2005 National Meet Wrap Up
Kansas City, MO

Letter from John Janes, meet organizer
Two years ago I had an idea of a local Volvo club in Kansas City. I had known of the national Volvo club of America and said to myself why try and reinvent the wheel?  I’ll organize a local chapter of VCOA!   I set off on a quest to contact every enthusiast in the area, searching databases, local shops and word of mouth. After several months of research I had the beginnings of a database for the club.  After 10 months of planning, we had the first ever Volvo car show in Kansas City.  Irv Gorgon came from the east coast to our first show and brought his 2 million mile P1800.   The show was a success and a key moment for the new Heart of America Chapter of VCOA.   Directly after the show Irv and I were talking about the show and how much fun it was.  We talked about how much fun it would be to have a national meet in Kansas City.   Irv called Gretchen Adams in the VCOA main office and the Kansas City National meet began to take shape.  We had lots of discussions about the hotel, the car show and the budget, but it all came together and we had a wonderful meet.

Working on the National Meet has been a great thing for our chapter.  After the chapter got up and running, and continued to grow we had very successful monthly meetings and events.  More cars and more Volvo enthusiasts began to participate.  Everyone was real excited and interested in being a part of the National Meet.  I couldn’t believe the enthusiasm. Our chapter has some very talented people that were willing to put in hours of hard work to make the meet not only a success but hopefully, the best event ever.  If you attended the meet we truly hope you found the accommodations adequate and the meet a ton of fun.

John Janes

Meet Report

Friday Night Reception
The weather at the reception was perfect.  Superior Volvo North sponsored the BBQ feast that started this year’s National Meet with a
big bang.  The program for the reception included several speakers and fun activities. Scott Peper of the Heart of America Chapter was the Masters of Ceremonies and did a great job of running the program, getting people to tell stories of their car(s) their history with Volvo and their adventures traveling to the meet.  Thanks to Dennis DeGoosh, General Manager at Superior Volvo North for not only paying for and having the reception at the dealership but for supporting the activities of the Heartland Chapter throughout the year, without his support none of this would have ever taken place.

Saturday Car Show and Awards Banquet
Saturday morning was nothing less than spectacular.  We decided to do the Car Show at a grassy park in Parkville.  Parkville is a cute little town on the Missouri River, a short drive from meet headquarters at the Hilton Hotel.   Everyone was up early washing and detailing in the hotel parking lot, then made the short drive to Parkville where  Bart Klein had things running like a well oiled machine.  As cars entered the show field photos were taken and cars were directed to specific locations.  It amazing the amount of coordination, pre-planning and staff it took to make this a special day.  We decided to do a people’s choice ballot rather than a judged car show.  Everyone got a ballot and set out to choose their favorite in many classes of Volvos, ranging from the earliest PV Models to the latest S60Rs.  Dan Johnston, PR Director for Volvo Cars of North America, arrived with an 18 wheeler stuffed full of Volvo treasures and started rolling out beautiful classic cars.  Most of us Midwesterners we’ve never seen a Jacob or a 1900, it was truly a sight to behold.
Thanks Dan, for all you did for the meet.  You truly made the event special.

Saturday evening’s awards banquet was quite the event.  Again, Scott Peper was the MC for  the entertainment and awards.  Scott and his brother-in-law Bart Klein held the crowd’s attention, got us involved in a great Volvo trivia game, made us laugh and handled the awards in a professional and entertaining manner.

Sunday Poker Run
Sunday’s Poker run was a great success.  Everyone who participated enjoyed the drive around the Kansas City area.  Michael Jones got the high hand, and took home a great prize!  The National meet concluded on Sunday afternoon and everyone headed home

Awards

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