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Cadillac & LaSalle Club
Potomac Region
"The Standard of the World Wide Web"

2017 CLC Grand National
McLean, Virginia
"A Capital Event"
August 1-5, 2017
Story by Vince Taliano
Photos by Randy Edison, Lynn Gardner, Herb Kupo,
Bob Norrid, Josh Pinho and Dan Ruby 


 

Well, it is hard to believe that the 2017 CLC Grand National is over!  After three plus years of planning under Ronnie Hux’s leadership, the Valley Forge and Potomac Region pulled it off.  Together we hosted one of the largest and most significant Grand Nationals in the history of the CLC.  Over 1,100 attendees and 325 cars participated in the week-long event at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner VA.  And all of our prayers for great weather were answered as the week could not have been any nicer, considering it was the first week of August in our Nation’s Capital.  Mostly sunny with some humidity during the week and only one day with some rain.  Saturday show day dawned to sunny skies and less humidity.  It could not have been any better.  And the vehicles lined up for judging and viewing were of the highest caliber.  Below are some of the accolades received from attendees.

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to thank you guys for hosting a great show.  You and the team did a fabulous job and everyone I spoke with shared this sentiment.

Aaron Driben
Boston, Massachusetts

We had a blast! You all set the bar even higher!  Many thanks to each one of you who made this the best GN!

Martina Butler
Roswell, Georgia

WOW! Helen and I have attended many National AACA shows and three other Grand National Shows. This event was over the TOP.  All of the planning came together to complete an outstanding show that should be remembered by everyone that that had the privilege of being there.

Helen & Jerry Gordon
Baltimore, Maryland

Just a quick email to thank you and your committee for a super Grand National. We had a great time, the tours, parties, hotel and the show, O MY. It was an honor to be on the field with some of the best Cadillac and LaSalle cars on the planet.

Jerry & Rita Trapani
East Islip, New York

You all did a great job. The 2017 Grand National Meet will long be remembered as a fun, well-run, spectacular event. I was proud to be a CLC member.

Terry Bird
Decatur, Georgia






Starting with Tuesday's Driving Tour through Northern Virginia, attendees were kept busy during the week with over 20 different events on the schedule with many of them requiring transportation. The front of the hotel looked like a bus terminal with chartered buses picking up and dropping off day and night while on the street directly in front of the hotel transporters were dropping off trailered vehicles.

In addition to the off-site activities and events, four technical seminars were held at the host hotel in addition to various CLC chapter and committee meetings, including the CLC Board of Directors and the CLC Museum & Research Center Board of Directors meetings.  Attendees could do as much or as little as they liked during the week including hanging out on the show field to watch the cars arrive during the week in preparation for the Saturday show. 


 

 

 

 

 


On Wednesday, the Welcome Reception hosted by Cadillac was held in the Hilton’s International Ballroom.  To say the food was unbelievable is an understatement.  Gourmet type selections awaited the 500+plus attendees.  The festivities began with welcoming remarks by Richard Dormois, evening emcee and CLCMRC Benefit Auctioneer, Dave Ritchie, CLC President, Nathan Tan, Associate Director, Cadillac Brand Partnership and Experiences (pictured below left), and Christopher Perry, Hilton Regional Vice President, Americas Sales Operations (pictured below right).  At 8:00 PM the United States Air Force Honor Guard from Andrews Air Force Base posted our National Colors which signaled the beginning of the benefit auction.  Between the silent auction, live auction and donations from the McVey family and the CLC Las Vegas Region, well over $20,000 was collected for the Museum.  It was a great evening that set the tone for the rest of the week.
 


 

On Thursday as attendees enjoyed the various tours and events on the schedule, the reserved spaces on the show field continued to fill.  With a chronological displaying of vehicles whether on display only or to be judged, attendees and spectators could walk down Cadillac’s memory lane starting with a 1903 model on the show field and ending with 2017 models on display in front of the hotel courtesy of Cadillac.

Among the cars were a few significant vehicles on display including the Betty White 1977 Seville on loan from the AACA Museum (adopted by the Potomac Region) and the 1953 Supercharged Eldorado and 1953 LeMans concept car owned by Scott Milestone (pictured below). 


 

Friday’s main event was the Flashback Party with emcees WJLA TV’s Eileen Whelan and Potomac Region member Chris Overcash.  Valley Forge member Joe Caristo’s The Stage Left Band entertained the attendees with live music.  The 1950s style sock hop themed event included food stations, a dance contest won by Al Cowling & Mary Conway presented by Eileen and Chris (pictured left), a hula hoop contest, a 50/50 raffle with over $2,000 in tickets enthusiastically sold by Randy Denchfield and won by Fred Butalla III (pictured below) and an ice cream bar to top the evening. 

