicken Rally and Spring Tour all had --- for the most part -- sunny skies and mild weather! All our beautiful MG’s were able to have the tops down for most of these!!

To recap on last month’s events, Brian & Rose Dubin put on a Spectacular Tour and delivered exactly what they promised. It was indeed a SPLENDID DAY! There was an impressive turnout of 19 cars and 37 total members who attended.

The Chicken Run Rally also exceeded its expectation and was a fun filled, challenging Rally. The Luncheon at George & Jana Phariss’ home was WONDERFUL!!
There was a remarkable total of 27 cars and 54 Members who attended.
The winners for the Chicken Run Rally were as follows:
Steve Sparks and Jodi Simmons – 1st place
Ralph and Sue Arata – 2nd place
Tim & Jamie Schafer – 3rd place
I have to commend George on his delicious homemade wine! Very impressive!! enjoyed every sip of it!! I also LOVED all the deserts, homemade, no less by Jana!! Great job!!!!

On a side note - Our fearless leader, Mr. President, Dean Hickenloope, had a few misfortunes with his Blue V8 MGB. He was kind enough to loan out his Yellow MGB to Sparky and Jodi since theirs was out of commission for this event, and then would you believe, he was leaking gas on the parking lot in Elmhurst were Tim & Jamie Schafer, Bill & Jean Kalafut and Steve Sparks and Jodi Simmons were meeting to caravan to the Chicken Run Rally. Thank God for Dean’s mechanical talent, he knew right away what was wrong and fixed the problem in no time with the assistance of Bill, Steve and Tim.
Just when we pulled up to George and Jana’s house for lunch, OH NO…..here comes Dean’s V8 MGB on a flat bed. Apparently, the car broke down and had to be towed.
All is well again and Dean did not have to have the car towed all the way from Barrington to Claredon Hills…..he got it to run again – until….

Yep…it broke down AGAIN….about 2 miles down the road after leaving George and Jana’s house. POOR DEAN!!!!
Bill, Steve and Tim once again gave Dean a hand and off he went. The story has a happy ending…..Dean & Kerry made it home safe and sound!! Thank GOD for those tech sessions and TEAM WORK!!!

Thank you Jim Vondran for another rewarding Car Care Center event. There was a nice turn out of members who enjoyed engaging and lending a hand in minor maintenance and repairs for the seniors. There was a record number of 82 cars that were looked at.

The last driving event for May was the Spring Tour. I can say single handily what a delightful tour this was to the charming town of Woodstock. A total of 18 Cars and 33 members attended. Thank you for organizing another GREAT tour Ric and Nancy Maitzen!!

June is FINALLY HERE!!! The Jo Davies County Tour in Galena Illinois took place June 1st – 3rd. I will recap on how it turned out in next month’s Newsletter. Hope most of you were able to go on this extraordinary weekend tour.

For those who LOVE racing and want to challenge themselves NOT to be labeled a “Cone Killer”, come out on Saturday June 9th to Boomers Stadium in Schaumburg for the 1st Miata Auto cross of 2018. It’s an exhilarating fun day out!!

I will have to revisit and recap of The Highland game British car show which takes place on Saturday, June 16th at Hamilton Lakes, Itasca, IL. Hopefully the weather cooperated and there was a big turnout for all to showcase their “Wee” sporty MG’s!!

There is still time to sign up for the Lands’ End Rally, taking place on Saturday, June 23rd Dean and Kerry Hickenlooper will have all the details in this month’s Driveline.. We are growing nearer to the HISTORICAL, what may be the biggest event of the year, The GOF in Delavan Wisconsin taking Place June 27th thru the 30th. There is still time to make sure you don’t overlook this WONDEROUS event!!!

July’s events are Very exciting!! I have a tentative date of Saturday July 7th for the Mid-summer MG Party. This has still not been confirmed.
The 2nd Miata Auto Cross of 2018 is taking Place on Saturday July 14th Boomers Stadium Schaumburg, IL.

There are some new fresh events added to this year’s calendar.

One being the Golf Course Tour and 19th Hole Picnic/Cookout. This event is on Saturday July 21st
Doug Clark, our “golf enthusiast” and MG driver, along with Jerry Cihak are organizing and hosting a fabulous 90 minute driving tour of numerous golf courses along roads in Southern Cook, DuPage and Will counties.
Jerry Cihak will be hosting a “19th hole” Picnic / Cookout at his house immediately following the tour.

Even if you are not a golfer, I am confident you will appreciate the lovely drive with beautiful landscapes of various public courses.

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