2012 Chapter Events
Future NCRS Regionals & Nationals
For a full listing of NCRS National events, click here.
Fall Judging Meet – Tucson
November 5, 2011
Mother Nature again gave us a scare for our Fall Tucson Event. On Friday there were extremely high winds, blowing walls of dust and heavy rain. The rain continued until around 6:00 AM on Saturday and then the clouds, as if they knew the Corvettes were coming, moved out and presented us with blue skies and mild temperatures.
We had 46 separate Pre-Registrations with a total of 72 participants, spouses & guests. Originally 9 cars were registered for judging; however mechanical issues and the weather prevented some of the entries and participants from attending the event with total final attendance being 56.
When the judging started at 9:00 A.M. we had a field of 5 spectacular cars, including the 13th Corvette ever built, ready for our team of 30 judges, 4 OJs and 7 tabulators to evaluate. Seven members of this team made the trip all the way from California to participate. In addition to the judged cars there were 4 Sportsman entries and several other display cars driven by members.
With only 5 cars to judge the teams had some extra time to scrutinize each car carefully and provide valuable feedback to the owners. By noon most of the judging was completed and a fabulous lunch was catered by Jeff Schauffel’s Golden Corral in Tucson
After the last sections to be judged were completed, operations checks finished and the balance of the work by the tabulator team was finalized, we were able to present Top Flight Awards to the each of the owners.
The day ended when Jan Cockrum, who handled registration and conducted the charitable 50/50 raffle, awarded the winner his 50%. Greg Winn graciously donated his winnings back, allowing the chapter to donate the full $132.00 to the Tucson Medical Center for Children.
- Gregg Winn – 1953 Top Flight
- Tom Berry – 1954 Top Flight
- Terry Lewis – 1966 Top Flight
- Jerome Pederson – 1972 Top Flight
- John Howell – 1996 Top Flight
Tucson Judging School – Mid Year Fan Clutch Judging
April 23, 2011
This was another great informative class taught by recent Arizona transplant and NCRS national 1966 team leader judge Bill Calorico. Bill created a class on Mid Year Fan Clutches that demonstrated the differences between originals throughout 1963-1967 and aftermarket samples. Bill mentioned that the originals were supplied by two companies, Schwitzer Corp & Eaton for both small and big block Corvettes. He also mentioned other specific details to quickly tell the differences for big vs small block versions, as well as the date coding used.
Most attendees after the school stayed in the driveway to talk about their Corvettes.
Sprinter Judging Meet – A Day of Sun at the Sands
March 12, 2011
Our Annual Chapter Judging Event began on Friday evening, with judging schools in both Phoenix and Tucson focusing on the new Judging Reference Manual and the important changes to the newly released edition. While judging points above 400 are not officially maintained, Glorie McNay recorded her 800 judging point at the judging school, which is amazing. The event continued on Saturday for the Arizona Sprinter Chapter Flight Judging meet.
As is typical for Arizona in March, the temperatures were in the mid 70s with crystal blue clear skies. This year we had a change of venue, moving our event from Stellar Airpark in Chandler to Surprise Arizona. Our host for this event, Lou “Buzz” Sands, graciously allowed us to hold the event in the show room of his new, fantastic Sands Chevrolet Dealership in Surprise, Arizona. We can’t thank him and his staff enough for their hospitality. What could be more fitting than to display the Corvettes presented for judging in a showroom much like the one where they caught the eye of their original owners many years ago.
The popularity of our Sprinter Flight Judging Event drew 41 judges. In addition to the 34 Arizona judges, 5 came from Northern California, 1 came from Southern California and 1 came from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Overall we had 17 Master Level Judges with 6 of those being 400+ Level Judges and 2 National Team Lead Judges. This level of expertise provided the entrants with judging nearly equal to that found at regional events. Overall attendance and entries were down 23% as compared to last year. It appears that even our hobby is feeling the effects of our slower economy. Total registered participation for this year’s event including judges, owners and guests totaled 53.
This year we only had 7 flight judging entries. The field was made up of a 1954, 2 - 1963s, a 1965, a 1966, a 1971, and a 1996. In addition to the judged cars, we had 5 Corvettes presented for Sportsman Awards and several other attendees drove their Corvettes to the meet.
