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"Heroes of Antique
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last updated 5/19/2007)
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Year 2007 Program Overall Press Release
(last update 5/19/2007)
Year 2007 Program - Photo of the
"Heroes" award plaques (last
update 5/19/2007)
Year 2007 Program - Actual wording for the
"Heroes" award plaques (last
update 5/19/2007)
Year 2007 Program - Copies of the actual
letters of nomination for this year's "Heroes" award
honorees (last update 5/19/2007)
Original "Heroes Of Antique
Volkswagening" Program Concept Statement & Current
Program Status (last
update 5/19/2007)
"Hall of Fame" - List of previous
"Heroes of Antique Volkswagening" honorees (last update 5/19/2007)
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
"HEROES OF ANTIQUE VOLKSWAGENING AWARD" FOR THE YEAR
2007
May 13, 2006
The Common Gear Antique Volkswagen Society is happy to announce this year's "Heroes of Antique Volkswagening" honorees. We are very pleased to recognize this year two outstanding gentlemen who epitomize the spirit of "selfless contribution to the hobby."
The "Heroes" award program was originated in 1999 to help recognize those people within the antique Volkswagen hobby world who have especially given of themselves to help other hobbyists, often with little to no personal gain or attention. The inaugural recipient in '99 was talented Michigan-based antique VW restorer Dave Crompton. There were two recipients for Y2K: Pennsylvania's tireless antique VW hobby advocate Jim Siegfried, and New Hampshire's intrepid antique VW road warrior Bill Collins. The three 2001 honorees were California's "world class" enthusiast/author/entrepreneur Rich Kimball, Connecticut's unsung long-time workhorse event organizer Chuck Pisconski, and Missouri's super-enthusiastic event participant/organizer/"do-er" Bill Bowman. Our two honorees for 2002 were Michigan's "positive guiding light" Bob Case, and California's amazing Golden Gate Chapter (VVWCA) head man Rick Spohn. In 2003 we gave a much-deserved spotlight to that long-unsung, low-key, behind-the-scenes "doer," Nebraska's Matt Joy. 2004 saw recognition of Wisconsin-based master-restorer of drivable classic VWs Connie Holcomb, and California's long-time vintage VW hobby enthusiast/organizer/promoter Jan Peters. In 2005 the "Heroes" spotlight shone on Massachusetts resident and dedicated vintage VW hobby leader Peter Cook, and Iowa's "ironman" vintage VW behind-the-scenes-doer-of-all-things Howard Query. And in 2006, the "First Family of Air-Cooled VW Performance," the groundbreaking and truly legendary Berg Family, from California, were most deservedly honored.
This year's "Heroes" honorees are Arizona's Jerry Jess and California's Tony Moore. Writing this year's "Heroes" Official Press Release cover letter was rather easy this year, since we were so fortunate to have the unbeatable combination of two fantastic honorees, and two fantastic collections of supporting nomination materials! Anyone, from anywhere in the world, who has been active in the antique Volkswagen hobby during the past 25 or so years has undoubtedly come across the positively contagious enthusiasm of Jerry Jess, through his thousands of columns, pictures, stories, and just plain friendly contact and knowledge-sharing, concerning his favorite subject: VW toys and collectibles. The VW world has learned much from Jerry, aided by his "better half" Melissa, not just about the memorabilia, but also about true fellowship and camaraderie. Tony Moore has been an equally significant and well-respected figure in the antique Volkswagen restoration world, for an equally long period of time. Tony Moore's "Wolfsburg West" company, arguably was the first to take antique Volkswagen restoration truly seriously. Absolute quality and authenticity are Wolfsburg West hallmarks, truly raising the "art" of antique Volkswagen restoration parts to a level comparable with any serious collector car marque-while all along also maintaining an active and positive-spirited support of the old VW hobby.
The presentation of Jerry Jess's "Heroes" award took place on April 15th, 2007 at a VW event in Phoenix, AZ. We wish to thank Don Bulitta's better half Lee for the great photos of Don making the presentation to Jerry assisted by Nancy Axtell, and another wonderful shot of Don, Nancy, and Jerry posing together on that day. The "Official Announcement" of the 2007 Heroes award honorees, of course took place at the Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Club's annual Vintage Festival, which this year took place on Sunday, May 13th, in Ypsilanti, MI. The MVVC Festival has traditionally been the venue for the announcement of the annual "Heroes" honorees, ever since noted MI-based restorer Dave Crompton received the inaugural honor in a ceremonial presentation at the 1999 event. We thank the fine people of the MVVC for so graciously "hosting" our award every year!
The Common Gear Antique Volkswagen Society wishes to thank all those who participated in this year's "Heroes" award process, including this year's esteemed nominators: Greg Mattesen, Steve Oakes, Don Bulitta, Nancy Axtell, Rick Spohn, Carmencita Valerio, Lois Grace, Jan Peters, Rich Kimball, Bill Bowman, and Tom Niedernhofer. A special tip of the hat is due to Don Bulitta for masterminding the "earlybird special" Arizona presentation of Jerry's award to him, at the Phoenix VW enthusiast event on April 15, 2007-most enthusiastically assisted by Nancy Axtell. We wish also to sincerely thank Lynn Anderson of MVVC (as always!) for her great enthusiasm & support in connection with this year's "Heroes" award.
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Year 2007 Program - Photo of the two "Heroes" award plaques
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Year 2007 Program - Actual wording for the "Heroes" award plaques
(Actual plaque wording)
Common Gear Antique VW Society
Is Pleased To Present The
9th Annual
"Heroes of Antique Volkswagening Award"
(logo)
Presented to
Jerry Jess
"For Selfless & Significant Contributions To The Antique VW Hobby"
Presented April 2007
(Actual plaque wording)
Common Gear Antique VW Society
Is Pleased To Present The
9th Annual
"Heroes of Antique Volkswagening Award"
(logo)
Presented to
Tony Moore
"For Selfless & Significant Contributions To The Antique VW Hobby"
Presented May 2007
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FOR JERRY JESS
Greg Mattesen (vwdriver1@sbcglobal.net) wrote:
Back in 1989, when I was on a cross country trip in my '73 Beetle, I wanted to see if I could meet the famous Jerry Jess when I was in Arizona. I contacted Jerry via phone, and he enthusiastically invited me over to the house. I had read Jerry's columns on VW collectibles and toys in several VW publications, and I looked forward to meeting Jerry in person, as well seeing his collection of toys and cars. In so many instances in life, such a meeting sometimes ends up being "less" than you expect it to be, but in this case, meeting Jerry (and of course his lovely wife Melissa) exceeded my expectations. When I visited the Jesses, they went out of their way to make me feel at home. They welcomed me into their home, graciously showing me their outstanding collection of both toys and full-size cars (I doubt that there is another collection in the world that equals it). I even purchased a few toys for my own collection. We went out to dinner together, and afterwards, when I asked them about recommendations for a local motel, they insisted that I spend the night at their house. I'm still impressed with the generosity and trust that the Jesses showed to me while I was there, despite the fact that I was a complete stranger. Jerry Jess embodies all that is great about our hobby: friendship, generosity, and a true love for Volkswagens. For that reason I would enthusiastically recommend him for the Heroes of Antique Volkswagening Award.
Steve Oakes (wsoakes@yahoo.com) wrote:
I visited Jerry and his wife in Phoenix a decade or more ago--had a nice evening of VW talk. I remember Jerry as a delightful homespun character in the antique VW hobby, and I appreciated his desires to foster than enthusiasm far from his home. I enthusiastically support his nomination for the '07 Heroes of Antique Volkswagening award I will happily support him--he was always a great enthusiast and a nice guy to boot!
Don Bulitta (d.bulitta@cox.net) wrote:
I would like to nominate Jerry Jess for the Heroes of Antique Volkswagening award. Jerry has been very active in the VW hobby for many years and contributes more than anyone could ever know. He is always trying to encourage others to get involved. Jerry is dedicated to improving all around us by his support of the VW hobby and many charities. In the past Jerry has lead the way for members of the VW community in their support of local charities. His support of those less fortunate is incredible. I have known Jerry for about 20 years now and he is as active today as he was when I met him. He just seems to get better with time. Lately Jerry has suffered a number of setbacks healthwise, but that hasn't stopped him from supporting the hobby he dearly loves. He should be recognized for his devotion to all things VW!
Nancy Axtell (puggzilla@msn.com) wrote:
It is my sincere pleasure to nominate Jerry Jess of Phoenix, Arizona, for the "Heroes of Antique Volkswagening" award for 2007.
I purchased my first vintage Beetle about 8 years ago. I had wanted to own one since the 60's and 30+ years later I achieved my goal. I knew virtually nothing about the VW scene, other than I wanted to be a part of it. The first event I nervously went to was a local show at the Junior College. My daughter and I drove in and queued up behind a very tricked out "Herbie" and a split window, hippie bus, "Bessie". The owner of both vehicles came over and introduced himself and made us feel welcome - a part of the family. He was Jerry Jess.
Over these past many years I have come to know Jerry as a club member of both the Wolfsburg Registry and the Arizona Bus Club, as an event coordinator of too many cruises and car shows to name, as an MC of both the Copperstate shows and the Jerome Jamboree (including # 16 last September), and more importantly, as a giving and sharing individual. He relentlessly supports all VW clubs and cars (buses and beetles alike) to further the VW tradition from Arizona to California and beyond. He selflessly shares his time and his knowledge of all things VW on a continual basis. To me, Jerry personifies the "Volks" part of the Volkswagen.
He works tirelessly in support of this wonderful hobby/addiction we all call Volkswagen. Lately his spirit has been willing even if the flesh couldn't rise. It would be a wonderful tribute indeed if the hobby could return some of the support to Jerry that he has given it over these many years.
I hope you will consider his appointment to this august group.
Rick Spohn (spohn@us.ibm.com) wrote:
Jerry has been a supporter of the Golden Gate Chapter for many, many years. He has been a consistent contributor to our newsletter, the Golden Gate Gazette, every issue for a number of years. Even when Jerry was sick he was conscientious enough to ensure we had his article for the newsletter. Jerry is always willing to help other VW enthusiasts who share his enthusiasm. For this, I support Jerry's nomination.
Carmencita Valerio (valerioce@yahoo.com) wrote:
I concur with Rick. Jerry's "toy story" is a staple for our bi-monthly newsletter. (I even have many of his columns from the old SOTO newsletters). Although I have never met him, I am very impressed with his passion, knowledge and reliability. Believe it or not, he HANDWRITES and SNAIL MAILS his articles. For promoting vintage VW memorabilia, Jerry is enthusiastic and is "always out there".
FOR TONY MOORE
Rick Spohn (spohn@us.ibm.com) wrote:
This year marks the 20th anniversary of quality VW parts supplier Wolfsburg West. Wolfsburg West was founded by Tony Moore who had the foresight to recognize the need for quality VW parts. With the availability of original parts becoming obsolete or too expensive, Tony took it upon himself to start reproducing high quality parts that were needed for restorations. And thus, Wolfsburg West was born.
Not only is Wolfsburg West a high quality operation, but Tony himself is a class act which reflects in his products. There are many restored VWs out there today that couldn't have done it without Tony. I would like to personally thank Tony for his sponsorship and support of the Golden Gate Chapter all these years. Tony has been a sponsor and supporter of the Golden Gate Chapter Kelley Park Spring Meets and the Solvang Veteranentreffen shows. As a VW enthusiast and major contributor to the VW world, I am proud to nominate Tony Moore for the Hero of Antique Volkswagening Award.
Rick Spohn, President, Golden Gate Chapter of the Vintage Volkswagen Club of America
Lois Grace (vlkswmn@sbcglobal.net) wrote:
In 1987, I was just beginning to get the idea that it might be possible to restore my '59 Single Cab. It had seemed like such a monumental task that I didn't think it would ever happen. Then, on the phone and through the mail (this was before internet connections made it easy!) I "met" Tony Moore. In the same year, Tony was starting up a new business he called Wolfsburg West. I forget now how I found him, but he proved to be one of my best sources for information and parts for my truck.
Tony was always available to talk to me if I'd call with a question or a problem. He was never too busy to give a true VW novice a hand, and the many, many things I ordered from him were always of the best quality and fit. In short, Tony Moore never let me down. The restoration of my truck took until 1990 to complete, and by then Wolfsburg West was well-known among VW hobbyists. If Tony and WW had not been there when Vernon's work was being done, that huge job would have been much more difficult. Even now, 20 years later, when I see him Tony always recognizes and greets me by name.
I am very happy now to be helping to give Tony something he so richly deserves: formal recognition as one of the "Heroes of Antique Volkswagening". He put his heart and soul into our hobby, and in the process, into our projects. For that, I will always be grateful. Here's to many more years of successful VW-ing for Tony and Wolfsburg West!
Jan Peters (synkro@synkro.cnc.net) wrote:
What I know of Tony Moore is he's been one of the most consistent commercial supporters of the hobby I can remember over the last 25+ years. Tony is one of those rare people who's just "a-one-of-us-kinda-guy," in one word, unpretentious... He's been willing to take on really challenging issues such as reproducing original parts where OEM parts are essentially no longer available. It takes a lot of determination, guts, and sheer will to get the tooling right, establish a working relationship with a reliable vendor and then deliver to a customer base that can be quite demanding. Through it all, Tony and his wife always seem to "be there" at most of the large meets for all of us. I for one, am grateful for Tony's help with parts for my cars. My hat is off to Tony for all the time, effort, dedication and love he's put into our beloved hobby.
