Mark Your Calendars!

 

Slo Poks in the Veteran's Day Parade

 

The Slo Poks were on hand for Saturday's Veteran's Day Parade in Vancouver.  Jeff Petersen and Chuck Ludwig had the honor of escorting 3 WWII vets in his '57 Ford wagon in the parade.  Mike Grimm and Dolly were also on hand with the Model A club in the parade.  Thanks guys and Dolly for supporting our deserving vets who have sacrificed for the freedom we enjoy.

Hough Elementary Supply and Show Proceeds drop off

 Today was the annual Hough Elementary school supply and check drop off.  The weather was perfect as we met at 11AM.  It's always fun to see the excitement of the kids when the Slo Poks hot rods parade down the street to the front door.  We were met by a ton of kids  holding Thank You signs, Hough Foundation director Jill Campbell along with the principle and teachers from Hough Elementary.  I think the Ahoooogah horns in Mike's roadster and Tom's speedster were the hit of the run!

After the kids got a good look at the cars we helped them haul the 250 lbs. of supplies into the school.  It was very humbling to see all of the donated supplies.  This was followed by the presentation of a check for well over $3,000 to the Hough Foundation.

Thanks to all the Slo Poks, lead by show chair Michael Finn, who put in the tons hours of work that go into making the Uptown Village Show and Shine a top tier event. 

The 2023 Uptown Village Show and Shine is in the books!

 The 2023 edition of the Uptown Village Show and Shine was a record setting show.  Not only did we have a record 178 participants to go along with the 40+ Slo Poks cars, we had Main Street filled to capacity.  The weather was perfect Saturday with the air crystal clear. . . unlike Sunday morning.

This was the first year we did the show without our customary Master of Ceremony Jeff Petersen, as he was flying around in his cousin's vintage DC 3.  In typical Pok style, Michael Finn, Tom Phillips and I (Bart Ouchida) stepped up to fill those big shoes.  Pete did a good job of preparing us for the task at hand.

We had 70 hand made by the club members, one off sponsored trophies. The trophy crew of Mitch and Chad did a flawless job of tracking the trophy sponsors, winners, and a smooth presentation at the show's end.

Gary Vail had the parking crew all dialed in, and we got the cars parked as quickly as possible.  Having the guys secure the street at the beginning, during and until we were all picked up, went real smooth and provided an other level of safety.  Thanks to VPD for their presence during reopening of the street.  We have had instances in the past where unauthorized individuals would enter the closed street and endanger those working to reopen it by driving like idiots.

The Finn clan did an excellent job at the raffle tables as usual.  It was THE place to be!  Thanks to Butcher Boys for providing their killer pepperoni.

Paul Springer did a superb job on the mic as he engaged the young ones to try the bean bag toss and win a prize.  After that, Paul did a great trophy presentation.  It was priceless watching the faces in the crowd when he awarded the trophy sponsored by the Thirsty Sasquatch. . . .and shared his Sasquatch sighting story from years ago.

The Harrys, Jackie and Wayno ran the raffle for the massive gift basket and show guitar.  All of these revenue streams help to make the show a huge financial success for the Hough Foundation.

Rev and Dave Pickering did a good shake down, I mean fruitful collection, of school supplies and cash for supplies.  They collected and sorted the supplies that weighed in at 212 pounds (dunno why they weighed the supplies, need to ask them). 

A big thanks goes out to all the members who faithfully manned their posts on the side streets before, during and after the show to secure them.  It made the show on Main Street safe and smooth.

Overall, from my perspective, it was a great show. If you didn't make it our this year, look forward to seeing you the third Saturday of August 2024!