Intermountain Chapter of the NCRS
About us….
In the Beginning: The Formation of an NCRS Chapter.
At the 2010 NCRS regional in Bend Oregon, several NCRS members from Idaho and Mike Doty were having a conversation when the subject of Idaho potentially having a local chapter of the NCRS came up. The seed was planted but it would take years for the seed to sprout to life.
During the Regional Director campaign of 2017, questions were asked of Idaho NCRS members and others if in fact there was interest in forming a new chapter. There was interest in forming one, but the names of the members interested were not written down.
July 17, 2018: Mike Doty approached the NCRS president at the national convention in Las Vegas and mentioned there was interest in a new chapter centered around Boise, Idaho. The president said it is a lot of work and it took the Nevada chapter 3 years to form.
Two days later at the convention on July 19, 2018, Mike Doty walked up to his friend Bob Smith to talk, and noticed that Carl Engle from Boise Idaho was talking to Bob Smith, most likely about 1967 Corvettes since they both had special 1967s. Mike shook Carl’s hand, introduced himself and mentioned the possibility of forming a chapter in Idaho. Carl stated, “you need to talk to that guy sitting in that chair by the wall”. That NCRS member is Carl’s friend, Bob Heffley. Mike walked over to Bob and started a conversation about a potential chapter. They both went home to research the feasibility of a new chapter.
Sometime in early August 2018, Bob made a call to Mike and asked a lot of questions about chapter formation. They talked for hours with multiple conversations during the month.
September 2018: Due to a move from the Seattle area to Post Falls Idaho, the northwest chapter’s annual terminator party at Gary and Kayla Main’s home in September 2017 was postponed and moved to September of 2018. Mike asked Bill Hirning, a Northwest chapter member near Boise, to make the journey to Post Falls to the terminator party, which he did. Gary and Kayla Main, Jim and Chris Kline, Bill Hirning, Wayne Gibson, Mike and Tammy Doty discussed the new chapter at the get-together. The 8 members present were on board. Meanwhile in Idaho, Bob Heffley and Mike were still talking about details frequently over the phone.
February 2019: Heavy snows cut participation in the Puyallup, WA swap meet to probably 33%, and the NCRS Seattle members didn’t show up. The Mains, the Klines, the Dotys, and Dave Artz had discussed the chapter at dinner meetings both nights during the swap meet. It also was helpful that Dave and Mike were sharing a booth at the swap meet and are good friends.
After returning home from the swap meet with positive feedback from all involved, Mike recruited more of his NCRS friends to idea of the potential chapter while Bob Heffley was doing the same in the Boise area. Bob and Mike continued to talk and promote the new chapter.
Bob identified and reached out to some Corvette friends around Boise, some of whom were already National NCRS members like Bob was from 1988, and included other long-time members like Jim Warren, Bill Headley, Dale Osterman, Tom Yacuk, Bill Hirning, Dennis Hill, Rob Marcus, and Carl Engle.
This led to discussions with others who were interested, particularly Ned Smull of Boise. Ned immediately had a wealth of ideas and steps that we could take to contact others in the area. Ned and others were already members of Valley Corvettes, the largest (about 200 members) Corvette club in Idaho. Ned assembled documentation about NCRS and presented it at their monthly club meeting, which was well received. As a result, several of their members contacted Ned and were interested in the NCRS chapter idea.
Ned, through research and input from Mike Doty, proceeded to find out what it would take to apply to NCRS National for a new chapter. Ned contacted the NCRS Regional Director Bob Johansen and John Tidwell of National and worked with them to construct the paperwork required for National to review and approve the proposed chapter.
The first paperwork included the application form, mission, bylaws, and proposed Board of Directors. Our proposal was presented to the National Board in the spring and then again July 22, 2019 in South Carolina.
Starting back in March 2, 2019 in Boise, Mike and Bev Healy spent a great deal of effort promoting the chapter to their many Corvette contacts resulting in recruiting members Barry Blessin, Ron and Roxann Dehlin, Sandy Blaser, Cathy Gordon, Gary Stillwell, Steve and Diane Powers, Rendall Brushey, Tim Ketlinski and Russ Slifer. They also presented information about the new NCRS Chapter to their Eagle “Just for Fun Corvettes” group at events on June 29, 2019, September 24, 2019, and December 12, 2019.
On April 27, 2019, Bob hosted the first group get-together, which was an NCRS judging educational event taught by Mike Doty, at Bob’s Eagle Idaho home with over 20 current and potential members attending including the Klines, the Mains, and the Dotys making the long trip. This was an impressive showing for a first event, a tribute to Bob, Mike, the Healys, and others in recruiting a great group of potential members with a nice display of Corvettes driving to the event. There were many car shows around Boise in 2019 with Ned, Mike and Bev Healy, Bob and others in the area attending and building a foundation for the chapter.
November 1, 2019: After a ton of work led by Ned Smull, and a few bumps in the road, we finally got approved as a chapter at the Board of Directors meeting at the Frisco, Texas regional meet. At that time, we were four members short of the minimum for the Idaho/Montana area, but since a new chapter is on probation for a year, the board granted a year to increase our membership.
Some of the conditions of their acceptance, negotiated by Ned Smull included:
1. The Intermountain Chapter would limit its official geographic area to Idaho and Montana as recommended by the National NCRS Board.
