Descriptions of Traditional Events
This list of AAMA events is intended to describe the majority of activities the club participates in each year and serves as a guideline for a club member wishing to volunteer to chair an event. There may be additional events or some of the events listed here may not be held as the membership determines.
In the following descriptions reference will be made to items such as signs, sign-up sheets, posters, or certain procedures. Much of this is already established, or at least available as a template. Certain items are stored with the club archives at a member’shome. Other individual items like the club’s official banner, the display poster, and membership forms are kept by particular members the majority of the time or may rotate between members as the need arises. An event chair is encouraged to check with the club president or vice president regarding who best to seek out for particular items needed for an event in question.
*Certificate of Insurance:
As a Region/Chapter of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA), the Antique Auto Mushers is a part of the AACA insurance coverage for liability for both bodily injury and property damage during a club sponsored event. All officially sanctioned events are covered without necessarily requiring a certificate of insurance, however a note is made on particular events where a specific certificate is known to be required.
When a Chapter holds an event at a fairground, shopping center, farm, etc., the owner may ask for a certification of insurance showing that the club has adequate coverage. If this occurs, contact AACA National Headquarters either online or by phone. Provide the proper identification for the location and scheduled dates for which coverage is needed. A Certificate of Insurance will be forwarded to the Club President and/or the event volunteer chair who must then forward a copy to the parties in question.
Monthly Meetings
For the location of monthly meetings, please see the Meetings page on our website: http://www.antiqueautomushersak.org/
Regular Meetings (Winter)
Club business meeting time is 6:30pm at the standard club meeting location throughout the winter months; starting September or October and usually ending with the April meeting – weather is the determining factor. Two volunteers are asked to bring refreshments for each meeting including a beverage and some sort of snack type food and dessert.
Rolling Meetings (Summer)
Business meeting time is 6:30pm at the standard club meeting location. Meetings are typically kept as short as possible and after meeting adjournment, a Rolling Meeting volunteer leads the group on a planned driving tour in our antique cars, to end at an eatery. Prior arrangements with the eating establishment are necessary so they can be sure to accommodate us. Other types of activities have occurred in lieu of a tour such as a museum or club member’s garage tour.
October Meeting
As part of New Business a nominating committee made up of three club member volunteers is tasked to recruit and/or accept nominations for AAMA Executive Board positions in the forthcoming year. The nominating committee shall vet all nominations are members in good standing, ensure all names are printed in the November newsletter and preside over the election process at the November meeting. The nominating committee should review the club’s Bylaws for board member qualifications and election procedures.
November Election Meeting
After the regular business meeting, elections are held to choose the club’s Executive Board for the coming year. The nominating committee chosen during the October meeting shall present the slate of officer nominations, entertain nominations from the floor, and conduct the election. A review of Robert’s Rules of Order for further guidance on conducting elections is strongly advised. Members-At-Large are chosen by asking for three volunteers. If there are more than three interested, names are put in a hat and drawn at random.
January Meeting
Installation of club officers as elected at the previous November meeting. Refreshments typically consist of leftovers frozen after the Christmas Party in December and supplemented as needed. Volunteers to store and then bring said leftovers are needed.
The nominating committee or another duly appointed official presides over the investiture of the incoming Executive Board members.
February: Fur Rendezvous Grand Parade
Our participation as been a tradition since a year or two before AAMA was officially formed. The parade is held in downtown Anchorage on the first Saturday after the official start of Rondy. The chairman from AAMA coordinates with Rondy Office staff, paying a parade fee and securing our club’s location in the parade lineup. A volunteer should be sought at the November meeting and the parade fee should be paid in December or at the earliest opportunity according to the Rondy office schedule. Rondy staff traditionally asks us to provide cars for Rondy dignitaries to ride in, near the front of the parade. Rondy officials will require A Certificate of Insurance from AACA no later than the middle of January.* It’s best to check with Rondy staff no later than December for any other particulars.
The event chair should be prepared to solicit interest via a sign-up sheet. As the parade typically has an announcer along the parade route, the event chair should also be prepared to provide them with a description of the club and a list of cars in the parade.
