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The event took place May 23, 2004 in Celebration, Florida. It was a charity event to benefit the Make a Wish Foundation. You ask where is Celebration, Florida? A little background as it was explained to me. The City of Celebration is the brainchild of Walt Disney. It is located in the Orlando-Kissimmee Area, in close proximity to Walt Disney World Theme Parks. When we drove into Celebration, according to Fran it was like entering a movie set. It is a completely planned community. All of the living areas, whether homes, condos, or apartments, appear to be of an old southern style. The downtown area boasts a city hall, bank, post office, hotel, shops and restaurants all of which carry on the old southern motif. Celebration has its own schools, hospital and churches. Fran struck up conversations with several of the residents. Every man and women she spoke with loved living in Celebration. The community runs the gamut from the retired to working young folks raising families. Our impression, which may be completely false, is that it would be a very safe community in which to live and where one would never be afraid to walk the streets after dark. There is golf course in Celebration. It is open to the public. It is a non-gated community. If you are in the area, we strongly recommend that you visit the town and at least plan on walking the downtown area and having a meal in one of the local restaurants.
SE Pantera folks started arriving on Friday May 21 to visit the many sites and shops. The main gaggle arrived on Saturday. We had dinner at the All Star Cafe in Celebration. The atmosphere was a sports bar and we were treated to watching the Tampa Bay Lighning Hockey Team win game 7 of the playoffs and proceed to the Stanley Cup finals.
The Ferraris had the largest number of entries at 36 including one yellow and one red Enzo. Surprisingly, the next largest group of entries was the DeLoreans who fielded a total of 13 cars. The SE Panteras were in third place, displaying 9 beautiful automobiles. The judging was based on a point system utilized by the Ferrari Club of America. Several of the Panteras, at the choice of their owners, were not judged and were displayed only. Fran and I served as the judges for the Pantera class. Carol and Gary Ford, Rikki and Wayne Blaylock, and Sue and Jeff Vozeh won platinum awards for their modified Panteras. Ginger and Jim Riscigno received a platinum award for their stock Pantera and Sandi and Dave Pratt won a gold award with their GTS. Congratulations to you all.
In addition to those mentioned above, the following folks also attended the event. Lliane and Dave Clark, our leader, drove down from Jacksonville to be with us. Sandi and Tim Clinger also displayed their 1978 Pantera. Tim has been fighting a cooling problem for a year now. The problem began after he installed a brand new expensive aluminum radiator. Subsequently he installed every new part related to cooling to solve the problem, at no small expense, all to no avail. As a last resort, he took the expensive radiator out and put the old radiator, which he had upgraded from, back in the car. The problem went away. Tim is in the process of attempting to obtain some satisfaction from the vendor.
Gwen Foster and Chris Cox again attended this event without a car. If you recall, Chris many months, maybe even a year ago, started a restoration project on his Pantera. Well, as often happens a small project becomes a large project and the car is still apart. However, Gwen and Chris' loyalty to the SE Panteras cannot be questioned. Since starting the restoration, without a car they have attended every event we have had, Pantera-less. But wait, they could not stand coming to events without a Pantera. We were informed Saturday evening that Chris has purchased a 1985 GT5, which is now on its way to Florida. Congratulations to the both of you. I welcomed Gwen and Chris to the Dumb and Dumber Club and sealed their initiation to the group with a drink. Membership in this elite group is reserved for members who, now do, or at one time did, own more than one Pantera at a given time. This select group seems to be growing.
And finally, a big thanks to Cindy and Fred Zesewitz, not only for attending, but also for all their pre-planning, coordination and arrangements. They surprised us all Saturday evening driving their brand new red Ford Thunderbird convertible to dinner. It is a beauty. Congratulations on the purchase.
The weather held out all weekend, not too much heat, absolutely no rain. Many of the most beautiful cars ever built were on display. Money was raised for the Make a Wish Foundation. The sponsors goal was to put on a very relaxed fun event and not nit-pick the cars to death. They succeeded. The event took place in a super-super location. There is definitely reason to Celebrate in Celebration. If the event is repeated next year, if at all possible, Fran and I will be back.
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