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boldts
05-14-2001, 11:09 PM
Where do I start? What a great weekend. First, I'd like to thank all the moms who let their men be boys again for the weekend. We all owe you a great amount of gratitude. My wife never once asked me how can you spend Mother's Day with a bunch of boat owners? Instead, she experienced the weekend with me. She many times on the way home said: "That was the best weekend we have ever spent together." You see, as many of you also, we have a 4 year old daughter and don't get hardly any time to spend together by ourselves. When we picked Allison up Sunday night, she greeted us as though we had been away for years. Truthfully, she was a welcome sight for us also.

Second, I'd like to thank those that helped us make this wonderful event happen. Mike Miller, Mike Doyle, Tom Riggle, David Hicks, George Desmond and Rick Ryan. Mike Miller, you are a class act and Donzi Marine is very lucky to have you as their Director of Marketing. You made sure if we didn't have it, it was gotten for us. I can't thank-you enough for the gifts you handed out to everyone and especially the Donzi neon sign you presented to me. Mike Doyle, I am so glad that you are feeling much better. You gave us a real scare Saturday morning. Thank-you for supplying 4 models of Donzi boats for onlookers and possibly future Donzi owners to see. I also want to thank-you for the Sunday morning buffet breakfast. I'm only sorry that everyone could not stay late enough to enjoy it. Tom Riggle, I thank-you for your organizational skills you used on Saturday morning in helping George get everyone in attendance on video. You also surprised me when you gave an autographed edition of "The King Of Thunderboat Row" to Owen Saffell who towed his Formula Jr. from Oregon to attend the event and to me. Beth and I enjoyed the book on the way home as she read it to me. Even Beth was amazed at the number and names of the boat companies that Don Aronow had created. I have another roll of slide film on it's way to you. Let me know what you need in the way of a story for the Hot Boat article. I'd love to offer a hand in writing if you need it. David Hicks, I thank-you for all your hard work on the Lake Cumberland end. It was you who contacted Sandollar Yacht & RV Sales for us. There would have been no sponsor for our event if not for you. You also arranged for the news articles, visitors bags, and of course the 2 hour live radio broadcast from the docks of the marina. I hope they were able to get the start-up of all those Horses on the air. What a Thunderous Awakening it was! George Desmond, Thank-you for all your work with the video camera and putting everyone else before yourself. You are a full throttle guy in everything you do. For those of you attending the Dust-off, be ready for a Hot Rod Blender in George's possession. Rick Ryan, Thank-you for the education in keg usage. I'm only sorry that I didn't do a better job of managing the keg operation. I'll work on it for next year.

To everyone who attended the Awakening, Thank-you for the 3 day adrenalin rush. When I arrived home, I was very tired, but not because I had worked, it was because of the adrenalin high I have been on for the last month or so. Sleep was a unknown happening because of the anticipation. Special thanks to the Virginia gang who when-ever I had a bad day, were able to lift my spirits with their stories and fun between themselves. By the way, Bryan, can I borrow your DustBuster to suck up water I accidently splashed on Todd's (Roadtrip) Classic? Got ya both! Thanks guys. BigGrizzly, Randy, I'm so glad you were able to attend. Your Criterion sure is a beautiful Donzi and I'll bet that a lot of other boat owners will be saying: "That Damn Donzi beat me again" Frank Civitano, you and your family are first class all the way. I see your boys take right after their dad. They were a natural for the operation of Geoo's Hot Rod Blender.

