JULY 2006
Trip to Lane Motor Museum, led by Alan and Rachel.
JUNE 2006
The MINI Meet at Sir Goony's Golf was a real extravaganza of performance in the heat. 95-plus degrees didn't stop the Smoky Mountain Minis from having a great time visiting, picnicking, and then whacking some greens (astroturf greens, anyway). Donna Kimble provided great Mini-Golf-Award prizes for the lowest scores on each of two courses filled with giant animals and scary dinosaurs.
JANUARY 2006
The MINIs got together for the Third Annual Poker Run! It was great fun! Thanks to David and Sarah and Tom! for hosting and coordinating. Congrats to Mr. Alan Rigby, the Poker Winner!
DECEMBER 2005
December 2, 2005. MINI Reindeer livened up the Knoxville Christmas Parade, all decked out in lighted reindeer antlers! All Santa's reindeer, including Rudolf, Clarice, and a few presents made a trek down Santa Claus lane and were featured on television coverage of the event. The MINI parade made a great hit with the thousands of spectators along the parade route. Thanks to the Atlanta MINIs for donating the antlers for us to electrify!
SEPTEMBER 2005
2nd Annual Casper and Friends Ghostly Drive
Saturday, October 29th.
Area MINIs and Minis dressed up and went tricking and treating. Gatlinburg loved the treat of seeing so many MINIis decorated.
Once again started at the haunted Greenbrier Restaurant in Gatlinburg.
Dinner began at 4:15 to 4:30.
After dining we set off into the unknown with a music CD to add to the haunting journey. Those of us who returned from the darkness traveled through Gatlinburg to scare pedestrians in the city (no driving on the sidewalk!!) .
For pictures and fun details, check it out on the message board .
AUGUST 2005
Saturday, August 13
Smoky Mountain MINIs Fall Creek Falls Drive and Picnic
This was a fantastic opportunity to have some great driving fun and meet up with some other MINI friends from both East and West Tennessee! The drive portion of the event followed Highway 70 past Ozone Falls (short stop) on to Crab Orchard, Crossville, then to Fall Creek Falls.
The event was catered by FCF Catering with a traditional summer picnic hamburger/hot dog lunch, and drinks and dessert also was provided, with all the necessary fixings and paperware...we just showed up and ate!
Even though it was a bit wet, we had a cool day spent with MINI friends! For more information, see the Fall Creek Falls picnic thread on the message board.
JULY 2005
Sunday, July 17
AUTOCROSS at Oak Ridge Mall
The East Tennessee Sports Car Club sponsored an Autocross in the Oak Ridge Mall parking lot.
More information available on the ETRSCCA site .
Saturday July 23 : MINI of Nashville Homecoming event at MINI of Nashville.
JUNE 2005
MAY 2005
MINIs, MINIs, everywhere! The SMMCC sponsored the Second Annual Dragon's Breath Chili Cookoff at the MINIs on the Dragon this year, May 5-9 at Tapoco Lodge in North Carolina.
MARCH 2005
MINI Club of Nashville Invitation!
The new MINI Club of Nashville kicked off an early spring with an event and an invitation to us! The club held a rally on Sunday March 7th and met at the dealership at 8:30 Sunday morning. There was a club meeting held Monday March 7th at the Lane Motor Museum on Murfreesboro Rd. http://www.lanemotormuseum.org/
Food and refreshments, and admission to the museum was provided, shirts were passed out to all dues-paying members, new members were signed up, and MINI of Nashville provided some neat door prizes. Some more like-minded MINI friends in Music City!
FEBRUARY 2005
February 5: The Second Annual POKER RUN, hosted again by David and Sarah Blakey
Once again, we had a blast! The day began with an excellent CPR class conducted by Kim Carson and attended by 12 MINI enthusiasts. The Poker Run, which had over 17 cars participating, began at 4:00 and was followed by an excellent potluck dinner. Tom Spray was the big winner of the rally, and Eddie Miller had the winning poker hand.
Trip report:
Tom Spray Wins 2nd Annual Cabin Fever Poker Run!
by David Blakey
"I never thought driving that slow could be so much fun!" said Tom Spray as he crossed the finish line at the end of the 2nd Annual Cabin Fever Poker Run . "Blakey set forth a challenge, but with Paul and Andy, both 13 years old, as Navigators with me, no one else had a chance! They were fast to the cards and helped keep me on track all the way."
Spray and his crew answered the most questions correctly, drove a respectable time, and had a not so good Poker Hand, but adding it all up they finished on top.
Mary Lou Yoder garnered second Place in her first attempt ever at mastering a competitive automotive event. Yoder actually beat Spray with her Poker Hand, tied on the timed portion of the event, but was eased out of first place by the answers to the 16 questions.
David and Donna Kimble were even closer in points to Mary Lou and were just barely edged out of second place in a tightly competed event. David and Donna were just two minutes off the pace and had the First Place award in the timed portion of the run.
