Many thanks to Dave and Sandra Lucas for hosting a wonderful meeting today! I regret not taking a head count but I think that we had about 37 members present. In addition to the two Packards belonging to Dave and Sandra, the following people brought a Packard: Chris Baccaro, Mike Rigsby, Doug Carlson, The Eanes and the senior Baccaros.
We had some great desserts provided by Sandra, Carol, Shirley and probably some others I am missing. Prior to going to the Lucas home, we met at Joe's BBQ in Alvin and enjoyed some great food. Following desserts, many of us made way to the car barn which housed a Packard 12, and a bunch of Model Ts as well as Model As.
At the business meeting we discussed several important issues:
Texas Packard Meet: We decided to ask if we could be in charge of the hospitality room as well as publicity for the 2018 Texas Packard meet which is scheduled for Kerrville April 5-8, 2018. Everyone wants me to inquire as to the penalty if we do not return to Kerrville for the next meet. As I mentioned, regardless of the situation for next year, the 4 directors voted via conference call a couple of weeks ago to return to Salado in 2019 whether we stay at the Stagecoach or not. I anticipate that the next conference call will be soon.
Fall Tour: Regarding a fall tour, the month is still not settled but the majority voted for a one day tour. We will have more discussions on the fall tour at the next meeting.
Shirts: Ben and Lenny brought samples of the men's Lone Star Packards logo shirts we want to order and pictures of the ladies' choice for shirts.
Thank you to Karen Trokey and Janice Carter for getting the 50/50 tickets sold and to Janice for distributing the name tags for us. Congratulations to Ron Jordon the winner of the 50/50 who took home $38! Rich Trokey gave the treasurer’s report and we have a solid bank account. Due to the annual PAC National Meet there will be no meeting in June. We are working on activities for July and August
It was a great day, but summer is obviously upon us - it was hot driving with no air-conditioning!

As the Texas Packard Meet concluded Sunday, the morning started with a bang. Tornado warnings, hail, thunder and heavy rain. By noon the clouds had parted and a beautiful day like we enjoyed Thursday, Friday (day of tour) and largely Saturday appeared. Lone Star Packards members attending the Texas Packard event included Carters, Carlsons, Matthews, Ehrman, Myers, Hairrels, and Grimes. There may have been others from LSP so apologies if I missed them. Carter, Carlson and Matthews displayed Packards, all receiving awards.

There were 30 Packards displayed at this year's event and about 100 attending. The peak year at Salado included about 65 Packards and 225 (+/-) attending.
Factors viewed as contributors to the reduction in participation:
A very negative weather forecast likely cause concern.
The number of Packard owners has declined.
The venue location has proved to be a challenge for LSP members and possibly for Packard owners in Louisiana and other locations east of Texas.

The team of Packard club members in San Antonio is looking for another Region to assume some or all of the tasks they have historically managed for 2019 and beyond. They are suggesting that the Region who will assume those responsibilities in 2019 work with the San Antonio team in 2018 to make the hand-off occur smoothly.

At the Sunday morning business meeting and after considerable conversation, the group passed a resolution that called for the Texas Packard Region Directors hold a series of conference calls to address the following four major decisions:
Allocation of Responsibilities noted above for 2018
Ideas to Increase 2018 Participation
Venue for 2019 and beyond
Allocation of Responsibilities for 2019 and beyond

Thanks to Ron and Juanita and John and Vivian we had a great meeting this afternoon in Kingwood. Thirty five members met for a buffet at the Los Cucos Mexican Restaurant on Hy 59. It was a little warm but still a beautiful day to drive a Packard. Adorning the parking lot were Packards belonging to the Lortzs, Jordans (2), Darrows, and Carlsons. Thanks to all who were able to bring a Packard.
We were happy to welcome JC and Sherry back into the club. JC is working hard bringing their 1940 back to life after a slumber of several years.
Ben gave an up-date on the shirts. We will be ready to take orders at the next meeting. Speaking of the next meeting, the club voted to not have an April meeting due to the Texas Packard Meet that month in Kerrville.
About 6 of our families indicated they would be going to the Texas Packard Meet. Our next meeting will be in May in the Alvin area hosted by Dave and Sandra Lucas. We will probably meet for lunch at Joe's BBQ restaurant and then caravan the short distance to their home. We will have more information on the May meeting later next month.
We announced the birthdays for the month. Happy birthday to James Hinds, Rena Sartin, John Eudy, and Jeff Pate. The Calistrat’s provided a cake and we sang happy birthday to Mike Calistrat who will be 90 in April. We were happy to celebrate his birthday today as there will be no meeting next month.
We have at least 6 families that will be participating in Keels and Wheels the first weekend in May. (You will have to come out to see which member will be driving a Chrysler Imperial Convertible.)