2. The initial membership requirement of 25 members for the Intermountain Chapter would be limited to those within Idaho & Montana.
(Ed. note) The current paid membership was 29, with 9 of the members in Washington State, which lowered our eligible membership to 20. We had 2 additional Idaho/Montana memberships imminent and an additional Eastern WA member imminent. We would require the 6-month period prescribed in the Chapter Guidelines & Operational Manual to meet the 25 Idaho/Montana membership requirement. Membership of the Eastern WA members as well as any other NCRS member that wish to belong to the Intermountain Chapter is allowed as is the case with any other chapter but would not count toward the 25-member requirement.
3. The then current slate of officers for the Intermountain Chapter would need to stay intact. (note: there were currently 7 proposed officers…4 were WA residents). This requirement was imperative/required, and Ned had not found any restrictions regarding chapter members from outside the designated geographical area from holding officer positions.
We were fortunate to have Tammy Doty in our Chapter as Membership Chairman with her years of experience in the same position in the Northwest chapter. As soon as our Chapter was approved, Tammy got busy getting our member candidates enrolled as the CHARTER members listed below.
The named officers were:
Chairman: Ned Smull
Vice-Chairman: Dave Artz
Secretary: Bill Hirning
Treasurer: Chris Kline
Judging Chairman: Mike Doty
Membership Chairman: Tammy Doty
Newsletter Editor: Gary Main
January 2020: As reported to National on the 2019 Annual Chapter Report filed by Ned Smull, membership was 32 with 20 in Idaho/Montana and 12 outside of this area.
The roster provided as part of the 2019 Annual Report is dated 1/24/20, is to be considered as the Chapter’s Charter membership list and includes:
Dave Artz Wayne Gibson Steve Nistler
Sandy Blaser Cathy Gordon Rick Nordin
Barry Blessin Tom Harris Remy Osso
Greg Boss Bill Headley Dale Osterman
Bill Chellis Mike and Bev Healy Pat Pinkham
Gary Christensen Bob Heffley Kelly Shannon
Ron and Roxanne Dehlin Dennis Hill Ned Smull
Mike Doty Bill and Nancy Hirning Gene Spranget
Tammy Doty Terry Kirkwood Gary Stillwell
Carl Engle Jim and Chris Kline Jim Warren
Doug Fearing Gary and Kayla Main Tom Yacuk
Doug Franich Rob Marcus
October 2020: Due to the Corona virus with no events for the organization, our probation period was extended another year. Despite the lockdown, membership grew better than expected.
**************NOTE: END OF CHAPTER FORMATION HISTORY
UPDATE: OCTOBER 14, 2023:
Our Intermountain Chapter has now achieved total membership of 75 (a new high).
To date, our chapter has held the following judging activities:
PLEASE SEE PHOTOS FROM THESE EVENTS IN OUR CHAPTER WEBSITE AT THE FOLLOWING LINKS
4/27/2019 JUDGING SCHOOL: first ever meeting (prior to Chapter approval by NCRS). Eagle ID
3/27/2021 JUDGING SCHOOL (as a Chapter): at Pat Pinkham’s home, Eagle ID
4/24/2021 FIRST FLIGHT JUDGING EVENT: At Lupo Motors, Boise ID
8/23/2021: FLIGHT JUDGING EVENT: At Gary and Kayla’s home in Post Falls, ID
4/30/2022: FLIGHT JUDGING EVENT: At Bill and Nancy Hirning’s home in Caldwell, ID
8/23/2023: FLIGHT JUDGING EVENT: In Meridian, ID
8/26/2023: FLIGHT JUDGING EVENT: At Jim and Chris Kline’s home in Spokane, WA
Currently planned for 2024:
April 2024: FLIGHT JUDGING EVENT: Currently planned for Boise, ID
August 2024: FLIGHT JUDGING EVENT: Currently planned for Montana.
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End…..
****************** NCRS Mission:
Formed in 1974, the National Corvette Restorers Society is a non-profit hobby group of 15,800+ families dedicated to the restoration, preservation, history and enjoyment of Corvettes made from the model years 1953 through 2022.
If you are looking for a 1953 – 2023 Corvette: The seller is telling you “the numbers match.” Do you know what they mean? Are they truthful? Join the NCRS and learn from all of the information we have gathered in the last 38 years to make a wise decision when you purchase your Corvette.
If you already own a 1953 – 2023 Corvette: No matter what you are up to, NCRS members have been there before. Benefit from all of the information we have gathered to make better and smarter decisions as you restore and maintain your valuable Corvette.
Member Benefits:
Membership in the Intermountain NCRS Chapter has many benefits such as restoration techniques from professionals, technical information, and publications that can assist you in finding rare parts to restore or maintain your Corvette, in addition to social and family events that benefit everyone.
As a member of the Intermountain Chapter, you’ll receive bi-monthly “The NCRS DRIVELINE”, the NCRS “CORVETTE RESTORER”, and a copy of our Chapter newsletter. You also will have access to all the knowledge, help, and advice of other chapter members and the entire NCRS family to attain NCRS awards and to “just enjoy” life with your Corvette.
Our Chapter holds regular events including technical seminars, judging schools, car shows, social events, chapter parties, and chapter judging meets.