HISTORY OF WKCC

It's amazing what can be accomplished with a little interest and a lot of persistence!! Several people in Hopkinsville that owned Corvettes had, at various times, mentioned the possibility of starting a Corvette club. Patsy and John Brandon had talked with Rod and Sharron Lucy about organizing a Corvette club after Sharron told Patsy about the club she and Rod had belonged to in Shreveport, Louisiana. When David Burke mentioned to Bill Farrell that he and Phyllis had purchased a Corvette, they started talking about getting a group of Corvette owners together for a "cruise." Bill called Patsy, and they discussed the idea of trying to get a group of people together for an outing. Everyone agreed that it was a great idea. All that was missing was "Doing it"!!

In September '97, Bill sent out 21 "red Corvette" invitations to people that he knew owned Corvettes. They were invited to go on a cruise to the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY on the last Sunday of the month. Everyone was to meet at Arby's on 7th Street. Ten Corvettes took that trip. Those traveling to Bowling Green were: Bill and Ann Farrell, John and Patsy Brandon, Rod and Sharron Lucy, Keith and Sheral Harmon, Diane and Joey Pendleton, David Gilliland, Jim Love, Billy Gloyd, and Danny McLaughlin. The group toured the museum then had an early dinner at Martin's Country Farm House. Lots of good food served country style had everyone loosening their belts!! After returning to Hopkinsville, the group met at the Sonic Drive-In on Fort Campbell Boulevard for ice cream. It was at the Sonic that the idea of starting a Corvette Club began to be kicked around earnestly. Most believed it would be best to wait until the first of the year (1998) to try to get it going, and Bill offered North Drive Middle School as an initial meeting place. After that, the idea just "floated" for a while.

After several months of hearing no more about the formation of a club, Patsy Brandon called Bill Farrell in February of '98 and asked, "What happened to the idea of organizing a Corvette Club?" They decided that they just needed to jump in and try to get something going. Bill and she agreed to have a pre-organizational meeting at North Drive Middle School on March 3rd. David Gilliland, Bill Farrell, and John and Patsy Brandon attended. They looked over the information provided by the NCCC and the Longhorn Corvette Club of Texas concerning the formation of a club. But before proceeding any further, they decided to poll the known Corvette owners in the area to see if there was enough interest to go forward. No sense in forming a memberless club! David, Bill, and Patsy divided the list of Corvette owners that Bill had compiled and did a phone survey. The phone survey disclosed a great deal of interest. Almost everyone contacted gave a positive response!! Bill and Patsy made a phone decision to send out invitations to the first organizational meeting to be held on Thursday, April 30, 1998. Patsy wrote a PSA for all the media in Christian County.

At the first organizational meeting, 32 people attended. We were thrilled to have such a great turnout. Bill Farrell moderated the meeting, and Patsy Brandon kept a record of the proceedings. (This they would pay for later.) Sue and John McGee from Lebanon, Tennessee attended. Sue was the membership chairperson for the southeast region, and she discussed various aspects of organizing a club. Mike Van Winkle, regional membership chairman for Indiana and Western KY, addressed the group about NCCC membership and distributed printed material related to Corvette Clubs. Other items on the agenda were: nomination of officers, club name suggestions, incorporation of the club, and a possible dues' structure. A by-laws' committee was selected to draft a sample by-laws for the organization. That committee consisted of Bill Farrell, Patsy Brandon, Brad Deason, Phyllis Burke, and Danny McLaughlin. Everyone in attendance agreed to set the next meeting for the last Thursday in May, '98.

At the second meeting, club officers were elected: Bill Farrell, President; David Gilliland, Vice President; Patsy Brandon, Secretary; Vicky Thomas, Treasurer; and Don Yoder, Officer-at-Large. Members elected to the Board of Directors were: Phyllis Burke, Brad Deason, Phil Fuller, Keith Harmon, Danny McLaughlin, and Rhonda Greathouse. The drafted by-laws were read by Brad Deason with questions being answered by the by-laws' committee members. The by-laws were accepted with very few changes. The group then voted on a list of suggested names for the organization and agreed upon Western Kentucky Corvette Club.

Club applications were distributed to those in attendance. It was decided that those who returned their dues and application by July 1, 1998 would be charter members. The charter members are: Bill and Ann Farrell, John and Patsy Brandon, David and Phyllis Burke, Don and Patsy Yoder, Danny McLaughlin, Keith and Sheral Harmon, Marty and Rhonda Greathouse, Mark and Vicky Thomas, Joey and Diane Pendleton, David and Rita Gilliland, Brian Burkhead, Larry Wilson, Fred Taylor, Brad Deason, Phil and Glenda Fuller, Steve and Debbie Mallory, Barry Armstrong, David and Betty Hardwick, Larry and Linda Still, Dennis Swain, Mike Danick, Ed Harris, J.D. and Betty Lingenfelter.

