Hello Everyone,
I’m happy to say that Spring arrives this Sunday…and the forecast for 2022 is looking outstanding for the Viper Club of Ontario! We have much to share with you in this month’s newsletter, and so much to be excited about!
Welcome New Members
New members will surely be among those who are the most excited, and it’s our pleasure this month to welcome…
Denny Puce & Lisa Oddo (Erin)
Jerry & Katie Patten (Collingwood)
Wendell Feres (Mississauga)
We look forward to meeting you all, and hope you’ll join us for many of our fun events!
VCO Director Nominations
Nominations are now closed and I’m delighted to announce that two were received from long-time members that are excellent candidates to help lead the club.
Jacqueline (Jackie) Simpson, Niagara
Member since 2013. Owner of a 2013 GTS as well as several other modern Mopars.
I am originally from Toronto and recently moved to Niagara, a community we have been passionate about and enjoyed for many years.
Since I am self employed, I have the time to be involved locally with VCO in the Region. I look forward to connecting with other members in the area and helping to make the club the best it can be. I also volunteer with an animal rescue in Niagara and am amazed by the caring people that live nearby.
We have attended many events with the club since 2013 and look forward to taking part in many more.
Dennis Harding, Cambridge
Will be included in April newsletter
Current Directors Standing for Election
Each year half of our Board members are required to stand for election, along with those nominated. These are the 4 standing this year:
Jeff Kormos, Burlington
New board member in 2021 and proud owner of a 2014 Gen 5 Yellow GTS. Vipers have always been a car I admired and admittedly feared just a little but decided to take the plunge after falling in love with mine during the summer of 2020 when I saw it at Fairview Chrysler in Burlington. I had not driven a stick shift in 20 years so it has been a blast. Without question the most engaging and respected vehicle I have driven, at speed or not, and absolutely love the feel of the car and smiles I get from both automotive enthusiasts as well as more casual observers.
I enjoy all types of driving including within speed limit club cruises, but also track days where I have had the chance to push the limits of the car (or at least my driving!). I also enjoy the social aspect of the club and all the friends I have made as a member.
It is truly an honor to be part of the board and in helping co-ordinate different activities for the benefit of the group. In my work life, I am a General Manager for a diagnostics company so I bring a general business background to the board and love the art of negotiation. The non-profit aspect of the club is something I am getting used to (i.e. I am used to for-profit operations) but enjoy the concept of generating revenue and putting that back to use for members in the form of benefits and activities.
Jason Leslie, Trenton
Long time Viper owner with a pair of Gen 2 GTSs, 97 blue/white and 99 silver/blue. I fell in love with the Viper in high school, never believing I would have the financial means to afford one. Many years later I fulfilled the dream, not once, but twice.
As a new Eastern Ontario Area Director in 2021, I am hoping to increase local Viper events/interaction with owners and share our Viper passion. Every owner I have ever met is intensely proud of their Viper and has a unique story to share.
I recently started doing light track days. If you have ever considered a track day, it is a must do! Only after a track day, can you fully appreciate the capabilities of your Viper. I have a wealth of Gen 2 knowledge. If you have a Gen 2 and are needing help sorting out a problem or trying to source a part, feel free to contact me.
I'm excited for the 2022 driving season. This year should be amazing with an abundance of VCO events to participate in.
Enio Parete, Amherstburg
I’m a car enthusiast, working for years at FCA, now Stellantis, where I had opportunity to be around the Viper since it was introduced at the Detroit auto show. My passion for the car grew with each encounter becoming irresistible with the Gen V Viper, and when the end of production was announced I placed my order! I'm the proud owner of a 2017 Gun Metal Viper TA.
I joined the Michigan Viper Club, and then last year was drawn to Viper Club of Ontario because of the appealing events local to where we live in Amherstburg, near Windsor. I was impressed with the enthusiasm and welcoming nature of the VCO, our great local members, and was pleased to take on the role of Area Director for London-Windsor. I look forward to making the club even more fun, and further expanding membership within my area.
Bruce Hadfield, North Durham
I joined the VCO in 2014 right after taking delivery of my Viper, a ’14 black TA. I’ve enjoyed participating in high-performance driver education events on local and distant tracks for over 20 years and have brought that passion to the club as a director since 2017. I was elected club president by the Board in 2021, and have enjoyed getting to better know many of our members, and welcoming many new ones. My wife, Deb, has been a huge help to me as I’ve had the privilege to lead this active and growing club.
I thank our VCO officers and directors, event coordinators and planners, members and sponsors for their enthusiastic support, and credit all in creating such a strong and enjoyable club for all.
I’m also a Viper Owners Association National Board member, and have been working full-time this winter to try to over-come the daunting challenges facing the VOA. There are benefits to having an association of 30+ regional Viper clubs like ours in the US and around the world, and I do hope it gets turned around.
Elections
Since the two nominated candidates fill the two existing vacant Board positions, they automatically join the Board, and those standing for election are elected by acclamation, thereby eliminating the need for an election this year.
Your 2022 VCO Board of Directors
With our two new directors, we now have all members represented by a local Area Director in all areas from east to west! Thank you to all Board members for your commitment to our club's membership!
Bruce Hadfield, President & GTA East Nick Sawrantschuk, Treasurer & GTA
Garrett Nalepka, Technical & GTA Jay Tanti, Membership
Dan Frankian, GTA Enio Parete, London-Windsor
Jeff Kormos, GTA-Hamilton Jason Leslie, Eastern Ontario
Jackie Simpson, Niagara Dennis Harding, Cambridge-Guelph-Kitchener
Our Board is responsible to elect our 4 officers, and we will meet soon to elect a new club Vice President and a Secretary. We’ll announce them in the April newsletter, and include Bios for them as well as our other officers and directors so our members can meet the rest of their 2022 Board of Directors.
2022 Events Calendar
Events are what brings us together to enjoy camaraderie with each other…and to enjoy getting out in our Vipers! With the tremendous increase in Viper values over the last couple of years it’s nice to know that our cars are appreciating as we drive them, as well as benefiting mechanically from being driven!
See our Calendar of close to 50 events … https://www.viperclubofontario.com/events We now have numerous events in all areas, and will announce some more events as they are added to the calendar.
Plan Your Personal VCO Events Calendar
The best way to enjoy our events is to carefully review the Events Calendar, make note in your personal calendars of those events you don’t want to miss, and be sure to RSVP to the listed event organizer to tell them you’d like to attend. Deadlines to RSVP will be noted soon. This will save your place if capacity is limited, and help the organizer prepare food, parking and whatever for the number attending. If you later need to cancel your RSVP that’s fine, but at least the organizer will have been able to accommodate all that would like to attend, or then add others at the last minute.
You can even automatically upload events to your phone, laptop, tablet or computer calendar by clicking on each listing's “Add to Calendar” link that is appropriate to your device…that’s major convenience!
2022 Event Participation Awards
We’ll present 9 awards at our Exotic Cars & Coffee and Annual Membership Meeting on May 15th at Hagerty Garage + Social to members from the east, west, and central areas who participated in the most events in 2021.
Join our events just for the fun of it…and maybe even a 2022 Event Participation Award! Event organizers submit their participation lists to be tallied at the end of the season to determine winners!
Key Events that require an RSVP ASAP!
May 1st Ian Law Performance Driving School & Lapping Day. This school is a not to be missed event for those who would like to learn to control their Vipers under the more demanding conditions that are impossible to train for on public roads. Classroom, skid pad and on-track exercises are all included. See event listing for club prices, club track rebate, draw, and registration details. Space is limited so don’t delay. Contact Bruce at vcotracks@gmail.com to discuss our comprehensive Track Program, and to help you plan to participate and meet your personal objectives.
May 15th VCO Exotic Cars & Coffee and Annual Membership Meeting. The Ferrari Club, and Ford GT and Shelby Cobra communities, are joining us for a morning Cars & Coffee. This will be epic fun, and followed by a lunch for our members and a unique membership meeting afterwards! The Hagerty Garage venue has reserved VCO parking, meal and indoor capacity limits that may restrict member participation so please RSVP asap to get on the list in case we need to limit participation. There will also be local unreserved parking available, and local restaurants also, but we’d really like to accommodate everyone together at Hagerty. See event listing for details and to RSVP.
May 9th to Sept 29th Johnson Research & Performance “Speed Therapy” Track Days. These events always sell out in advance. If you would like to experience Mosport’s famed Grand Prix track this is an excellent opportunity! If you’re new to driving on a race track please consider enrolling in the Ian Law Performance Driving School noted above on May 1st.
Viper Owners Association Member Update as of March 15, 2022
The challenges to provide the costly Viper Quarterly magazine continue, made more difficult now by increased paper costs, and the National Viper Event, NVE5 Colorado Springs Sept 2023, has unresolved planning issues to overcome.
The VOA Store that sells gift and apparel items will be closed, and those of you who renewed as VOA members for 2022 will receive notice of that soon, along with a gift voucher. You’ll have limited time to prepare any final orders and might like to do that soon to get your orders in once you receive your voucher. https://shop.driveviper.com/
Please note that the Viper Club of Ontario is completely independent of the Viper Owners Association, and the VOA’s financial challenges do not affect the operation or financial health of our Viper Club of Ontario in any way.
VCO 2022 Sponsors
We welcome these returning and new VCO Sponsors for 2022! We have a long history of supporting each other, and we ask our members to continue this tradition with their vehicle purchases and maintenance, and use of other sponsor services.
Raceway Chrysler, Toronto, www.racewaychrysler.com
Islington Chrysler, Toronto, www.islingtonchrysler.ca
Wellington Motors Chrysler, Guelph, www.wellingtonmotors.com
Gold Motor Garage, Saint George, www.goldmotorgarage.com
Windsor Premier Cruises, www.windsorpremiercruises.com (New for 2022)
Additional 2022 Sponsors will be added soon.
Renew Now For 2022
If you haven’t renewed yet, we kindly ask you to do so now as 2021 memberships ended
2 1/2 months ago! You won’t want to miss any of the fun, and we do need to update our membership roster for 2022 to help ensure you don’t miss a thing! If you have any questions regarding renewals, please contact Bruce at vcotracks@gmail.com.
We have a fantastic season of 2022 events planned, and we look forward to seeing you all soon!
On behalf of your 2022 leadership team,
Bruce Hadfield
President, VCO