2015-10-12 SS Archives - BMW CCA Sierrra Chapter

2015 Street Survival

Janitor — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 20:17:02 +0000

Sierra Chapter’s Street Survival

It was a “different” Sierra Chapter Street Survival in 2015. To be clear, our host venue, the Sky Tavern Junior Ski Program, had come to our rescue two years ago when road construction material storage found us unable to use the Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe main parking lot a few miles further up the mountain. Not only did Sky Tavern welcome us, they did not ask for a dime… which, BTW, was exactly the same fee @ Mt. Rose. We knew from the outset that the Sky Tavern pavement footprint was “tight”. Our first year DID show us those limits, but it came off without a hitch and we made adjustments to optimize the use of the small space for this year. The lodge was great for the classroom presentations.

However, this year… we had an incident. MOST fortunately, nobody was injured, but that might possibly have been due to divine intervention. Once the (air bag) dust settled, it was clear that things could have been much more serious. Okay, we actually did plan and brief for the possibility of the exact incident that occurred. As an aside, had the exact same scenario unfolded @ the larger Mt. Rose venue, the car would have impacted a wall of very large boulders instead of the dirt bank that it “flew” up @ Sky Tavern. The result @ Mt. Rose would surely not have come out well… at all.

So… off we went to secure a new location for future Street Survival events put on by Sierra Chapter. We have two possibilities and will announce the new location in a future newsletter and will post it on the club web page.

Yet another phenomena that happened this year for the very first time, we had seven “no-shows” with not a single contact from any of them. ???? Not sure what that was all about, but will try to communicate better to prevent a reoccurrence. Again, we had great help from chapter members to man/wo-man the registration table, deliver coffee, bagels and lunch, direct the cars through the exercises and coach the young drivers from inside the cars. Thanks.

Steve Polimeni has stepped up to help run this very beneficial program and we will travel to the national Street Survival conference in Las Vegas next month. THANK YOU Steve!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It actually is fairly astounding that a nation that taught men how to fly to the moon and back has decided not to teach future generations how to better stay alive going to Starbucks. This program that the BMW CCA Foundation birthed is the one and only of its kind in the whole country. Our club has truly become more than our interests in things BMW. Friendships have eclipsed that and our commitment to Street Survival also goes beyond fondness for our favorite marque and reaches out, into and beyond our community, to give young people a better shot at staying alive behind the wheel. It’s an effort that everyone in the chapter can feel good about. Thanks again to all who take part and please come join in next time if you can.

Merry Christmas,

Jeff- Your Janitor

Parental quotes:
“Great program.”
“Obviously experienced instructor, thank you.”
“He’s been to two other Street Survivals, and this one was the best.”

Air bag demo quotes: “WOW!”; “Man, did you see that?” (New objects added to the launch this year: pickles.)

Here’s a roster of all who chipped in to make this year’s Street Survival another worthwhile event. (Gee, I hope I didn’t leave out anyone!!!) We had help from outside the club (denoted by an *), from our venue host, Sky Tavern Junior Ski Program… and from other individuals who care about the effort to give new drivers a better chance to survive.

Registration was manned… errr, wo-manned… by Diane Ona, Carmina Nicasio and Jackie Douglass. We would have starved without Joyce Sharp and Sharon Rachow… okay and DeArmond for bagels and coffee first thing.

The course workers kept the flow going: John Strom, Ed Smith, Art Ona, Duane Meyer*… plus some parental help.

Fred Watson was a moving target as the event photographer.

A HUGE thanks to all of our COACHES/VOLUNTEERS (see below)
Sky Tavern and Captain Duane Meyer

And mostly to our fearless Leader: JEFF WARNER, without you this event would not be possible!
Thanks Parents, because you care

BMWCCA Sierra Chapter White Knuckled, Fearless Coaches (in alphabetical order):

Alex Anastassatos
Bill Henderson
Craig Eisenberg*
Dan Wink
DeArmond Sharp
Eric Rudd*
Floyd Hernandez*
Gary Balleisen
Gilbert Dayao

Greg Batchelder*
John English
JR Fent
Jim Whitfield*
Pat McGoff
Paul Georgeson
Ron Nicasio
Steve Polimeni

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2015 Holiday Party

WebMiss — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 15:17:57 +0000

A Stormy Windy Marvelous Party

by DeArmond Sharp

The Sierra Chapter 2015 Holiday Party was held a week earlier than usual because another group booked Brick’s Restaurant on our usual date the second Thursday in December. We are safe for 2016—room is already reserved for the Club.