Best Poker Hand of the evening went to one of our newer members Eddie Miller and his Navigator Leslie Chinery . The Kimble Team placed second and Jim and Heather Overdorff ran third.
Tied for Second Place in the Q & A category with 120 points each were Bill and Catherine Geise and Kim and Brooks Carson . Kim and the Geises had already dedicate the better part of the day in the CPR class preceding the Poker Run. Kim had instructed 12 Smoky Mountain MINI Club members on adult CPR procedures.
Following the event Sarah Blakey opened her kitchen to 40 members and friends for a fantastic Pot Luck Italian dinner. The dishes were prepared by some great cooks and if you left hungry, it was your own fault. There was no shortage of food and spirits and based on the looks of satisfaction on everyone's face, the quality couldn't be beat.
Scott Howard , a member from Crossville, said "I had never driven a Poker Run or a Timed event before, but this was really fun. Trying to find the answers to the questions really kept us busy and the hour and a half drive was over before we knew it. We had a great time and can't wait until next year!"
Spray has agreed to design the run next year and is already planning a carefully crafted event. "Being an Engineer and mathematician gives me a lot of ideas that will make next years event fun and challenging. Everyone can expect to have a fun filled time, just wait and see."
Traditionally the Cabin Fever Poker Run is held the first weekend in February, coinciding with the first big motor-sports event of the year, the Rolex 24-hours at Daytona.
Following are the results for a wonderful day of MINI/Mini fun:
1 |
Tom Spray and Paul and Andy |
2 |
Mary Lou Yoder and Nav |
3 |
David and Donna Kimble |
4 |
Jim and Heather Overdorff |
5 |
Bill and Catherine Geise |
6 |
Mike and Michelle McCoy |
7 |
Susan and Alan Jacques |
8 |
Chris Ford and Nav |
9 |
Kim and Brooks Carson |
10 |
David and Cathy VanOosterwyk |
11 |
Bill and Suzanne Harper |
12 |
Ian Geise and Michael Bowman |
13 |
Bob and Pat Ledford |
14 |
Scott Howard and Stephanie |
15 |
Alan Rigby and Rachel Davis |
16 |
Eddie Miller and Leslie Chinery |
DECEMBER 2004
December 11: Bristol Speedway in Lights Drive
Smoky Mountain MINIs will coordinate a drive to Bristol Motor Speedway to see the "Speedway In Lights" display on Saturday, December 11.
The official Speedway in Lights website, for all the info, is at:
http://www.bristolmotorspeedway.com/news/speedway/451366.html
Lots of lights, a drive through the Speedway and the drag strip, skating rink, Christmas village, and food vendors at the village.
Cost: $10 per car.
Meetup info: Meet at the Cracker Barrel at Strawplains Pike (exit 398 on I-40 E) with a mostly full tank of gas prior to 4PM. We will leave for Bristol at 4pm.
Plan to join us for a little holiday MINI fun in December! As usual, feel free to ask questions regarding the drive or forum use and make suggestions.
NOVEMBER 2004
November 7: Nashville Super Speedway Phil Wicks Driving School
Registration materials are available at the website listed below for future driving schools.
Free lunch was available to participants and their families -- $30 for the general public (included gate entry fee.)
Call if you have any questions. Hope to see you there next time!
Cheers!
Phil Wicks
Phil Wicks Driving Academy
www.minidriving.com
www.wicksdrivingacademy.com
615-354-5576
314-330-6449
OCTOBER 2004
Our Spooky Drive, coordinated by Donna Kimble, was a great success! Everyone had a blast with the drive route, the goodies Donna provided, and a great dinner at the Greenbrier Restaurant.
SEPTEMBER 2004
The September Phil Wicks Driving School was the destination for a few of our SMMCC MINIs and a great time was had by all.
AUGUST 2004
JULY 2004
The MINI Homecoming Event on July 10th was spectacular!
MINI of Nashville was the place where a lot of us picked up our babies, and to show their appreciation, they hosted a MINI Homecoming at the dealership in Nashville on July 10th at 5:00.
There was a live band, food, drinks, door prizes, t-shirts, and a preview of the all-new MINI convertible...and MORE! About 150 MINIs motored down to Nashville on July 10th to join the fun!
Our group met up for a picnic along the way and had a great time!
APRIL 2004
The April Dragon Run took place Friday, April 30, Deal's Gap, NC.
The fun began Thursday at Deal's Gap, NC, and continued through until everyone leaves for home on Sunday. This was the largest MINI event happening in the Southeast this year (well over 300 little guys!) and our own Sarah Blakey won the Chilifest competition!
For a complete rundown of all the events planned, see:
http://www.northamericanmotoring.com/dragon/
and for more info, visit:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32977
and if you'd like to see some MAPS , perhaps .
For all who want more details on the Dragon, don't miss the DRAGON RUN CLIFF'S NOTES , written by Donna Kimble!