Thanks again to the Darrows for arranging a great lunch and very interesting meeting site. More than 30 club members met at Fuddruckers this morning at 11:30 on Greens Road. Following lunch we traveled the short distance to Gateway Classic Cars. Gateway has several dealerships around the country and I did not even know about the Houston location until the Darrows discovered it. There were over 100 classic cars (unfortunately no Packards at this time) at the Houston location. Most are fully restored and ready to go home with someone. I love early Ford V8's and there was a really nice '47 the same color as our '40 Packard and a really sharp '51 pale yellow hard top. Both had the original flat head V8s under the hood. There were a lot of muscle cars, about a dozen or so Mustangs, including a 2009 Shelby, a Chrysler Imperial convertible and a sixties Cadillac convertible. Carol spotted a '70 Malibu the same color as the one she had when we got married. One of the reps of the company, Aaron, talked to us about how to buy a car through them and how to sell through them. They were most gracious and thanked us for coming and said we were always welcome to come as a group or just stop in to browse individually.

Prior to the business meeting, Shirley cut cake they had brought to celebrate the February birthdays. We were fortunate enough to have two February birthday members in attendance. We wished Ron and Jay a very happy birthday.

Lenny and Paula were out of town but they sent some potential club shirts for us to see in two different shades of blue and two types of materials. Members should make Ben aware of the one desired and he and Lenny will work on a design so we can begin taking orders. The men's shirts had pockets and the ladies did not. Prices are $25 for sizes small through extra-large and an extra $3 for sizes xx and xxx. If you want your name on the shirt, it is an extra $5. Ben has the shirts and he and Lenny will get together to come up with which club logo we will use. The prices include the logo but do not include your name. The Jordans had a few of the last shirts on hand and they gave them away but asked that the recipients make a donation to the treasury. Thanks to you, Ron and Juanita, for ordering and holding onto those shirts.

Our treasurer, Rich, reported that we are running behind on members' dues. Only 27 families have paid and we'd like to get the 2017 roster up to date. Please send a check made out to LSP if you haven't as of yet. It is only $20 for a year filled with fun.

I also announced an about face by me regarding attendance at this year's Texas Packard Meet in Kerrville. I have been asked to be a candidate for the National Board and after several days of thinking I agreed. (Jerry Ehrman was also asked and agreed to be on the ballot as well.) There should be a ballot in Page 2 of the next Cormorant News Bulletin. If elected our family will participate, as there will be a National Board meeting in Kerrville and I will need to be there. Not sure what we will bring but we will look into getting a trailer.

There was discussion about whether to continue having our own dinner on Saturday night or going to the official banquet. it was my understanding from the business meeting that they were going to try to get a better price for the banquet but it is still over $32. Several said they would like to attend the banquet and several said they would not due to the cost. At last year's business meeting, we also asked that the registrar and her group see if the registration and hospitality rooms could be moved to the event center which was closer to most of the rooms and also closer to the show field. I have no idea if that was done. I have been in communication with my contacts in Salado. The restaurant is scheduled to reopen April 1st. Work is scheduled to begin on the Stagecoach Inn itself on June 1st. The delay was caused by the widening of I-35 in front of the hotel. Now that it is finished, a year behind schedule, they will be able to start on the hotel. It is our sincere hope that we will be able to move back to Salado in 2019. If not, maybe our club could just make it a destination for a fall tour and invite the others to participate if they like. Attendance in people and Packards was considerably lower in Kerrville compared to what we have come to expect in Salado. Even though I know several families that are not planning on attending, I think the fact that there will be a National Board meeting will boost the attendance for 2017. I have to say I sold more at the swap meet last year than I have in a long time.

