2019 Member Event Memories
11/16/19 – FALL GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING!
The November Fall Membership Meeting was an evening of shopping with lots merchandise – chatting with friends, making new friends, and of course – the much anticipated Board nominee’s speeches.
Just prior to Paul Swanson calling the membership meeting to order Paul thanked Joe Karpowicz for bringing two very special flags to the meeting for our use and to display. These were the same flags that Joe had brought to the 2018 Fall Meeting – a service flag presented at his father Vincent Karpowicz’s military funeral, and one which belonged to Sue’s father Roy Lindvall.
Thank you to Loran Mogensen and Bill Kantos for preparing the meeting, the MSRA committees who set up their tables, and to the approximately 200+ members who attended.
10/26/19 Halloween Party
What a fun evening!! Great costumes, delicious food, music, fun, and dancing!! Thank you to Loran Mogensen, and all the volunteers who helped make this a fun evening for our MSRA members and their families.
9/26/19 Fall Foliage Picnic
By Stacy Lemke: 2019 was another successful year for the Fall Foliage Picnic despite the chilly and rainy weather. The event took place on Sunday, September 29th at the Little Log House Pioneer Village located in Hastings. The gates opened at 10:00 am. Upon entry every car was greeted with a dash plaque featuring Mike Babler’s 1933 Chevrolet Coupe. There were approximately 500 cars in attendance including the 2019 Street Rod of the Year and Custom of the Year nominees. The nominees were given designated parking right outside of the iconic Porky’s building which once used to be on University Ave. in St. Paul. Porky’s is just one of the many historic buildings on display that allows so many photo ops for all that attend.
Lunch was served at 1:00 pm. Catering was provided by Tinucci’s and they did a fabulous job as always. More than 900 were served. Thank you to Tinucci’s for the delicious Chicken, Pork and sides. And thank you to the volunteers who helped serve. Along with lunch there was a delicious dessert spread. Thank you to everyone who brought a treat to share and to the volunteers who kept the dessert table full.
There were many familiar faces and some first-time comers. Thank you to all the volunteers, all who attended, and congratulations to all the Car of the Year nominees.
9/27/19 – Friday Night Picnic
From Dick Kinnan and Blaine Gartner: What a fun evening at the Friday Night Picnic! The weather was good and the food was fantastic. Everyone had a great time and we served approximately 580 people. Thank you to all the volunteers who helped cook, serve, brought food to share, and to our First Aid team volunteers who are always on hand if needed! And, thank you to Lynn Michels and Jeremy Michels who once again brought their grills, and to Dave Kuehl for bringing his Chevy Pick Up hot rod grill! Makes for great cookin’!
9/15/19 – Back to the 50’s Weekend Volunteer Appreciation Event
It was a beautiful day for the 2019 Back to the 50’s Weekend Volunteer Appreciation Event! There were 900+ who attended, approximately 500 street rods, fabulous food, music, a visit from Jay Leno who viewed cars and took photos with many of our volunteers, a surprise visit from several retired Viking players, and of course – Friends+Food+Fun+Fellowship!
As Tom Vollbrecht, Jr. said, “MSRA hosts the largest and best car show, the Back to the 50’s Weekend, and it is an honor to be able to give back to those that make it possible. The volunteers at the Volunteer Appreciation Event also deserve a huge round of applause as this event took an entire committee of more volunteers and they did an outstanding job! THANK YOU ALL!”
Treasure Island had three of their staff view the cars and select their 3 favorite cars to receive a gift from Treasure Island. They split up, looked at ALL of the cars, narrowed it down, and selected the final three. (We were told it was not an easy choice!) They located each winner and presented them with a gift certificate: Congratulations to 1st place Tom and Sharon Costello with a ’31 Model A; 2nd place went to Brad and Christine Majerle with a ’54 Packard; and, 3rd place went to Don Sorenson with a ’32 Ford.
Thank you to Tom Vollbrecht, Sr., Tom Vollbrecht, Jr., Brent and Ashley Alpert, Linda Lucas; as well as Wally Burchill, Dick Kinnan, and all the volunteers who helped at the gates, parking, Registration. and at the Buffet. And. to Treasure Island Resort & Casino … “Thank You!” Your staff did a great job!
Thank you to all who have shared their photos!
2019 Volunteer Appreciation Event
Part 1 – WELCOME and FRIENDS+F00D+FUN+FELLOWSHIP
2019 Volunteer Appreciation Event
Part 2 – HOT RODS/CUSTOMS and JAY LENO Photos
9/6 – 9/8/19 Fall Campout and Voting Event, Grand Rapids,MN.