When the day was finished and tabulations were completed by a much appreciated team consisting of Cathy Bergmann, Jeanne Cloutier and Suellyn Bennett, we were pleased to present the following awards to the owners.
- Lou Sands – 1954 Second Flight
- Glen Smith – 1963 CONV Top Flight
- John Schwamm – 1963 COUPE Top Flight
- Kevin Dewitte – 1963 COUPE Top Flight
- Gary Mion – 1966 CONV Second Flight
- Pete Bergmann – 1971 Top Flight and Ladies Choice
- Jim Cramer – 1996 Top Flight
Tucson Judging School – 1967 Chassis Judging
February 12, 2011
The February 12th judging school on Saturday turned out to be a great event with a high attendance. It was another perfect Arizona winter day with a 75 degree temperature and clear skies.
The class was taught by recent Arizona transplant and NCRS 1966 national team leader judge Bill Calorico. As you can imagine, Bill is like an encyclopedia of late midyear cars. This school was a bit different from those recently in that Bill changed about 25 items on the chassis to be incorrect and held a contest to see how many items each attendee could discover. The winner received a NCRS tote bag. After about a half hour of searching Bill started teaching from the front of the chassis and worked his way back. He discussed not only the items that were incorrect but also other items of interest to inspect while judging. At times it was hard to keep up but attendees were busy taking copious notes. There were many other Corvettes on hand to enjoy as well.
Fall Judging Meet – Tucson
October 16, 2010
Friday’s thunderstorms, high winds and heavy rains in Tucson departed just in time and Saturday dawned with clear skies. Fall Arizona temperatures still remained warm with a high of 89 which made perfect weather for our annual Fall chapter judging meet at Ryan Field outside Tucson. Again Gordon Langston our host was gracious enough to open two hangars to use to keep us out of the sun and protected. The shades of fall don’t compare to the bright array of colors on the Corvettes that were presented for judging or display.
The solid axle group was represented by Butch Gabriel who brought his just barely completed Polo White 1954. Another Polo White 1955 was presented by Chris Hoskins who trailered all the way from Newport Beach. Michael Grammond brought his Arctic Blue 1957 which just got back from a Regional judging event in Albuquerque and a striking Black 1957 was presented by Mike Malloy.
Two midyears were presented. Jack Barnett trailered his 1965 Silver Pearl Fuelie from Albuquerque where he had just earned the coveted PV award at the Regional and Gary Hjerpe reprised his 1966 Nassau Blue convertible.
The rest of the field was made up by a 1968 Fathom Green Coupe presented by Hal Biestek. After just earning a Top Flight in Albuquerque, Pete Bergman brought his Black 1989 for us to judge and John Sahid presented his Sebring Silver 1996.
The non judged Sportsman entries were presented by Dave Barclay 2002, Ralph Klestadt 1999, Jeffrey Schaufel 2005 and Tom Barr 1996. In addition there were numerous other great Corvettes driven to the event and displayed for all to enjoy.
In order to scrutinize all these cars there were a total of 29 dedicated judges and 4 observer judges available to make up the three judging teams we needed. Of course without the work of our registrar, Jan Cockrum and the tabulating team made up of Cheryl Nance, Suellyn Bennett, Jo Houlihan, Penny Evans and Joan Jacobs we could not have started or completed the process.
At noon all in attendance were treated to another great hearty feast catered by Jeff Schauffel and the Golden Corral. This gave everyone time to socialize and the energy to finish up the rest of the day’s tasks.
When the day came to an end, we were pleased to present the following awards to the owners along with a big thank you for presenting their beautiful Corvettes for us to judge.
- Butch Gabriel – 1954 CONV Top Flight
- Chris Hoskins – 1955 CONV Top Flight
- Mike Malloy – 1957 CONV Top Flight
- Michael Grammond – 1957 CONV Top Flight
- Jack Barnett – 1965 CONV Top Flight
- Gary Hjerpe – 1966 CONV Second Flight
- Hal Biestek – 1969 COUPE Second Flight
- Pete Bergmann – 1989 CONV Top Flight
- John Sahid – 1996 CONV Top Flight
- Jeffrey Schaufel – 2005 CONV Sportsman
- Tom Barr – 1996 COUPE Sportsman
- Ralph Klestadt – 1999 COUPE Sportsman
- Dave Barclay – 2002 CONV Sportsman
Tucson Judging School – Original vs. Reproduction Parts
April 24, 2010
This judging school in Tucson was hosted by Gary & Mike Grammond and Tom Kumisca at Gary’s garage. It had a good turn out with 16 members in attendance and a perfect temperature.
