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What is a CarClub? This is something that was been going through my mind, recently. To some it is a place to meet folks. To some it is a place to share information with others. To some it is a place where one shows off their car. To some it is a place where FUN things involving cars, happen. What does CarClub mean to you?

Our chapter has again moved into first place with members. Yes, we have grown and hopefully changed with the needs and desires of you, our members. As I sit here trying to keep cool, I see that many members are new to our Chapter and not aware of what we are about. Since we first came together as a group of individuals in February 1996, we have tried to grow and change into a CarClub that has many visions and many ideas.

What can you as members do to help us? Communicate! We have many ways for you to communicate with us, as listed in the box to the right. You can call our Voice Mail 7 days a week 24 hours a day. You can leave a note in our suggestion box that we have at each meeting. Our monthly meetings are also a great way to share your ideas.

Our July CarClub meeting will be on Thursday, July 12^th at Saturn/North. We will start at 7:00 p.m. Our suggestion box will be in the meeting room at 6:00 p.m. Last month the members said they would like a Rally. So we will have a Poker Rally in the near future. This is a fun time and the only skills required are finding the five locations and then showing the cards at the finish line. More details at our meeting.

Remember that July starts a NEW year, as far as receiving credits toward Active Member status. New membership cards are being sent out as this Newsletter is going to press. All members will get the NEW card, even if your membership does not renew until later this year. The card will have your member status and will eliminate any confusion. If you receive a NEW card and it does not say Member or Active Member, let us know.

Please join us for our trip to the Air Force Museum on July 7^th. The more the merrier.

In conclusion, ask yourself, "What does the CarClub mean to me?" Hopefully the answer is one that we all can enjoy.

Remember, you are not just IN the Club, you ARE the Club!

Al Clapsaddle

Hello again everyone. WOW! What a month. Lots of activities to keep everyone busy. A good crowd at the Adopt-A-Highway cleanup effort, and boy does it sure look good. Kudos to Pete and Crew.

There were many people achieving all the points they need for Active Member status this June. All in all, 79 members participated in at least one of the activities and meetings this past year, with 3 people tied for first place with 25 points total. Too bad there isn’t an award for that...maybe there should be.

Remember that the points start over this month. It doesn’t take long to accumulate 4 points so come on out to the activities and meetings and see if you can end up in first place. We have a lot of fun. Some of our newest members earned their points in just a few months. I’m sure they will reap their rewards in the coming year. I know I’m going to need them as I have the 60K check-up due in about a month. If I calculate it right, I think the savings is about 4 years membership dues!

On to the membership cards. I have talked to our representatives at the National CarClub, and they are diligently working on making the new cards. Some of you may already have them. One of the big hold-ups on the replacement cards (for those of you who did not expire in June) is the letter that goes with the card. The Saturn scribes have to compose the letter and get it entered into the computer system so that the program will generate SOMETHING when they put an update. Without the letter, it won’t print the card correctly. Well, this all takes time to filter in and they delayed us a bit in order to get some of the other things done that we have set up as unique to the Columbus club. Those new members and those renewing at the same time as a new card request shouldn’t see a big delay, so this may not effect you.

For those of you who have renewed directly with Saturn National, you will be receiving a membership card, but it will most likely NOT be the correct type of card. We need to know who you are. Once you get your card, you will need to send us a check for five dollars. This is the difference in dues for the National club and the Columbus club. Basically it would be our share of the ten dollars dues that you would have paid us. We can then request the correct card be sent you so that you can use the respective discounts that you have earned. We can’t request a new card on someone whose membership has expired with the local club. Saturn is currently working to correlate between us and the National on the members that actually are members of the local club. Remember that if you don’t have the CORRECT card, you will not receive your discounts at the time of service. You may still get the appropriate discount, but you might have to wait for the paperwork snafues to get done. Much better if you have the correct card in the first place.

On to premium gifts...for those of you that selected the BasicPlus membership upgrade on renewal, Saturn says to please allow 4-6 weeks to process the order. This goes through a different shipping group and may longer than the membership cards.

PLEASE CHECK YOUR MAILING LABEL. . . If it says ***Expires June 2001*** then this is your last newsletter. Make sure you get those renewals in on time to avoid being left out without a newsletter or a discount.

If your membership number starts with a T, then we do not have a membership number for you. Please tell us when you get one and we will update our records. Everything is by number and it is difficult to keep things straight when there are multiple members with the same last (and in some cases first) names.

