eastern oklahoma section tulsa star …...the ones i saw and the v12 caught my attention”....

Questions call section President at 918-638-6664 or the National Business office at 1-800-637-2360 M-F 8am – 5pm Page | 1

In this issue

President’s Message

EXTREME Racing Page 2

Member Profiles Page 3-4

Parke Ad Jackie Cooper Ad Page 5

Our Facebook Page Meeting Schedule Page 6

Museum Tour Page 7

Boulton Collection Page 8

Benzin Ad Member Information Page 9

Planning Calendar Page 10

Leake Car Auction Page 11

Officers and Board Page 12

Greetings Fellow Motorists: Welcome to that most wonderful time of the year; Spring! The most favorite time of the year for us convertible lovers. It's been unseasonably warm already and I wonder what the warm Summer time has in store for us. We have a lot of events, tours and meetings planned for the next several months. April starts fast and we zoom off. The April meeting is being held at Xtreme Racing on the 21st with high performance go carts, which I hope are the highlight of the club events so far this year. I hope that everyone who went to the March Spring tour had a wonderful time. Paula and I were unable to attend and were sorry we missed it; being I was ankle-challenged and wasn't really able to get around. The main reason was that I really didn't want to slow anyone down. I am sure it was a very enjoyable time. I'm also sure that Ben took some pictures and they will be displayed in this newsletter. Thanks to Ron and Jean for leading and planning this adventure. We had a great turnout for the March meeting at Spaghetti Warehouse. We were privileged to have two guest speakers: Bud Bauer and Greg Morgan. Bud presented information that was very informative and it was wonderful that the group had many questions for him to answer. Thank you both so much for attending and being a part of our meeting. We have plenty of opportunity for volunteering in the club. We always welcome new ideas for new meeting places or helping in the events or tour planning. We have many events and fun things to do in the upcoming months. Some of the things coming up are the Leake Auction participation, the Central and Eastern Oklahoma Mercedes picnic in Edmond, the pig roast in July at the Hill's, Jackie Cooper's E class launch, and an ice cream social, to mention a few. Hopefully, we have many more tours lined up. I'm sure there is something for everyone to enjoy. I would like to thank all the officers and the members of the greatest club; the Eastern Oklahoma Mercedes-Benz Club of America. We look forward to serving you all and I hope to see you at the events and the next dinner meetings.

God bless you and the United States of America.

Michael

EASTERN OKLAHOMA SECTION OF THE

MERCEDES-BENZ CLUB OF AMERICA

TULSA STAR NEWS April - May 2016

Mike Eddy - President


Our Next Meeting will be an XTREME Racing Event

We will REV UP Our Meeting

Thursday April 21, 2016 EXTREME RACING

708 West Kenosha St. (71st Street and 163rd East)

Broken Arrow, Okla. 918-286-6655

www.extremetulsa.com

We have the Party Room Rented from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM The Mini Grand Prix we be 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM Costs – Mini Grand Prix $36.00 12 lap practice and 14 lap race Driver’s License (Annual fee) $5.00

There will be soft drinks and snacks available but we are not planning a dinner meeting. We will have a short business meeting before the racing, this is a racing event. Come and watch or drive as you please. If you do not want to drive be sure and cheer on your favorite driver. If you did not turn in your Driving waiver at the last meeting, please go to the web site listed above and print one and bring it to the meeting signed so you will be ready to go.


Eastern Oklahoma MBCA Profiles

by John Kushnerick This is our eighth edition with Profiles of one long standing member and one recent new member, this time we have a member from Oklahoma City as well as a new member.

New Member Joe Miller, Tulsa OK Joe is a new member who joined MBCA this past May. “I have been a fan and owner of Corvettes for 22 years and 400,000 miles”. During that span he has owned one C3 (1968-1982), three C4’s (1984-1996), and one C5 (1997-2004). Joe was Membership Director and a Social Chair for the Texas Corvette Association. His First Mercedes