From Dale Sohlstrom, MSRA Outstate Rep: Hosted by the Northern Cruisers Car Club, It was a fantastic weekend of fun with cars, with so many activities you couldn’t take them all in. There were garage tours, brewery tours, a tour to a fabulous candy factory, manufacturing tour, entry to the Forest History Center and the Judy Garland Museum. There was bowling and mini golf, a mystery run, a show and shine, and a shop-about. And then there was lots of great meals. Two dinners and a breakfast to be exact. Add in a comfortable campground along with campfires complete with some bench racing and other stories, and you have the recipe for a wonderful time.
I would like to thank each and every member of the Northern Cruisers for stepping up to the plate and making sure everything went smoothly and that all the guests had a wonderful time. These folks do a wonderful job of putting on this event.
This was also a voting event. For the list of nominee’s click here
Thank you to all who have shared photos!
8/9/19 SSFR at Brainerd International Raceway – Aug 23 – 25th!
From the first welcome at the gate on Friday, to the last goodbye and travel safe on the way out on Sunday afternoon – it was a weekend filled with Friends+Food+Fun+Fellowship and lots of racing!! Thank you to Tom Vollbrecht, Jr, Dave Lemke, Carol Koop, Joe Karpowicz,Ted Jacobson, and all their volunteers for a great weekend! Looking forward to SSFR in 2020!
7/28/19 – Voting Event – Scavengers Car Show
Neither a little rain, a break in the rain, and then more rain, deters classic car enthusiasts from attending the Scavengers Car Show! This show is always a great show and MSRA wants to thank the Scavengers Car Club for hosting the MSRA Voting Event. Thank you to board members Brent Alpert and Loran Mogensen for handling this Voting Event. Great Job Everyone!
For the list of nominee’s click here
6/29/19 – Voting Event – Summer Miles for Children Smiles
Thank you to the Dead End Kruizers for hosting the Voting Event on June 29th. The weather was beautiful… ok, it was really-really hot 😎 …. and the event was a lot of fun! Thank you to BOD Dick Kinnan, Bill Kantos, Carol Koop and Tim Whiteford for handling the voting event!
For the list of nominee’s click here
6/8/19 – Voting Event – Borderline Cruisers Car Show
Thank you to Borderline Cruisers, Fairmont, MN., for hosting the Voting Event on June 8th. The weather was sunny and warm, and the event was a lot of fun!
Thank you to BOD Dale Sohlstrom, Dick Kinnan, Bill Kantos, and Tim Whiteford for handling the voting event!
For the list of nominee’s click here
5/26/19 – MSRA Spring Picnic
From the Spring Picnic Coordinator, Travis Fowler: Thank you to all who came out to the Spring Picnic! 1,500 people fed in 1.5 hours and one of the biggest turnouts I have ever seen. A big thank you to the volunteers and Famous Dave’s staff for a fantastic day. And a special shout out and thank you to the members who submitted photos from the picnic for the slide show!
5/25/19 – Voting Event – 18th Annual TSI (Transmission Shop Inc.) Car Show
Thank you to TSI and to Gopher State Timing Association (GSTA) for hosting the Voting Event! The weather was beautiful, over 260 cars showed up for their show, a fantastic band – Nordic Surf, and free lunch provided by TSI (which was catered by Lynn Fazekas Michels and Jeremy Michels) was delicious as always! Thank you to BOD Travis Fowler and Loran Mogensen for handling the MSRA voting event. CONGRATULATIONS to the nominees from the TSI Voting Event!
For the list of nominee’s click here
5/17/19 – 5/19/19 – MSRA Spring Campout
Thank you to Joe Karpowicz and Dale Sohlstrom for once again creating a fun weekend of camping for our MSRA members! Neither gray clouds, rain, or cool temperatures stop MSRA camping families from having a fabulous weekend!
5/4/19 – Voting Event – Sedan Deliveries Car Show and Mystery Run
Thank you to the Sedan Deliveries for hosting the Voting Event! The weather was beautiful and the voting event was held at Route 47 Pub and Grub. CONGRATULATIONS to the nominees from the Sedan Deliveries Mystery Run!
Thank you to Loran Mogensen for sharing his photos from the car show!
