Class of 1968 sought
EDITOR: Organizers are searching for members of Cloverdale High School’s Class of 1968 as they begin plans for their 50-year reunion to be held next June 2018 at the Veterans Memorial Building in Cloverdale. Contact Barbara (Sciaini) Holmes at 280-9762 or ba******@ho*****.com or Rich Price at 894-5240 or ri***********@ho*****.com if you can help.
Barbara Holmes
Cloverdale
Car show kudos
EDITOR: An event like the Annual Car & Motorcycle Show cannot happen without the hard work of many people and organizations. It was a spectacular weekend which highlighted our town, our businesses and the organizations which come together and make it happen.
First of all, thanks and accolades go to Robin Wilkerson, the chamber’s executive director, and to Yari Sanchez, the chamber’s office assistant. They worked to organize and pull together all of the components necessary for the best Car & Motorcycle Show ever. They were joined by directors who helped with many facets of the weekend, from street closures to online postings.
From its roots 24 years ago, the event has grown into a local and regional destination. This year there were more registered participants and crowds than ever. Local businesses reported a spike in sales and interest, which is important to our entire community. Cloverdale residents had cars, trucks and motorcycles entered in the show.
Locals were well represented, both at the Friday night cruise and on the day of the show, along with the Cloverdale Senior Center and the History Museum, which both hosted events which gave visitors and residents even more things to do downtown. Calpine, in addition to being a premier sponsor, hosted tours of the Geysers, as they have the past few years.
The City of Cloverdale purchased and hung new banners for the car show, which will be reused. In addition, public works employee Craig Johnson helped plan and guide chamber staff, directors and volunteers Jesse Sanabria and Miguel Barron as they closed the streets before dawn on Saturday morning.
In order to facilitate logistics, Will Jopson, from Ace Hardware, loaned walkie-talkies to the crew, and the businesses at the Ace Hardware Plaza allowed the Friday Night Cruise participants to stage in their parking lot. The Cloverdale Police Department not only led the cruise, but assisted with traffic control. Car enthusiast Joe Devine helped organize the cruise and Al Delsid, also a car buff, helped with encroachment permits and other organizational elements.
The Bear Republic Brewing Company donated beer for both the Friday Night Cruise and for the Pit Stop on Saturday. Agri-Comm Appraisals donated wine for both as well. Bonnie Wlodarczyk, from the Cloverdale Citrus Fair, donated wine for the goodie bags handed out to registered car show participants. Water was donated by Dollar General. Papa’s Pizza Café fed the band on Friday night. The Cloverdale Road Runners Car Club contacted other car clubs to participate.
They put together raffle baskets and purchased commemorative memorabilia as well. Cloverdale Rotarians handled registration and Cloverdale Lions Club members helped guide and park show vehicles. Sam Beeson organized the judges, always a difficult job. Ed Bowen and members of the Church Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provided garbage and clean up services during and after the show.
A big thank you to the local organizations who had booths at the car show. Some prepared food to raise money for their organizations, while others raised awareness for theirs. At the awards presentation, 2017 Citrus Fair Queen, Hannah Bireschi, helped MC Ron Pavelka hand out trophies, sponsored by a host of local businesses. Both the Cloverdale Reveille and the Press Democrat helped publicize the events in print and online.
When it was all over, again Jesse Sanabria and Miguel Barron assisted chamber staff and directors with opening up the streets to traffic. Kiwanis Key Club members assisted. Street barriers and signage were removed quickly, returning downtown streets to their original state.
Thanking everybody involved always runs the risk of forgetting to mention people and organizations who contributed. I’m hopeful that I didn’t, but the fault would be mine, not the chamber’s. The Annual Car & Motorcycle show benefitted from everybody’s participation. It takes a community.
Neena Hanchett, President
Cloverdale Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors
