CVR kicked off the 2023 season with our January monthly meeting. This year found us returning to The Trailer Deport in Northford as Mike Duhamel and the rest of The Trailer Depot staff hosted this popular social event. The sun was shining as 60+ CVRers made their way to the event.

First up on the agenda, Breakfast! You may have heard that last year the State of Connecticut and CVR lost a good friend and supporter when George Chatzopoulos passed away. George was the founder and owner of Chip’s Family Restaurants. Fortunately, his sister Dina has stepped up and taken over the reins of this popular establishment and their delicious pancakes continue to flow out of the kitchen. To honor George’s memory, Chip’s again provided the pancakes for our January kickoff and they were as delicious as always. During the meeting kickoff, the CVRers all raised a glass in a toast to George and his support of CVR. George was a great car guy and owned a Panamera. If you visit his restaurants, you will often see pictures of him and a family member next to one of his great machines. Everyone in attendance enjoyed the delicious and hearty breakfast.

Socialization was the main goal for this meeting and there was plenty of that going on as members caught up on the latest happenings with their fellow members.

We then moved on to the business portion of the meeting. Mike said hello to everyone and gave a quick update on what is going on with The Trailer Depot. He highlighted their inventory and the many services that The Trailer Depot provides. If you need a trailer you KNOW where to go. We then moved on to the CVR business meeting by handing things over to our new president, Shelley Krohnengold who, along with many of the activity chairs, reviewed our CVR calendar for 2023. The year looks to be a busy one for the CVRers, with plenty of events going on for members to take advantage of.

One highlight of the meeting was the presentation of two service awards, one to Christine Beckwith for her time as CVR secretary and one to Allen Fossbender as our previous president. These awards are in the form of special artwork created by CVR’s own Paul Kudra. Paul renders the recipient’s Porsche vehicle using a digital paint process with the results which are nothing short of amazing. Thanks to Christine and Allen for their service to our club.

The meeting concluded with our door prizes which featured gift cards provided by The Trailer Depot. A great time was had by all. Thanks to The Trailer Depot team and Chips!!! (Mike, Cody, Dina, and Antoinette)

We hope to see you at a future monthly meeting.

Thanks, your CVR programs crew.