Best practice has shown to have club members arrive no later than an hour prior to the start of the parade so a good organization can be obtained and to work with any last minute dignitary requests and/or club member drop-outs that may occur.
Coordination with the Rondy Car Show even chair is needed concerning expected parade end times so cars heading to the show from the parade can be anticipated.
February: Fur Rendezvous Car Show
Event Chairman secures a warm location for club members to display their vehicles during the first weekend after the start of Rondy. The event chair should be prepared to solicit interest via a sign-up sheet and work with the venue owner about logistics and timing for car show setup and start and end times for each day. Coordination with the Rondy Parade event chair is also needed as many cars in the parade will be in the car show once the parade is over. A recent experiment has been to time the start of the Saturday car show to begin about the time the parade is over.
Event chair is expected to organize the display of vehicles and help guide everyone safely to their parking places.
To be included in the Fur Rondy event guidebook the event chair must submit our club info and the car show particulars to Rondy staff, check with them for the deadline to print. AAMA is a nonprofit and Northrim Bank has paid for nonprofit listings in the Rondy booklet for many years. Check with Rondy staff on this topic. If they require proof of our nonprofit status, contact the club Treasurer.
During the car show we hold a “People’s Choice Award” with numbers placed on the cars and ballots for the public to vote for their favorite.
Directional signs to the car show are needed if the car show is held in an out of the way location.
Extra volunteers will be needed to help set up before the show and clean up afterwards – AAMA never leaves a mess or dirty floors.
A Hospitality Table is set up at the car show entrance where we sell popcorn for a nominal price and give away magazines and other literature donated by members and others. A daily sign-up sheet is needed so club volunteers can donate an hour or two to man this table and greet guests. There is typically a poster on display that advertises the club and the fun events we hold; there should also be membership applications on hand as well as some flyers or cards on how to contact the club.
Many items mentioned above are stored either with the club’s current archives and/or with individual club members. Check with the club president or vice president as to who may have certain items.
A Certificate of Insurance for the car show venue obtained from AACA will be required.*
May: Shakedown Cruise
This is an opportunity for members to get their cars out for the first time in the new season. Having a food/restaurant option as part of the tour is traditional. Example trips have been out to Willow or other parts of the Mat-Su region or south along Turnagain Arm or even to Seward if weather permits. Reservations and planning with a restaurant to accommodate a large group is necessary. Prior destinations include eateries in Big Lake, Wasilla, Palmer, Hatcher Pass, Summit Lake or Sunrise on the Kenai, Indian, and Girdwood.
May, 3rd Weekend: Ken & Peg Stout Run to Homer
As stated in the title, this event is designed to take place during the 3rd weekend of May to take advantage of the last of the winter hotel rates, before the summer tourist ratesstart.
The event typically has everyone leaving Anchorage Saturday morning, driving to Homer in one day. A lunch stop somewhere along the way is desired. On Sunday, several members sometimes meet up informally for breakfast. A community car show is held on Sunday, 10am-3pm at the Wells Fargo parking lot followed by a local tour and dinner. Local car enthusiasts are contacted and invited to join us and help plan any activities. Everyone returns Monday. Some years see an excursion on Katchemak Bay planned, depending upon weather, enthusiasm, and availability.
The event chair should be prepared to contact one or two local hotels for accommodation and rate availability; this should be done early in the year (February/March). The chair shall also secure a Saturday dinner location and contact one or two local antique car enthusiasts for any local help and to get the word out locally about the car show and tour.
The event chair must also coordinate with Wells Fargo for the use of their parking lot.
Adopt-A-Road (summer months)
AAMA is in partnership with the Municipality of Anchorage in agreement to pick up litter 3 times a year. A contract agreeing to this is renewed every three years. To recognize AAMA’s commitment and efforts, the Municipality has placed an Adopt-A-Road sign at each end of the adopted road section. Our assigned road section is East Northern Lights BLVD between Boniface and Muldoon.
The AAMA coordinator will chose three dates for litter cleanup. The dates are usually first part of May, July, and September. After choosing the dates, the coordinator will pick up litter bags and safety vests from the Public Works Department at 4700 Elmore Road. Safety vests are required to be worn by all participants during the cleanup.