For the list of nominee’s click here
4/15/19 – The GSTA 63rd Annual Car Show was held on 4/12-4/14/19
What a great weekend at GSTA! The MSRA display was well represented with 10 beautiful cars! Thank you to Steve Jenkins – Street Rod of the Year, Russ Peterson – Custom of the Year, Jerry and Sandy Felde, Don Jensen, Jerry Forness, Lee Burris, Ted Jacobson, Bob Johnson, Scott Williams, and Jack Kwiatkowss for bringing your caea. Thank you to Dave Lemke, Dick Kinnan, and all the members who helped set up, work the booth, and tear down. Congratulations to all the award winners! Great job everyone!
4/2/19 – 61st Annual Toppers show was held on March 30 – 31st.
From Dale Sohlstrom, MSRA Outstate Rep: We had a great time in Fargo this past weekend at the Topper’s Show. MSRA was well represented with 5 street rods in our display, all very nice cars. Exhibiting their rods were: Curt Hogenson with his ’32 Ford 5 window coupe, Lloyd Fritsvold with his ’34 Ford Pickup, Dan and Brenda Zeimet with their ’57 Chev wagon, Reggie Petrich with his ’32 Ford roadster, and Mike Kuhn with his ’34 Ford Vicky. Thanks to all of these members for bringing their rods and taking care of spreading the word about MSRA and all things Back to the 50s. We talked to a lot of people at our information table!!
And from MSRA: Thank you to Dale, the members who participated, and the volunteers who helped Dale. Know how much we appreciate you!
3/25/19 – 51st Annual Motorhead Madness was held on March 23 – 24th
From Dale Sohlstrom, MSRA Outstate Rep: The 51st Annual Motorhead Madness in Duluth was a fantastic show, and MSRA was again involved with a display of 9 vehicles. We had some top-notch cars on display, and got our message out to a lot of people who attended the show. Those who came to display their rods at Motorhead Madness were: Russ Peterson (50 Buick), Adam Landwehr (59 Dodge Pickup), Doug Humphrey (56 Ford F100), Tim Cook (32 Ford Roadster), Kevin Smith (Model A Roadster), Frank Klein (36 Ford Cabriolet), Mike Forsman (25 Chev Roadster), Dan Waterhouse (50 Plymouth), Jerry Gruwell (48 Dodge). Thanks to these folks for coming to the show and being a part of our display!
And from MSRA: Thank you to Dale, the members who participated, the volunteers who helped Dale set up, tear down, and work at the booth. Know how much you are appreciated!
March 9,2019 – MSRA Safety Team Annual Banquet
The banquet was held at the Lost Spur Golf and Event Center. As always, the Lost Spur provided a great dinner and the dessert table was amazing.
This was the same day we had unseasonal rain, and luckily not as much snow as predicted. Unfortunately, attendance was a bit light due to the weather. At this event we review how the team did for the year, – we were number 2 in the country. The team has been in the top 10 for the last 25 years. We also recognize rhe years of service at this event, I handed out pins to the following individuals:
5 Years: David Schafer
10 Years: Bob Lubinski
15 Years: Linda Lucas and Kathy Riley
20 Years: Travis Fowler, Dick Kinan, Ted Platz, Keith Thomas, Pat and John Walberg
30 Years: Larry Moline, Don and Pat Shaikoski
35 years: Donna Whiteford
After the meeting we all met in the parking lot to remove the snow from our cars and then proceeded home.
For information on having your vehicle inspected, or to join this amazing team of volunteer inspectors (free training!), click here to go to their webpage
January 26, 2019 – Annual Winter Awards Banquet and 2018 Back To The 50’s Volunteer Banquet.
Click on image or click here to view a brief 16 second video
An exciting evening of special recognition, friends, food, fun and fellowship as together we celebrate all that is MSRA! This is a very special year-end event as we say thank you to our volunteers, recognize our volunteer members who are retiring after many years of service, say thank you to the 2018 Board of Directors, meet the new 2019 Board of Directors, and announce the winners of 2018 Street Rod of the Year and 2018 Custom of the year. Thank you to Tom and Judy Vollbrecht, Tom Vollbrecht, Jr. and their entire committee for all they do to put on this banquet!
To view all the Cars of the Year winners and nominees – click here!
The below links are to the 2019 Banquet and the Awards videos that have been posted on Facebook. You do not need to have a Facebook account to view them. If you get a pop up box to set up a Facebook account, just go to the bottom of the box and click on Not Now. Enjoy!
Thank you to Joe Karpowicz for videotaping the entire 1 hour awards presentation at the banquet! It is presented below in two installment of approximately 30 minutes each.
Video Clip 1
Video Clip 2
Thank you to Ashley Weinkauf for taking the below segment videos
Announcements
Click Here to go to the Back to the ’50s Weekend Website
