Of all the events I attend each year the one that I really would not want to miss is the Mid America Ford and Team Shelby Nationals. Matter of fact the last one I missed was in 1994 when I was a guide in Normandy during the 50th Anniversary of the D-Day Invasion.

I believe Mid America is the best meet of its kind for a number of reasons. First there is something for everybody, three days of open track, and a cruise to a very cool destination, drag racing, art and collectable show, popular vote car show and a concours. Add to these a Saturday night evening program with action videos, door prizes galore and interesting and very enjoyable speakers and it makes for five fun days in Tulsa, Oklahoma. However none of this would be so cool if it were not for people like Founder Jim Wicks, Randy Roberts, Earl Groves, Bill Sledge and the many volunteers that labor all year long to make the four day event so successful. You will not meet a friendlier 0r more accommodating group. I never had a client from Ford Motor Company, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company or any company come away from Tulsa impressed and felt it was time well spent.

This year Mid America featured a new Thursday night cruise destination, The Brady Arts District of Tulsa and over 855 Ford performance vehicles, the cruise is a perfect example how the Mid America folks are always looking to improve the venue and give participants more value and fun. The new location provides more parking, excellent places to have dinner, a selection of interesting shops to check out when not scoping out all the varied array of Fords, Shelbys, Mustangs and Cobras.

I was particularly pleased that Jim Farley a true car guy who just happens to be Group Vice President, Global Marketing, Sales and Service for Ford Motor Company was the keynote speaker at the Saturday banquet. His presentation was outstanding! I met Jim last year and always look forward to talking with him. It is so nice to have a car guy heading up Ford Marketing.

The 37th Annual Mid America Ford and Team Shelby Nationals will be held next June 15-19. It will be a must attend event.

The new GT350 was impressive during the open track. 

Kurt Wheatley drives Tom Yeager's ex 1966 Trans-Am Mustang. 

Mouse Prosen (L) and Kevin Campbell, Kicker Audio Global Marketing Director celebrate Mouse's Mustang GT Best of Show Award. 

Mustang Club of America President and good friend Steven McCarley accepts the Ford Lifetime Appreciation Award from Steve Ling, Ford North America Car Marketing Manager. 

The Global Petroleum Show is held every two years in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and attracts over 60,000 people from all over the world. Held on the grounds of the Calgary Stampede the show is comprised of five buildings plus a number of large outside exhibitors. One oil rig was reported be worth over 12 million dollars.
 
While I lived in Michigan I made numerous trips to Toronto and towns in Ontario, but never had been to Calgary. Believe me it is a long way from South Florida!  However the flights were on time the Air Canada aircraft and personnel are top notch. The city itself is home to 1.2 million people, who I am sure appreciated the business generated by the Global Petroleum Show.
 
The A Box 4 U exhibit was located in a high traffic area of the largest of the five buildings.  Traffic was good the whole show, it rained for two of the three days so people spent most of the time inside.  Unlike the NPRA Conference two weeks prior A Box 4 U’s competitors did have product in their exhibits. No matter, the quality construction of the A Box 4 U blast resistant check point, equipped with a tool crib, an industry first and new company capability video out distanced all the competition.
 
It was an enjoyable, educational week with the A Box 4 U team.

We recently had the opportunity to attend to the 39th Annual NPRA, National Petroleum Refiners Association, Reliability & Maintenance Conference and Exhibition in San Antonio. Our client, A Box 4 U was debuting a new enhanced exhibit; the center piece is a blast resistant check point, complete with a tool crib and its own air conditioning system.
 
The four day event features the exhibition area as well as numerous seminars pertaining to many aspects of the oil refinery business.
 
It is always great to be able to spend time with A Box 4 U Business Development Manager, Rick Ciemny and members of the company’s sales team. A Box 4 U is the industry leader in the design, engineering and manufacture of blast resistant modules/buildings for the oil refinery and chemical processing industries. The company recently added two new members to its sales team, Sharon Dauterive and Sandra Baucom to work with the growing number of new customers. Like the rest of the A Box 4 U sales team both Sharon and Sandra are experienced professionals who will be provide current and new A Box 4 U customers with a great product and service to meet their every need.
 
Being a college football enthusiast, I was pleased to learn that Sharon’s cousin is Greg Davis the very successful offensive coordinator for the Texas Longhorns. Knowing that I am not sure if Sharon was too pleased to learn that Rick Ciemny, who’s Dad was a kicker at Alabama and myself are huge fans of the Crimson Tide!  Bama won its National Championship Number 13 this past January at the expense of the Longhorns. Roll Tide!

This past month has been a very busy one starting with the 3rd Annual Shelby Las Vegas Bash. Each year through the hard work of the Shelby American and Mid-America Ford and Team Shelby Nationals teams the event has been the place to be in early January.