The Darrows, Lortzs, and Baccaros drove Packards to today's meeting. When we left League City this morning it was overcast and pretty comfortable driving. On the way back, the clouds had disappeared and it was hot, but not as hot as in the summer time. It was approximately 60 miles each way and we had no problems at all on the way. However, on the way back when we made the turn from the Sam Houston Tollway to SH 225 it started chugging as I goosed it to get in the freeway flow. Suspecting vapor lock, I hit the electric pump and in about 3 seconds it caught and away we went. Near the house I turned the electric pump off and by then the mechanical pump worked fine. With the quality of gas we have to buy, I don't think anyone should drive an old car without having an electric pump as back up on warm days. The same thing happened a while back while driving our 1940 back from Galveston - the electric pump saved us then as well.

Our next meeting will be a buffet at the Los Cucos Mexican Restaurant on I-59 in Kingwood on March 19th at 1 PM. It is a Sunday and the meeting is late enough that it hopefully will not interfere with church. Thanks to the Jordans and the Lortzs for making the arrangements.

Despite early week predictions of a stormy day, January 14th turned out to be an excellent day to drive a Packard to the LSP meeting. Eight Packards and 37 people motored to the Ol’ Railroad Café in historic downtown Rosenberg for the January meeting. As in the past when we have met there, the food and service was excellent. Our thanks to Ron and Patricia Orr with assistance from the Carters for making it a wonderful day. The trip in a Packard included the following families: Carters, Orrs, Baccaros, Holzbands, Darrows, Carlsons, Rigsby, and Sartins. Thanks to all who drove or rode there! A reporter from the local paper was there and she took pictures of the cars and interviewed several of us. Hopefully our club will get some great publicity. Jerry Ehrman said the Rosenberg chamber should do something for us because of the crowd we attracted. A lot of people stopped to ask questions and take pictures. It was a great showing of Packards.
During the meeting, we made a presentation to John and Vivian Lortz for being the co-winners ofthe 2016 David McDonald Lone Star Packard Participation award. John and Vivian brought Packards to six different club functions in 2016. The Baccaros tied by also bringing a Packard to six different meetings.
During the meeting we voted to make a donation in the amount of $500 to the Packard Foundation to be used in the restoration of the Packard Proving Grounds. We also announced that it was time to send in the 2017 dues to Rich Trokey. Make your check payable to Lone Star Packards in the amount of $20. In addition, I appointed Ben and Lenny to come up with a prototype for new club shirts. We suggest taking orders for the shirts once a style is picked so that we do not spend money on shirts that don't find a home. We still have a few of the last shirts so kindly ordered by the Jordans but they are very limited in size availability. Juanita said the mens are very large and the womens are very small. Please contact them if you can use either.
Lenny announced he will again hold his car show in late October which last year benefited the Houston Food Bank. Evelyn Timmins announced that Keels and Wheels will again be the first weekend in May and this year the national Stutz Car Club will hold its convention in conjunction with Keels and Wheels. K and W benefits the kids at Boys and Girls Harbor. These two shows have served as our public service activity for several years but we are open to adding others.
We passed around a sign-up sheet for hosting a monthly meeting and the following months have been claimed; February, March, May, and December. Give us a shout out if you want one of the others. Otherwise the officers will work to fill them with fun and interesting meetings.
It is early but we have not heard anything about a Fall Tour. We normally have them in either October or November. The Lone Star Flight Museum is building a new facility at Ellington Field and it is to open sometime this summer. I would like for us to visit the new site when it opens.
We also had some fun at the meeting by surprising Mike Calistrat with a cake for his up-coming 90th birthday! Here is hoping for many more!
We had our monthly 50/50 drawing and Jack Sartin went home $45 richer (can't believe Caroline Calistrat was there and she did not win!)
Following the meeting, we hung around taking pictures and visiting at least another half hour and then all headed our separate ways. I was dreading the drive home as the sun was really pouring down on Rosenberg and I was not looking forward to the long hot drive back to League City. The Houston metropolitan area is so large that all you have to do is drive a few miles if you want the weather to change. We took Highway 90 to SH 6 and before we got to 6 the sun went under the clouds and it was a cool and smooth ride all the way home. We actually ran into fog as we reached Manvel. That is what I love about weather in Houston. Our trusty '55 logged 117 miles round trip.
The February meeting will be at Gateway Classic Cars in the Greenspoint area on Feb. 18. They have more than 200 classic cars for sale. The Darrows have arranged for them to give us a presentation as to how to buy or sell a car through their dealership. We will meet at a nearby Fuddruckers for lunch and then head to Gateway. More information on this meeting to follow.