Thursday, December 3r^d turned out to be a stormy windy day- like Holiday Party day in 2014. Nevertheless, 54 members enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Bricks following a cocktail party and Joyce and DeArmond’s home.

In 2014, the high wind caused a power outage in the middle of the cocktail party—members to the rescue with lights from cell phones. In 2015 many came prepared for a repeat test of their cell phone lights because of the windy day—they were disappointed. No power outage!

The 40+/- who attended the cocktail party came bearing their favorite libations and bountiful feast of hors d’oeuvres and appetizers. In fact many members commented we could have grazed on the appetizers and skipped dinner.

Notwithstanding the selection of hors d’oeuvres, the members did tear themselves away to adjourn to Brick’s for dinner. Brick’s offered three main courses to choose from: Barramundi fish from Australia, Short Ribs or Pork Tenderloin. In addition to the main course, we had a caesar salad and a choice of desert: key lime pie, bread pudding or crème brûlée.

The club also provided wine for the dinner.

President Pat rounded up raffle prizes many donated by Bill Pearce BMW- thank you Bill Pearce.

If you log on the Sierra BMW Club web site go to the video and photo galleries look at the Holiday Party pictures and watch the Holiday Party video and you will see that a great time was had by all. It was a marvelous party and all who attended look forward to Holiday Party version 2016!!

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2015 Fun Rally

Stephen Polimeni — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 15:17:57 +0000

A Really Fun “Fun Rally”

by Steve Polimeni

As luck would have it, after rescheduling our Fun Rally to Halloween Saturday because of prior commitments by quite a few valued club members, the weather turned out to be one of those beautiful Fall days with temperatures in the low 70’s and clear, sunny skies….yeah!

Our Fun rally was centered around public accessible golf courses in the greater Reno/Sparks area which provided an opportunity for members to venture to areas they may have never been before without having to pack an overnight bag or even require an afternoon nap! Eleven teams (cars) showed up mostly on time except for Andy and Sharon who got there just in time before the start – Andy blamed it on Sharon as usual….just kidding.

Rally fans were handed a packet of information which contained instructions and clues for each leg of the rally. Points were awarded for each leg completed, there were 6 golf courses, a driving range, a one hole putt challenge that was mandatory, and an elusive bottle of Greg Norman Cab/Merlot that could actually be found at our starting point in front of Total Wine. Oh yes, there was one other golf course but since it had not points assigned to it, why even go there!

The rally stops were random and participants had to use their own discretion as to what they could complete in the 3-hour time frame they given before ending up at the Twisted Fork restaurant for some well deserved sustenance. Each clue contained a picture of the rally stop, and within the picture was a clue as to the location or identity of the golf course. Participants were free to use their phones or GPS devices or printed maps (not many of those). There appeared to be some collusion but that was expected…it didn’t help much. At the mandatory one-hole putt challenge (girls did better than boys except Jim Johns and Pat McGoff – of course), Rally fans were handed a complimentary golf (crying) towel.

It should be noted that the Rallymaster is not a golfer (yet) but the geographic locations, accessibility of club houses and restrooms for potty breaks, and overall “driveability” for the rally made this an opportune theme. My sincere thanks to all participants for being such good sports.

First Prize went to Pat and JoAnn, John & Anne-Marie took 2nd Place Paul took 3rd. Ron & Sharon came in last and received a bottle of Greg Norman’s Cab/Merlot!

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Sierra Gallery

WebMiss — Thu, 10 Dec 2015 15:03:12 +0000

Take a Look – Sierra Chapter Gallery

We are happy to bring you our Sierra Photo Gallery Website! This little website has all the Chapter’s pictures going waaaaaay back (2010)! Grab your Hot Chocolate and take a stroll down memory lane… Click HERE to go to the Gallery site!

The Gallery is found under Calendar & Events menu on our website and is labeled as “Photo Gallery.”

You can also check out our YouTube Channel videos.

