Our latest meeting was held on Thursday, August 16^th at A2Z Race Park. Attendees were Mike Gitchell, Carlton, Davy and Justin Tipton, Tom and Melanie Hitchcock, Joel Martin, Carl Ross, Mike Dranchak, Fletcher Grosz, Mason McCombs, Tom Evans, Matt Mosieur, Bill Hamilton and myself. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 20^th at 7:30 PM. Plan to attend.

Here’s the latest list of new members and renewals:

Tom Evans, Mark Daly, Max Sternemann, Greg Rhodes, Danny Harrison, David Carman, Richard Clark and Glenn Green. Welcome aboard folks, glad you could join us and hope you do often!

Tom Hitchcock heard through the grapevine that Tom Evans is a professional sign painter and artist. The two Toms got together and the track now has durable, useful and spiffy looking signs denoting the track times and notifications. Thanks, Toms!

I now know what some R/C enthusiasts do on their vacation…. hang at the track. Lucky for the ORCCC Fletcher Grosz, Joel Martin and Mason McCombs played hooky from work during the hottest week in recent history to attend to some much needed track maintenance. Thanks to this trio the containment fence is finished and driver’s stand floor is 90% finished! The plan is to panel the inside of the driver’s stand after the insulation is in place. Thanks guys!

To make the concession area more tolerable the men folk have come up with a new and improved plan! The dealio is to place a mobile home type A/C and heater unit to cool and heat the area as needed. The system is to be complete with ductwork and the whole kit and caboodle.

The new race software is here and Bill is busy learning it backwards and forwards (and you know Bill, sideways also!) on the new computer. The processor on the new computer is faster than anything Bill’s ever seen and he is just jonesing to get it all up and running. The new transponder system arrived just this minute and high tech doesn’t even begin to describe this stuff! Straight off of the space shuttle, I tell you! The 20 pre-ordered personal transponders also came. The club will order these in lots of 10 and cost the racer $55 each. If you are interested, please let Bill or Tom know.

It seems that the practice times are mighty popular around here because attendance has skyrocketed. Actually, there are so many folks that we are looking for a way to organize the practice. There was mention of at least separating the electric from the gas. Low and behold the new software has an organized practice feature. If someone would volunteer to hit the button on practice night, this new system practically runs itself. Bill will check it out more thoroughly and let the computer savvy assistants know the drill.

Just a warning to the folks who enjoy our free practice nights…expect a little organization to the madness soon!

The new track layout incorporated a fueling area on the back of the track. It seems that it’s the bomb. Everyone loves it and it makes for ease for the drivers and the fuelees (a/k/a those that fuel). Good stinking track dudes.

The club boasts itself as a "family oriented" group. We do enjoy the fact that racers and their whole family can enjoy a night at the races. What the folks trying to run the whole shebang DO NOT ENJOY is the kids that run around without supervision, getting into areas that should be off limits to them and basically making the night just a little irritating. NOTE TO PARENTS WHO BRING THEIR CHILDREN…MAKE SURE YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR CHILDREN ARE AT ALL TIMES FOR THEIR SAFETY AND OUR PEACE OF MIND. Children that can’t seem to abide by our rules will be encouraged to stay with their parent(s)’.

Another hot topic at the meeting is the question of whether or not to charge a monthly rental fee for permanent pit areas. Many ideas are being considered and Carlton Tipton has offered his services as the R/C slumlord. Please e-mail or write down your feelings on the matter so we can get a consensus. Now’s the time to let your voice be heard!

The Region 4 VS Region 3 shootout race is shaping up. The paperwork has been filed and we already got a basic outline of the event due to numerous meetings to discuss this challenging event (n/k/a the S’uthern Shootout). When the final ROAR approval is given, a plethora of information will be slammed everywhere! Until then, mums the word.

Basically, people, we’ve got a swell group of racers and a kickin’ racetrack. The club is really pleased with the large numbers of racers that join us each Saturday and the larger mass of spectators that come to see what all the excitement is about. If you are interested in R/C cars or just interested in enjoying good time on a Saturday evening, plan to attend a race at the Ocala R/C Car Club soon!