Granite Staters . . . Green Mountain . . . Mass Minutemen . . . Northeast . . . Yankee Travelers
I overheard someone say, "if Bill Mattress is running it, I am going to be there." The Top Guns Rally lived up to the expectation, it was a huge success. More than one hundred thirty five coaches pulled through the gate between Thursday and late Friday, all carrying people expecting an enjoyable weekend…. and that is what they found. Even the weather cooperated (the rain didn't start till we were under cover).
Parking coaches turned out to be Friday's primary daytime activity. The team of Bill Griffin and Rene Gendron looked like Olympic athletes bouncing back and forth trying to stay ahead of a steady stream of incoming. Friday evening the Yankees lead by Joan Christiansen handled the dinner activities by building 4 foot long subs then chopping them up into manageable portions. It really did take two hands to handle these whoppers. About the time we were done eating, Susan Jayne, a local Country recording artist took over the outside stage and entertained us for the rest of the evening.
The Green Mountaineers led by Ed Filiault, sure know what they are doing when it comes to breakfast. The pancakes and sausages were as good as they come. It was obvious that this was not this teams first performance. After breakfast many people chose to visit with several local RV dealers who parked a nice selection of coaches just outside the gate. The units, new and used, representing a broad price range. Some people used this time to register their treasures for the afternoon's auction.
The auction, run by teams from the Granite Staters and the Yankee Travelers, lead by Louise Parsons and the writer, turned out to be a fun afternoon. Almost two hundred items were offered for sale by a trio of jokesters. Bruce Brown, Gary Adams and Jeannette Pickles (dressed as Drew Cary's Mimi) keep us laughing as they kept the bids rolling. Great deals abounded. Some people got rid of a lot of junk while others took home new treasures. When it was over there was almost $430.00 in profits to split between the five clubs.
By the time the action finished the sky was clouding up and the caterer, cooking outside, decided to move the chicken into high gear. We ate well and stayed dry thanks to the large show barn that served as our activity center for the weekend. When the dinner activities were over the entertainment began. The talented Ms Ruth of New Life Entertainment engaged us for hours. She provided the voice (wow!) and the music, we supplied the dancers. It was a memorable evening.
On Sunday morning we were greeted with coffee (Joe Samara), special breakfast buns (Dave Annunziata), and the starting of engines. When the accounting was complete Barbara Rostek, who acted as treasures for this meet sent checks for $340.87 to each chapter as their share of this success.
The person I overheard was right, if Bill does this again, I'll be there.
Dave LeBlanc
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