That first year was a busy one with trips to the Corvette Homecoming in Bowling Green, Diamond Lakes, and the Mid-America Funfest in Effingham, Illinois. The club conducted its first annual meeting and Bar BQ dinner at Patriot Chevrolet. A GM engineer from the Corvette plant was the guest speaker. The first of a tradition of mystery cruises was taken, and the club adopted its official logo.

The first year of the Western Kentucky Corvette Club was deemed exceedingly successful. The members agreed that the foremost purpose of the club would be social in nature with planned trips, fun events, and a variety of activities for the members to enjoy.

For 1999, the club members decided to retain the same officers that had been elected the previous year and had served since June of '98. In the fall of '99 the club had a 12X12 paver set in the entranceway to the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. It was set at the 5th year anniversary of the museum celebration on Sept. 4, 1999.

In 1999, the club held its first Sonic Cruise at the Sonic Drive-in Restaurant on Fort Campbell Boulevard, and it was a huge success. The club also held its first annual club picnic in June at the home of John and Patsy Brandon. Everyone had a great time, and we decided to make it an annual event. Several members also helped with the "hot dog" booth that the club set up at the Hopkinsville Jazz Festival. A fun trip to Chattanooga was taken by several in the club in October of '99. We took a dinner cruise and visited the Chattanooga Aquarium. The club established its own web site thanks to Anthony Underwood and Troy Suite. Officers elected for 2000 were: President, Bill Farrell; Vice­president, Ken Culwell; Secretary, Patsy Brandon; Treasurer, Rhonda, Greathouse, Officer at Large, Mike Ousley. Members elected to the Board of Directors were: Marty Greathouse, Phyllis Burke, Steve Mallory, Phil Fuller, J.D. Lingenfelter, and Danny McLaughlin. The end of the year was celebrated by the first of our annual Christmas pot luck dinners. Everyone brought gifts, and we played a gift-swapping game.

The year 2000 saw several successful events added to the club's calendar. A overnight trip to the Knoxville Expo and Pigeon Forge was taken. A cruise to Sikeston, MO to Lambert's House of "Throwed" Rolls was taken, and several members participated in the American Cancer Society's Cancer Walk at the Stadium of Champions. Several club members began talking about taking a Caribbean Cruise in Jan. of 2001. Officers elected for 2001 were: President, Ken Culwell; Vice-president, Anthony Underwood; Secretary, Patsy Brandon; Treasurer, Leigh Ann Underwood; Officer at Large, Bill Farrell. Elected to the Board of Directors were: Marty Greathouse, Steve Mallory, Beverly Vanderveer, J.D. Lingenfelter, Danny McLaughlin, and Phyllis Burke.

The big event for 2001 for several of the members was the Caribbean Cruise. Fifteen club members went on a 4-day cruise to Key West, Florida and Cozumel, Mexico. Members who "cruised" on Carnival's "Ecstasy" were Bill and Anne Farrell, Anthony and Leigh Ann Underwood, John and Patsy Brandon, Mike and Brenda Ousley, Butch and Beverly Vanderveer, John Michael Morris, Phyllis Burke, Rhonda Greathouse, and Elaine Sparks. Some of the members took guests for a total of 18 in our group. We had such a great time that the idea to plan a cruise every other year was proposed.

In April, the group cruised to Lynchburg, TN to eat at Miss Mary Bo Bo's Boarding House and tour the Jack Daniel's Distillery.

Another "cruise" was taken in July. This was a dinner cruise down the Cumberland River on the riverboat General Jackson. After an afternoon at the Opry Mill's Mall, the group attended the Grand Ole Opry where we saw Vince Gill, Allison Krauss and Union Station. It was a full day, but everyone had a great time.

In October, the club participated in the first "Cruise for Life" to raise money for Pennyroyal Hospice. Several local car clubs participated in the event. All of these new activities were in addition to yearly activities of the club like the Cancer Walk, the Jazz Festival, the Madisonville Veteran's Parade, our club picnic and Christmas Party, and a group trip to Effingham.

At the October meeting at Patriot Chevrolet, the club elected its officers for the year 2002. Those elected were: Bill Farrell, Pres.; Anthony Underwood, Vice President; Patsy Brandon, Secretary; Rhonda Greathouse, Treasurer. Ken Culwell, as past president, will serve as Officer at Large. New board members elected to 2 year terms were John Brandon, Keith Harmon, and Leigh Ann Underwood. They will serve with Phyllis Burke, Beverly Vanderveer, and Marty Greathouse who have one year left on their term as board members.

The year 2002 was a great recruiting year for the club.  22 new members were added to our roster.  Our club had grown so much that members were having a hard time keeping up with each other.  So this year we ordered magnetic or pin name tags for every member.  Wearing these at meetings and special events helped everyone learn the names of all the club members.