AAMA coordinator will inform club members of cleanup dates, time, and where to meet. The meeting is usually at 9 am at Carr’s parking lot on the corner of Northern Lights and Muldoon. The coordinator will provide breakfast snacks and then distribute vests and bags and the cleanup will begin. Cleanup is usually over by 11 am.
Participants must return the collected litter to the coordinator who then sees that it is delivered to the Municipal landfill.
Joint Meet with Vernon Nash Club
Vernon L. Nash Antique Car Club is our sister club in Fairbanks, also a region of AACA. We hold a Joint Meet with members from Fairbanks preferably at a location somewhere on the road system between Anchorage and Fairbanks.
This is typically a three-day event held Friday-Sunday. Each year we alternate with the Fairbanks club for “hosting” duties. The host club plans the location to meet, arranges accommodation options, provides the main dish of a potluck meal on Friday evening, location for a banquet on Saturday evening, plans the ‘car games’ to occur Saturday morning and usually a short tour of some kind in the early afternoon.
For the Friday evening potluck the host club provides the main dish of meat of some kind and host club members bring potluck side dishes. The non-host club is responsible for potluck desserts. Any leftover food is held for lunch the following day after the car games. The car games are judged and result in prizes being awarded after the banquet on Saturday evening. Host club is responsible for the prizes.
A Certificate of Insurance for the venue obtained from AACA may be required.*
Turnagain Social Club Car Rides
Turnagain Social Club is an adult care facility located at 3201 Turnagain Street where club members bring antique cars for clients to enjoy and have rides in. This is a community services event that typically takes place during a weekday, quite often in the early afternoon. The club volunteer coordinates with Turnagain staff regarding the date, time, and any special provisions or requests. Note that due to confidentiality laws governing the facility’s licensing, photos of Turnagain Social Club clients and staff is not permitted.
Serendipity Car Rides
Serendipity is an adult care facility located on East 20th Ave near Bragaw Road where club members bring antique cars for clients to enjoy and have rides in. This is a community services event that typically takes place during a weekday, quite often in the early afternoon. The club volunteer coordinates with Serendipity staff regarding the date, time, and any special provisions or requests. Note that due to confidentiality laws governing the facility’s licensing, photos of Serendipity clients and staff is not permitted.
Anchorage Summer Solstice Celebration
Hosted by the Anchorage Downtown Partnership, this is a community event AAMA very often participates in. Event volunteer coordinates with the Solstice hosting group for location for club members to park in the celebration area, typically on 4th Avenue.
A Certificate of Insurance obtained from AACA will be required.*
Long Distance Tour
As the name suggests, this is a tour away from Anchorage typically lasting several days. Volunteer is expected to plan the destination, route and timing for any stops as needed, accommodation recommendations, possible parade and other events in coordination with the destination community as appropriate.
Past destinations include McCarthy, Kodiak, Juneau, Deadhorse, Dawson City, Yellowknife, and Cordova.
4th of July Parade – Anchorage
Held in downtown Anchorage, a volunteer must obtain the parade entry from the parade organizers and Certificate of Insurance from AACA and solicit and organize club member participation. This parade is typically well attended and special consideration may be required concerning crowd size and safety along the parade route. There are usually a lot of other entries and the parade organizers may get quite particular about how many cars we may have. Getting our members to sign up in advanced is strongly encouraged so we have an accurate count.
Close coordination with parade officials by the event chair is needed as is informing AAMA members of any particular parade rules and requirements.
As the parade typically has an announcer along the parade route, the event chair should also be prepared to provide them with a description of the club and a list of cars in the parade.
A Certificate of Insurance obtained from AACA will be required.*
4th of July Parade – Chugiak
This parade is held a couple hours after the Anchorage parade and sometimes followed by a cookout and potluck at a club member’s home. There is typically little formal organizing but an event chair is needed to coordinate with local authorities as to parade start time and location.
4th of July Parade – Glennallen
Parade held along the Glenn Highway in Glennallen. A section of the Glenn Highway is closed for a thirty-minute parade followed by other activities organized by the Glennallen Chamber of Commerce. AAMA club chair should be prepared to coordinate with Glennallen officials, locate overnight accommodations, and perhaps a venue for a group dinner.
