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
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