Planning for the Western Zone Rendezvous started back in March and a decision was made
early on to focus more on a "social" gathering as opposed to the traditional "track" based
event that the Zone Rendezvous' were known for. All the Regional Presidents communicated
early on in the process and many different venues were proposed. Santa Barbara offered
beautiful costal weather and a variety of activities that the members could enjoy. So Cal
took the lead and began preparations for the 2013 Western Zone Rendezvous.
Wendy Cook at The Fess Parker Resort went above and beyond in her efforts to ensure that
their Resort would play host to our event. After months of planning, VCA members from all over
made their way towards Santa Barbara.
With beautiful blue skies and air temperatures in the mid eighties, the reserved parking area for the Vipers
began to fill up.
Ruth, Bridgit, John and Nino
Len drove in from Las Vegas with his supercharged Snake
With the Vipers in their spots and suitcases in the room, everyone met up in the lounge to get the
event started.
Marie, Debbie, June, Judy and Janis
Central Cal members at Rodney's Steakhouse for a late evening dinner
Saturday morning came early and the Snakes got a good nights rest
Parked out front were a beautiful pair of 2013 Vipers
And in true Viper owner fashion, the early morning detailing began.
Funny how we all share the same idiosyncrasies !
Scott Hirko lead the caravan on a scenic drive from the ocean up to Solvang.
Parking is always an issue for our events. Parking in Solvang is definitely an issue. Parking in Solvang when
there is a huge car show going on is a MAJOR issue.
Thanks to Dan and Bridgette Cassara, we had an entire parking lot
reserved for our Vipers. This was a huge help and solidified our plans to visit Solvang.
Not only did they reserve us parking, they also put together some welcome packets
with coupons and freebies for all of our Members ! THANK YOU Dan and Bridgette !
June and Don
Janis and Glen
Tony and Judy
Marcus and Aiden
Group shot out in front of the Casa Cassara Wine tasting room
Paul and Teresa
Mary and Jim doing a little tasting of the Cassara wines
We got the best of both worlds....shopping and food for the wives and a huge car show for the guys !
Dan, Mike, Anne, and Mayo found a place to grab a bite to eat before hitting the aebleskivers !
Keith and Rita
The famous aebleskivers being made
Yum !
Diane and Randy
Mary, Tony, Jim and Judy were having fun wandering the little shops and checking out the cars
Raj gave it a Thumbs Up !
Lori loved this truck
John and Bridgit
Jim and Christine
Halie, Lori, Dr. Ray and Arisa
Arisa, Pheap, Alison, Victoria and Halie
Peter, Victoria, Pheap and Alison
Linda and Chuck Merken are So Cal Viper Club members, but had their '63 Hemi Dodge featured
as one of the "Best of Best" in the Wheels and Windmills Car show.
Paul and Teresa
Snake eyes??
As you can see, it was a GREAT show with lots of car enthusiasts
Don, June, Denis and Debbie relaxing with some wine in Casa Cassara after shopping and checking
out Solvang. From there, Members headed back to the Fess Parker to get ready for our tour of the
Reagan Presidential Library
Initial plans for our banquet just didn't seem to have the energy needed to cap off our WZR.
Scott Hirko suggested the Reagan Presidential Library as a possible venue...and WOW, what a venue !
The Reagan Presidential Library is one of the largest Presidential Libraries in the Nation. Perched on a beautiful mountaintop
high above Simi Valley, the views and tranquility were exactly what we were after for our closing dinner.
Scott & Laura lead the Vipers past the front entrance to the Library down to the private parking lot
which Deanna and Susan of the Reagan Presidential Library had reserved just for us.
Todd & Nicole
Don & June
Randy & Alexis
Denis & Debbie
John & Bridgit
Jim & Christine
Jim & Mary
Glenn & Stephanie
Keith & Rita
Dan & Mayo
David & Vicki
Glen & Janis
Mike & Anne
Dan
Joe & Marie
Tony & Judy
Randy & Diane
Nino & Ruth
Tom & Nancy
Ernie & Pat
Ken & Lena
Len & Suzanne
Ron & Mary
Richard & Sue
Guy & Clara
Jim & Dena
Tony & Terry
Marv & Wendy
Anthony and Wanda......(they think Daimler still owns Chrysler) : )
Paul & Teresa
Jay and Jennifer
Mike and Melanie
Love the B/W's
A couple of great group shots
Private parking with a view !
Yes, the Vipers had security !
Dena and Jim
Halie and Arisa
A special Thanks to the entire staff at the Reagan Presidential Library for making our visit a once in a lifetime
event. The museum closed to the public at 5:00pm which meant that the Viper Club had the entire place
to ourselves. They held over security, docents, administrators, and catering just to serve our group.
