[TR] VTR/Triumphest: What a success!

[Blake J. Discher]

Good morning,

Hats off to event chairs Bob Muzio, Paulette Caudill, and the  
countless volunteers of SCTOA who pulled off an amazing National  
gathering of Triumph faithful.  They'd planned for perhaps 225  
registrations and were up to the challenge when a total of 284  
registrants showed up.  If there were hiccups, they all happened  
behind the scenes... I heard nothing but praise during my entire stay.

The funkhana had to be my most memorable event.  In it, the driver has  
a bag on his/her head and the navigator guides the driver through a  
four cone slalom to a dart board.  After watching people move v-e-r-y  
slowly through the cones, Pat Barber and I figured out that the cone  
penalty was minor and it would make sense to just drive over them,  
straight for the dart board.

We did, we were terrible at tossing darts, terrible at backing up, but  
we were laughing the entire time.  And that's what these events are  
all about.  It was an opportunity for listers to put faces with a lot  
of the names on the various lists and Dave Massey's bagpipes put the  
finishing touches on everything.

Other memories:  The three under-five-year old kids who danced so well  
at the welcome party.  The outstanding displays at the Funcours.  The  
gorgeous setting of the VTR Concours show.  But before all of those,  
seeing John Macartney arrive at the hotel and literally slump over the  
door of the Stag he drove roughly 14,000 miles in the last 90 days for  
charity.  (We all need spouses as understanding as his wife Liz!)

And one more memory: reassuring the owners of a TR6 that they should  
keep their car in concours despite it's Yosemite Sam stickers on the  
windows and some other owner-inspired alterations.  They thought the  
VTR concours was an all-the bolts-have-to-be-perfectly-alligned type  
of event.  I assured them it wasn't, they stayed in, and were glad  
they did.

I'd be remiss if I didn't thank the sponsors who help make these sorts  
of major events possible.  Please express your gratitude to them next  
time you place an order from them.  In no particular oder:  Moss  
Motors, The Roadster Factory (Charles is amazing, he brings so much  
inventory for all of us!), Victoria British, HVDA (for once Herman  
didn't get the long-distance award!), Spitbits, Rimmer Brothers (yes,  
all the way from England!), and the Triumph Stag Club USA.  I  
apologize if I missed a sponsor, I'm getting the list from the event  
web site.

On behalf of the Vintage Triumph Register, thanks to everyone involved  
with Triumphest for inviting VTR to piggyback the North American  
Triumph Challenge with Triumphest.  It was a great idea, your  
hospitality was appreciated, and I'm absolutely certain everyone had a  
great time.  Thanks to Jim Funkhauser for the help he provided me with  
last minute graphics needs throughout the event.

I'm looking forward to seeing many of you on Jekyll Island next year  
and I'll be motoring back your way in 2011 for the NATC in  
Breckenridge, CO!

Wishing everyone safe driving,
Blake Discher, President
Vintage Triumph Register