The event is begins with a cruise from Shelby Licensing in Gardena, California to Las Vegas and the Aliante Station Casino hotel. The Aliante is a new facility and is the perfect host hotel,located just a few miles from Shelby American and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Two days of open track on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway road course, a scenic poker run on Saturday morning, a fun banquet and Sunday's car show make for a great time with some of the best people you will ever meet.

Shelby GT350 Unveiling at Barrett- Jackson Opening Gala

It was 45 years ago that Shelby American launched the 1965 GT350 at Riverside Raceway in Southern California. History does repeat itself as this year at the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction Opening Night Gala Shelby American unveiled the 2011 GT350 during a special introduction presentation. Rick Titus, son of 1965 SCCA B Production National Champion and Shelby GT350 team driver Jerry Titus, did a masterfull job as master of ceremonies. Rick, also an SCCA Series Champion, noted journalist and Ford Motor Company spokesperson introduced Carroll Shelby to the pack house. Shelby recalled stories of Jerry Titus' driving talent and plus how Lee Iacocca talked him into building the first GT350. Shelby American President, Amy Boylan spoke next and presented the new GT350. The audience reacted with with thunderous applause and climbed up on the stage for a closer look. Steve Davis, Barrett-Jackson President and a long time Mustang and Shelby enthusiast told me he had never seen so many people on stage. Finally people were asked to step down so the stage did not buckle. The GT350 was a hot attraction all week as Shelby American was very busy taking orders for the latest Shelby. The car is a winner and it did not take people long to figure that out.

Enjoying the evening program are, L-R, George Huisman, President, Classic Design Concepts, Scott Lassiter, Mid-America Co-Director, Jim Wicks and Baer Brakes, Todd Gartshore.

Open track tech inspection with Rick Titus next to his Shelby GT. Ted and Rae Segerstrom brought their replica 1967 Terlingua Racing Team Mustang for Rick to drive for a future article in Hot Rod Magazine.

Rick Titus puts the Replica Terlingua Racing Team Mustang through its paces as Greg Reynolds follows in his 1967 GT350 vintage race car. The Replica was built to exact 1967 race specs by R-A Motorsports, even the bell housing is a date correct part.

Carrol Shelby and Mustang Marketing Manager, Fritz Wilke share a laugh during the GT350 Unveiling program.

During the week of the Barrett-Jackson Shelby American displayed their 2011 GT350 and also took many consumer and dealer orders. Long time Shelby and Cobra enthusiast Mike Roberts on the right and Gary Patterson, Shelby American VP of Sales are pictured by the Shelby.

Just returned from New York City and the Chem Show, the largest trade show for the chemical processing industry. Our client, A Box 4 U, the leading manufacturer of blast resistant modules for the petrochemical and chemical processing industries was a first time exhibitor. A Box 4 U blast resistant modules are used in blast zones in refineries to provide safe space for the workforce and improve worker safety and productivity.

A Box 4 U exhibit was always busy during the Chem Show.

Prior to the show we made sure we took advantage of all the industries communication channels to promote the company's first time appearance at the show. Sales Manager, Rick Ciemny came up with the great idea to showcase the company's blast resistant modules, instead of creating a normal show display. This way participants could see the actual product, go inside and see first hand the A Box 4 U tool crib, an industry exclusive.

The A Box 4 U blast resistant module display at the Chem Show.

We also scheduled a series of meetings for Rick with the industry press that worked out extremely well as we were able to meet and exchange ideas and information with editors and publishers of the leading publications. Being able to go inside a blast resistant gave them a first hand idea of just how one is constructed, while the action video showed the blast and just how the A Box 4 U product withstood the blast of the 1250+high explosive ANFO charge without any structural damage. 

The A Box 4 U display was busy during the show and the sales force was able to get a great many solid leads, resulting in time well spent at the Chem Show.  

November has been a busy month starting with the SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Once again it was a pleasure to be with our Kicker Audio clients as well as being reacquainted with friends at Ford Motor Company, JBA Performance Scott Drake Automotive and the members of the enthusiast press. Kicker's Global Marketing Director, Kevin Campbell is a very special person who also does a super job of heading up Kicker's marketing efforts. Since the company's OEM programs with Chrysler Corporation and Shelby Automobiles provide Kicker with the opportunity to reach and impact the high performance aftermarket we schedule a series of meetings with editors and publishers from the major enthusiast publications. It was fun watching Kevin and his people interact with the media.

Kicker Global Marketing Director Kevin Campbell,left meets with Mustang & Ford Editor Denise Rounds and National Account Manager Mark Storm

With the new Kicker Shelby audio system for 2005-2010 Mustangs, available through Shelby Performance Parts dealers and on the web at shelbyperformanceparts.com. The new system greatly improves the Mustang or Shelby's sound system's sound quality and does not take up any room in the trunk. The Kicker/ Chrysler systems or available through Mopar Performance Parts and can be ordered on any SRT/8 vehicle. Kicker had two displays one for the OEM side of the business showcasing a Shelby GT equipped with the Kicker/Shelby system. The second display featured the complete lineup of the Kicker Audio lineup, including their new iK501 iPod docking station. These new docking stations provide quality sound and can definitely "rock the house!"

