ERCU Awards Banquet

The 2007 ERCU Awards Banquet was held Saturday, Nov. 17 in the Broadway Joe's room at Great American Casino in Tukwila. Special thanks go out to Henry Marvin and Rick Lentz, who handled most of the arrangements for this year's banquet, which may have been ERCU's best ever. Others who played significant roles in planning this year's banquet include Jeff Campbell, Mike Campbell, Ron Daum and Mike Gossler. A special thanks also goes out to Ron Hartley for providing all of our photos from the awards banquet.

Guest speakers were Nate Brown of the U-17 Miss Red Dot, and Dixon and David Smith, as well as Skip Schott.

A great buffet, featuring a fabulous baron of beef and a really good salmon dish as well as all of the great side-dishes. Great desserts were also provided and everyone seemed to enjoy the meal.

The evening started out with a brief celebration of Ryan Opfer's 12th birthday. Ryan is an up-and-coming driver in ERCU, and has proven his ability to handle a really fast boat, built by his grandfather — Howard Price. Howard brought gifts and a cake to the banquet, where we all were able to share Ryan's birthday with him.

2007 AWARDS

Season Sponsor

Red Dot Corporation, Gary Hansen

 

RED DOT CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Season Champions

Vintage Boat —1969 Pay 'n Pak Outrigger, Jeff Campbell, 16,100 high points

Vintage Driver — Jeff Campbell, 15,600 high points

Modern Boat — 1974 Country Boy, Mike Campbell, 15,225 high points

Modern Driver — Mike Campbell, 15,225 high points

Top-10 Drivers

Modern Class

No.	Name	Boat(s)	High Pts.
1.	Mike Campbell	1974 Country Boy	15,225
2.	Jeff Campbell	1970 Pay 'n Pak	10,215
3.	Nelson Holmberg	1973 Red Man	9,612
4.	Mike Gossler	1978 Circus Circus	9,526
5.	Brian Gilmore (R)	1983 Gilmore Special	9,077
6.	Henry Marvin	1993 Kellogg's Frosted Flakes/Miss Madison	8,722
7.	Doug Brow	1978 Squire Shop	8,374
8.	Steve Twardus	1971 Country Boy	7,823
9.	Gary Hansen	1974 Miss Cott Beverage	7,733
10.	Rick Lentz	1974 U-95	6,756

 

Vintage Class

Top-10 Drivers

No.	Name	Boat(s)	High Pts.
1.	Jeff Campbell	Pay 'n Pak Outrigger; Lil' Buzzard	15,600
2.	Mike Campbell	1969 Notre Dame; Pay 'n Pak Outrigger	14,255
3.	Bob VandenAkker	1963 & 1966 Notre Dame; Eagle Electric; Nitrogen Too	10,693
4.	Ralph Jorgenson (R)	1974 Sunny Jim	7,970
5.	Ron Daum	Such Crust III; Miss Pepsi; Wildroot Charlie	7,084
6.	Gary Hansen	Muvalong	7,059
7.	Craig Bradshaw	Coral Reef; 1971 Miss Budweiser	6,530
8.	Rick Lentz	1958 Miss Bardahl	6,285
9.	Henry Marvin	1970 Miss U.S.	6,140
10.	Scott Fetterly	1961 Miss Madison	6,061

 

COLUMBIA RIVER DIVISION

Columbia River Division points were accumulated at the Champion Spark Plug Regatta (Centralia); Oregon Emerald Cup (Tualatin); Rose Festival RC Regatta (Tualatin); Island Hobbies Columbia Cup (Tualatin) and the PAWS Cascade Cup/APBA National Championship (Woodland).

Top-10 Drivers

Modern Class

No.	Name	Boat(s)	High Pts.
1.	Mike Campbell	1974 Country Boy	7,500
2.	Henry Marvin	1993 Kellogg's Frosted Flakes/Miss Madison	4,753
3.	Brian Gilmore (R)	1983 Gilmore Special	4,449

 

Vintage Class

Top-10 Drivers

No.	Name	Boat(s)	High Pts.
1.	Jeff Campbell	Pay 'n Pak Outrigger; Lil' Buzzard	6,895
2.	Mike Campbell	1969 Notre Dame	6,500
3.	Bob VandenAkker	1963 & 1966 Notre Dame; Eagle Electric; Nitrogen Too	5,403

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SEASON AWARDS

Rookie of the Year

Modern Class

BRIAN GILMORE

Brian finished fifth in the Red Dot Championship Series this year, driving his dad's model of the 1983 Gilmore Special.

Brian won the connie at the Lilly Brother's Brewers Cup, and finished second in two finals this season.

His season total of points in the Red Dot Championship Series was 9,077 high points. Brian was also third in the Columbia River Division.