I guess that’s about it for this month. See you at the next event.

Phil

Come and join us on July 7^th for a road trip to the Air Force Museum in Dayton. We will depart at 8:30 a.m. from the Meijer’s parking lot on Rome Hilliard Road off I-70 West. We will be car pooling for those who would rather not drive, provided we have enough folks who want to drive. Admission and parking are FREE! Lunch is available to buy or you can bring your own. There is an IMAX theater, which costs extra and souvenirs to buy if you are so inclined. This is a great family outing so come and join us and bring the kids and/or grandkids.

Don’t forget Bingo, July 19^th at 7:00 p.m., at
St Angela Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, located at 5700 Karl Road

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

The following members conducted the Bingo on June 14^th: John & Peggy Willims, Jim & Becky Harrass, Pete Peterson, Libby Bryan, John Herbst, and Clyde Nimal.

It’s a lot of fun for the CarClub members and the residents of St Angela! Come and join us!

The next Adopt-A-Highway cleanup will be on Saturday the 11^th of August starting at 9:00 a.m. Our rain date is always Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m. We meet at the GRAND HOST EAST on east Broad Street, just across the Franklin County line. Hope to see many of you there as possible.

Our fun activity for August will be a Poker Car Rally on Sunday, August 26^th beginning at 1:00 p.m. The rally will involve driving to five different locations around the Columbus area to get a playing card. At the end of the rally, the person with the best poker hand is the winner.

Three of the locations will be the three Saturn of Columbus retail facilities where, in addition to the cards, Saturn of Columbus will provide special drinks and snacks to each participant.

More details will be provided later but mark your calendar now so you won’t miss this fun event.

Our numbers were smaller but our enthusiasm made up for it. Guess what? We were able to see and check out Saturn’s New offering, "The VUE". We were warned that it was a pre-production model. If the build quality on this pre-production model is what the final version will be, Saturn has a BIG hit on their hands! The one that we checked out had the 6-cylinder engine. It was Gold and the seats were form fitting and very comfortable. With the driver’s seat back to where it was comfortable for me, I also had enough room in the back seat. The front of it had an "L" series look to it. More details will be shared at next the July meeting.

We arrived at Spring Hill at 9:15 and we were invited into a conference room. After introductions, some folks from the "Launch Team" arrived and we spent an hour getting information and asking questions about future products. It appears that Saturn is moving ahead and they are listening to our wants and needs.

At 10:30, some Team members from the CAC (Customer Assistance Center) arrived and shared information about their NEW structure. It is more customer focused and it was changed because of input from us, the Customers. It is great to meet the folks that at times we talk to (if you call Saturn’s Assistance Center). Plans are to let us actually visit the CAC next year.

After Lunch we took the tour and it was GREAT. It was the three building tour; PLUS. The Plus was seeing the area, where the VUE will be built. We saw about 100 of the VUE space frames behind a partition. We also saw about 8 VUEs in various places in the Plant and on premise. One of the VUES, was actually being tested on the track. Our guides slowed down for us to watch.

After the tour, we shared gifts. Saturn was surprised to get a piece of Ohio. Thanks Diane (our VP’s wife)! This was a little amusing as some of the folks are originally from Michigan. You know that state; up North.

Some of us were then interviewed by, "Car Country News". A copy of the Newspaper with our article should be arriving soon. We ended the day with a very good meal at "Betty’s".

We want to start our plans for our 7^th trip, next year. Now is the time to make suggestions as to the time and things we would like to do. One suggestion that we received, is to extend the amount of time for the Q&A’s.

I want to Thank Saturn, the Welcome Center, the CAC, the Launch Team, the National CarClub and the local CarClub members who attended. Together we made this trip a great experience.

On June 23rd at 10:00 a.m. at Saturn/West, we held our second Saturday CarClub meeting.

The GREAT news was that it was almost a SRO (Standing Room Only) crowd.

We were encouraged and look forward to our NEXT special Saturday meeting, 10:00 a.m. September 22^nd at Saturn/SouthEast.

A special Thank you to Pete Peterson and Phil Carter who made my job easier by helping out at this meeting.

The once a quarter Saturday meetings, have been started because of requests from YOU, our CarClub members. You have said that our normal Thursday evening meetings were inconvenient because of work, school or home conflicts.

Hope to see more of you at our next Saturday meeting.