The Monthly Planet

Central Ohio CarClub - Chapter 4

Issue #60 – April 2002

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STEERING COLUMN

CONGRAGULATIONS FOLKS!!!!

You all did a super job. We had a 100% turn-out of club members at the auto show. The officer's of the club and the management at Saturn

thanks each member that participated.

HELLO FELLOW CAR CLUBBERS!!!!

I would also like to extend my gratitude to the folowing members that worked a double shift at this year's auto show. Hank Arbaugh, Al Clapsaddle, Jim Harrass, Cheryl & Lowell Lutman, and Kimberly Penix.

In April we have our first of the year all day picnic which will be held in the Northern Shelter at Highbanks Metro Park on Saturday the 6th. Our events people are planning a Whooper of a day. Besides all their activities there will be many park activities and hikes. You can enjoy the outdoors without having to Rough It. So hopefully, you will be one of many to come out and maybe bring your family for FUN and FOOD.

Saturday the 13th; starts our clean-up on our adopted highway. We meet at the Grand Host East Banquet House on East Broad (rte 16) at 9am. I'll bring release forms for all to sign in case you missed the March meeting. The release forms will be available both at the April meeting and on the day we clean-up. If you join us you will get two points toward your activity level and a free lunch. Participants are urged to bring gloves, hat, boots or footwear that you don't mind getting wet and please long pants and shirt. I'll bring the treats, drinks, safety vests, and trash bags. Yes, this is a lot of work but you also get a lot of SATISFACTION.

We will have our monthly meeting on April 11th at Saturn North starting at 7 pm. Our mini-event for this meeting will be a guest speaker from Villa Angela.

Our second Saturday meeting will be at North on the 20th of April starting at 10am. We urge you to attend and find out what the club is planning. This is YOUR CLUB so come on out and PARTICIPATE.

You can contact me thru the Hotline which I monitor three to four times a week at:

614-470-3517

or thru e-mail at:

arthur.peterson@eudoramail.com

See you at the next event or meeting

Pete

Events

You have asked for them and we are providing them.

Family Picnic

When: Saturday, April 06, 2002

Time: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Location: Northern Shelter (1/2 mile North of Saturn/North on U.S. 23)

PLEASE plan to join us!

If you haven't signed up yet, call John or Pete on the Hotline by April 1^st (Monday).

Let us know how many are coming and if you'll be there for Breakfast (8:30 - ?), Lunch (12 noon - ?) or both.

Remember, we'll have games and hikes ALL day, Bingo after lunch.

Each card you wish to play will require $2.00 or a small gift, (unwrapped).

Children = small gift or $1.00

Adult and Children will have their own prize table.

Breakfast = Roll, Juice, etc. Provided by the Club

Lunch = "Road Kill Stew" and SMORES by Pete and Diane.

Club will provide drinks.

Each family is asked to bring a dish to share or snacks for the day. [Cheese-Crackers, Meat or Veggie tray, Salads, Chips, Desserts, etc.

See you soon!

Peggy and John Williams

Bingo

When: 3^rd Thursday of every month (Apr 18^th )

Where: 5700 Karl Road Columbus, Ohio

(South of Rt. 161 on the East Side of Karl Rd)

Time: 7:00 p.m. (approx. 1 1/2 hours)

Due to construction in the admin dining room, Bingo was held in the day room of unit #3 on Thursday, April 21^st.

Attending were 19 residents and the following Club members:

Carla Clubb, John and Peggy Williams; Bob and Luanna Leadbetter; Arthur Peterson; Roy Hilsabeck; Jim and Becky Harrass; Al Clapsaddle, Virginia Russell, Chi-Chi Digman, Deborah Rusnak and Miriam O'Donnell.

Due to the limited space the evening was quite lively and very cozy.

We would like to thank all who attended for their patience and understanding.

The residents were concerned that this activity would be canceled because of the construction and were extremely glad tat their SPECIAL BINGO Night was able to continue.

A heartfelt "Thanks" goes out to all of you, from all of them.

Peggy and John Williams

Events Question: What was the mini-event at the March meeting?

The Editor Replies

I want to apologize if anyone was offended with the font that I used in last Month's Newsletter.

But I too was offended by the way the information was passed to me. If I do something that you have a concern about, then let ME Know. My Dad is not the Editor nor is Mr. Peterson. Each month I include my E-Mail address and there is always the Hotline for those who do not have access to E-Mail.

My work and school schedules, keep me from attending many events. BUT, when my Dad told me that NO ONE wanted to be the Editor of this Newsletter, I decided to help him and the CarClub out.

Only one or two people know how much time it requires to put this Newsletter out. I am trying to make it interesting, by using colors and different fonts, so that it DON'T look like the Columbus Dispatch or the Wall Street Journal. Deadlines have been established and yet EACH month, I still get something AFTER the deadline that I have to figure out how to use or how to edit it.

Thanks for understanding!!!

Alan Patrick Clapsaddle

Chapter Merchandise

As has been shown at the Autoshow Meeting and at last month's CarClub meeting, we now have access to items that will tell who we are.

Some of our members will be wearing our NEW apparel at the Picnic and our Meeting on April 11^th. Let's tell the world who we are and where we are from!

April Mini-Event

We will have a guest speaker, Pam Castle, Director of Activities from Villa Angela.

For those not familiar with Villa Angela, this is the Care Center where we host Bingo for the residents on the third Thursday of Each month at 7 p.m.

The Champion's Corner
Exciting times are ahead for Saturn. Now for a sneak peak! Until April 13^th, ALL Saturns except for the VUE have 0% percent financing. That's right ZERO. This does not include the Special "SL" cars that I will talk about in a second. The ZERO percent is up to 60 months. If you have been waiting this is the time!

Now for another "show stopper". Starting the 15^th of April, Saturn will have a "Special Edition" SL, that can be bought for under $10,000. This Special SL is "stick-shift" and will only come in one color. Supplies are limited. Please come to our Picnic on April 6^th or our CarClub Meeting on April 11^th for more details. You can also contact me at Saturn/West.

If you have a Lease that is through GMAC and ends by September, call me for some interesting information. Remember I can meet and work with you at any Saturn Retailer in Columbus. If you already have a Sales Consultant, continue to work with them.

To find out more about what we currently have, call your friendly Sales Consultant or if you don't have one, call me The CarClub Champion/Sales Consultant, Al Clapsaddle at 771-9700.

Membership Dues Increase

This is something that no one even wants to hear, but we are being forced into making changes that affect the amount you pay, for yearly dues.

This past year our Dues to National have increased 150%. The cost for our insurance has gone up by 50%. The cost for stamps will be going up by 3 cents. Our budget with our business partner has gone down by 15%.

What does this mean? For each member, our cost is more than what we charge. Our dues are the lowest of any Saturn CarClub that we have seen in the country. We have tried to hold costs down as long as possible.

By next month, the Board will have the information ready and will publish them here and at our meetings. We hope this increase does not cause too much of a problem for any member.

Hopefully, this increase will be the last one for many years to come.