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Rookie of the Year

Vintage Class

RALPH JORGENSON

Ralph finished the season strong, including solid finishes in finals at the Stan Sayres Memorial, Lilly Brother's Brewers Cup and the PAWS Cascade Cup/APBA National Championship.

Ralph's model of the 1974 Sunny Jim was a consistent threat throughout the season, and as Ralph continued to improve as a driver, the boat kept getting better.

His season points total in the Red Dot Championship Series was 7,970 high points.

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Most Improved Driver

Modern Class

NELSON HOLMBERG

Nelson improved as a driver throughout the season, getting comfortable milling for and driving in lane one, hitting starts consistently, and finishing heats.

He also won a race for the first time in his career, posting a first-place finish at the Lilly Brothers Brewer's Cup. Nelson also took second place honors at the Diamond Cup and at the ERCU Gold Cup. He was also fourth at NAMBA Nationals.

Nelson scored 9,612 high points this season, an improvement of nearly 2,000 points over last year.

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Most Improved Driver

Vintage Class

RICK LENTZ

Rick drove the 1958 Miss Bardahl to one of the club's biggest points improvements in 2007, and for that, he was recognized as this year's Vintage Class Most Improved Driver.

Last season, Rick finished the Red Dot Championship Series in 20th place with 3,387 points. This year, he piloted the Green Dragon to an 8th place finish with 6,285 points. That was an improvement of nearly 2,900 points.

 

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Sportsmanship Award

BILL SMILEY

A consistent good attitude and classy demeanor made Bill always a joy to be around this season.

He's a true sportsman who not only takes everything in stride, he also consistently offers help to other racers, provides needed assistance to the club and has an ever-present smile that is indeed appreciated.

 

 

 

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Contest Director of the Year

JOHN WILLIAMS

For many years now, John Williams has put his heart and soul — and even a few bucks of his own — in to making the ERCU President's Cup extra special. His efforts have succeeded among the ERCU gang, but also have bled over to the fine folks of Maple Valley, who have come to love the ERCU President's Cup, and have officially incorporated our race into their Maple Valley Days celebration.

In 2007, John's dedicated work paid off when ERCU particpated in the parade, and many of the banners promoting Maple Valley Days incldued the hydros on them.

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Contribution Awards

Letters of appreciation were presented to the following for their much appreciated, and ongoing support of ERCU and its events.

Terry Beckler and family

Ron Billings

Teri Campbell

Ron Daum

Judy Fenton

Dan Gilmore

Mike Gossler

Nelson Holmberg

Dave Kelly, RC Hobbies of Woodinville & Covington

Rick Lentz

Jim Lilly

Henry Marvin

Rocky Peterson and family

 

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2007 ERCU ROOKIE CLASS

Last, but not least, ERCU presented trophies to its 2007 Rookie Class. These drivers are new to the club, and drove boats in our organization for the first time this season. We look for great things from each of these drivers, and we're excited to have them as a part of ERCU.

Gerry Bordon

Ryan Bradshaw

Brian Gilmore

Carl Lewis

Ralph Jorgenson

Jessie Shehan

Mick Shutt

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GUEST SPEAKERS

In true ERCU tradition, we had both the modern and the vintage boats represented — even with our guest speakers at the banquet. First up, again true to ERCU tradition, was Nate Brown, who shared the story of the building of his U-17 Miss Red Dot.

Six months and approximately $100,000 after starting the construction of his boat, Nate and his crew of guys who mostly had never been to a boat race before, put the Miss Red Dot in the water at Seattle. The first time out, the boat not only turned a fast lap of more than 143 miles per hour, it came back to the dock in one piece. Nate also was able to finish the racing weekend, which he deemed a success.

Nate took about 30 minutes or so to answer the great questions our members asked of him, and proved to be a great guest speaker. It was a pleasure to have Nate and his wife as a part of our event.

Three of the original crew members for the 1962-65 Miss Bardahl, Dixon Smith along with his brother Steve and Skip Schott, also joined us to spend some time chatting about the restoration project of the boat they all worked together on 41 years ago.

The stories included everything from how they acquired the boat, and in what shape it was when they took delivery (including, believe it or not, a WOOD dummy gearbox that was used for boat displays), to the pride they all felt when they finished the project and launched the boat for the first time in May of 2007.

Both guest speakers were a great addition to the banquet, and had us all appreciating the work they've all done for the good of unlimited hydroplane racing, past and present.

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Brian Gilmore enjoying Nate Brown's presentation.

 

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

 

Mrs. Bradshaw accepts an award for her son Craig.

 

Jeff and Gary aren't just good with the electric boats. Turns out, they're also good with electronics.

 

The Gilmore/Shehan table.