"Thunder with Lincoln" Springfield, IL July 11th – 14th , 2013

The North Central Regional Convention is under way.  We have the motel, the tours, and the award banquet all locked in.  Hopefully you will register early and place your reservation with the motel even earlier.  We should have a great Regional with the return of the VTCI to the Springfield area.

Thursday, July 11 – You can arrive, check in, and we will have the registration open from 12:00 – 4:00 PM.  The Hospitality Room will be in the Topaz Room and will be open from 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM.  At 6:00 PM there will be a Meet and Greet with food, beverages including beer, wine, and sodas.  The charge will be $10:00 per person for the Meet and Greet.

Friday, July 12 – There will be a tour going to New Salem, IL.  We will also tour the Lincoln Presidential Museum and the Lincoln Tomb.  The tour will leave at 8:45 AM and should be back to the motel by 4:30 PM.  Lunch will be on your own at the Morning Star Café.  The charge for the tour will be $26.00 per person.  There will also be a judges meeting from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM.  At 6:30 PM there will be a pizza party with beverages including beer, wine, and sodas.  The cost for the pizza party will be $15.00 per person.  Registration will be open from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM.  Hospitality Room will be open from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM.  

Saturday, July 13 – Registration will be open from 7:00 – 8:30 AM.  There will be a owners/judges meeting at 7:30 – 8:30 AM.  The judging will start at 9:00 AM.  All rags, tools, and whatever will need to be down at this time.  The Hospitality Room will be open from 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM.  There will be a People’s Choice award and the choice sheets must be in no later than 1:00 PM to give the counters time to do their thing.  The award banquet will start with a cash bar from 6:30 – 7:00 PM.  The banquet will start at 7:00 PM.  The meats for the banquet will be Peach Glazed Pork Loin and Atlantic Salmon in Dill Sauce.  This will be a buffet style.  The cost for the banquet will be $35.00 per person.

Sunday, July 14 – This will be “Good-Bye” time for most.

The motel for this event is the Northfield Inn, Suites, & Convention Center.  The address is 3280 Northfield Drive, Springfield, IL 62702.  The phone number is 217-523-7900.  The rates are Double Queen or Standard King $85.00.  King 2-Room Suite or King Jacuzzi Room is $95.00.  The price includes a hot continental breakfast each morning.  The room prices will be good until June 11, 2013.  The motel policy is that people with motor homes or trailers must purchase a motel room.  When you make reservations with the motel please tell them that you are part of the Thunderbird Club.  The motel is just off of I-55.  Take Exit 100B (Sangamon Avenue).  Turn right at 1^st stop light onto Dirksen Parkway.  Then turn right again at 1^st stop light onto Northfield Drive.  Motel is just ahead on the right side.

Remember there is a registration cut-off date for the convention of June 20, 2013.

We will need help with the following areas:

#1 – We are asking the guests to bring food or snacks and volunteer to be a hostess on Friday and Saturday in the Hospitality Room.

#2 – Parking lot security volunteers for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night.

#3 – Car Parking assistants for Thursday and Friday.

#4 – Door Prizes and Raffle donations.

#5 – Judges and Tally Room volunteers for Saturday. 

Mark your calendars for the dates of July 11^th to 14^th, 2013.  If you have questions about this convention please call either Terry Fletcher at 217-478-1989 loltbtf@myfrontiermail.com or Ed Elzinga at 616-399-6568 sqtbird@att.net

Hotel Website

Registration form

The newly formed Big Sky Thunderbird Club and the Inland Northwest Thunderbird Club have joined forces to host the 2013 Northwest Regional Thunderbird Convention in Missoula, Montana. The theme of the show is "Thunderbirds in the BIG SKY".

Start making your travel plans to join us from September 4th to 8th, 2013 at Ruby’s Inn and Convention Center, which is located a block south of I-90 Reserve Street exit. Ruby’s is a car show friendly facility on the banks of Grant Creek with show space for about 80 vehicles and has adjacent trailer parking. They offer a free breakfast buffet every morning and a pool and hot tub for your enjoyment.

Wednesday 4th: The hospitality room will be open for registration all day. So stop in and pick up your goodie bag and meet new friends and say hi to old ones.

Thursday 5th: We will be featuring a tour of the Museum of Mountain Flying at the Missoula International Airport. Then we will cruise to Hoagieville Drive-In for lunch. The Hoagieville has a great menu and features car hops. The evening highlight will be a tour to A Carousel For Missoula for a pizza party, ice cream social and rides on the first hand carved carousel created in the US since the Great Depression. When the Missoula carousel opened in 1995 it sparked a carousel building renaissance in the US that continues to this day. A tour of the work shop, where wooden figures are carved for carousels, non profits and private commissions around the country, will be offered.