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From the President’s Desk

Pat McGoff — Tue, 08 Dec 2015 16:59:02 +0000

Happy New Year to all our members! 2015 turned out to be a very good year for the club. We had some new events blended in with our favorites that have been going on for several years now. Below is a recap of the events that occurred in the fourth quarter of 2015.

On October 3^rd, we again had the BMW Foundation Street Survival at Sky Tavern. We had a total of 16 students signed up for the event this year but only 11 showed so we had more than enough instructors. Jeff Warner did an amazing job again this year. This will be Jeff’s last year as event leader so Steve Polimeni will be taking over in 2016. Jeff is trying to secure the NVHP vehicle training facility for Street Survival 2016. We found that the Sky Tavern facility is too small for some of the exercises. We had one incident that resulted in a car being damaged which prompted the change.

We had our very first Fun Rally on October 31^st. Steve and Anne Marie Polimeni created a rally using golf courses. Photos were provided for each course. Points were given for certain facts that you had to acquire at the course. It turned out to be an exciting scavenger hunt of sorts. When all the dust settled, Paul Hollenbeck came in third, John and Anne Marie Utter took second, and JoAnn and yours truly won the top prize. There were a total of 11 cars on the rally which we considered a very good turnout. In 2016, we want to continue the Fun Rally but will have to create a new venue. Stay tuned.

Our Holiday Party was held at Brick’s Restaurant again this year on December 3^rd. Members were invited to De and Joyce Sharp’s house for cocktails and appetizers prior to heading over to the restaurant. A total of 54 members attended this year which broke all records. Bill Pearce again donated several raffle gifts. De Sharp provided some fun raffle gifts and I had some nice wines to donate.

As I mentioned last quarter, the 2016 Oktoberfest in Monterey will be held from August 23^rd to the 28^th. The website is still not complete due to hotel signup links not installed yet. This year, you will be able to sign up for the Festorics, Legends of the Autobahn and Oktoberfest from the same site. This is what Steve Schlossman of BMWCCA had to report: The Oktoberfest website continues to be ofest.bmwcca.org We also have celebratebmw.com When will it open? As soon as we have the registration and some fees finalized. We just aren’t there yet. We are expecting +1500 overall in attendance over the week ½. It’s very important that the registration goes smoothly. For my sanity at least. This year’s registration will include Legends, Festorics and Oktoberfest. You will also be able to book your Oktoberfest hotel using a unique link. Personally I’m hesitant to pick a date for the sake of picking a date. The registration form is just about done. We have weekly meetings with a company working with us through the process. Still need to finish up some integrations. Look to Roundel Weekly. That will be our primary members of communication.

Happy motoring,
Pat McGoff

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2015-Coming Events

WebMiss — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 19:28:24 +0000

Jan 8, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
Feb 12, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
Feb 28, Ski Day, Diamond Peak
Mar 12, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
Mar 21, Tech Session, Gilson Auto
Apr 9, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
Apr 25, Tech Session, Glison Auto
May 14, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
May 16, Virginia City
Jun 11, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
Jun TBD, Napa Valley Tour
Jul 9, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
July 12, Family Picnic
Aug 8, Sierra Buttes Tour & Poker Run
Aug 13, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
Sep 10, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
Sep 13, Kars for Kids Charity Show & Shine
Sep 19, El Dorado & Amador County Wine Tour
Oct 3, Street Survival
Oct 8, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
Oct 17, Fun Rally
Nov 12, Meeting/Social, Bill Pearce BMW 6pm
Dec 10, Christmas/Holiday Party

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2015-Who’s Who

WebMiss — Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:59:27 +0000

President Pat McGoff, (775) 473-8549
Vice President Ron Nicasio, (775) 843-5904
Secretary James Russell, (801) 707-8639
Treasurer/Chief Legal Counsel DeArmond Sharp (775) 826-4357
Past President Art Ona, (775) 772-1328
Member-at-Large Mike Dietel, (775) 338-2183
Membership Sharon Goodrich, (775) 849-3420
Event Coordinators Russ & Cheri Huntoon, (775) 742-4111
Driving Events Jeff Warner, (775) 745-6962
Community Involvement Gilbert Dayao, (775) 720-7485 and John Strom, (775) 851-3000
Newsletter Carol Villar, (775) 525-0509, Pat McGoff, (775) 473-8549 and others (it takes a village)
WebMistress Carol Villar, (775) 525-0509

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