Needless to say the food at Hasta la Pasta was excellent as usual and we had a full house. Following lunch we went to the Sartins nearby where we met in the "Car Parlor" for desert, gift exchange, and fellowship. It was a great day and I thank Karen once again for planning it and the Sartins for having us.
Thanks to all those who pitched in to make it a really fun time.
Our next meeting will be in Rosenberg on January 14^th, so mark your calendar. More details to follow.
On behalf of all the officers and our families, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season.

A huge thank you goes to Richard and Tracy Wilken for opening their beautiful home in the Woodlands to 38 members of the Lone Star Region. They not only provided us with a wonderful setting for our monthly meeting, they also arranged for a catered BBQ lunch to be served. A big thanks to the Lortzs, the Darrows, and the Carlsons for driving their Packards.
We were honored to have George and Karen Holinga as guests at today's meeting. George is a member of the P.A.C. Executive Board and they are in town visiting Mike and Dixie Grimes. In addition, we welcomed Kim Ess and her son Nick as new members of the club. Her husband Bob is restoring a '55 Patrician but was on a business trip and could not make today's meeting. We look forward to seeing them at future meetings.
Because of the distance traveled by some of our members, (Jerry came all the way from Orange) I purposely kept the meeting short. Basically, we went over future events. I yielded the floor to Jan so she could give details on the Christmas party scheduled for December 18. Karen Trokey has taken the lead on this project. It will be held at Hasta La Pasta Italian Restaurant on the Grand Parkway in Katy. Following lunch we will motor to the Sartin's home for dessert and merriment, including a "Texas Steal" gift exchange. This will be held in the car barn and it will be fun to see what Jack has added since our last visit.
I announced we have tentative plans to meet in historic downtown Rosenberg for January hosted by Ron & Patricia Orr. Dave & Sandra Lucas will host us in Alvin for either the February or March meeting. April is usually set aside for the state meet, again in Kerrville March 31 - April 2, therefore we normally do not schedule a meeting in April. However, if there is a desire among the membership to have an April meeting we can put one together.
Following the meeting, we walked out back to a modern carriage house. The Wilkens have a magnificent collection including no less than five Packards, an Auburn "boat tail speedster" ,several Rolls-Royces, a fire truck, a Stanley Steamer, a stunning Ferrari, a freshly painted El Camino and probably something else I forgot. All of these magnificent vehicles are presented in a setting reminiscent of a Packard showroom of the 30's or 40's. Many thanks once again to the Wilkens for being such wonderful hosts and Ben & Jan for making the arrangements.

We got home around 9:25 this morning from an absolutely wonderful weekend on Galveston Island. Thanks to the Carters with assistance from the Trokeys, Eanes, Lortzs and probably others, we had another top notch Lone Star Packard Fall Tour. Galveston was selected, not only because we had success there in the past, but because the Gulf Coast AACA chapter was hosting a regional national meet on the island Thursday through Saturday. It was a great opportunity to see a lot of cars we don't normally see. Several of our members hold membership in AACA as well as Lone Star Packards. Among those are the Supinas who brought two Packards and a Lincoln. The Pates brought the '53 Skylark. Evelyn brought the '34 Packard as well as her '88 Mercedes. Leon brought his really nice Mustang. We brought our 1940 Packard 160. There were many cars from other parts of the country we had never seen. Perhaps some others brought cars that I missed, so my apologies if you entered and I left you out. My favorite was a steam car from the White Sewing Machine Company. While I love Bob and Gail's Packards, I also have a soft spot for their white '89 Lincoln because I have had the pleasure of driving it to Salado when our Packard couldn't make it to Salado one year.