True to our word, the club started discussing another cruise for the year 2003.  Tim Kittell was invited to the January meeting to discuss options for another Caribbean cruise in Jan., 2003.

In February we had a Daytona 500 party.  Suzanne Greenfield won the winner’s pot.  We had lots of good food, a big screen T.V. , and lots of fun at the old Fuqua-Hinton Funeral Home building.

The club had 5 mystery cruises.  One was an overnight cruise to Edenburgh, Indiana.  The other mystery cruises consisted of a poker run to Milldale in Robertson Co., Tennessee, a cruise to Ashland City to Stratton’s, a 50’s style restaurant, a cruise to the “land between the lakes”- through the “trace” - to Miss Scarlett’s Restaurant, and finally a cruise to the Garden of the Gods in Illinois.  That last cruise involved ferrying across the Ohio and later driving to Evansville, Indiana for dinner at the Old Mill Restaurant.  John and Patsy Brandon put 270 miles on their vette.  Others probably put even more!!! It was a fun trip.

At our annual June picnic, we had a new activity - Hot Wheel Races.  It was a triple elimination event, and everyone had a great time.

In addition to these activities, the club participated in annual events such as the cancer walk, cookout in the park, the Madisonville Veteran's Day Parade, the Hospice cruise, Fun Fest trip to Effingham, Patriot Chev. meeting, and annual Christmas party and gift exchange.

At the October meeting at Patriot, the new officers elected for 2003 were:  Pres.-Joe Allen; V.P-Phil Fuller; Sec.-Patsy Brandon; Treas.-P.J. Heisler; Officer at Large-Bill Farrell.  Three new board members, David Burke, Ken Culwell, and Brenda Ousley, were elected to serve with John Brandon, Keith Harmon, and Leigh Ann Underwood, who had another year left on their term as board members.

2003 was another great recruiting year for the WKCC.  We added 18 new members to our roster!!  Hopefully, we will continue to find new Corvette owners to participate with us in 2004.

The Caribbean Cruise to Jamaica and Grand Cayman was taken in January by several members and friends of members.  We had a great time, especially John and Patsy Brandon who won $1100 in the casino the last day of the cruise!!

The club held a football ticket “raffle” in the fall of the year to raise money for the American Cancer Society, and at the Walk for a Cure held in June we held a “Race Against Cancer” featuring local politicians who raced matchbox Corvettes to raise more money.  In all, the club donated $1620.00 to the ACS.

The annual club picnic was again held at the Brandon’s, and the match box Corvette races were a big hit.

The 50th anniversary of Corvettes celebration was held in Nashville with thousands of Corvettes cruising in for the event.

In Sept. the WKCC took an overnight trip to the Bourbon Festival in Bardstown.  A tour of the Maker’s Mark Distillery was taken.

The group held a mystery cruise with a twist.  We had a poker run where we had to answer questions about our route to a restaurant in Princeton.  Everyone had a great time!

We took a cruise to Patti’s in Grand Rivers and Lambert’s House of Throwed Rolls in Sikeston.  Some members joined with the Clarksville club for dinner at the Sportsman Lodge and some attended the Corvettes on the River in Paducah.

In addition to the new events, the WKCC continued annual events like the cruise- in for the Humane Society, the Patriot Chevrolet October meeting, the Madisonville Veteran’s Day parade, and our annual Christmas dinner.

At the October meeting, new officers elected for 2004 were Bill Farrell, pres., Joe Allen, VP; Patsy Brandon, secretary; Judy Shemwell, treasurer.  Board members elected to serve for 2 years were: John Brandon, Julie Gibbs, and Seldon Sledd.  They will serve with David Burke, Ken Culwell, and Brenda Ouslely who have another year to serve.

The WKCC continued  its annual activities through 2004.  Mystery cruises, poker runs, and monthly meetings were well attended.  The club’s website was greatly improved with the expertise of Julie Gibbs. Seventeen new members were added to the club’s roster.

A Zaino products representative gave a demonstration to club members (mostly men) at the Classic  Tires in Cadiz.  The ladies of the club participate in a sweatshirt decorating class taught by Beverly Vanderveer.
The club raised $1200 for the American Cancer Society by participating in the Relay for Life.

 The club took a fall cruise to Lambert’s House of Throwed Rolls in Sikeston, MO in October.  The club picnic was held this year at Pennyrile State Park.

At the annual Patriot Chevrolet dinner and meeting in October the following officers were elected for 2005:  Bill Farrell, pres.;  Joe Allen, VP;   Patsy Brandon, secretary; Judy Shemwell, treasurer.  Board members elected to serve for 2 years were David Burke, Rodger Clark, and Danny Johns.  They will serve with John Brandon, Julie Gibbs and Seldon Sledd who have another year to serve.  Layne Smith was later elected to the Officer at Large position.  Vickie Allen was asked to serve as the club’s ambassador to the museum.