Now, for those of you who were not able to attend the event, I'll try to give you a play by play report of the weekend. I'm sure you have checked out the pictures that Brad Verd has posted for everyone. Great job Brad! It was fun for Beth and I to look at them and be able to know who was in each boat or who's boat we were looking at. FRIDAY - Most everyone arrived this day except for the folks who had arrived earlier and done the pre-event scouting for us. When I arrived, my first goal was to find a home for the refreshments I had brought with me. Much of the afternoon was spent helping other arrivals get their boats in the water. There was one gentleman who I thought was a Drag Racer lost at the resort. You see, this man was in the resort parking lot with a tractor trailer truck and a at least 100' trailer being towed behind it. No way did I think this guy was there to be a part of the Donzi gathering. Long story shorter, don't judge a book by it's cover. When I later saw the man in the restaurant, I asked him what was in the trailer. It turned out to be Jake Jacob's 16' Classic. This man gets my vote for best tow vehicle and 2nd would have to go to David Ledford's Tide Ride Dually. It looked like a tow truck for the Nascar Tide sponsored stock car. When you talk about dedication, this man is it. He had worked and even had to post phone his departure to KY to make his boat ready. For a best of show Donzi, it would be very difficult for me to choose. Everyone had their boats looking fantastic. Their was one from Ohio that my wife fell in love with the minute she saw it. Peter Beck owns a green and white 22' Classic that my wife just loved. It looks like a 22' Classic may be in my future. Sorry Bryan Tuvell and the other 22' ZX owners. Until she saw Peter's boat, you all had the boat in her eyes. Later Friday evening, everyone who we were able to gather up, met for a little while to introduce themselves and get a game plan for Saturday's activities. It was decided to do a 30 mi. ride to Connely Bottom for lunch on the eastern part of the lake. After lunch, we would come back west to the 76 Falls and the lake's dam for radar runs. Thank-you BigGrizzly for easing the minds of the lake patrol personnel. I will make sure they are aware of our plans in future years. SATURDAY - Everyone gathered at the marina docks around 9:00am to see and admire the Donzis that were moored there. Old friends and newly met friends discussed the mechanicals of the boats and Gary Bond even did something that I don't think I would have attempted. He changed his prop in 90 + deep water. George Desmond and Tom Riggle were interviewing the Donzi owners for the video. Then, a very scary moment for everyone. Mike Doyle slipped off the 28 ZX, hit his head, and plunged into the lake head first. Luckily, those standing on the dock were able to see his shoe and pull him to safety. We were very lucky to have a doctor available to attend to Mike until emergency personnel could arrive to take him to the hospital for further evaluation. I am very happy to say that on Sunday before I left, it was reported that Mike Doyle was doing much better. At about 11:00am or so, we brought the Horses to life. Everyone proceeded to parade out past Tim and Lori Fowler's Regazza to be filmed by George and Tom. We then made the ride to Connely Bottom where everyone had lunch and showed off the boats to the onlookers. We all then made the trek back to Jamestown and on to 76 Falls. The views of the shoreline and surrounding mountains was spectacular, but I believe the best sight of the weekend was when I pulled into the falls and saw all the Donzi boat owners rafted together in front of the water fall. There were a few other boats there, but all eyes were on our Donzis. There were even some Crownline boat owners who let me take some pictures from their houseboat and who were very impressed by the number of Donzi boats rafted together. With the sun getting low in the sky, everyone decided it was time to head back to Jamestown where a barbecue cook-out was planned for dinner. We had a Donzi that would not start when it was time to leave so it was towed to the nearest marina and later picked-up by it's owner with the trailer. As Beth and I continued on to Jamestown, we came upon another Donzi that had a problem and was being towed back to Jamestown. It's owner told us he was ok and to continue on back as it was getting dark. That was probably the longest run my engine had ever run over 4500. Beth was beginning to worry that we would get lost on the lake. She still hasn't learned to trust me about things like paying attention to where we go on the way so as to get back the same way. Needless to say, we arrived back at Jamestown a ok. Everyone enjoyed a barbecue dinner of burgers and dogs. George Desmond broke out the HP Blender and made refreshments for those who wanted them. After dinner, everyone gathered for a special ceremony with first information on Mike Doyle's condition and then awards from Mike Miller and Tom Riggle were handed out. I of course had not thought ahead to think that folks who had traveled far would want to get a early start Sunday morning and would not be attending the Sunday morning breakfast where I was planning to hand out a few items of my own. I had made for me 4 miniature boat paddles which said: The Midwest Donzi Club, The Awakening of the Horses, May 11th - 13th, 2001. No way these items could compare to the gifts that Tom Riggle and Mike Miller had handed out the night before, but they came from the heart and were given to the 4 people who made the event a success. Mike Miller, Mike Doyle, Tom Riggle, and David Hicks. SUNDAY - began with a Mother's Day buffet breakfast that was supplied by Sandollar Yachts & RV Sales. Even after Mike's accident. We all would have gladly paid for our breakfasts due to the untimely event with Mike Doyle. Those of us who attended the breakfast thank Sandollar very much. As Beth and I pulled out of the resort, we saw other some of the other folks pulling there boats out and preparing for the trip home. We beeped the truck horn like you might do has you leave a family members home. On the hill leading out, we ran into Scott and Heidi Baxter who were out for a morning walk. We wished each other a safe trip home and again said that next year we will have 80 Donzi boats at the Awakening. Heidi told Beth to not let me hang the Donzi neon sign over our bed. Not to worry, I have a special place in my family room where I want to mount it with my copy of "The King of Thunderboat Row" that I plan to have a case made for.

Randy Carabelli described me has the spark to make the engine run. He is right about that description, but all of you are the fuel that keeps the engine and the spark running. Beth and I could not stop talking about the weekend and it's events all the way home. I hope everyone got home with no problems. Ideas are already roaming in my head to make AOTH II better. Our first thing to do is to get the story and pictures to Hot Boat Magazine. If anyone has slide film pictures, get them to Tom Riggle. Hot Boat will develop and use what they can for the article. Also in the works, is a VHS tape of the event to make available to everyone who wants one. Us Northern folks I'm sure will be first in line to order for those cold days of Winter. http://www.donzi.net/ubb/biggrin.gif

Sincerely;
Scott and Beth Boldt

Forrest
05-15-2001, 10:03 AM
That sounds like it was really a great time. Best wishes to Mike for a speedy recovery. Goes to show that anything can happen anywhere. Be careful, no matter what you do.

I won't miss AOTH II!