I did not get an accurate count, but we had almost 30 at the dinner Saturday night at Mario’s. We had about the same on Friday night at Jimmy's on the Pier and also at the Sunshine Bakery and cafe for lunch Saturday. The newly opened Best Western Plus on the Seawall was our headquarters, which proved to be very nice. They even furnished us with a free hospitality room, which the Carters loaded up with drinks and snacks. Each evening we gathered there after our tour activities to visit, discuss our Packards and catch up on what each family was doing. We even discovered that we have squirrel wranglers within our Region, as Dave and Sandra Lucas have a couple of baby squirrels they are caring for! My thanks to the Darrows, Carlsons, Eanes, Lortzs, and Jordans, who all brought their Packards. We almost had another '40 Packard to keep ours company but Ben could not get the body shop to finish up in time.

We had a great tour of the harbor on the Bay Watch boat, saw a collection of Western History at the Bryan museum, enjoyed a wonderful collection of classic cars and ate in some super places. Some of our members shopped on the Strand and some took in the entertainment of the Oktoberfest.

As far as I know everyone had a safe and uneventful trip home. Our '40 made the short trip from League City to Galveston and back without a problem, but I think my ride will be greatly improved once I replace those 20 year old tires - going to call Coker Tire this week!

Once again thanks to all who made it a success and thanks to all who came! Hope to see you next Sunday at Lenny's "Show and Shine"

Today approximately 40 members met for lunch at Red River BBQ in League City and then came to our home nearby in The Meadows. I wish to thank the Darrows and Mike Rigsby for bringing Packards to the meeting. We also brought our ' 55 and our '48. We had some confusion earlier this morning when the restaurant called and said they made an error and that someone already had the room. It turns out on one sheet they had my name and on another they had Lone Star Packards. They then noticed the phone numbers were the same so we had 40 plus seats reserved for our group. The food was great and considering how busy the restaurant was, I think the food got delivered to the tables quickly.

At the meeting, a number of matters were discussed. We thanked the Carters for their hard work with the help of Elizabeth, their daughter, on the Owners Manual as a few hard copies were distributed to those in attendance. It is now on line for the others to print or just read and save. We clarified who had brought Packards to which meetings so we can award the David McDonald trophy or plaque at the end of the year. Ben and Jan discussed the fall tour and noted more information is in the Newsletter. We discussed up-coming meetings including the September 18th meeting which will be a covered dish potluck affair at the Trokey, home co-sponsored by the Musgroves and the Trokeys. The October meeting will be the fall tour. The November meeting is tentatively scheduled for a member's home in the Woodlands with more details to follow. We are looking at another catered affair for the Christmas party but details are still being worked out. That brings us to January and Ben and Jan will arrange for us to meet once again at the Railroad Café in historic downtown Rosenberg. We will start a new activity sheet in coming meetings in case you would give some thought to hosting one of the months in 2017.

Rich reported we have $4200 plus in the treasury but some of that will go towards printing future Newsletters. I also suggested we underwrite the cost of the Christmas party but we really need to vote on that in the future. Ben reported that we now have 42 family memberships in our club.

In Packard news, Larry Myers told me earlier this week that he sold his '40 to someone from Waco who promises to keep it all Packard. That means there is one less '40 in our region. Today we also welcomed Patricia and Ron Orr to their first LSP meeting. The Orrs own a '57 Clipper that we look forward to seeing at LSP meetings in the future.

I think the good Lord smiled on the Packard Club today as it did not pour down until about an hour after all of you left League City. Hope everyone made it home safely. See you on 9/18 in Katy.

A big thank you goes to Jamie and Martha Roberts for opening their beautiful country home in Brenham to Lone Star Packard members, today! Jamie made mouth watering BBQ and Martha made homemade ice cream while everyone else brought something to share. There was plenty of food for the 25 LSP members and guests to enjoy along with the fellowship of fellow Packard lovers. We should mention that Jamie has been given the honor of having a new school in the Lamar Consolidated school district named after him. In addition to serving as mayor of Fulshear for many years, he also served on the Lamar Consolidated school board for 12 years.

