Nor-Cal Packards International

HOW THE NORTH WAS WON or THE FORMING OF THE NOR_CAL REGION... by... Clarence Blixt

The plans for the Northern California Region, Packards International, were conceived in the kitchen of our home. We had recently become involved in Packarding and were making frequent trips to Southern California to attend P.I. and So-Cal tours.

One weekend in the summer of 1969, after Harrah's Swap Meet, Bill Lauer, Cal and Edith Soest made a mid-point stop-over at our place. Bill, Edith, Cal, Elizabeth and I were discussing the feasibility of organizing a region in Northern California. Edith, club secretary, said there were some others in the area that were interested.

It was decided that we would ask the others that were known to be interested to meet at our home in Escalon. Those invited were Bill Friedrich, A P.I. co-founder and strong booster, Bill Moore of Pleasanton, a former So-Cal member and former P.I. president who had moved north, Archie Nichols, Gordon Blixt and their wives Mary Moore, Mary Nichols and Jan Blixt.

The meeting was scheduled for September13, 1969. At the meeting, it was evident that all present had interest and all were willing to attempt to form the Nor-Cal Region. The first thing to do was to form an organization. I was elected President, Gordon Blixt Secretary and Bill Moore Treasurer. Bill Friedrich and Archie Nichols were elected board members. The newly formed board decided to test the region for interest by scheduling a tour.

The first tour was October 19, 1969. Bill Friedrich was tourmaster and the tour was a picnic to Mt. Diablo. Tour notices were sent to all P.I. members living in California North of Turlock. There were about thirty people in twelve Packards on tour.

Since winter was approaching, and it was not known how hardy lot of the Packard owners were, the next scheduled tour was March 1970. The treasurer informed the board that we were a region without funds, and that a hand-to-mouth existence is not desired, so it was worked out with the International Board for our region to plan and host National Tour West 1970 with all profits (if any) going to the Nor-Cal treasury. Tour notices for our March 1970 tour again were mailed to all P.I. members listed in the roster living in California North of Turlock. Response was encouraging and each tour resulted in larger turn-outs and more new members. By July, National Tour time, we had many members on our roster that are active in our region today.

National Tour West 1970 was held at Brookdale Lodge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Over One-hundred people in fifty-two Packards enjoyed that tour making it a financial success for our region. The new, broke region had a nest egg of $600.00 in its treasury. In the years that followed, the number of members has continued to increase each year, The participation in tours has also increased. The size of the board has increased to get better representation. We would also be pleased to discuss questions regarding club operations.

Editor's Note:
Clarence has very modestly left out the fact that he served as Regional President for four years. A good deal of the success our region enjoys today can be directly attributed to the super efforts extended by Clarence. He is still an active board member today and has served as a member of the National Board. We are indeed proud to claim him as a member of the Nor-Cal Region. He is now the only founding member remaining active. Our heart-felt 'Thanks' for all of his many years of devoted service.

Nor-Cal Packards International members: If you wish to have your car appear at the top of our page, E-mail us a photo of it!

Webmaster: Tim L. Stockwell E-mail

Upcoming Events:

WANTED! Tourmasters for 2009. Pay is fine! (Free Meal). Very Rewarding, minimal time required. Good choice of Months! (All available except May). If you have any questions regarding any of the calendar events please contact Lou Hoffman @
(530) 622-2912 or at louandsherry@internet49.com

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