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Westerly- Pawcatuck Region
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Welcome to The Westerly Pawcatuck Region, chartered with the AACA to help promote the enjoyment and preservation of antique automobiles in the Eastern Connecticut and Rhode Island area.
GENERAL INFORMATION
As a new member, we want to make your club experience as positive as possible. We have prepared this guide to assist you in a smooth transition into club activities and benefits, as well as to encourage you to really get to know all the members.
Members are encouraged to visit our website, www.wpraaca.com, regularly to stay current with meeting dates and events. Monthly meetings are held 10 months a year with the addition of a Christmas Party in December and a Pizza Party in January. Our meetings are open to all. Visitors and prospective members are encouraged to attend.
Ownership of an automobile is NOT REQUIRED, although membership in the national organization (Antique Automobile Club of America) is a requirement for membership in the Region. Regional dues are collected at the end of the calendar year for the following year. A single membership includes the member and spouse.
A majority of our members live in Rhode Island and Eastern CT., but many retain memberships from Florida and Arizona. We actively attend local cruise nights, car shows, parades and other automobile related activities. Annually we schedule several weekend trips to out of state shows in New England and New York primarily, and we drive our vintage vehicles to those shows.
PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR E-MAIL AND CELL PHONE CONTACT INFORMATION TO
THE TREASURER. IT IS CRITICAL TO TRAVELING AS A GROUP AND ADVISING CHANGES.
BECOME INVOLVED
Regular meetings are generally held on the last Tuesday of each month at the Westerly Senior Center. We schedule several speakers each year and our meetings are punctuated with technical conversations, great desserts and a liberal dose of humor. Pot luck dinners are held twice a year and as well as a brown bag auction twice a year to raise money for the club.
The Executive Committee, comprised of the officers and past officers, meet normally on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at Dunkin Donuts at Dunn’s Corner, Westerly. These meetings are open to all members, and are a forum for the presentation of ideas and activities throughout the year. Only committee members have a vote at this meeting.
In the interest of getting to know each other, ID cards and badges are provided to all members. Badges are to be worn at all regular meetings. There is a $1.00 fine for failure to wear your badge, and it will be collected at the meeting.
Cruise nights are our most common method of socializing outside of meetings. You are encouraged to check the WEB calendar for the locations where the club members will be meeting during weeknights. We try to park near each other and find a spot to congregate with our chairs. A lot of technical information is passed around while sitting and walking around perusing all the cars.
Car Shows and Flea Markets are our favorite weekend, 1 day, events. We generally meet at a designated time and location to caravan to these events. Often at these events we are assigned parking in classes, but we generally try to find a central spot to congregate. Some members prefer to sit by their vehicle and communicate with those looking at the vehicle.
Overnight weekend events are scheduled throughout the season. Some are generally attended by couples and are 2 to 3 night stays at a comfortably priced motel. Some examples are Reinbeck, NY, and Old Orchard Beach, ME. Others are attended by singles like Syracuse, NY and Hershey, PA. These provide the best opportunity to really get to know members and develop relationships, thus, you are encouraged to participate.
Each organized event has a coordinator who is responsible for logistics, meeting locations, maps/directions, accommodations, restaurants, etc. For overnight trips, members are normally asked to commit at least a month in advance and confirm their rooms at the designated motel.
Paid Club events provide funds for club expenses and speakers. These include Parades and Regional Fairs where we are asked to provide a minimum number of vehicles and are paid for our participation. We request that all members to participate in these events whenever possible. Members are also asked to suggest additional events that could provide funds
Social events are often planned by members at their home or a central location. A pot luck lunch after a parade, an annual picnic, a weekly breakfast meeting, etc. are among these types of activities.
ON THE TECHNICAL SIDE
Don’t be afraid to jump in! Technical conversations abound, as collectively our members represent over 100 years of knowledge in operating and preserving vintage automobiles. And a helping hand is never more than a phone call, text, or e-mail away.
New members have told us that they often join the club to learn more about the hobby, become more proficient mechanically, and to get help with their project. We provide several avenues to achieve those goals.
The Gas Lighters are a group of club members who help fellow members solve their classic vehicle problems. They travel to the club member's house and will diagnose, make recommendations and if possible, repair the problem. The group will generally tackle any problem that does not involve a major repair such as an engine or transmission rebuild.
In order to facilitate the Gas Lighters program, members are requested to prepare a short request form and send it to one of the Officers who will make arrangements to have the request sent to the appropriate technical member to set up an appointment.
Please provide the following;
MEMBER NAME: ________________________________________________________________
LOCATION OF VEHICLE ___________________________________________________________
DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE OR ISSUES__________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
URGENCY OF REQUEST___________________________________________________________
BEST PHONE AND E-MAIL CONTACT:________________________________________________
Note that a similar form is available on the website with contact information.
Members have facilities and equipment that they are willing to share with other members when not already committed. A formal list is being maintained by the officers of these facilities. If you have facilities like a car lift, extra garage space, tire changer, car trailer, etc. that could help other members and are willing to share, please submit that information to one of the officers. Note that this information will remain confidential, and NOT published on the website. It will be available upon request.
Likewise if you have special skills that could be of use to the club or its members, we would like to know about them. We always need committee members, trip coordinators, officers, speakers, and technicians of all skills. If you are asked to participate in a project, it is because we want to include all. It is OK to offer, and it is OK to say no.
PLEASE BECOME AN ACTIVE MEMBER !
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CARAVANING GUIDELINES
The trip organizer and participants should be familiar with and follow these recommendations
Depending on the number of traffic lights and complicated intersections, usually 5 or fewer cars can successfully stay together. Try to organize cars into groups of 5 with optimally a “leader” and a “caboose” that know the route well.
Club radios are available for communication, but only have a 1 mile line of sight range. A cell phone contact list should be provided to all vehicles in the caravan.
The leader should periodically check to see if the speed he/she sets is OK.
The slowest car should be the leader or as close to the leader as possible.
The leader should periodically stop at a safe location to be sure everyone is still with the group. On longer trips, predesignated regroup/rest stops should be planned in advance.
The caboose should have the best and brightest brake lights.
Maps & directions should be provided for new, complicated, or unfamiliar routes.
When in a group, drivers should stay as close as safely possible to the car in front of them. If you are losing the car in front of you at lights and turns, so are all the cars behind you.
If a car pulls over, please stop also, notify the leader by radio or cell phone as soon as practical and advise them of the issue. We never leave anyone alone if at all possible!
FINAL REMINDER
Drivers should always be sure that they have enough fuel to make designated stops, or advise Leader when they will need refueling.
Carrying spare parts, tools, spare tire, and safety checking vehicle before leaving your home is everyone’s responsibility
Let's HAVE FUN!
CLICK HERE TO DISPLAY A PRINTABLE COPY OF THIS MANUAL