Tom Barr first started off the class with some announcements and updates and then showed us an example of an original C3 valve cover that had been chrome plated.
Gary Grammond then presented some parts from his collection to show the differences between original and reproduction. Both sets of parts were passed around to everyone to get a more detailed look.
Glen Smith was gracious and brought a few parts from his collection to present as well.
Annual Rally, Social, and Charity Event & Car Show
March 21, 2010
The Arizona chapter of the NCRS had a rare opportunity to hold multiple chapter events at a Tucson air show in March. Participating members met up at the Golden Corral for the start of the rally onto the Air Force base. The Classic Chevy Car Club and the Green Valley Corvette Club were invited to join the fun. Once arriving at the air show our chapter awarded Natalie Sanchez Lt. with the Air Force Association (AFA.com) with a donation check for $600. Another $600 matching funds will be donated by the National NCRS.
Phoenix Area Judging School and Sprinter Judged Meet
March 19-20, 2010
Our chapter judging event began on Friday evening, the last day of winter, with judging schools in both Phoenix and Tucson focusing on performing operations reviews the right way.
It continued on Saturday, the first day of spring with the flight judging. It was fitting that March 19 & 20 was the date this year for our annual Arizona Sprinter Chapter Flight Judging meet.
The day was typical for Arizona in March with temperatures in the mid 70s with crystal clear blue skies. Again we were able to hold the event at a fantastic executive garage and hangar “toy box” at Stellar Airpark in Chandler, Arizona. The popularity of our Arizona Chapter Events continues to grow and the event attracted 36 judges, 13 who were Master level judges or better and 4 who came from California to participate. Total attendance including judges, owners and guests grew this year to 67.
We had 9 cars that were presented and amazingly we did not have one solid axle car to judge. The field was made up of a very early (SN 123) 1963 Convertible, 3 - 1967s including a very rare L89 Coupe, a beautiful triple black 1969 427/435, an extremely low mileage 1976, a 1995 pace car and a 1996 which was presented for pre-qualified judging and training.
In addition to the judged cars we had 8 Cars presented for Sportsman awards and another 9 attendees drove their cars to the meet.
Judging continued in the afternoon after a terrific and hearty lunch of barbeque catered again this year by Honey Bears. Later in the afternoon, the judges and attendees observed a war bird fly-by show consisting of several - P51 Mustangs, T-6 Texans, and Stearmans, among others, that flew during the day to pay tribute to a recently departed pilot.
When the day was finished and tabulations were completed by a dedicated team, we were pleased to present the following awards to the owners.
- Fred Coury – 1963 Top Flight
- Gerald DiQuattro – 1976 Top Flight
- Myles Douglas – 1967 Top Flight
- Jerry Kackley – 1967 Third Flight & Ladies Choice
- Bill Kutchke – 1980 Top Flight
- Rick Mezich – 1967 Top Flight
- Marty Nelson – 1969 Top Flight
- Terry Robertson – 1995 Top Flight
- John Sahid – 1996 Sportsman in Appreciation
Phoenix Area Chapter Meeting and Judging School
February 6, 2010
On Saturday morning, February 6th AZ/NCRS members living in the Phoenix/Valley area gathered at Garry Eastwood’s garage in Scottsdale for an “area” Chapter meeting and judging school. The meeting was well attended with 28 members present.
John Randolph started the meeting with an update on current Chapter business. He also polled the group for additional ideas on how to improve our local meetings and increase participation. Tom Barr made the “trek” up from Tucson and provided an update on the status of our plans for hosting a Regional Meet in 2012. For this to be a successful event for the Chapter, membership participation in running the event will be crucial. Gary Bennett offered an update on the Spring Judging Event (March 20th). At this point in time, the number of cars registered to be judged is low. If you are interested in having your car judged at this event, send your completed registration form to Gary Bennett as soon as possible.
