Boy, am I glad to see some questions about next year's VTR! It means that
people are already interested!! So, just some highlights to whet your
appetites... the dates are from July 28 - August 1 (yeah, I know that
August 1 is a Sunday, we're planning to offer an optional "goodbye"
breakfast)... a real "down east" lobster bake on an island with a boat
tour of Casco Bay... a breakfast run up to L.L. Bean with an optional
continuation on to the beaches... the concours d'elegance in a park on the
ocean, with a beach and lighthouse to explore... the 25th birthday party
for the VTR with lots of memories and nostalgia... a "pub crawl" through
Portland's Old Port section... several rallies and tours, each emphasizing
the scenic attractions of southern Maine... and, of course, all of the
regular events of a VTR National.
Bob Grove and I are the co-chairs for this event, and Ken & Nancy Streeter
are the registrars. Ken will be setting up a page on the VTR web site for
this event soon, so watch for it. We still have a lot of details to work
out, but we will be working on registration forms and materials so we can
send them out soon. One other thing, we would be glad to assist anyone who
would like to "extend" their stay into a vacation. If you have any
questions about other things to do in Maine, or in New England as a whole,
please feel free to e-mail me directly, and I'll try to advise you, and
make sure that you get the materials you need to plan your trip.
One last thing for now -- we're still negotiating for lower room rates at
the host hotel (Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland), but it looks like the
rooms will be in the vicinity of $120 per night. I know that this is more
than past VTR events, but the hotels are in the heart of Portland, within
walking distance of all the attractions of the downtown area. If you start
a VTR version of a Xmas club at the bank now, you'll have plenty of time to
save up for next year. Also, the hotels will not be accepting "block"
reservations from clubs. Each attendee will have to make his/her own
reservation. The overflow hotel is the Raddison/Eastland Hotel which is 2
blocks away from the Holiday Inn. We will be able to suggest other hotels
if the room rate is just too much for you to pay (I have a "line" on up to
8 rooms at an Inn run by Southern Maine Technical College, right on the
ocean and where the Concours may be held, for $75 per night if we book a
block of 4 or more rooms and there are many other opportunities like this,
but not at the host hotel).
I hope to see you all in July...
Tom Walling
NET, Co-chair of the 1999 VTR National Convention
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