Martha had said to watch for the cows on the road and, as she said, they were there to meet us. We just drove by slowly so as not to spook them and they seemed very interested in our arrival. There were also horses leaning over the fence watching but the little donkeys that greeted us as we exited our cars were a fun surprise. Jamie and Martha have three collector cars in the garage including a sharp Model A Ford, a '55 Chevy convertible, and a '65 Mustang convertible. Their two Packards are currently housed elsewhere but construction is about to begin on a new barn where they will be housed.

Prior to the meeting, Dale led us in a prayer. Rich reported we have over 4k in the treasury and also passed around a thank you letter we received from the Packard Foundation for our recent $300 donation to the historic Packard Proving Grounds restoration project. Ben reported we continue to pick up new members and we now have a total of 47 families. Ben and Janice also reported on preparations for the Fall Tour following a visit to Galveston along with Rich and Karen. They had lunch with John and Lynn Eanes who are not only LSP members, they are residents of Galveston. The Eanes helped the committee come up with different special sights to see during the October 21-23 event. More detailed information will be coming but you should make your reservations with the La Quinta Inn Seawall West, near 61st St. and ask for the Packard Club block of rooms. Also during the meeting, Ben and Janice agreed to relieve me of my responsibilities as the Publicity Chair for the Texas Packard Meet. I have done it for approximately 20 years and it was time for a change - thanks Ben and Janice.

Our headquarters hotel is just a short distance from the Moody Gardens Convention Center. That same week the Gulf Coast AACA will be hosting the AACA South Central National Meet. They expect well over 100 cars to be in attendance. Several of our members, including us, also have membership in that group and we plan on entering our 1940 in the "driver class". Though our tour planners are finding lots of activities for us on the island, there will be ample opportunity to cruise over to Moody Gardens to check out all the antique cars on display.

The August meeting will be somewhere in the League City area the weekend of August 27 or 28. It will probably be Sunday the 28th, but more details will follow. The September meeting will be organized by the Musgroves but will be held at Karen and Rich's house in Katy. This will be a covered dish affair. More details to follow. October will be the Fall Tour to Galveston and we are still discussing the November and December events.

Once again thanks to Jamie and Martha for one of our best meetings.

Today approximately 30 Lone Star Packards members gathered at the DeLorean Motor Company headquarters in Humble. When DeLorean folded, the company that owns the "Big Lot Stores" purchased the remaining inventory and moved most of it to California. After several years of selling parts, they decided it was not bringing in the revenue they felt would make it worth their time. They then sold what was left to the current organization. Though they have five locations around the country, the largest and the company headquarters is this one in Humble.

It is such a large facility that we were split into two groups. One was led by the service manager and the other by the vice president. As of now, approximately 54% of their business is selling parts. The rest is divided between building new DeLoreans from original factory parts and restoring cars customers bring to them. Recent legislation approving the production of cars in low volume will permit them to increase their production. They are hoping to have a production run of 100 cars per year. They have currently enough parts to build another 500 cars. They do contract with outside producers to make stampings of metal parts as well as molds for rubber parts. If you ever see a Delorean which is painted, there was a red one in the shop, it means that it likely was in an accident and the owner did not want to spring for the cost of a new body panel. Thus the body shop just fixed it the best they could and smoothed it over with bondo, followed by a paint job. They had a long row of crate motors from the factory but it would not be enough to build out the 500 cars mentioned and the original motor was considered a little under powered. Therefore, they are in negotiations with an American company as well as a European company to provide engines.

Danny Grilli brought his three children as guests. The Calistrats brought their son and the Trokeys brought several friends. I think Leon had a guest as well. We also welcomed Ron and Patricia Orr as new members of our region.

Following the tour there was a caravan to the Old Humble City Café for a great meal and more fellowship. A big thank you to John Lortz for finding and planning the restaurant. As of now we are not planning a June meeting. More information on up-coming activities will be coming.