Hope Weekend
This event is held during the Wagon Trail Days community event in Hope, Alaska in July. Club members usually arrive on a Friday or Saturday and use the Methodist Church Retreat as a base, some camping onsite. Sunday is the Wagon Trail Run, a 5k loop from downtown Hope that runs past the Methodist Retreat; club members who aren’t running cheer everyone on.
At other times during the weekend, impromptu car parades are held as the mood takes everyone.
There typically is a pancake feed Saturday morning. Saturday lunch is a combination of club provided hamburgers and hot dogs with club member-supplied potluck dishes. Leftovers are held for lunch again on Sunday.
Annual Jay Ofsthun Memorial Show & Shine
This event occurs each year on the first Sunday of August at the West end of the Delaney Park Strip. The Midnight Sun Street Rod Association (MSSRA) is the primary show runner with AAMA being a somewhat silent partner. AAMA provides one of the trophies: “Best of Show”, kept in the club’s archives and must be on hand during Show & Shine. Event chair coordinates with MSSRA folks to provide any additional assistance they may require, get a head count of those in AAMA planning to attend, bring the Best of Show trophy to the grandstand, organize a parking layout for our club members, and bring our club signs and banners.
The AAMA President or next highest available club board member is expected to recruit a judge for the “Best of Show” trophy and to be part of the trophy presentations MC’d by MSSRA, possibly saying a few words on the club’s behalf.
Event chair shall also be prepared to help coordinate with MSSRA regarding any photographs with the trophy winners and the creation of the trophy to be kept by the winner and the winner’s plaque to be affixed to the Perpetual Trophy kept by the club. Bovey Trophies has the club’s prior year information.
Alaska State Fair Parade
The Palmer Chamber of Commerce and City of Palmer conduct a parade through downtown Palmer on the first Saturday after the start of the Alaska State Fair. Club volunteer chairman submits a parade application on the club’s behalf and solicits club participants. A Certificate of Insurance from AACA for this specific parade is required by the City of Palmer*. Parade chairman may also organize the State Fair Car Show or coordinate with the car show chairman, see below.
Alaska State Fair Car Show
Liaise with the Alaska State Fair staff to provide a space in the fairgrounds for us to display our cars after the State Fair Parade in downtown Palmer. Chairman coordinates with the Alaska State Fair officials and Palmer Parade event chair, sets up the designated car show area, establishes a schedule for club members to rotate staying at the car show area to provide information to the public and safeguard the cars. A Certificate of Insurance from AACA may be required*.
Fall Car Show
A final car show for the summer season often held in early September. Event chair shall secure a space somewhere around town to display antique cars. Some previous year’s venues have included partnering with a local car dealership or a shopping mall, sometimes parking our cars indoors. A potluck lunch is typically preferred. A Certificate of Insurance from AACA may be required*.
Denali Park Road Tour
Held during the annual late season open road lottery period in Denali National Park, the club travels the Denali Park Road for as far as weather conditions allow, very often to the end of the road at Kantishna.
Volunteers are expected to distribute the annual Park Service road lottery information, usually available by May with the lottery ending in June. Recommendations for local accommodations are needed as well as a place for dinner on the evening ofeveryone’s arrival at Denali.
Election of Board Members
At the October Regular Meeting a nominating committee made up of three member volunteers is formed to accept nominations to serve on the club’s Executive Board in the coming year. Those nominated are published in the November edition of the Tinkering Times and elections are held during the November Regular Meeting. Procedures for nominations and elections can be found in the club’s Bylaws and in Robert’s Rules of Order.
Christmas Party
Volunteer to host or otherwise seek out a venue to hold a holiday potluck sometime in December. Specific volunteers are requested for at least one turkey and one ham. Other attendees are asked to bring a dish to share. A volunteer sign-up sheet with an outlined menu is suggested to cover the basics.
In addition to securing a venue, the volunteer shall be prepared to coordinate beverages, eating utensils, and those providing additional dishes. Table decorations and music are also frequently desired. A White Elephant Gift Exchange is typically popular; other activities as the volunteer chair decides.