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The show was put together by the South Florida Jaguar Club, the Cruisers of South Florida and the Humane Society of Broward County. Now don't forget, this show was put together in less than two months and the leaders in this were our wonderful Thomas Lanahan and Steve Schwartz of the Cruisers of South Florida. Without these two gentlemen meeting and speaking to each other on an almost daily basis over the last 8 weeks, this Memorial Show would never have gotten off the ground. A show of this magnitude with so many Clubs involved takes months to put together, not just 8 short weeks. Thomas and Steve, thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you did and I'm sure everyone else feels the same. And a big thanks also needs to go out to all of the volunteers from the Cruisers Club and SFJC that helped with set up, registration, parking, raffle tickets, etc. It's all of the back stage work that always goes unnoticed but is so needed, because without it, there wouldn't be a Show. So thank you to every one that helped with Howard's tribute! Registration was to begin at 11:00 on Sunday and Jack and I left the house with the two Jags and some surprise guests and arrived at Crabby Jack's on Federal Highway in Boca Raton around 10:30 AM and there were already cars parked and set up! This is how excited everyone was about this Show. We get registered, unload the cars and begin to have a great time. The South Florida Jaguar Club, Cruisers of South Florida, Florida PT Cruisers Club, Starlight Cruisers and Gold Coast Triumph and British Car Club all had members attend this event. And the turnout was phenomenal! Both the SFJC and GCTC had a wonderful showing of cars right in front of Crabby Jack's, so we had a great window on Federal Highway. We had 9 British cars in attendance. Russell Glace surprised us in an adorably sexy little red Innocenti Ghia Spider, which is sort of an MG, Healey, Italian type job, and I believe there are only 6 in existence. Cars were piling in and the parking lot filled up quickly. There were Jags, Triumphs, PT Cruisers, Corvettes, AMX, VW, Oldsmobile, all sizes and shapes of cars. There was a new Chrysler Crossfire there that really caught my eye, so you can see there was quite an eclectic mix of cars. There was even a cute little remote controlled PT Cruiser that was zipping all over the place. In total, there were almost 50 cars in attendance despite the inclement weather and many more members of all of the Clubs came to the show in their "family vehicles".
Oldies DJ Rockin' Rich kept the joint hopping with his wonderful selection of oldies, I found myself singing and bopping around most of the time. I have been to several shows that Rockin' Rich has been DJ'ing and he really makes the show with his music, humor and presentation. Thanks Rockin' Rich! Also Rockin' Rich's fees/expenses were donated to the event and this helped raise the amount we were able to donate to the Humane Society. The raffle prizes were excellent and a step above what normal raffle prizes have been, a Panasonic TV, an exquisite tanzanite necklace, wonderful car products, shirts, stuffed animals, goodie baskets, etc and the raffle items raised nearly $200 towards the donation. There were beautiful mini trophy plaques and dash plaques that were handed out. These were a result of Steve's hard work and efforts and really added another dimension to the Show. Everything was going just fine until we all heard that old familiar "South Florida in the Summer Time" sound - thunder. The clouds were rolling in and soon the rain started. We were all scrambling to pack up and close up the cars. It's really amazing how fast our group can moved when provoked! With all the cars closed up, where do you think we all proceed? Why of course, the bar! Where else would any self-respecting British car owner go in the rain? More stories are passed around and we found this was a perfect opportunity for many of us to enjoy the wonderful food and Howard E.'s great staff at Crabby Jack's.
The Long Distance Award was quite a surprise for me when Thomas called me up along with my surprise guest, my Mom. SILENCE. CONFUSION. But what about Lady Jane you might be asking. Well, here goes, when Mom Jane passed away in October of 1999, I discovered paperwork that may have insinuated that I was adopted by Jane and Rex. I was 41 years old when I found this out! Long story short, I was. I started the search, found Mom Sara in 2001 and Jack and I now have a whole new Southern family, so far we have met about 175 of them! Sara and my baby brother Keith (sounds very strange to say that!), came down from South Carolina for this Memorial Show for Howard so, therefore, they got the Long Distance Award! I wanted them at this Show because during Howard's service, the Rabbi mentioned that Howard was adopted. I never knew that and I missed a wonderful opportunity to talk with him and get his feelings on growing up knowing you were adopted. When I left Howard's service that day in June, I left with a deep burning desire to write my story and give other adoptees the strength, courage, knowledge and, hopefully, the desire to begin their search. My story has been so wonderful; I want others to experience the joy and happiness that Mom Sara and I now share. So it was very touching to me when Sara and Keith received this Award! She had so much fun at this Show that she wants to come back for the Bryant Park Show in February 2005. Think I'll put her on the detailing team but she has to take lessons from Chris Canning first!
