For the Ford Owners Car Club, 2007 has been a successful year. It has seen an improved Cam-torque, discovery of a new meeting venue at vehicle product suppliers (more on the list for next year), and a new focus on promoting the appearance of the club.

Many members of the FOCC have come forward with ideas and suggestion of which some have been acted upon. There are even more still in the box yet to be realised but the Committee is working on them.

I would like to thank all the members for their support throughout the year and remind you that the FOCC is you, for you and about you, therefore with out you, it does not exist.

The committee has worked well this year and thanks go to the efforts put in by them and those who worked behind the committee beyond expectations.

Thanks go to;
David Miller the Vice President who has supported me and the Club when called upon and is donating much of his time in creating the new and improved club trailer. It promises to be a great asset to the FOCC and further improve the Clubs image of a successful and forward moving Club.

Vince Clark who I would like to give a special commendation for his efforts as Editor of Cam-torque, the club magazine, a note of appreciation for his guidance and extreme commitment to the club and the Magazine. Behind the scenes he has spent many hours organising the magazine plus much of his time working with other members setting up Navigation and Cruise runs. This man is a diehard extremist to be admired.
Peter Kendall, our Secretary, a note of appreciation for his council through the year and the professional approach he gives to the committee process, a man of enviable talent and charisma that binds us in the right direction.
Marino Nassig, the treasurer, despite all when said and done, the numbers add up. His guidance on financial matters has enabled the FOCC to further itself and enables better use of funds. Regarding all that has gone before; he leads us to a prosperous future.
Wesley Archibold, the minute’s secretary, a quiet achiever who does his task well and without fuss. He has also developed an unusual but subtlety refreshing sense of humour. That I trust will develop into 2008. I like it.
Steve Bonython, the competition secretary, a very complex man who’s devotion to the FOCC is to be commended. My personal thanks for his efforts. He is standing down from his Committee position as his new job makes it difficult for him to give adequate time to his role. Never the less he remains a valued member and I am sure he will assist when he can.
Clinton Jacobs, Gordon Cowley, Ron Tebby, the Club historic registrars, thanks for giving their time in administering to those club members who have those unique vehicles worthy of special treatment. Clinton and Gordon have also been involved in assisting the FOCC to function by proving guidance and advice to the Committee and members.
Cathy Jacobs, the lady of no specific title except perhaps “Devotee Extraordinaire” supporter of the FOCC who gives her time to administer the club clothing and especially the club raffles. As well as organising club events like the progressive dinner and assisting with BBQ’s … the list goes on.

The FOCC has grown in this year of 2007 and has a healthy member base. The club ran navigation runs, cruises, took part in the All Ford Day with one of the biggest displays on the day, put on a show for The Heights School, and I believe had some fun along the way.

The FOCC has grown during the year of 2007 and has a healthy member base. Some of the things the Committee organised for the members were navigation runs including several twilight runs finishing with a BBQ. Or day time runs finishing at a place of interest. The Committee also found that including Cruises with the Navigation runs increased the total members participating.
There were cruises to interesting places like Monarto Zoo. It should have started much earlier because everyone ran out of time and did not get to see everything. That would be a queue to repeat this cruise in the near future.
The FOCC was involved in the “All Ford day”. This is a very good day for the club as it is an opportunity to show the public what we are about because we are different from most other clubs. From this day we usually have a number of new members joining because of this exposure. Some 29 cars on show for the day but I am expecting at lest half of the members to step forward and help promote the FOCC in 2008.
We were also involved in the “Australia Day Parade” and get invited to return each year. If you are not proud to represent your Country I am at a bit of a loss.
Some duds however like go-carts and Laser skirmish. It would appear these have gone out of fashion but there are some new events next year to replace them. Waite for these new events to be promoted and think about taking part. The Committee may have hit on a popular theme.
Of cause the popular progressive dinner was a good evening and many members took part and had a top evening and early morning.
A return of the Bowling night came out and for those who took part they soon found out they were not as good as they once were. Personally I think the lanes were not level.
The FOCC were invited to take part in a special show to help The Heights School at their Fete day along with several other car clubs. The FOCC stood out as the professionals on the day and we received a certificate of appreciation for our efforts from the School.

Can the FOCC do more? Yes, but only with the help of its members. So please step forward and be herd. 2008 looks to be fantastic and I must implore the members to support YOUR Club and show Adelaide just what Fords mean.

On a lighter note:
Mr Gullible has had a very action pact year. Not all the action was positive but it was eye opening to say the least. The year started with a few clues where to find some cars but Mr gullible soon learnt not to leave it to others to do the actual negotiating.
During the efforts of those willing to do car spotting, Mr Gullible has even found some other project cars. Sadly, there is not enough room or money to cater for these. Not only that but it is hard enough finding parts just for one car.
There was also a local who also had a Barge Fairlane with some spare parts that was willing to part with them, For free would you believe.
Some further possible sightings were brought to Mr Gullible’s’ attention but not much came of them as the exact location was unknown which does make it a little hard to find. There was talk of an old car grave yard out the back of Nuriootpa. And another one out the back of Gawler looked after by a mad man with a gun.
Mr Gullible also ventured into the world of EBay and has had some success but has found the eBay system to be pretty aggressive.
Even torment from the Mother in law would not keep Mr Gullible from the quest of finding parts. Still it goes on, the torment that is.
Even Mr Gullible boss was in on the search but alas the boss’s commitment lacked the expertise to spot the real deal.
Further success on eBay has driven Mr Gullible on and one of the fictitious places talked about “out the back of Nuriootpa came to fruition. Even the “out the back of Gawler” has been identified and a map secured.
Still with a few parts to find like an FE block engine 332 or 352 things are ready to progress to the next step.
So what’s in store for Mr Gullible in 2008? It is time to do the restoration job.
Now how could anything go wrong with that?