So I know a fair number of people made their departure before the Awards ceremony was finished, but there was one particular award that I wish you hadn't missed. I had the honour of presenting the award just before we finished up, and hope you'll take the time to read this if you missed it. A few months ago Jaga Rai, Brian Waz and I realized that after 23 years of of the Great Canadian VW Show the club had recognized the work, effort, talent and skills of tonnes of vehicle builders and owners...but we have missed recognizing an important group in our VW community. We discussed ways to honour them in the upcoming 25th anniversary (2016), and then determined we should simply honour them as soon as possible.
Running the Great Canadian VW show is more than just simply putting on a Green Shirt and looking official the day of. It takes a team of people who are dedicated to so much more than a one-day show. It takes an entire year of planning. Planning which, I kid you not, starts over dinner after the show is packed down. It takes weeks of running all over the city getting permits, insurance, vendors, sponsors, rentals and more. They hit the weekend, and sleep is pretty much non-existent. 4:30am wake-up calls for this group.
But it's not just about the show. If you're going to have a successful, vibrant, car show like the Great Canadian you have to have an incrediblly vibrant community of enthusiasts to support it. The work that goes on all year, the smaller events, this forum, the endless phone calls answering tech questions and helping to source parts. They're doing all of it for "us", the Volkswagen Community of Vancouver and British Columbia. More than just hosting a show for a weekend, they've spent 23+ years ensuring that each of us has an enthusiast community where varied interests, club affiliations and geography are irrelevant.
While I am the first to admit that we wouldn't have a VW community without "you" (that would be you, reading this post)...somewhere, at any given moment, there is a group of people consciously thinking about how to ensure this community stays active, together, and inclusive for everyone.
And so, to ensure these folks felt appreciated and recognized, we had the following awards made up. Since the photo is a bit hard to see, it reads:
Der Volksrennwagen Kafer Klub
In appreciation for your commitment and dedication to the Great Canadian Volkswagen Show and B.C.'s Volkswagen Community
This year at the Great Canadian, we presented the following people with a personalized appreciation award:
Geoff P.
Bruce M.
Darren K.
Hanawa T.
Mirko P.
Cameron S.
Gavin L.
Rob S.
Gary E.
Stephan S.
Dean K.
Scott S.
Brad P.
Kevin T. (not pictured)
Delainey P. (not pictured)
Brayden P. (not pictured)
Once again guys, it has been our pleasure to embarrass and honour you in front of your peers, and the community that you have helped build.
Thank You.Sincerely,
-Dave, Jaga & Brian.
