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Chicagoland
Mopar Connection
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Mo-Power Madness 2009 (Naperville N. High School)
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Chicago Area Mopar
In January of 1990, a group of MOPAR enthusiasts formed the Chicagoland MOPAR Connection. Through the years chapters have been added to accommodate the growth of this dynamic car club. First there was the Rock Valley Chapter, next was the Willowa Chapter, and then the Fox River Chapter. From the very early days there was always the membership that was called the Main Club, which are the core members.
Fourteen years later CMC now has over 700 members. A large
portion of these members live in the greater metropolitan area of Chicago,
IL. This geographical area includes Cook County, DuPage County, Will County,
Kane County, Kendall County, Grundy County and northwestern Indiana. To enable
and facilitate future growth, in April of 2004 the C.M.C. membership approved
the creation of a new chapter for this large area. The name chosen was CAM,
for C hicago A rea M OPARs.
The officers for this new chapter are: Scott Spirakes as Director, Dave Kanofsky
as Secretary, George Talbot, as Treasurer.
We are the newest chapter of CMC with lots of new ideas. As is the case with the other 3 chapters, CAM is always looking for new members and new ideas! We are very excited about our new sponsors, which include Dempsey Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep in Plano and Dwight and Bill Kay Chrysler in Downers Grove and Naperville. Our events are the result of hard work by Don Phillips, Ron Vest, Ron Jones, and many other volunteers, all of which are CMC members with great ambition. If you own a MOPAR, want to own a MOPAR, or just enjoy MOPARs we welcome you and your ideas.
Our CAM monthly meetings are on the last Tuesday of each month and are usually held at Suparossa Restaurant in Woodridge on Route 53. The meetings start by 7:30 P.M. and guests and new members are certainly welcome. To keep the meetings exciting, CMC sponsors host certain meetings. In 2004 our April meeting was at Dempsey Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep in Plano, our May meeting was hosted by Kasch's Fine Cars in Burbank, and our August meeting is at Haunted Trails in Bridgeview. Bring your MOPAR to any of these meetings, whether it is a Muscle Car, Antique, Truck, Sports Car, Late Model, SUV, or Specialty, and show it off and have some fun! We always have flyers available for upcoming
events and we hope to see you there!
Meetings are held the 2nd Saturday of the month, usually at Tranz Tech, 30th &
Elm, Dubuque, IA at 7:00 p.m. Our club is for anyone interested in the "Mopar"
hobby that enjoys sharing information with others with the same interest.
Chapter members are generally from the whole Tri-state area (Iowa, Wisconsin,
and Illinois) including Davenport/Moline, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Postville,
Madison, and to the Apple River area.
The Willowa Chapter has special events such as an Anniversary Bowling party,
a picnic usually in July held at Galena, Illinois and a trek to Apple River,
Il
in October. We also have special speakers at the meetings. Some past speakers
have been Galen Govier on decoding MOPAR VIN numbers, Jeff Miller on how to
buy a car for restoration, Mike's Service Center on buying tires and car
trailers. Our meetings are kept as short as possible so that a "chat"
sessions may be held. After summer meetings we try to travel to spots to
enjoy ice cream and other treats. We sponsor the "Mopars on the Mississippi"
Mopar Show & Swap meet annually and also a cruise-in on the Saturday evening
before the show every August. We also participate as supporters with other
area clubs for a all car & motorcyle charity show to benefit Camp Albrecht
Acres. See the "Whats New" section and calendar for meeting and show
dates.
The Rock Valley Chapter of the Chicagoland Mopar Connection was the result
of an idea conceived by John Slack out in Rockford. He knew of an enthusiastic
group of Mopar folks in the area and wanted to organize them into a club. However,
being familiar with the Chicagoland Mopar Connection, he felt it would be beneficial
to be part of that much larger entity. He discussed the idea with then CMC President
Scott Spirakes who agreed. Hence, our chapter came into being.
Geographically, our chapter covers North Central Illinois and South Central
Wisconsin. With a membership of over 100 and monthly meeting attendance averaging
around 48, we have become an integral part of CMC. Our chapter officers consist
of Chapter Director Roger Schmeling, Assistant Chapter Director Don Kettinger,
Secretary Sue Kettinger and Treasurer Bruce Thurow.
The Rock Valley Chapter has produced the annual "Belvidere
Mopar Happening" car show since 1991. In 2001, the event attracted
nearly 500 vehicles and thousands of spectators making it one of the premier
one day Mopar shows in the country! The time was right for expansion and the
following year, we moved from our original home, the Belvidere Chrysler Assembly
Plant, to the beautiful Boone
County Fairgrounds just a few miles away and expanded to a two day event.
This show has grown steadily from the first year showing of 107 vehicles, to
the two day regional event it is today.
While the "Happening" is our major event, our chapter is very active
year round. We have our chapter birthday party each February celebrating our
formation. We have had Poker Runs and Road Rallies. Each fall, we host a pig
roast. We follow that up with our "Boo-Hoo Bash" in Apple River IL
in conjunction with our Willowa Chapter friends, giving us a great time to reflect
on the past show season. We wind up our year with our Christmas Party which
carries its own legend. When you sprinkle in organized participation to local
cruises and shows and treks to national events you can see we have a VERY active
chapter.
Our meetings are usually held on the first Saturday evening of the month, but
do change on occasion when events dictate. Our chapter phone number is (815)
544-3147 and chapter email is cmcrvc@insightbb.com. When you are in our area,
give us a call. Everyone is welcome at the Rock Valley Chapter Meetings and
events!
The Fox River Chapter is our newest chapter catering to the needs of
Lake, McHenry, and northern Cook counties in Illinois and Kenosha,
Racine, and Milwaukee counties in Wisconsin. We average 20 to 30 people
at our monthly meetings held in Wauconda, IL that include a Chapter
Director-MoparMarc, Assistant Chapter Director - Dave Tekampe and Treasurer - Jim Daley. Any Questions Contact MoparMarc at 847-815-2891.
We hold a car show yearly at Veteran's
Park (Formerly known as Deer Haven
Park) in Fox Lake, IL. generally on the third weekend of June sponsored by
Fox Lake
Chrysler
Dodge.
Veteran's Park is a beautiful tree-lined city park with easy
access and room for over 200 cars and trucks.
All CMC members are invited to attend our monthly meetings and we hold
special meetings at area businesses on occasion. We also are known to
congregate at the Dog n Suds drive in on Rollins Road in Ingleside, IL
after the meetings in the spring and summer. Please come up and see us
in the north suburbs for a pleasant weekend drive. More Fox River Chapter
info can be found in the "Whats New" section.
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This page was last updated: Friday, March 19, 2010 at 8:41:14 PM
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