...to which, it should be noted, Rich Kimball (rich@bugin.com) wrote: Ditto!
Bill Bowman (bill@bnnta.com) wrote:
I honestly can't think of a more concise way to state the facts about Tony Moore than how you expressed it. Tony is a Volkswagen lover first, and a fantastically successful VW business entrepreneur second. He is one of the few who consistently strive to make available accurate reproductions of rare items as well as original parts for our beloved old cars. His crew at Wolfsburg West are always very helpful and enthusiastic about our hobby, and I imagine that it must be a lot of fun to go to work for Tony everyday. Most of my eight VWs have Tony to thank for being road-worthy! I'm delighted to support his nomination for the Common Gear Heroes of Antique Volkswagening Award. Congrats Tony from an appreciative, longtime fan!
Tom Niedernhofer (Thomas.R.Niedernhofer@usace.army.mil) wrote:
Let me say that Tony, without hesitation, agreed to partially sponsor my Denzel 1300 SS Roadster in the Return to the Fatherland Tour back in 1998 (the Tour was in 1999, of course). When my Denzel's paint didn't get done (Bill Bowman knows the horrible story of a severely missed deadline by the painter), Tony graciously transferred the sponsorship money from Wolfsburg West to "Martha", Bill's immaculate '55 VW Sunroof Sedan. Martha proudly wore the Wolfsburg West decals on her sides throughout the entire RTTF trip. What a kind gesture for us.
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Original "Heroes Of Antique Volkswagening" Program Concept Statement & Current Program Status
We like to think we have a unique program wherein we like to receive nominations of people from within the Antique Volkswagen hobby world who may have especially given of themselves to help other hobbyists, to possibly consider for one of our "Heroes" awards. We know they're out there--the person who goes out of their way to help with someone else's project, who selflessly devotes their time and energy at events, who performs some other valuable service within the Antique Volkswagen hobby, with little to no personal gain or attention.
Now's the time to think, and perhaps also write about that person, and then, during the nomination solicitation period (see below in CURRENT PROGRAM STATUS section), send the information to The Common Gear Team (e-mail: CommonGear@aol.com). It doesn't have to be a long write-up, but should, in addition to briefly describing their accomplishment(s), include a few specifics about where the person's from, club affiliation (if applicable), and (important) how to contact them should the need arise (and also to be able to ask their permission to publish their name when it's time to announce the honoree(s)/present them their award, if applicable). Later in the year we announce one or more "Heroes of Antique Volkswagening" award honorees, and announce the awards "far & wide," via press releases to the major print & electronic VW hobby publications (including, of course, HERE).
CURRENT PROGRAM STATUS (important update 5/19/2007)
NOW IS THE TIME for you to put on your thinking cap and come up with a good letter of nomination for whoever you think might be a good nominee for the 2008 award. Please see the "Press Release" section from this past year's program, to see what kind of candiate we are looking for with this award--the phrase "selfless contribution to the hobby" is especially important to our way of thinking (there are plenty of media-savvy "stars" out there already--that's not who we're looking for). Please check the "Letters of Nomination" section of this page, to see how others have been "written up" to put them into consideration for this past year's award. Please submit your letter of nomination to CommonGear@aol.com NO EARLIER THAN JANUARY 1, 2008, AND NO LATER THAN MARCH 31, 2008. Thank you!
Please try to include information about how to get in touch with your nominee, should we wish to get in touch with him or her--thank you.
We reserve the right to accept, or not accept any nomination, for any reason, and the decision of the Common Gear Antique Volkswagen Society is final.
As always, our target event for the annual Official Announcement of the "Heroes of Antique Volkswagening Award" is the Annual Michigan Vintage Volkswagen Club Vintage Festival, which usually takes place place mid-May, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Please be sure visit the official MVVC Fest event web site for all the details of this super-comprehensive, nationally-recognized Vintage Volkswagen event: http://www.mvvc.net/
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"Hall of Fame" - List of previous "Heroes of Antique Volkswagening" honorees
1999 - Dave Crompton
2000 - Jim Siegfried & Bill
Collins
2001 - Rich Kimball, Chuck Pisconski & Bill
Bowman
2002 - Bob Case & Rick Spohn
2003 - Matt Joy
2004 - Connie Holcomb & Jan Peters
2005 - Peter Cook & Howard Query
2006 - The Berg Family
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