2019
Wichita, Kansas

Minutes – Toronado and Aurora Chapter Meeting

OCA National Meet, Wichita, Kansas – June 28, 2019

The annual Membership Meeting of the Toronado and Aurora Chapter (TAC) commenced at 4:00 PM in  the Osage Room of the Century II Convention Center.  The meeting was attended by approximately 25 individuals, with about a third identifying themselves as being TAC members.

Per our usual practice, the meeting started with all attendees introducing themselves, including brief summaries of their Toronado/Aurora involvement.  After many years of having to pass on attending an OCA National Meet, it was great to have Ralph Braun, our President Emeritus, be in attendance – this was possible with an easy commute of about 150 miles, plus chauffeuring by his son Bill.

For the Business Meeting, minutes of last year’s meeting were read, with no additions or corrections.  I reported the current balance in the Treasury as $1924.76, representing a gain of almost $200 compared to last year.  So, it would seem we have achieved a state of financial stability after the due’s increase a couple years ago..

As to Old Business, I indicated that there has been no progress with the T-shirt project, but that maybe the newly adopted TAC logo offers some hope for an easy design.  I also indicated there was nothing new to report on the question of an election as we’ve had no one forthcoming with interest in fulfilling the (minimal) responsibilities of any of the offices. 

The only New Business was my explanation of the rationale and development process for the new Chapter logo – a color sample was passed around for all to see.  Dan Gulino, our webmaster and computer guru, did the bulk of putting the logo together as the rest of the officers said “try this,” or “what about that.”  Dan, thanks for your patience and efforts.

Jerry Wilson, OCA President, did his normal drop-in to our meeting.  He provided us with a little education as to some of the history of the Olds Aurora.  Aurora’s chief designer was David Hull, who was also involved in the design of the ‘59 Cadillac.  The Aurora, with its Northstar V-8, was originally intended to be a Cadillac model, but was re-assigned to Oldsmobile in an attempt to rejuvenate the brand.  Jerry also gave us a heads-up on plans to add a new OCA class – a driver/cruiser class, including monitoring annual driven miles. 

Next, Ralph gave us a 15 minute impromptu chat.  He talked about some of the more personal aspects of his Toronado history, and then brought us up to date to 2019.  Over the years, he has owned a total of 16 Toronados, from 1966 to 1992.  Now, at 86 years of age, he is dealing with the realities of age and some health issues, and starting to thin out his collections of cars, parts, and literature.

Some general discussions followed.  Questions included the possibility of publishing Toronado and Aurora Times in all color – I offered that to some degree or another, this would change the recently achieved financial stability of the Chapter.  An answer to that was the suggestion that we could pursue internet “publication,” which would actually save money.  It was also suggested that there might be interest in back issues, including an index and cross-reference.

The Meeting adjourned at approximately 5:15 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Paul Andreas, Secretary-Treasurer