The Kicker displays at the 2009 SEMA Show.

 
The Ford display showcased a variety of modified vehicles through the company's SEMA Technology Program. One look at the vehicles and you can see why Ford Motor Company did not take any or our tax bailout money. This company is on the move.

Scott Hoag, Mustang Racing Technologies, President explains the Ford Design Award winning Ford Focus to Kevin Campbell while Lisa Hoag looks on. Both MRT entries were Kicker equipped. 

The SEMA Show was done in attendance but up in quality people, as Kicker and many other companies were pleased with the reception their products received. 

Classic Design Concepts Kicker Audio equipped 2010 Mustang was a showstopper. 

I attended the Woodward Dream Cruise held annually the middle of August in Detroit. The cruise stretches about eight mile from the Detroit suburb of Ferndale on Nine Mile and Woodward to Pontiac through about seven or eight communities. The event attracts over 1.4 million spectators and participants and attracts enthusiasts from allover the world. The actual date for the Woodward Dream Cruise is Saturday, August 15, but people start cruising Woodward Ave and its ten north and south lanes as early as Monday. Each day and night the number of cool cars increases with all sorts of vehicles from Model Ts to the latest Mustangs. The cruise represents all that is great about the Motor City.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the United States Army Sustainable Range Program in Indianapolis. Our  A Box 4 U client exhibited at the week long workshop. The company designs, engineers and manufactures Blast Resistant range Viewing Bunkers for all kinds of firing ranges and Entry Check Point/Guard Booths.. A Box 4 U is the only company that has developed a ballistics inner liner that has been certified by the National Institute of Justice Level III Standard. During testing no 7.62 ball rounds penetrated module.  All the United States Armed Forces are interested in the A Box 4 U product lineup for a variety of applications, as all their products provide safe space for test and training sites.

I just returned form the best car event in the USA, the 35th Annual Mid-America Ford and Team Shelby Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Over the years I have been fortunate enough to attend the majority of the Mid-America events and have always marveled at the fantastic job Founder and Event Director Jim Wicks and the talented crew do with the multi-venue event. There is literally something for everyone. The event opens with a Team Shelby Drivers School at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit under the direction of Gary Patterson, Shelby Automobiles VP of Operations. Gary is a Mid-America veteran and knows the Hallett race course and is always happy to assist participants learn the track.

The next two days are devoted to open track action, with a cruise through historic Tulsa to Brook Side section on the famed 1960's hot car rendezvous Peoria street. This year over 700 Ford performance vehicles of all varieties.

Every evening from Wednesday through Friday evening there is a art, memorabilia and trade show at the Marriott Southern Hills, the host hotel. What a fun place to be with a just about everything for the Ford enthusiast.

The Friday night program honored Carroll Shelby and the 50th anniversary of his winning the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. Carroll attended the event and like all of us enjoyed great stories about him from long time friend and renown automotive artist, Bill Neale.

The drag racing at Tulsa Raceway Park features more and more vehicles each year. The manufactures midway and huge swap meet provide everything from Team Shelby membership to steering arms for a 1957 Ford Fairlaine.

The Saturday night banquet features a huge selection of door prizes and an impressive lineup of speakers. This year Mike Crowley, Ford Group Marketing Manager for all North America car and crossovers was the keynote speaker. Mike is the real deal, in addition to being an excellent marketing person, he is an enthusiast, owner of a 1967 and 2010 Mustangs and all around good guy.

I was humbled and honored at the banquet when Fritz Wilke, Ford Performance and Enthusiast Marketing Manager presented me with the Ford Lifetime Achievement Award.

It is an honor to receive such an award from people I have the utmost respect for.

The Sunday car show showcased over 1200 Ford vehicles from 1976 Broncos to the latest Shelby GT500 Super Snake. A number of manufacturers display products including Kicker Audio who brought their 2007 Shelby GT equipped with the new Kicker/ Shelby audio system. The system is now available from Shelby Performance dealers and is a most worth upgrade to your 2005-2010 Mustang or Shelby.

Mid-America is the best automotive event in the country and I have attend most of them.

The 2010 dates are June 16-20 and I plan to return for the 36th edition of the Mid-America Ford and Shelby Team Nationals.

Just returned from Dallas, actually Grapevine, Texas and the National Petrochemical Refiners Conference and Exposition. Our A Box 4 U client was exhibiting their industry leading blast resistant modules used in oil refineries and chemical processing plants and it was a good time to get together with A Box 4 U sales manager, Rick Ciemny and the sales team.