 
















As the Flashback Party concluded many attendees ventured outside to the see the cars under the lights.  Now it was time for the main event: Saturday’s car show and Awards Banquet.


Saturday was a glorious day with sunshine and low humidity.  The judging teams started as soon as possible as there were a lot of cars to be judged using the new CLC judging polices, in addition to the new Modified judging classes.  The teams of three judges made their way through the show field as well as can be expected.   In addition to the National awards, a special Henry S. Ruby Memorial Award was presented by Dan Ruby in the name of his late father, prominent Potomac Region Car Show Coordinator.  Pictured below left is Jeremy Weiss of Stockton, New Jersey receiving the award from Dan for his 1953 Eldorado.

 


 


 

Once the day ended the attendees prepared for the week’s main event, the Saturday Night Awards Banquet highlighted by a speech by Mr. Johan de Nysschen, Executive VP of GM and President of Cadillac (pictured left).  Johan delivered an invigorating speech on the future of Cadillac.  He left to a standing ovation and enthusiasts eager to see the new Cadillac models that will be unveiled in the next couple of years.

The event ended with the announcement of the award winners, first the individual and regional awards and then the vehicle award winners.  The Potomac Region was well represented among the winning vehicle owners.  Thanks to the Grand National Executive Committee, Valley Forge and Potomac Region volunteers, National CLC volunteers, Corporate Sponsors, Individual Sponsors, Advertisers, Donors, the Hilton and the Westin for making the 2017 Grand National a memorable event!

 

 