With the Chapter business completed, the remainder of the meeting was devoted to the judging school which was worth 1 NCRS Judging point. Gary Bennett moderated the discussion. Members presented a diverse array of original and “repro” parts – voltage regulators, license plate brackets, hubcaps, air cleaners, headlight switches, etc. Newt Johnson (also making the “trek” up from Tucson) took numerous photos of the parts.
The general consensus of those who attended the meeting is that Saturday Chapter meetings at member garages are “the way to go”. The participation goes up and more people will drive their Corvettes to the meeting. As we move into the summer months with the Valley’s temperatures going up, we will be seeking members with air-conditioned garages to host a meeting. If you are interested in doing this, please contact John Randolph.
Fall Judging Meet – Tucson
October 3, 2009
Bigger – Better- One of the Best Chapter Meets. Mother Nature threatened to grace our Tucson event on October 3rd with rain showers as the day dawned with sprinkles and dark clouds. However as the event was being held inside two hangars at Ryan Field, she couldn’t spoil our day. The sun came through and temperatures were mild.
Our Chapter events continue to get bigger and better. A total of twelve cars were pre-registered for the event but only ten were completed in time to make it to the judging field. We had a very unique showing with cars representing the earliest NCRS judging class and cars from the newest NCRS judging class. It is rare when you get to judge a 1953 at any event, as only 300 were built, but we were fortunate to have not one but two of the nicest 53s we have seen presented for judging. This event was also the first where 1994 and 1995 Corvettes were eligible for judging and four terrific cars were presented. The judging field was completed with four more fabulous cars, a 1962, a 1966 and two 1967s.
In addition to the judged cars, we had eight cars presented for Sportsman awards and another four attendees drove their Corvette to the meet. A total of fifty seven judges, owners and guests participated. Each of the judges at this event was given a T-shirt with our new Chapter logo. A hearty lunch for all was catered by Jeff Schauffel from his Golden Corral restaurant. Jan Cockrum ran a 50/50 raffle to help offset a portion of the cost of the shirts and Linda Barr was the lucky winner. When all the judging was completed and the tabulations finished by a dedicated team, we were pleased to present the following awards to the owners. Another great day completed!
- Kenn Carlson – 1953 Top Flight
- Clark Simonds – 1953 Top Flight
- Daniel Jaeger – 1962 Second Flight
- Dave Barclay – 1966 Top Flight
- Douglas Meskell – 1967 Top Flight
- Sonny Seamans – 1967 Top Flight
- Jack Nance – 1994 Top Flight
- George Loveren – 1994 Top Flight
- Terry Robertson – 1995 Top Flight
- Tom Barr – 1995 Top Flight
Tucson Judging School – Paint Judging
September 12, 2009
The September Paint Judging School in Tucson was hosted by Gary & Mike Grammond and Tom Kumisca at Gary’s house in Tucson. This school was the fourth in a series on the ’57 restoration process. It had a good turn out with 13 members and guests in attendance.
We first started off the class by watching the NCRS Paint & Fiberglass Judging DVD (which can be purchased on the National NCRS’s website) while drinking coffee and eating donuts and bagels. The DVD talked about the definition of having the paint appear to be a factory finish. It also stated that the paint used doesn’t have to be lacquer as long as it has the appearance of a factory application material and method.
After the DVD we went out back to the garage and found a 1957 corvette painted in lacquer and a 1967 coupe painted in base/clear that was a little over restored. Tom passed out the NCRS standard deduction flow chart for paint. He discussed the term “clarity of image” and showed some of the points to look for as stated in the judging manual and the paint DVD that we watched.
Tucson Judging School – ’57 Body Drop
June 6, 2009
The June ’57 Body Drop Judging School in Tucson was hosted by Gary & Mike Grammond and Tom Kumisca at Gary’s house in Tucson. This school was the third in a series on the ’57 restoration process. Again, this was a successful and informative session with 19 members and guests in attendance.