Pretty special feeling in an incredibly inspiring place.
We broke up into small groups and our knowledgeable docents took us on a 2 hour guided tour
of the entire museum. It was spectacular to say the very least.
Alexis, Dan and Randy
Mike and Melanie
Glenn and Stephanie
Pat and Ernie
The Berlin mouse
Anthony
Teresa
Christine, Jim and Teresa
Paul, Jennifer and Jay
Tom and Nancy
Richard and David
The Berlin Wall
Paying respects to President Reagan
As luck would have it, the Lincoln exhibit was also on display. Abraham Lincoln's top hat.
Yes, this is one of the blood stained pillows from the night he was assasinated
David
Lena
Diane, Wanda and Clara telling it like it is !
The Oval Office
Laura
Anthony
All the groups were lead back to the Air Force One Pavilion where our private banquet room was set up
and waiting. A huge Thank You to Molly Litberg and her catering staff for the extremely tasty food.
In an effort to bring the different Members/Regions together, we randomly assigned seating at the tables.
The members had to find their personal wine bottle stand and sit in the corresponding seats. I hope that
this helped forge some new friendships across the Regions.
A special Thank You to Scott Hirko who took on the entire project of getting sponsors to help pay
for the wine, designing and printing the labels. I also need to Thank Paul Hawker and Nino Valmassoi;
Paul for the guidance, input, wisdom and support and communicating with the other Regions.
Nino for paying all the bills and collecting all the money and sending me constant updates on our
status. This provided me the extra time to make the pocket mirrors and wine stands for everyone.
Last but not least, Thank you to our Sponsors ! Bad Boyzz Garage, Casa Cassara, Specialty Performance Team,
Lucas Oils, Shaver Automotive, The Viper Exchange and Viper Parts of America.
Everyone was hungry after a long day. Ken and Lena had a good spot at the front of the line
Janis and Glenn
Alexis and Randy
Jim and Mary Bray
Dena and Jim Wells
Rita and Keith Atkinson
Mayo and Dan Rupp
Dan Cragin
Nino and Ruth Valmassoi
Christine and Jim Becker
Joe and Marie Sanguinetti
David and Vicki Crow
Guy and Clara Chandler
Glen & Janis McAdon
Judy and Tony Bates
Lena and Ken Alker
Jay and Jennifer Morrissette
Don and June Wexler
Tony and Terry Mastro
Randy and Diane Tribolet
Debbie and Denis Van Dera
Glenn and Stephanie Izard
John and Bridgit Burgan
Melanie and Mike Vaswani
Ron and Mary Burke
Nancy and Tom Levesque
Todd and Nicole Solomon
Wendy and Marv Rose
Len and Suzanne Krick
Laura and Scott Hirko
Wanda and Anthony Matranga
Loretta and Scott Brown. (Scott is Chrysler's West Region Communications guy) He has been a
great friend to our Viper Family and was instrumental in fulfilling a request that I had made.
Mike and Anne Bell Mike is the General Manager of Motor Village Los Angeles and our newest Club Member
Richard and Sue Shehadey
Alexis and Randy Davis
Teresa and Paul Hawker
Patricia and Ernie Taylor
Lori, Lance, Halie and Arisa Kouchi
With darkness all around us, we concluded our event feeling satisfied that everyone enjoyed their
day at the WZR in So Cal.
On Sunday morning, Mike Bell, General Manager of Motor Village L.A., offered our members
a very special opportunity. We were given the keys to this beautiful 2013 Black with Graphite
Striped GTS and the blessing to take it out on the street to test drive it.
Mike was very clear that the first person that smoked the tires would be the last person to drive
the 2013 Viper. David immediately asked to be FIRST ! : ) Smart man for sure.
I rode shotgun and was impressed with the ride and sound.
Member after member got in and took it around the block and got to push on the throttle
enough to get a really good feel for the 640 hp V-10 roar.
Jim was clearly enjoying it !
All smiles !!
I have to Thank Scott Brown for fielding my lofty request and putting us together with Mike Bell.
Getting the opportunity to drive the new Viper was truly the icing and cherry on top of our WZR event.
To everyone involved with this event, from Club Members to Sponsors, the awesome staff at the
Fess Parker Resort and The Reagan Presidential Library, Command Performance Catering to Casa Cassara
Winery and most importantly, the awesome members that attended................THANK YOU ALL for
making the Viper Club of America - 2013 Western Zone Rendezvous a huge success !!
We look forward to seeing you all again soon !