One of the perks of being a Southern California chapter of the Society of Automotive Historians member is that we hold our meetings at the coolest places. Last years gathering at the Toyota USA Automobile Museum in Torrance was a home run. This years luncheon was no exception to that rule.
The November 22 gathering to announce our 2014 James Valentine Award winners is a big deal. Created to honor SoCal chapter founder James Valentine by recognizing the work of authors who publish a book or article dealing with the history of the automobile in California, previous winners have included Kevin Nelson for "Wheels of Change" in 2010, Ken Albert for "For the Love of Old Cars" in 2009, and Joe Scalzo for "City of Speed" in 2008. Two time winner Harold Osmer of “Where They Raced” and “The Saugus Scrapbook” fame was its first recipient.
Held in a non descript building our host Tom Malloy could not have been more gracious. A “Gear Head” dream come true his facility is not open to the public. Housing a collection of cars that raced Indy, Sprints & Midgets, Sports Racers and Memorabilia from several decades of motor sports it is one of the finest private collections of its kind. It was a wonderful trip down yesterday.
Pictures, bench racing, story telling led to a great lunch. Normal club announcements and business agenda activity was followed by the awards ceremony. The winners were:
Periodical category - "Counting Down to A Century of Speed" by “Landspeed” Louise Noeth - http://landspeedevents.com/ blog/counting-century-speed/
Book category - "Mobilgas Economy Run" by Dave Hermanson -http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ w/the-mobilgas-economy-run- dave-hermanson/1115442215?ean= 9780786475629
Kudos to Chairman Bob Ewing and The Society of Automotive Historians Board. It was perfect.
Harald Zechner
Harald Zechner