2022 Western Meet

Monte Carlos in Attendance

1970 - Two-tone Grey and Black, Black interior
Owned by Bob Berdan of Portland, OR

1970 - Forrest Green with White vinyl top, Green interior
Owned by Lucas and Jolie Kelly of Columbia Falls, MT

1970 - Shadow Grey, Black interior
Owned by Dave Fast of Beaverton, OR

1970 SS454 - Desert Sand with Black vinyl top, Black interior
Owned by Clifford and Cindy Kostelecky of Black Diamond, WA

1970 - Dark Blue with White Stripes, Blue& White interior
Owned by Juanita Klingensmith of Sparks, NV

1971 - Placer Gold with White vinyl top, Sandalwood interior
Owned by Dave Bash of Grants Pass, OR

1971 - Blue, Black interior
Owned by Shawna and Brad Dunlap of Cottage Grove, OR

1971 - Burnt Orange, White vinyl top, Sandalwood interior 
Owned by Cameron Lewis of Reno, NV

1971 - Mulsanne Blue, White painted top, Blue interior
Owned by Kevin Uilkie of Surprise, AZ

1971 SS454 - Classic Copper, Sandalwood interior
Owned by Aaron and April Dodsworth of Summerland, BC

1972- Sequoia Green, Green interior
Owned by Ryan and Talisa Misrasi of Tremonton, UT

1972 - Green, Black interior
Owned by Don Robertson of Aloha, OR

1972 - Blue, Black interior
Owned by Jason and Christine Molden of Sherwood Park, AB

1972 Custom - Antique White, Black interior
Owned by Doug Cameron of Portland, OR

1972 - Gulf Green, Black vinyl top, Green interior
Owned by Matt Hilla and Christine Mott of Hood River, OR

Additional members in attendance 
Steven Lewis of Reno, NV
Joe Vassallo & Anke Hovland of San Carlos, CA
Ed Chesser of Penn Valley, CA

The 2022 Western Meet
by Aaron Dodsworth

Road Trip

April and I started off the road trip on Tuesday in our 1971 SS454 with a downpour but the weather slowly got better throughout the day. Our destination on day one was Hood River, Oregon to meet up with other members travelling to the meet. As we rolled into town just before dinner time the generator light came on. We did some tests and determined the alternator was not charging. After meeting up with other FGMCC members Matt & Christine and Jason & Christine for dinner I ordered a new alternator to be picked up the next morning.

Early Wednesday morning Matt drove me to the Napa to pick up the alternator and had it installed in the Monte quickly with no delay to our trip. The group headed West in our three first gen Monte Carlos headed to McMinnville to meet up with more members for lunch. We spent some time at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum before continuing to Lincoln City to enjoy a relaxing afternoon and evening on the beach.

 

 

  

For the drive on Thursday there are now five Monte Carlos in the group with Don and Bob joining us for the cruise down the coast and then inland to Ashland. Bob’s 1970 Monte Carlo was having some charging issues so he purchased an alternator as a spare just in case. He was able to make it through the entire weekend without any issue. We stopped at several scenic spots during the day on our way to Ashland and really enjoyed the drive. Travelling as a group was a great way to get the meet started early.

  

  

We pulled into the hotel in Ashland around dinner time and were greeted by other members who had already arrived. I always enjoy that moment seeing old friends and meeting new members especially after two years of cancelled Western Meets. We were catching up and sharing stories of our road trips to the meet.

Cameron Lewis and his son Steven in their pickup truck towing a car trailer travelled from Nevada with the two other Monte Carlos driven by Juanita Klingensmith and Kevin Uilkie. While Steven was driving Cameron’s truck on the way to the meet, a semi truck and trailer merging over scraped the passenger side of the car trailer with the driver's side mirror. In the process the semi also cut off Juanita and Kevin who witnessed the incident. There was some minor cosmetic damage to the car trailer as well as some hassles to deal with after the incident.