List of Potomac Region Award Winners

Category

Class

Place

Owner

Vehicle

Primary

P-04

Senior Wreath

Randy D. Denchfield
Chevy Chase, MD

1935 LaSalle 5067 Convertible Coupe

Primary

P-06

Senior Wreath

Pete Sanders
McLean, VA

1930 Cadillac 4161S Town Sedan

Primary

P-06

Second Place

Christopher Cummings Manassas, VA

1930 Cadillac 4330 Imperial Sedan

Primary

P-13

Second Place

Randy D. Denchfield
Chevy Chase, MD

1948 Cadillac 6267 Convertible Coupe

Primary

P-13

Second Place

Randy D. Denchfield
Chevy Chase, MD

1949 Cadillac 6207 Club Coupe

Primary

P-13

Second Place

Randy D. Denchfield
Chevy Chase, MD

1949 Cadillac 6267X Convertible Coupe

Primary

P-14

Senior

James A Mitchell
Warrenton, VA

1953 Cadillac 6267SX Eldorado Convertible

Primary

P-14

First Place

Michael Carlin
New Windsor, MD

1950 Cadillac 6137 Coupe

Primary

P-15

Third Place

Robert Crimmins
Manalapan, NJ

1955 Cadillac 6267SX Eldorado Convertible

Primary

P-15

Third Place

Paul G. Sevag
West Chester, PA

1956 Cadillac 6267X Convertible Coupe

Primary

P-16

Third Place

Neil Reddy
Fairfax Station, VA

1957 Cadillac 6267X Convertible Coupe

Primary

P-18

Senior Wreath

Rick Menz
Ellicott City, MD

1959 Cadillac 6267 Convertible Coupe

Primary

P-18

Second Place

Derrick Fisher
Rockville, MD

1960 Cadillac 6337 Coupe Deville

Primary

P-19

Third Place

Gerald L. Gordon
Baltimore, MD

1961 Cadillac 6339 Sedan Deville

Primary

P-20

Senior Wreath

H. Daniel Jobe
Greenbelt, MD

1964 Cadillac 6367 Eldorado Convertible

Primary

P-20

First Place

Charles T. Dodd
Baltimore, MD

1964 Cadillac 6367 Eldorado Convertible

Primary

P-22

Senior

Michael A. Barruzza
Bensalem, PA

1967 Cadillac 68367 Deville Convertible

Primary

P-22

First Place

Craig Perrotty
Reading, PA

1967 Cadillac 68367 Deville Convertible

Primary

P-22

Third Place

Terry Prevost
Leesburg, VA

1970 Cadillac 68367 Deville Convertible

Primary

P-23

Senior Crown

H. Daniel Jobe
Greenbelt, MD

1967 Cadillac 69347 Eldorado Coupe

Primary

P-24

Senior

Tom McQueen
McLean, VA

1975 Cadillac 6EL67 Eldorado Convertible

Primary

P-25

First Place

Earl Rutter
Philadelphia, PA

1974 Cadillac 6CB69 Talisman

Primary

P-27

Senior Wreath

John Tyson
Winchester, VA

1985 Cadillac KS69 Seville

Primary

P-28

Senior Crown

Michael A. Barruzza
Bensalem, PA

1990 Cadillac DW69 Brougham

Primary

P-28

Senior Wreath

Mary Moscati
Upper Marlboro, MD

1993 Cadillac CD69 Sedan Deville

Primary

P-28

Senior Wreath

Jerry Rij
Burke, VA

1990 Cadillac DW69 Brougham

Primary

P-28

Senior Wreath

Paul G. Sevag
West Chester, PA

1992 Cadillac CD69 Sedan Deville

Primary

P-28

Second Place

Brewster Thackeray
Alexandria, VA

1990 Cadillac DW69 Limousine

Primary

P-33

First Place

Joshua Pinho
Arlington, VA

1992 Cadillac VR67 Convertible

Primary

P-99

Senior

Michael A. Barruzza
Bensalem, PA

1996 Cadillac FH90 Limousine

 

Touring

T-12

First Place

H. Daniel Jobe
Greenbelt, MD

1946 Cadillac 6267 Convertible Coupe

Touring

T-22

First Place

Ronald H. Renoff
Severna Park, MD

1968 Cadillac 68367 Deville Convertible

Touring

T-24

First Place

Lynn W. Gardner
Arlington, VA

1976 Cadillac 6EL67 Eldorado Convertible

Touring

T-24

First Place

Harold Ornstein
Brookeville, MD

1976 Cadillac 6EL67 Eldorado Convertible

Touring

T-25

First Place

Lynn W. Gardner
Arlington, VA

1976 Cadillac 6CD49 Sedan Deville

 

Specialty and Unique Division

U-05

Second Place

H. Daniel Jobe
Greenbelt, MD

1941 Cadillac Station Wagon

 

Modified

Mild Custom

Third Place

Burt Zwibel
Fairfax, VA

1960 Cadillac 6267 Convertible Coupe

 

Past Presidents’ Preservation Award

Christopher Cummings
Manassas, VA

1930 Cadillac 4330 Imperial Sedan

Past Presidents’ Preservation Award

Michael J. Carlin
New Windsor, MD

1950 Cadillac 6137 Coupe

Past Presidents’ Preservation Award

Gerald L. Gordon
Baltimore, MD

1961 Cadillac 6339 Sedan Deville

Past Presidents’ Preservation Award

Bob Fangmeyer
Derwood, MD

1964 Cadillac 6367 Eldorado Convertible

Past Presidents’ Preservation Award

Michael A. Barruzza
Bensalem, PA

1967 Cadillac 68367 Deville Convertible

Past Presidents’ Preservation Award

Mark E. Brodsky
Chevy Chase, MD

1969 Cadillac 68367 Deville Convertible

Past Presidents’ Preservation Award

Ronnie Hux
Avondale, PA

1974 Cadillac 6EL67 Eldorado Convertible

Past Presidents’ Preservation Award

Lynn W. Gardner
Arlington, VA

1975 Cadillac 6CD49 Sedan Deville

Past Presidents’ Preservation Award

Tom McQueen
McLean, VA

1975 Cadillac 6EL67 Eldorado Convertible

Past Presidents’ Preservation Award

Lynn W. Gardner
Arlington, VA

1976 Cadillac 6EL67 Eldorado Convertible

 

CLC Website Merit Award

Potomac Region
 

CLC Henry M. Leland Award

Vince Taliano
North Potomac, MD

CLC Norm Uhlir Regional Activity Award Doug Bailey
Peach State Region (also a member of the Potomac Region)

 

THANK YOU to the Corporate Sponsors, Individual Sponsors, Advertisers and Donors.

 

THANK YOU to the Grand National volunteers listed below who worked long and hard
to make the event a success (sorry if I inadvertently excluded anyone).


 


THANK YOU
to all the attendees.  Below is the number of registered attendees that were listed in the program book.  Other states / countries may have been represented by late pre-registrations and/or on-site registrations.

State / Country         

Registered Attendees

State / Country         

Registered Attendees

Pennsylvania

106

Utah

8

Virginia

89

Colorado

7

Maryland

79

Rhode Island

7

New York

54

Kansas

6

New Jersey

51

Washington

6

Georgia

45

France

5

Florida

40

Minnesota

5

Ohio

25

Tennessee

5

Alabama

24

Washington, DC

5

Massachusetts

24

Netherlands

4

Connecticut

23

West Virginia

4

Texas

23

Australia

3

Wisconsin

23

Germany

3

Canada

22

New Mexico

3

Michigan

21

Oregon

3

North Carolina

18

Curacao

2

Missouri

16

Kentucky

2

California

14

New Hampshire

2

Indiana

14

South Carolina

2

Delaware

12

Sweden

2

Illinois

9

Peru

1

Arizona

8

 

 


 

GRAND NATIONAL 2017 - PHOTOS ON THE WEB

Dave Smith -- That Hartford Guy


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