The 21st Annual Keels and Wheels Concours D' Elegance was again held on the grounds of the beautiful Lakewood Yacht Club April 23rd and 24th, 2016. Lakewood is located on the upper Texas Coast off Clear Lake in Seabrook, Texas. For those who attended the 1998 Packard National hosted by Lone Star Packard, this was the site for our judging. Keels and Wheels is the oldest and probably largest show of the kind spotlighting classic cars and wooden keeled classic boats. It was the brain child of Bob Fuller and Paul Merryman. Bob manages the cars and Paul takes care of the boats.

The Lone Star region commits to a minimum of two public service efforts each year and for a long time Keels and Wheels has been one of those two events. Eleven Lone Star Packards members committed to bringing cars to the meet this year, therefore it is no surprise that they have a special class for Packards. Some of the LSP members occasionally bring other cars from their collections as well. This year we had Stutz, Regal, Duesenberg, and Reo represented. (LSP member Jay Matthews is so proud that his Reo will start on the first crank that he must have demonstrated it a dozen times or more and it started every time). Proceeds from Keels and Wheels benefit Boys and Girls Harbor in nearby La Porte, Texas. This facility provides a place for children who, through no fault of their own, find themselves without a safe and caring environment to call home. Over the years, Keels and Wheels has donated over one million dollars to the home. It is a fun and worthwhile event and even better if you love old cars and old boats. Check out Keels and Wheels as well as Boys and Girls Harbor on the Internet.

For the last four years Ms. Margaret Dunning graced the Concours with her Packard or her Model A Ford. She was always accompanied by her close friends and Packard Club members Dan and Joanne Clements. She came to be known as the Belle of the Concours! Margaret was 101 years old when she began attending Keels and Wheels and our family was fortunate to have one of our Packards parked next to her for three of those four years. Our three young granddaughters loved visiting with her and hearing her stories. The youngest is only two and a half and we have a picture of Margaret holding her when she was just an infant. Margaret was off to California following the 2015 Keels and Wheels to attend another car event that benefited a worthy cause. Tragically, she died from complications of a fall while participating in that event. To honor her memory, Keels and Wheels designated a trophy in her name for a car in this year's show she likely would have favored. The winner of that award was Richard and Irena Mitchell for their 1930 Packard convertible. The judges for this award were her close friends Dan and Joanne Clements. Margaret will be missed at Keels and Wheels but remembered through the years with this special award.

This year we also lost another key member of the Keels and Wheels family. Lone Star Packard member and Keels and Wheels board member Tom Timmins passed away after a brief struggle with brain cancer. He and his wife, Evelyn, toured in both their 1920 Twin Six and their 1934 Packard convertible. However, he also loved to find and restore cars that no one else was interested in or was willing to spend the labor and research needed to restore. He had a huge Rambler, not the AMC kind, several electric cars from the teens, a Carter Car but the car he was working on when he got sick was a Regal Underslung. With the help of friends, the restoration was completed and it was displayed by Evelyn in Tom's honor at Keels and Wheels. In his honor, an award was set up by Keels and Wheels for the car that most fit the kind of car he often looked to restore. His wife Evelyn determined the car that should get Tom's award this year was a 1902 Curved Dash Olds belonging to Benny Guseman. Benny's late father Frank began the restoration but Benny finished it.

For LSP members there are two major events during the year. The first is the Annual Texas Packard meet generally held the first weekend in April and the next is Keels and Wheels usually held the first weekend in May. Due to another large group being in the area the first weekend in May, hotel space was extremely limited. Therefore, Keels and Wheels moved up a couple of weeks for 2016. However, it will return to the traditional first weekend in May for 2017. This is a wonderful family activity. LSP members bring their chairs and other comforts of home and we sit under the huge oaks and enjoy our extended Packard family and happily converse with visitors regarding Packards. Our grandchildren pass out fliers regarding "Packard Firsts" as well as applications for membership. Members who are not exhibiting bring their chairs and spend the day visiting. My youngest granddaughter just asked "when we are going back to Keels and Wheels". Unfortunately it won't be for a year but we encourage you to submit your Packard for consideration in 2017. We would be happy to add you to our group for the weekend. If you can't exhibit, it is worth the trip to see such a variety of classic boats and cars!