2017 Grand National

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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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

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