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Forrest

PaulO
05-15-2001, 01:47 PM
Scott,
Although I am sorry to have missed the event, it was for good reason. I needed to be home for the birth of my second son. Next year however, I will plan better http://www.donzi.net/ubb/wink.gif and make sure I attend this great event.
PaulO

Dr. Dan
05-15-2001, 05:09 PM
Great Job Scot, sounds and looked like quite a gathering, Liz and I will definitely plan to head that way for AOTH II, we wish Mike a speedy recovery and the best of Health, and a Safe Boating season to us all, the Brotherhood of Donzi....Doc

Bandit
05-16-2001, 04:39 PM
Now that was one great time!!! Good people, weather and action.

Scott and Beth, thanks for an excellent weekend and we all appreciate the hard work and long hours you put into making this first annual event a big hit. I'll hang my 1st Annual AOTH Paddle proudly and I'll make sure Mike D. gets his.

Mike Miller, thanks again for coming to KY and spicing AOTH up with all those Donzi gifts. You've got a great personality and you sure do bring the Donzi family together. A perfect example was Sat. night after introducing the organizer of the largest poker run on Lake Cumberland. Mike: how many boats were in last years poker run? Response: 154. Mike: how much does it cost? Response: $395 for 2 people. Mike: how many Donzi's? Response: 4. Mike: ok, we can't have that, let's see, Donzi Marine will pay for 1/2 of the entrance fees for all Donzi's in this years poker run. Now, that's mighty generous and shows how Mike stands behind and likes to represent Donzi owners. Mike, I hope to be taking you up on that and for those that are interested it's the weekend after Labor Day and top prize is 5k. Again, thanks and I'll be flying my Donzi flag all year on Cumberland reminding those of your presence.

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone and I wish I could have mingled more but I had major problems with one of my houseboat engines Fri. on the way down (got in real late) that I had to get worked out for my 38 mi. trip back down the lake Sun. No luck on the over heating so we tied 5 houseboats up and made an all day trip back to the other end. I ended up making it back to my dock an hour or so after dark. Although, I did make up for it Mon. when I got out in the Donzi and ran around all day!

For any of you that plan on hitting Lake Cumberland this summer, stop on by my dock (last one) in Pitman Creek if you get a chance. I'd like to check out some of those Donzi's again and extend my hospitality with a cool beverage of your choice!!!


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Bandit...

Frank Civitano
05-16-2001, 08:57 PM
Scott. Thank you for a great weekend. We had a great time and We are glad we didn't miss the AOTH. We are all like family and it feels so good when we all get together! Mike Miller. You are like my Donzi brother that Donzi should be proud to have! Bandit Mike made the same deal for the Atlantic City Poker run any Donzi 1/2 price! he wants a bigger Donzi showing. A Donzi first

GEOO
05-17-2001, 08:55 AM
I just got home last night, late!!
What a fantastic trip!!!
I don't know where to start.
Harbormaster Scott, If it wasn't for this site I wouldn't have known Lake Cumberland existed, Thanks, looking forward to Lake George.
Scott, Great job getting us together, News papers, Radio's, Flyers etc..... WOW!!!
Donzi-Mike, you make things happen, thanks for the gifts!!!
Frank , Thanks for the Blender operators!!
Randy, Thanks for not passing me!!
Ohio Group, Fun Convoy!!!
Honda Boys, Great group!! hope the video's work out. Ran out of time. Would have liked to get more running shots??
I'm terrible with names. Had a great time and enjoyed meeting all of you. Too short, I needed more time!! GEOO

BigGrizzly
05-17-2001, 02:16 PM
For all of you who wondered why Barb was holding her arm and leaning over, she had a vertbrate pressing on her spinal chord. When we got back she went into surgery and fixed it. She is home and out of boating for 6 weeks. She said to thank everybody for the fun and entertainment. Especially the Baha and the Fountain. Geoo we loved watching you go by, what a trip. Andy said he drives like Daddy. Just incase you guys havn't figured it out yet Geoo can really drive, its not just the boat.
Scott thanks again for spearheadding this gettogether.

Randy

Forrest
05-17-2001, 03:24 PM
Barb is out for six weeks here in the middle of the summer!!! Let's see, the Corsican run great, the Criterian has a new engine with blower . . . well, yea, I guess that it was about time to have the wife's fixed up! Hell, Randy, after this, there won't be anything left for you to do. http://www.donzi.net/ubb/biggrin.gif Anyway, glad to hear that everything went well. Be good to her and her ready for Eufaula III.

Whishing Barb speedy recovery!

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Forrest

[This message has been edited by Forrest (edited 05-17-2001).]

BigGrizzly
05-17-2001, 09:32 PM
She is thinking Just about july fourth and fireworks on the lake. She will be ready for EufaulaIII This time I try to get Marc and his 22ZX to come.

Randy

[This message has been edited by BigGrizzly (edited 05-17-2001).]

boldts
05-17-2001, 09:56 PM
BigGrizzly,
Glad to read that everything went well with your wife's surgery. After hearing how much she enjoys loading the Criterion on the trailer at the end of a boating day, 6 weeks must seem like a life time for her. Best wishes from our family to yours.

Scott Boldt