Friday 6th: We will depart Missoula in the morning for the resort community of Bigfork on the north shore of spectacular Flathead Lake. Lunch will be served at Wayfarer’s State Park on the shores of Flathead Lake. This will be followed by a tour of the Flathead Ford V8 Museum, one of the largest private Ford collections in the country. (Yes, there are Thunderbirds). Lyle Aklestad, owner, curator and restorer of the collection should be on hand to give us a personal tour of the collections as well as the adjoining restoration shop. We may even get to see the nearby very large storage facility where Lyle keeps his unrestored project cars.

Following our return to Missoula there will be a catered outdoor barbeque on the lawn at Ruby’s. There you will see just how big the sky can be in the Big Sky State.

Saturday 7th: let’s make sure those cars are all shined up and ready to go, because rags down will come early and the judging will begin. The afternoon is yours to explore the town. Missoula, the "Garden City" is known as the state’s cultural center. There are countless activities, events and historical places to Explore. From breweries and wineries to ghost towns, there is something for everyone, and remember there is no sales tax so shop all you want.

The evening promises to be a fun time with a buffet banquet, awards and drawings for raffle prizes. Mark your calendar for September 4th - 8th 2013 for "Thunderbirds in the BIG SKY" Missoula Montana.

For more information please contact Barry Iverson (509) 999-9145 Bigred65tbird.Iverson@comcast.net or Jeff Stevens (406) 251-3420 or (406) 240-3889

We look forward to meeting our friends under the BIG SKY.

Hotel Website

Get ready for an excellent adventure, the VTCI 2013 International Convention. Here is a glimpse of what to expect.

The Theme: NASA Johnson Space Center and the Ford Thunderbird inspire legends and have become legends in their own time. They symbolize achievement and the best that is America. Vintage Thunderbirds of Houston (VTOH) is proud to host the VTCI 2013 International Convention in Bay Area Houston, where NASA was launched and where it continues to evolve. The 2013 International will be held from September 25th to the 29th at the NASA Hilton located in Clear Lake, 3000 NASA Road One, Houston, Texas.

The Public: Prior to and following the judging program, the general public will be invited to join VTOH and VTCI and view these legendary automobiles on the 28th of September at the NASA Hilton. We will have the opportunity to share with a whole new generation the joy and excitement we have for these Thunderbirds. There will be no admission charge to the general public.

The Partners: VTOH is excited to partner with the NASA Hilton and the Bay Area Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau to increase awareness of the Thunderbird legend to the public at large. The Hilton has been completely remodeled for your arrival. In addition, we have partnered with Star-Fleet Yachts, the NASA Space Center, and other key sponsors to ensure that you will capture the perfect experience and enjoy two of Texas’ top attractions (the NASA Space Center and the Kemah Boardwalk overlooking Trinity Bay, recently named as one of the top ten US boardwalks). The Bay Area Houston is the boating capital of Texas. The NASA Hilton sits on the water’s edge at Clear Lake.

The Events: We want each of you to enjoy a Texas sized experience of fun, friends, and hospitality.

Upon your arrival on the evening of September 25th, you will be feted to a welcome and reception hosted by the Hilton. You will be guests of the Hilton.

Thursday morning will begin with the VTCI Board of Directors meeting and all members are invited to attend. Workshop #1 (the Keynote Address to be delivered by Rod Wake) will immediately follow the BOD meeting in our Workshop Room. . On Thursday afternoon we will tour the NASA Space Center (which is just across the road).

Add a bit of sparkle to your first full day at the 2013 VTCI International on Thursday evening. You are requested to join us at our Feature Event, an exclusive Star-Fleet Yacht dinner cruise on Clear Lake and Galveston Bay. The Yacht will pick us up at and return us to Hilton’s private dock.

Friday morning begins with two back-to-back Workshops featuring speakers who will address pertinent subjects about collector automobiles. You are invited to enjoy an unstructured Friday afternoon and evening. Experience all that the Kemah Boardwalk has to offer, including rides, shopping, restaurants, the Clear Creek Winery (tour and wine tasting), and entertainment. The Kemah Boardwalk will host a live band which will perform for the public, at no cost, on Friday evening. VTOH will also have available a concierge who can help you plan alternative adventures for Friday. Or you may prefer to just relax and enjoy the water, scenery and friends.

Friday afternoon will also include a 3 hour training session, to be provided by Jim McNew for all VTCI judges (certified and new) who will be participating in the Saturday morning VTCI Concours judging event.

Saturday morning will begin with the VTCI judging event. Saturday evening will conclude our excellent adventure with the Awards Banquet and Auction. The Banquet Room commands a most impressive view of Clear Lake and the surrounding area.

If you plan to stay and enjoy more of what Texas has to offer, there are alternative events that may interest you, including the Lone Star Flight Museum, Moody Gardens, and Galveston. Please visit www.VisitBayAreaHouston.com for more details.

We want this to be an International that you will enjoy and will not forget. Please visit the VTOH website http://www.vtohtx.com or email your questions and comments to us at vtohtx@gmail.com