Thunder Vette Set TVS

Corvette Club - Sierra Vista, Arizona

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May 10, 2008 - Published:  Sierra Vista Herald


March 29, 2008 - Published:  Sierra Vista Herald


December 23, 2007 - Published: Sierra Vista Herald 

Members of the Thunder Vette Set Corvette Club give $9,500 to members of local charities at Lawley Chevrolet in Sierra Vista. (Courtesy of the Thunder Vette Set Corvette Club)  

Corvette Club $9,500 to Local Charities 

SIERRA VISTA — Thunder Vette Set Corvette Club of Sierra Vista recently contributed $9,500 to various local charities.

The charities included the Salvation Army, Stocking Stuffers, the Boys & Girls Club, St. Vincent DePaul, Forgach House, CANTER, Care for the Horses, Sierra Vista Animal Shelter, Habitat for Humanity, Cochise Children’s Center, Arizona Children’s Home Family Preservation Bisbee, Women’s Transition Project DBA Renaissance House, AYSO809 Douglas, Sierra Vista Fire Department, Fry Fire Department, Huachuca City Fire Department, Whetstone Fire Department, Douglas Fire Department, Palominas Fire Department, the Good Neighbor Alliance, and CTOF Fort Huachuca (Chaplain’s Fund).

Group President Dave Zilinski says the contributions are an increase of 16 percent from last year’s contributions. The contributed funds were acquired by the club’s events throughout the year, culminating in its Corvette Thunder event in November of this year. That event also brings thousands of dollars into the Sierra Vista Economy and enabled the club to increase the charitable contributions it makes every year.

Thunder Vette Set is a nonprofit organization that donates to local and national charities each year. The group is an active organization, which participates, in many local events throughout the community.


April 2, 2007 - Published: Sierra Vista Herald

Thunder Vette Set Corvette Club member Kathy Collins, right, is sharing her 2006 yellow Roadster Corvette Stories with Paula Scott at the club's Picnic and Style Drive on Saturday at the Veterans' Memorial Park in Sierra Vista.

SIERRA VISTA — ITS2QWK.

No, that’s not a misprint — it’s a license plate number of the 2007 Z06 Corvette owned by Bob Francis. He and his wife Ginny have had a romance with the legendary speedster brand for 16 years.

At Sunday’s Thunder Vette Set get-together at Veteran’s Park, Francis and other vette lovers in the area gathered for a picnic lunch and caught up on the latest news in the world of Corvettes.

“I liked racing when I was younger,” said Francis, “but, now, my sight is not as good and neither are my reflexes. The younger drivers can do better in most circumstances. There are sometimes, though, when experience wins over reflexes.”

Those reflexes will be tested two weeks from now at the Sierra Vista Municipal Airport. On April 14 and 15, the club leases the tarmac, and those who dare take to the track try to make the best speed in their class, said Scott Freeman, club event coordinator. On the tarmac an obstacle course is set up and drivers take turns vying for top place. The event starts at noon on Saturday and at 8 a.m. on Sunday. There will also be an exhibition-type course, called a Funkahna, set up at Lawley Chevrolet on Highway 90.

“It’s also one of club’s biggest fundraisers,” noted Scott. “Last year we raised over $8,300 in all our activities and it all went to various charitable organizations in Sierra Vista — like the Forgach House, and the women’s shelter and to scholarships. Most of the time the members end up absorbing a lot of the costs involved in the all the events. This is a giving bunch of people.”

Liz Woods and her husband Tom have had the need for speed since 1969, when they bought a 1966 vette as their second car.

“We needed a second car when Tom was stationed in Maryland. We saw this ‘66 and decided to buy it. We’ve had a love affair with vettes ever since. I have the urge to speed and I have the speeding tickets to show for it. Now, of course, we drive more sensibly,” she said with a grin.

There was a lot of vette talk at the meet-n-greet Sunday as members asked who had done what to their cars and picked each others brains to figure out a problem with the fuel mix.

After lunch it was off to Tubac for a Sunday drive as a group.

“This is something we do every Spring to try to get any new people with Corvettes interested in joining the club,” said Woods. “If you have a Vette, you need to come and join in the fun.”


January 2007 - Published: Sierra Vista Herald

Photo Courtesy Ed Honda-Sierra Vista Herald

SIERRA VISTA - Thunder Vette Set Corvette Club of Sierra Vista recently contributed $8,000 to various local charities.

      The club is a nonprofit organization that donates to local and national charities each year.  This year's contributions are an increase of 62 percent from last year and 230 percent from the year prior.   The funds were acquired by the club's events throughout the year, culminating in their Corvette Thunder event in November, which brought thousands of dollars into the Sierra Vista economy and enabled the club to increase the contributions it makes every year.

     Donations went to the following local charities:

     o  Salvation Army

     o  Stocking Stuffers

     o  Sierra Vista Boys and Girls Club

     o  St. Vincent DePaul

     o  Forgach House

     o  CANTER

     o  Care for the Horses

     o  Sierra Vista Animal Shelter

     o  Habitat for Humanity

     o  Children in Crisis Center

     o  Arizona Children's Home Family Preservation, Bisbee

     o  Women's Transition Project, Bisbee

     o  SYSO809, Douglas

     o  Sierra Vista Fire Department

     o  Fry Fire Department

     o  Huachuca City Fire Department

     o  Whetstone Fire Department

     o  Douglas Fire Department

     o  Palominas Fire Department

     o  Scholarships, $1,000

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