Dear Friends,

On behalf of Norah and I, thanks to all of you for your kind best wishes on the occasion of our marriage in June. It truly was a nice touch to see the announcement appear in these pages. It was a very happy and private affair-- just the two of us and one of Norah's sons and one of her brothers as witnesses. We had difficulty choosing a date acceptable to all, so we took bold and decisive action.

As I write this, we've just concluded our second Club picnic. I think it is more than safe to say it was a success. This year we had 42 members attending; an increase of over 30% from last year. The weather cooperated and we had a bright sunny day with a few drops around 5:00 to signal the end. We had our own 'display' area with ten or more cars and they displayed a significant range of Jaguar's finest. It's always near impossible to pick a favorite. This year we even had a flag pole to mark the event flying the Jaguar pennant.

We had a great outpouring of dishes contributed by everyone. A special recognition and sincerest thanks go to our pillar Bob Andrews who once more attended to the grille duties. That is a very hot job and whether it is a tech session or whatever the event Bob rises to the occasion and cheerfully provides his 'kabobs' as well as burgers and hot dogs. THANKS, BOB.

Our Chief Judge, Wayne Estrada, held his judging briefing in the shop and it was very well attended. I'm certain that those new to judging as well as some of the old hands were rewarded by attending. This bodes well for our Concours, a mere month away.

In summation regarding the picnic, it was a very relaxed and pleasant afternoon and Norah and I enjoyed your company. Each of our Club events seems to have a personality and the picnic just allows relaxed fellowship amongst enthusiasts of the marque. It really is fun.

Looking forward to upcoming events this month, we're going to push back the date of the Catoctin tour because of rescheduling the picnic date as well as the river cruise this month with VJC. We'll reschedule that for cooler weather after the Concours.

Here's something for all to begin to ponder. This year has been a great delight for me to act as your Club president. Because of a business opportunity, I will not be asking to be considered for a second term. Please start to ponder who you would like to see as your next president. Perhaps someone would like to volunteer and be considered. The time required to do this job thoroughly seems to require a genius at scheduling if yours is still a full time job. Retirement, I think, makes the prospect more enjoyable, but that is only my opinion. This is a great group of people to work with.

'Best to all,

John