2004 OLD DRAG RACERS REUNION - OCT. 1, 2, 3, 2004 Panama City, Fla.
by Anne Stewart
The 2004 Old Drag Racers' Reunion began to take shape as the Old Drag Racers and their families began arriving and checking in on Friday afternoon. As is the norm, old racers mingled around the lobby visiting with many of their old buddies. At 7:30 on Friday evening an old fashioned barbecue cook-out was held in the back parking lot of the host motel.
Saturday morning brought a beautiful day--clear skies, a little warm at times, but a great typical Florida morning.
The car show started at 8:30. Some of the cars were already in place, having arrived Friday evening. Joe Teuton treated the car show enthusiasts by bringing two hemi's from his big stable of race cars.
Wayne Jeffers brought three outstanding cammer powered Fords from his collection-one of them being the very famous Dyno Don Maverick. There were four 64 T-Bolts in the show. The famous Big Iron and the Old Rusty 55 Chevrolet were in the numbers. Some of the rigs that brought these cars to the show were a show themselves. How transportation to the races and shows has changed over the years!
The Hall of Memories was going on the same time as the car show. This year it was held in the ballroom. A lot of great pictures, some fantastic displays, some great memorabilia were there for everyone to view. A special thanks goes to FE Bob Fermier and to Jim Amos for their great slide show and video show in the Hall of Memories.
At 2:00 PM Saturday everyone assembled in the motel ballroom for the afternoon program. Sol kicked off the program with a greetings to all attending. Following this he gave a special welcome to some first-time attending VIP's. There were some special awards presented and Col. Bob Tensfield assisted Sol with this portion of the program. The Herman Moore Good Sportsman Award for 2004 was presented by Speedy Ball and went to Kenneth"Sonny" Rollo of Tallahassee, Fla.
A special award was presented to Marty Johnson in appreciation of his many years of promoting drag racing with his photos and articles written in "Drag News" and "National Dragster". An outstanding thing took place during the presentation to Marty when Hubert Platt unexpectedly stepped up to the podium, pulled out a $100 bill and challenged racers to match it so the money could be sent to Marty. Within two minutes there was $1278 in cash lying on the podium. Thanks to Hubert for a great gesture. Both Marty and his wife Kitty are now in declining health.
A special award was presented to James Finch for his contributions to the ODRR. A special award was presented to Sam Boswell for his contributions to the ODRR.
The eleven car show plaques and trophies that were furnished by Bobby Likis Car Clinic RadioNetwork were presented to the recipients by Col. Tensfield. The annual Industry Award was not presented this year because the designated recipients could not attend.
The Hall of Fame inductions were next on the agenda.
Greg Holt presented to his father, Billy Holt, of Athens, Alabama, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Billy "Big Deal" Jacobs presented George Warren of Phenix City, Alabama, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Charles Smith presented his brother, Max Smith, of Midland City, Alabama, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Speedy Ball presented Bill Mullins of Birmingham, Alabama, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Sam McQuagg presented Bobby Watson of Phenix City, Alabama, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Bill Dismuke presented Phil Bonner of Dahlonega, Ga., his Hall of Fame plaque.
Hoyt Grimes did a presentation on "Sneaky" Pete Robinson of Atlanta.
Dave Pybus presented Shirley Childree, widow of Jesse Childree, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Billy Holt did a presentation on Clayton Harris, recipient of a Hall of Fame plaque.
After the Hall of Fame presentations Sol made his closing statements.
Saturday night a round table "bull session" was held and although it was very lightly attended, it was very entertaining and was made very interesting by stories and comments from the likes of Randy "Big Stuff" Payne, FE Bob Fermier, Rick Kirk, Billy "Big Deal" Jacobs, Harvey Collins, David Smith, Jimmy Waibel, and Rusty Gillis. Jim Amos was in attendence and asked some interesting questions of the panel. Saturday night's event wound up the 2004 ODRR. We are already looking forward to next year.!!!
For those of you interested in a complete video of the afternoon awards ceremony and the Saturday night Round Table Session, you can contact Frank & Sue Moye at 4343 Warm Springs Rd. #604, Colunbus, Ga. 31909 or call them at 706-563-7494. They did a great job videoing the event and one of these videos would be a real keepsake. I understand the afternoon video will be around $15.00.