Tom started the morning session by discussing the custom body lift fixture he fabricated and how it attaches to the gantry. He then talked about the mounting points on the chassis and body making sure everything was properly setup prior to the body drop. He also mentioned the item that were installed on the car prior to paint (doors/latching hardware, hood, trunk, deck, cowl vent, radiator support, speaker vents, gas tank vent hose, grommet and clip). Tom went on to talk about the paint process and order of application. The next step was to finally lower the body onto the frame. Although most of the work was done by the lift it still took some human help to guide the body over the shift lever, exhaust, and onto the mounting points.
Tucson Judging School – ’57 Chassis
May 9, 2009
The May Judging School was hosted by Gary & Mike Grammond and Tom Kumisca at Gary’s house in Tucson. The topic was on preparing a ’57 chassis for judging and the detail that goes into it. It was a successful and informative session. Tom started by going over some basic areas of the chassis restoration and then followed up by taking specific questions and answers. Tom also had some aftermarket parts on hand to shows differences. A list of topics covered were; pulleys, carburetors, harmonic balancer, radio ground straps, bell housing, misc. fasteners, date codes on suspension parts, casting and stamp pad dates, posi rear end vent tube, brake lines, front suspension markings, oil dipstick, oil cap (vented vs. non vented), air cleaners, intake water neck, home cad plating, rear cross member holes, leaf spring grooves and rebuilding, double/single frame VIN stamps.
Spring Judging Meet – Chandler
March 8, 2008
Sunshine, Corvettes, and Mustangs made for a truly memorable Sprinter Flight Judging Event. The day began in typical fashion with nothing but our usual Winter/Spring Arizona sunshine and soon Corvettes from all over the state started showing up at the fabulous Stellar Airpark hangar graciously provided for our event by Jeff Mark.
We had a field of fantastic cars to judge, including a red 1957 presented by Ed Winkler, a 1962 red roadster presented by Bob Davenport, a 1966 Silver convertible brought by Allen Schaff, a 1967 white 427/435 roadster presented by Barry Berger, a 1967 blue coupe presented by Gerald Evans, a 1967 black roadster driven down from Sedona by William Spring. Jerome Pederson brought his 1972 Yellow Coupe, Barry Shendell presented his 1970 Yellow convertible and Eric Jackson brought his 3500 mile 1987 Bronze Coupe. With 9 cars to judge we were glad that we had 34 judges registered to make up the teams.
John and Beverly LeGate (complete with her high heel judging shoes) made the trip all the way from San Jose to help with the judging and Dave Perry drove over from Lawndale California for the event. We had more than 61 in attendance including spouses and walk-ins and another 17 Corvettes which were not being judged were on display in front of the hangar including a beautiful new 2008 Corvette brought by Brown and Brown Chevrolet.
A great lunch was catered by Honey Bears Barbeque. Shortly after judging resumed everything was interrupted by the appearance of the Mustangs. We were fortunate to have 3 very very rare P51 Mustang WW2 Fighters planes that are based at Stellar give us a show. The only sound more beautiful than a 427/435 Corvette with side pipes emanates from the 12 cylinder Merlin Engines that power these beautiful airplanes. At the end of the day we were pleased to present the following awards to the owners along with our thanks to them for presenting their beautiful Corvettes for Judging.
- Ed Winkler – Top Flight
- Bob Davenport – Second Flight
- Barry Berger – Top Flight
- Allen Schaff – Top Flight
- Gerald Evens – Second Flight
- William Spring – Third Flight
- Jerome Pederson – Top Flight
- Barry Shendell – Second Flight
- Eric Jackson – Top Flight
Fall Judging Meet – Tucson
October 21, 2006
It must have been the near-perfect weather that brought out nearly half of our chapter membership on October 21st to our annual fall meet in Tucson. And to make it worth their while, we judged a great cross section of Corvettes, with one from every generation NCRS judges.
Judging Results:
- Bud Bourassa, 1954 – Second Flight
- Gary Bennet, 1967 – Top Flight, Ladies Choice
- Marty Nelson, 1969 – Second Flight
C4 Judging School – Tucson
May 6, 2006
NCRS isn’t just about old Corvettes – it’s about preserving and recognizing Corvettes of all types. With each year we bring newer ones into the judging curriculum, and right now it’s the 1992 and 1993 C4s that are in the process of being brought into the fold. National Team Leader Tom Barr hosted a combination judging school and trial judging for these cars at his Tucson home on May 6 for us to get educated on the finer points of these C4s.