When looking for his next automobile to purchase, Joe considered a Corvette or a Mercedes SL. Upon research and much thought, Joe bought his first Mercedes… a passive little 2004 12 cylinder SL600 in Signal Red. Why? “I admired the ones I saw and the V12 caught my attention”. “Style, retractable hardtop, horsepower” and a great deal from Jackie Cooper Mercedes Benz closed the sale. Joe was an “Army Brat” whose family followed their father across the country and around the world. Before his father passed away, the family was living in Hawaii. “You can imagine the shock of losing your father and moving to Tulsa in the winter as a teen.” His mother was born in Tulsa and had family nearby. Joe graduated from Central high and Northeastern State University. For many years he lived in San Antonio but as his mother’s health began to deteriorate, he decided to move back to Tulsa to take care of her. Dream cars for Joe include the Bugatti Veyron and a Mercedes SL65. Cars that are out of reach for most of us. Although he relates that there are quite a few exotics and supercars around Tulsa. Joe joined the club to “check it out”. Like so many of us he was curious to meet other Mercedes owners, socialize, and have fun. Asked if there was a message to the club he suggested encouraging young Mercedes owners to join the club. “By partnering with Jackie Cooper we could discuss offering a free one year membership to MBCA as a perk that could benefit customers, encourage brand loyalty, and bring in people who are looking for educational, social, and discount programs.” As one of the newest members he looks forwards to meeting everybody and wishes good times to all.


Bill and Pat Nash

Oklahoma City OK

Bill was born in Adams, Wisconsin and spent most of his youth in the state. At age 17 Bill joined the United State Air Force and served four years at Vandenberg AFB in California. “I was in the Air Police”. After his discharge, Bill returned to Wisconsin and joined the Wisconsin State Patrol. During his tenure with the WSP, he attained the rank of Sergeant, graduated from Northwestern University Traffic Institute and served a 1 year assignment with the National Highway Traffic Administration in Washington DC. After 18 years with the WSP, Bill resigned and took a job with the International Association of Chiefs of Police, serving as a Senior Staff Analysis. After 5 years with IACP, he took a job with NHTSA as Highway Safety Training Manager in Oklahoma City. It was this position that brought Bill and Pat to Oklahoma. Eventually Bill was promoted to Deputy Director of the Transportation Safety Institute and subsequently transferred to manage the FAA Aviation Security Training Program. In 2006, Bill retired from the FAA after a long and challenging period dealing with the fall of the Soviet Union, antiterrorism, and aviation safety and security.

MY FIRST MERCEDES BENZ

“My first foreign cars were Toyotas and an Acura”. “In 1990, I was looking to move up to a Lexus”. Bill and Pat stopped at Jackie Cooper in OKC and drove a used Lexus. Pat was not impressed and asked the salesman if he had a Mercedes E Class. “Consumer Reports rated the Mercedes as a top pick.” Fortunately the dealership had a beautiful red 1989 300E with beige MB Tex interior and only 25,000 miles. “After a short test drive, we were hooked”. All went well, but they did not get the title right away. After talking to the salesman, he said the dealership had found out that the speedometer had been replaced and the car actually had almost 50,000 miles. “So we returned it while he looked for a replacement. We drove his Lexus for about 4 weeks. He finally found a replacement in Rochester NY and had it transported to Oklahoma City.” It was not red but was in great shape. They drove it for several years before trading it for a 1993 400E. Bill traded the 400E for a 1999SLK with a stick shift. “Pat thinks all sports cars have to have a manual transmission”. Eventually Bill traded the SLK for a 2000 E500…”we missed the V8 power”. They also had a 1984 500SEC, a 1990 300CE, a 2002 ML500, a 2004 CL500, and a 2006 E500.What a history of brand loyalty! “Today Pat drives a 2008 S550 and Bill drives a CL550 4 Matic. Both are fantastic cars. “And like almost all of our cars, they are both Black.”

I asked how he was introduced to the MBCA. “I was having our E class serviced at the dealer” he recalled. “There in the waiting room was a copy of the STAR magazine.” Inside was a membership card. “I pulled it out and decided to join.”

Since Bill’s retirement he has stayed busy. “I volunteer for the Central Oklahoma United Way for the past 21 years, serving as a Loaned Executive and as a member/Co-Chair of the allocations subcommittee which reviews agencies applying for funding and recommending amounts to be allocated.

Asked about a Dream Car he responds: “I think the 2016 S550 4 Matic would work….with a companion S Coupe 4 Matic. I also like the Tesla Model S (0-60 in 2.8 seconds would be great).