The 2004 Old Drag Racers' Reunion began to take shape as the Old Drag Racers and their families began arriving and checking in on Friday afternoon. As is the norm, old racers mingled around the lobby visiting with many of their old buddies. At 7:30 on Friday evening an old fashioned barbecue cook-out was held in the back parking lot of the host motel.
Saturday morning brought a beautiful day--clear skies, a little warm at times, but a great typical Florida morning.
The car show started at 8:30. Some of the cars were already in place, having arrived Friday evening. Joe Teuton treated the car show enthusiasts by bringing two hemi's from his big stable of race cars.
Wayne Jeffers brought three outstanding cammer powered Fords from his collection-one of them being the very famous Dyno Don Maverick. There were four 64 T-Bolts in the show. The famous Big Iron and the Old Rusty 55 Chevrolet were in the numbers. Some of the rigs that brought these cars to the show were a show themselves. How transportation to the races and shows has changed over the years!
The Hall of Memories was going on the same time as the car show. This year it was held in the ballroom. A lot of great pictures, some fantastic displays, some great memorabilia were there for everyone to view. A special thanks goes to FE Bob Fermier and to Jim Amos for their great slide show and video show in the Hall of Memories.
At 2:00 PM Saturday everyone assembled in the motel ballroom for the afternoon program. Sol kicked off the program with a greetings to all attending. Following this he gave a special welcome to some first-time attending VIP's. There were some special awards presented and Col. Bob Tensfield assisted Sol with this portion of the program. The Herman Moore Good Sportsman Award for 2004 was presented by Speedy Ball and went to Kenneth"Sonny" Rollo of Tallahassee, Fla.
A special award was presented to Marty Johnson in appreciation of his many years of promoting drag racing with his photos and articles written in "Drag News" and "National Dragster". An outstanding thing took place during the presentation to Marty when Hubert Platt unexpectedly stepped up to the podium, pulled out a $100 bill and challenged racers to match it so the money could be sent to Marty. Within two minutes there was $1278 in cash lying on the podium. Thanks to Hubert for a great gesture. Both Marty and his wife Kitty are now in declining health.
A special award was presented to James Finch for his contributions to the ODRR. A special award was presented to Sam Boswell for his contributions to the ODRR.
The eleven car show plaques and trophies that were furnished by Bobby Likis Car Clinic RadioNetwork were presented to the recipients by Col. Tensfield. The annual Industry Award was not presented this year because the designated recipients could not attend.
The Hall of Fame inductions were next on the agenda.
Greg Holt presented to his father, Billy Holt, of Athens, Alabama, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Billy "Big Deal" Jacobs presented George Warren of Phenix City, Alabama, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Charles Smith presented his brother, Max Smith, of Midland City, Alabama, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Speedy Ball presented Bill Mullins of Birmingham, Alabama, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Sam McQuagg presented Bobby Watson of Phenix City, Alabama, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Bill Dismuke presented Phil Bonner of Dahlonega, Ga., his Hall of Fame plaque.
Hoyt Grimes did a presentation on "Sneaky" Pete Robinson of Atlanta.
Dave Pybus presented Shirley Childree, widow of Jesse Childree, his Hall of Fame plaque.
Billy Holt did a presentation on Clayton Harris, recipient of a Hall of Fame plaque.
After the Hall of Fame presentations Sol made his closing statements.
Saturday night a round table "bull session" was held and although it was very lightly attended, it was very entertaining and was made very interesting by stories and comments from the likes of Randy "Big Stuff" Payne, FE Bob Fermier, Rick Kirk, Billy "Big Deal" Jacobs, Harvey Collins, David Smith, Jimmy Waibel, and Rusty Gillis. Jim Amos was in attendence and asked some interesting questions of the panel. Saturday night's event wound up the 2004 ODRR. We are already looking forward to next year.!!!
For those of you interested in a complete video of the afternoon awards ceremony and the Saturday night Round Table Session, you can contact Frank & Sue Moye at 4343 Warm Springs Rd. #604, Colunbus, Ga. 31909 or call them at 706-563-7494. They did a great job videoing the event and one of these videos would be a real keepsake. I understand the afternoon video will be around $15.00.
posted by David @ 2:51 AM
<< Home