Spring 2016 Kaiser-Frazer / Midwest Willys Reunion Joint Meet

[joefrazer]

Official Announcement:

The Midwest Division of the KFOCI will be holding a joint meet with the Midwest Willys Reunion group on May 19 thru 21, 2016. The meet site will be in Effingham, IL with the host hotels being the Baymont and Holiday Inn. We expect a large turnout for this meet so I have contacted the hotels and have rooms set aside. I urge you to book soon as rooms may be at a premium if you wait until the last minute.

Baymont information: phone 217.540.1111. Be sure to mention the Kaiser Frazer Owners Club to get the special $89 nightly rate for a two queen bed room that includes a complimentary breakfast.

Holiday Inn information: phone 217.540.777. Mention the Midwest Willys Reunion to get the special $109 rate.

The hotels are located near the intersection of interstates 70 and 57.

Here's a link to the Willys reunion site - http://willysreunion.com/

More information will be in the February news bulletin. I hope to see you there!

[joefrazer]

Update -

I met yesterday with the Midwest Willys Reunion host and together we took care of several outstanding questions:
- There will be a Saturday evening banquet and social. We will have a speaker whose tentative agenda includes a talk about Kaiser-Frazer and how the company eventually acquired Willys.
- The Willys folks will be handling the meet registration. I hope to have the form in the February bulletin. If not there, it'll definitely be in the March edition.
- We will commemorate the occasion with a special edition t-shirt. The Willys group has a member who's a graphic designer and he's done a fabulous job with their meet t-shirts to date and I have no doubt he will have something unique for our show.
- We're hoping to have a special event on Friday evening for everyone to enjoy. We have several ideas and have a Willys member in Effingham looking at what's available.

So, things are coming together and I'm looking forward to seeing you at the meet. So far, I've heard from about 30 members who say they will be there - so join us!

[joefrazer]

Just a reminder - if you haven't made hotel reservations yet, do so very soon. We anticipate a great turnout and we would really like to see you at the meet.

A few more details...
- A preliminary design for the commemorative t-shirt has been approved. It looks great and includes a 54K and Jeep with the meet's logo.
- We will have some special door prizes and raffle items at the show. I won't divulge what they are, I'll only say that you'll like what we have!

A registration form will be in the March club bulletin with more information about the meet.

[joefrazer]

A registration form is now available (attached) for KFOCI members wishing to attend the spring Midwest meet.

Not a member of the club? You can join here -> http://www.kfclubmembership.com/default.asp

Hope to see you at the meet!

[joefrazer]

A registration form is also available on the Midwest Willys Reunuion website...look for the "Registration" link on the left side of the page.

Link => http://willysreunion.com/swr16.htm

Hope to see you there!

[joefrazer]

UPDATE -

I have been told that the cutoff date for registrations for the met is may 1st. So, if you're planning to attend send your registration in today. Also, hotel rooms are filling fast so make your reservation today!

And, there is a special commemorative poster being produced for the meet. I have a few that I will be raffling off to KF members attending the meet. This will be a collector's item and will only be available to those who attend.

[kaiserkid]

I'm thinking of ordering a meet T-shirt and sweatshirt but I would like to see the design first. Any idea where to look?

[joefrazer]

I spoke to the meet chair on Monday and they hope to have a final design for the shirts by next week. I strongly encouraged him to use a design based on the poster so it would appeal to everyone. Once it's ready I will post it here.

[joefrazer]

One more reminder - if you have not yet registered to attend the joint Midwest KF/Midwest Willys Reunion meet in May, do so today. The registration cutoff date in May 1.

http://willysreunion.com/swr16.htm

The website lists the Holiday Inn as the host hotel. Next door to it is the Baymont, rooms are available there as well. Their phone number is 217.540.1111.

And, a couple lucky folks will win a meet poster - check out the website for an image.

[joefrazer]

For those who've been reading the thread about combining clubs - while it is not the intent of this meet, we are hoping this is successful and is the springboard for future co-hosted events. Of course, it will only happen with your participation. Check out the March and April bulletins for more about this meet as well as a registration form.

Or, find more information here - http://willysreunion.com/swr16.htm

I hope to see you there.

[joefrazer]

For those late registrants - there are only a few rooms left at the Hampton Inn.  If you are attending but have not yet reserved a room, call now!

See you at the meet!

[joefrazer]

One more week until the meet - if you are attending, we'll see you there! If not, you'll miss a great opportunity to get to know folks who collect vehicles made by the same company...not to mention the opportunity to let them see what a great club we have (read = new members!).

[Fid]

Which model Jeep?  I have a Radiator for Jeep CJ-5.

[joefrazer]

A quick report..we have about a dozen cars and 30 KF members present and the Willys folks expect about 60 Jeeps of all shapes and sizes at today's show. There are several vendors as well. I'll post pictures later. A great meet!

[joefrazer]

A follow up report about the meet. There were 14 Kaiser-Frazer products represented at the meet, including a Darrin, a pair of 51K two door sedans, and two 1947 Kaiser Specials, along with the others. The Willys folks saw about 60 Jeeps, wagons, and pickups at the show. Some of the more unusual included a Jeep tug, used to move US Navy airplanes around, a CJ5 with a Jeep-A-Trench attachment, a CJ2a with a hydrualic chain saw that ran off a PTO, and two CJ Fire Engine Jeeps.

There were about 150 people present at the banquet where yours truly delivered the keynote talk - the history of the KFOCI. One lucky KFOCI member won a large neon Willys Service clock.

All declared the meet a great success and there are plans to have another joint meet in the near future.

The attached pictures include the show field - it's about half full. By the noon hour show field parking was at a premium.