Bill has been a member of MBCA since December of 1997. During this time, Bill has served on the Central Oklahoma MBCA Board for 13 years, and currently serves as Vice President for the third term. He tells me he never wanted to be President. Additionally Bill has served as Membership Chair, Web Master, and Assistant Newsletter Editor. Bill has been an active member of both our section as well as Central Oklahoma for many years. Bill and Ed Hoag are both members of both the Central Oklahoma and Eastern Oklahoma sections and will often travel together with their wives to attend meetings. He tells me “My name tag even says Eastern Oklahoma section”. Dedication….that is all I have to say. Any person, who has owned 10 Mercedes automobiles, is a member of MBCA for almost 20 years, is a member of 2 sections, and is willing to drive almost 100 miles each way to an Eastern Oklahoma meeting is truly an Ambassador for the Brand.


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Meeting Schedule Thursday, April 21, 2016

7:00 PM EXTREME RACING

708 West Kenosha St. (71st Street and 163rd East)

Broken Arrow, Okla. 918-286-6655

Thursday May 19, 2016

7:00 PM Charleston’s Restaurant

6839 S Yale Tulsa, Okla

918-495-3511

Mike Eddy does a great job posting to our Face Book Page as well as the Jackie Cooper Page We continue to see increased activity on our Facebook Page and encourage everyone

to like our page as an easy way to keep updated on the club activities.


March 26, 2016 Tour of National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum

In 1948, Chester Arthur Reynolds (1887-1958) was so impressed with the Will Rogers Memorial in Claremore, Oklahoma that the experience prompted him to ask the question, why not build a Hall of Fame honoring cowboys, cattlemen, and ranchers. Thus began the planning for the Cowboy Hall of Fame. On November 11, 1955 the 37-acre site on Persimmon Hill was dedicated with Will Rogers Jr. as master of ceremonies. So this is the official dedication of the Museum. In 1956 Governor Gary started a fund raising drive to raise $1 million. This fund raising event is when the button shown below was purchased. Construction started in January of 1958. Chester Reynolds died December 11, 1958 and by 1962 construction was halted due to lack of funds. To complete the hall OKC Industrial and Cultural Facilities made arrangements to sell $1.2 million in bonds to complete the construction. On June 26, 1965 the Hall was opened. Since then there have been many changes and expansions to what we see today.

Gathering for the trip to OKC

Button Purchased during 1955 Fund Raiser

Group at Museum

Ron admiring sculpture

Honeymoon on a Horse

Are you sure this is the way home?


May 14, 2016 Joint Trip with Okla City Section to

Boulton Brass Car Collection Frantic Motor Works

1701 NE 63rd Oklahoma City, Okla

Depart Jackie Cooper 9:30 AM Lunch in OKC (To Be Arranged) 11:30 AM Tour of Boulton Collection 1:00 PM Depart OKC 3:30 PM ??


Membership Information

New Members

March

Scott Lambert

Expired Membership

March

Charles Bailey Steve Burgess

Renewed Members

February

Van Nowlin

March

Jeffrey Fischer William Reppart

Hans-Peter Schmidt Steven Wood


Leake Car Auction Tulsa, Okla

June 10 – 12, 2016 If you like being around classic cars and would like to earn a little money for our section, be sure to sign up to help at the Leake Car Auction to be held at the Tulsa Fair grounds June 10 thru 12, 2016. Each day they need volunteers to work doing various tasks from driving cars, monitoring doors, directing traffic, etc. It will be great fun being around classic cars and making money for the club. Look for the sign-up sheet at the upcoming meetings.


Mercedes-Benz Club of America, Inc Eastern Oklahoma Section Ben Cunningham, Editor 16100 East 120th St N Collinsville, Oklahoma 74021 Regional Director, South Central Region Gene Jurick, 6008 Bracknell Drive Parker, TX 75005 Ph: (h) 972-467-1981, or [email protected] Officers, Eastern Oklahoma Section President: Mike Eddy 918-638-6664 or [email protected] Vice President: John Kushnerick 918-527-8121 or [email protected] Treasurer: Richard Jagel 918-357-2573 or [email protected] Secretary: Paula Snider 918-833-1137 or [email protected] Membership Chair: Fritz Winkler 918-369-2513

Other Board Members of Eastern Oklahoma Section

Ben Cunningham 918-728-0139 Newsletter Editor John Mueller 918-494-2952 Bruce Smith 918-430-4240 Ron Hardage 918-364-3838 Ben Kehe 918-906-3715

eastern oklahoma section tulsa star …...the ones i saw and the v12 caught my attention”....

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