Kaye Kaeslin then presented our Clubs "Traveling Trophy" to Rick Hartwell for "The Hard Luck Story" for having the longest on-going restoration project in history, his 1937 SS Saloon. It really was a very fitting presentation and Rick was speechless and we have it all on film! It is now Rick's turn to present the "Traveler" at our next function. Rick, the challenge is on! The Howard Schwartz Memorial Show Trophy was selected by Crabby Jack's manager and was presented by Howard's family. This memorable award went to a quite charming 1971 VW Bus, owned by Robin and TK Koepfinger. It was a very period color for the late 60's-early 70's and you just sort of had the feeling that you wanted to hang out around the Bus with your hip hugger jeans, beaded belt and head band, jean jacket and say "Peace Man" to every one while waving your two fingers in the air with the peace sign! And of course carrying your surf board under the other arm. I know that Howard was smiling down on all of us Sunday and his heart was swelling with pride when we presented the Humane Society with a check for almost $900. WAY TO GO, CAR NUTS!!!!!! I also think that this Show once again proved that we can mingle British Style with American Steel! It just goes to show that it doesn't matter what nationality you drive, if you have the disease, you have the disease! And we all speak the same language - CARS!!!
Howard, we miss you, love you and will always remember you in our hearts. My dear family and friends, I wish you all the best and am thankful that each and every one of you is in my life. Until next time, Your Roving Reporter - Lois Lane Purrs - Cyndi V.
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Sandy
Ross and members of The Humane Society of Broward County were there
with their wonderful booth of animals and literature. And a real treat
for everyone was Rebecca, Howard's dog who is a certified therapy
dog, who was there with her new family. Howard was very involved with
the Humane Society and was the 2002 and 2003 Volunteer of the Year
for Broward County and I know they miss him very much. The Humane
Society is such a wonderful, and much needed, organization and if
anyone can ever donate their time, animal bedding, food, etc. I'm
sure they would accept it with open arms.
The
rain finally subsides and the Awards Presentation came around faster
than I can ever remember in any show. We were all so happy to see
Howard's parents and his brother arrive just in time to mingle a bit
and then present the Howard Schwartz Memorial Trophy. There were 3
Peoples Choice Awards which went to Tony Grasso and his PT Cruiser,
Lady Jane and - hang on to your hats - Tom Perna's 2005 Toyota Scion
with a boss trick paint job. I told you there was something there
for everyone!
NEWS
FLASH - Jack's car has been officially named. Thomas and MaryAnne
came up with the very fitting name, The Red Baron, and presented Jack
with a miniature model of The Red Baron's plane, the Fokker DR I.
It fits perfectly on the glove box and will be part of his Show Ensemble
from now on. Wait until you see the rest of his Ensemble… and
no, it's not the coconut bra from the Reef Cruise!
The
Show ended much too quickly and it was time to head home. For the
rest of the evening, we all continually talked about how special the
day felt, how beautifully everything went, how much fun we had, what
neat people we know, what great cars were there, and on and on and
on. It was really a very emotional day for everyone involved. I found
myself teary eyed more than once. It was so heartwarming to hear different
stories of Howard from the different "sectors" of his life.
He truly was a unique and special individual. Howard reached out and
put his heart and soul into everyone and everything that he cared
about. I hope and pray that we all learn from our enormous loss to
live life like Howard, to the fullest. To say "I love you"
to loved ones, not be afraid to hug friends, surround yourself with
what you love and love doing, and to be thankful for each day that
we have on this wonderful earth.