We spent the remainder of the evening enjoying each other’s company at the hotel. Always a lot of laughs.

At first I thought "why can't Lucas park like the rest of us" but then I notice the leg.
That is Ryan swapping the modulator valve on his transmission.

Friday

On Friday a bunch of us participated in the Poker Run throughout the Medford area. The first order of business on Friday was to grab our registration goodies for the Medford Cruise event. Matt’s car had electrical issues on the way to the park and eventually resulted in a third member buying an alternator during this meet along with a new battery. Matt and a couple other members stayed back at the hotel while the rest of us participated In the Poker Run.

The Poker Run drive started off with overcast skies but boy did it rain during this cruise. The wipers worked on most of our cars but Ryan had some issues with the ones on his 1972 Monte. At one point the rain was hard enough that it was difficult to even see the car in front of mine while driving. We were determined to finish the run and made all the checkpoints regardless of the weather. The rain had mostly subsided by the time we got back to the final stop to collect prizes. Although not ideal conditions, we have a good story to tell and the cars survived.

 

 

Saturday

The car show in Medford at Fichter-Mainwaring Park was held Saturday. The weather was wet in the early morning but continued to get better throughout the day with some sunny breaks which was a welcome change. The event was very gracious to our club with a specified parking area and a special sign made up. Our club was mentioned on a couple occasions on the stage throughout the cay encouraging people to come check out the Monte Carlos that travelled from 7 states and 2 provinces. Club members won several awards at the show which were chosen by the local business who sponsored the award. After the car show there was a cruise for car show participants through downtown Medford which was very well attended. The streets were packed with classic cars and spectators lined the streets to look for their favorite car.

  

  

 

  

Medford Cruise Award Winners
Jason Molden - 1972
Shawna Dunlap – 1971
Don Robertson – 1972
Juanita Klingensmith – 1970
Bob Berdan – 1970

 

  

  

  

 

Sunday

The weather was great on Sunday and we cruised to the historic town of Jacksonville in the morning. It is a great looking little town and we took advantage of some photo opportunities. After some lunch in Ashland I started setting up the FGMCC awards and door prizes at the hotel. We had a very nice afternoon for the outdoor awards ceremony.

The Hard Luck award had quite a bit of competition this year with all the mechanical issues and it is no secret that it is the least favorite award to win among members. I left this award to the very end of the presentation this year as I wanted to do something special with it. For a little background, Steven Lewis has attended many meets over the past 12 years with his dad and is a part of this FGMCC family. With the issues he had with the semi truck hitting the trailer, Matt and I discussed a plan to make Steven an FGMCC member himself so we can present him with the Hard Luck award. Matt offered to pay his dues in order to set this up and Matt was also able to get a photo of the police paperwork from Steven to put in the award. When presenting the Hard Luck award I mentioned all the issues people had with their cars following that by saying “...and Steven had his issues with the trailer but he’s not a member… until now!”. Steven was quite surprised and it was a humorous end to the ceremony.

This was the most car trouble filled meet I’ve been a part of but they were all minor issues that were easily resolved. Club members sprung into action to help get people running again. There were certainly some obstacles during the meet with the rain, unseasonably cold temperatures and a number of car repairs but when you have great company like we do at FGMCC meets, they can all be overcome and still look back with great memories.

  

 

 

 

 

FGMCC Awards

Best Interior - Juanita Klingensmith - 1970

Best Paint - Bob Berdan - 1970

Best Engine - Doug Cameron - 1972 Custom

Best Chrome - Juanita Klingensmith - 1970

Best Non-restored - Kevin Uilkie - 1971

Best Modified - Don Robertson - 1972

Best Street - Matt Hilla and Christine Mott - 1972

Best Stock - Aaron and April Dodsworth - 1971 SS454

Members' Choice - Don Robertson - 1972

Meet Director's Choice - Dave Bash - 1971

Longest Distance Driven - Jason and Christine Molden - 1,184 miles

Hard Luck - Steven Lewis - minor collision