The year was concluded by our annual Christmas dinner held at the Pioneer’s Building.

A few new activities were added to the agenda of the WKCC for 2005 in additional to our regular meetings, mystery cruises, and annual events.  This year we had a mystery cruise based on the movie National Treasure.  Participants were invited to a movie screening at homes of members to prepare them for the cruise.

A poker run out of Madisonville was sponsored by Browning Chevrolet.  Hopefully, this will become an annual event.

Several members attended the Fun Fest in Effingham where they also enjoyed a concert by the Beach Boys.

A group of about 40 took an overnight trip to Chattanooga to attend a Blue Angels air show and take a dinner boat cruise.  Other activities included attending the aquarium, IMAX theater, or railroad museum.

The club again raised money for the American Cancer Society by having a team in the Relay for Life.  The annual picnic was held, and the Christmas dinner was held for the first time at Oakland Manor.

At our annual Patriot Chevrolet meeting in October, the following officers were elected:  President, Joe Allen;  Vice-President, Layne Smith;  Secretary, Patsy Brandon;  Treasurer, Judy Shemwell; Officer at Large, Bill Farrell.  Board members elected were John Brandon, Brenda Ousley, and  Larry Shemwell.  They will serve with David Burke, Rodger Clark, and Danny Johns who have one more year to serve.

In 2005, 15 new members were added to the club roster.  Not bad!!

2006 sped by with the usual activities of the WKCC.  Several mystery cruises-some very interesting-were conducted.  Several members of the club participated in the NCM Volunteer Day.  Our annual club picnic was held at Tie Breaker Park, and the club picnic was again held at Oakland Manor with those attending bringing gifts for a game of “Dirty Santa”.

This year our club hosted a tour of the Dana Plant in Hopkinsville where the Z06 frames are made.  Tony Starkey, personnel officer at Dana, coordinated the tour as part of the NCM ZO6 fest in Bowling Green.  Following the tour, a special lunch was held at Oakland Manor.  Several club members served as hosts for the event – escorting the group to Hopkinsville, greeting them at Dana and leading them to the luncheon site, and decorating and hosting the lunch.   Everyone attending was very complimentary, and the museum seemed interested in repeating the tour in the future.

At the annual Patriot Chevrolet meeting in October, officers were elected for 2007.   New officers are President, David Burke; Vice-president, Mike Ousley; Secretary, Patsy Brandon;  Treasurer, Judy Shemwell.   Board members elected to the three vacant positions were:  Donald Doss, Pam Clark, and Rodger Clark.  They will serve with the 3 board members who have one more year on their term:  John Brandon, Brenda Ousley, and Larry Shemwell.   The past president, Joe Allen, will serve as the Officer-at-Large.

In 2006, 12 new members were added to the club roster.

2007 began the 10th calendar year of the WKCC.  How time has flown!!

This year many of our usual activities were continued.  We had several mystery cruises that were very good.  Somehow the Brandon’s managed to get us lost – again.  But, that was the fun of it.

A small group of members attended the Strawberry Festival in Adairville, KY.  A great return trip through the countryside was enjoyed.

The club picnic returned to the back yard of John and Patsy Brandon after several years at public places.  The group played bingo for prizes and competed in matchbox car races.

Several members attended the Funfest in Effingham, Ill.

Our Patriot Chevrolet annual meeting saw the election of new officers for 2008 and the group was treated to a walk-through of a new Corvette by a Patriot salesman.  One needs to be an engineer to drive one of those things.

This year, the WKCC made charitable contributions to the Warm the Children – a program to buy coats for needy children.  And donations were made to 2 local nursing care homes for personal wear for needy residents.

2007 again saw the WKCC participating in the Veteran’s Parade in Madisonville, and for the first time, participating club members decorated their cars for Christmas, put on their Santa hats, and drove their vettes in the Hopkinsville Christmas parade.

Our annual Christmas dinner (and Dirty Santa game) were held again at Oakland Manor.  We had a great turnout, and Julie Gibbs took couples pictures before the Christmas tree of those attending and posted them on our website.
The officers newly elected for 2008 were:  Pres., David Burke;  V.P., Phil Fuller; Sec., Patsy Brandon;  Treas., Judy Shemwell.  The three board members elected for the 3 vacant positions were:  John Brandon, Brenda Ousley, and Larry Shemwell.  They will serve with Rodger and Pam Clark and Donald Doss, who have 1 year left  on their term.

In 2007, 8 new members were added to the WKCC roster.

The Western Kentucky Corvette Club looks forward to many more successful years and welcomes all Corvette owners who would like to share in the fellowship of this fun club.