{"id":36263,"date":"2020-04-07T09:00:44","date_gmt":"2020-04-07T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dodgegarage.com\/news-api\/?p=36263"},"modified":"2024-03-25T11:23:02","modified_gmt":"2024-03-25T15:23:02","slug":"the-club-connection-tennessee-valley-mopar-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/owners-clubs\/2020\/04\/the-club-connection-tennessee-valley-mopar-club.html","title":{"rendered":"The Club Connection: Tennessee Valley Mopar\u00ae Club"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Alabama might be nicknamed The Heart of Dixie, but if you happened to wander into one of the Tennessee Valley Mopar\u00ae<\/sub> Club\u2019s monthly meetings in Huntsville, Alabama, you\u2019d find a group with a heart for Mopar!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DodgeGarage had the pleasure of speaking with Doug Eagan, charter\nmember and current newsletter editor of the club. This California native turned\nsouthern gent gave us a look under the hood to see what is at the heart of the Tennessee\nValley Mopar Club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization was founded in 1996 by a group of 15-20 employees who\nworked in the electronics division of a Chrysler facility in Huntsville. After\ntheir first meeting at a local Dodge dealership, there was an instant\nconnection among these enthusiasts, and word quickly spread about the club. Two\nyears later, they were ready to host their first annual Show & Go, which\ncontinues to take place each June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Group<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tennessee Valley currently has more than 50 members from across the\nregion and state, with a variety of classic and contemporary vehicles. Of\ncourse, we had to ask Doug what sweet rides they have, which he didn\u2019t need to\nattribute to any particular member. But Doug told us he was \u201cnot afraid to name\nnames!\u201d Bob Bentley\u2019s collection of close to 20 vehicles includes a \u201927\nChrysler Roadster, a \u201929 Chrysler Dual Cowl, a \u201936 Chrysler Airflow C-10, a HEMI\u00ae<\/sup> engine-\npowered 1954 Dodge Convertible and a C-Body 1968 Plymouth Fury Convertible. And then, of course, there is Ed Hanish, a former\nChrysler electronics engineer, whose collection is numbered somewhere in the 50s\nor 60s. The collection ranges from a 1923 Willys Knight to a 2002 Chrysler\nT&C, and includes a variety of Chryslers, Dodges, DeSotos and Plymouths,\nincluding \u2019Cudas. The members never know what vehicle Bob or Ed will drive to\none of their monthly meetings \u2013 it\u2019s always a surprise and delight to see what\nthey roll up in! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meetings are held the third Saturday of most months. In addition to\nsocializing with fellow enthusiasts and getting some free coffee and donuts,\nthe gatherings feature a guest presenter who will educate the crowd on their\nsubject of expertise, which could be anything from the engineering specifics of\na vehicle to how to keep those classics running. A bit of club business is also\ndiscussed, especially in the months leading up to the annual show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"vehicle<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Annual Show & Go<\/a> is held the third Saturday of June, which coincides with Father\u2019s Day weekend as an extra special treat to all of the dads who are part of the club and community. The Huntsville Dragway features between 100 and 180 Mopar vehicles from every decade. If your car matches the theme of the show (Mopar vehicles of 1970 is the 2020 theme), you\u2019re bound to get one of the prime display locations, so you don\u2019t have to have won Best in Show last year to get a great spot!

Hundreds attend this annual event, which features typical car show festivities, but two items stand out as being quite unique. The first is the Mopar model car contest, where vehicles are judged and awarded in both junior and senior classes. The second exciting extra is the Fun Run. No, you don\u2019t have to physically exert yourself here. \u201cIt is an exciting opportunity where anyone in the show can drive their Mopar down the strip to see what it can do,\u201d said Doug. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to be a pro or have ever done this sort of thing before to experience the thrill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"people<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Everyone has a different reason as to why FCA brand vehicles thrill\nthem. For Doug, it started at a young age. His father owned a shop in southern\nCalifornia where he got to work on cars. When the business landed a contract\nwith Chrysler to work on some racing projects, Doug got to be test driver! From\nthere, he was hooked, and his love of vehicles was only solidified with talking\nshop with notables like Tom Hoover on a somewhat regular basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what makes Dodge stand out today? According to Doug, \u201cIt is the\nuniqueness of the brand. Look at what they are bumping out now \u2013 it is utterly\nincredible. You can buy an 800-horsepower car right off the lot to just go poke\naround in. No one else is doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"vehicle<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But are club members doing more than just poking around in their cool\ncars? In an era where digital media is overtaking human connection, what is the\nvalue of becoming part of a club like this? With YouTube tutorials to watch and\nDoorDash to bring you lunch, there\u2019s no need to leave the comfort of your\ngarage, right? Not so fast! There are two key benefits you aren\u2019t going to find\non your smartphone or tablet \u2013 comradery and expertise. \u201cIn addition to the lifelong\nfriendships that are developed, which go far beyond a conversation around how\nto rev up an engine, being part of a club gives you access to a vast wealth of\nknowledge and technical expertise,\u201d Doug explained. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of advice\nout there, and a lot of it is bad. Our club members know a ton, but we also\nhave a great network of trusted experts to turn to for information or a helping\nhand.\u201d In fact, two of the club\u2019s participants run shops that are always here\nto help members on a variety of projects with \u201cfriends and family\u201d pricing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you live near Huntsville, Alabama, you\u2019re more than welcome to check out a Tennessee Valley Mopar Club monthly meeting<\/a><\/strong>, join in on a cruise or attend the club\u2019s annual show. But if you live outside of the region, visit your local Mopar club. Or if you don\u2019t have one, it is pretty easy to form your own car club. According to Doug, \u201cSocial media makes finding people of like minds very easy \u2013 all you need to start a club is to get people together. Find a meeting place, set a date\/time, tell everyone to be there\u2026and you\u2019re on your way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"vehicle<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course, a full-fledged club that hosts an annual event requires a bit\nmore than that, but it is a start. One of the keys to establishing one is\nbuilding strong relationships with sponsors. \u201cWe have to pay quite a bit to\nrent the race track to host our show, and a substantial deposit must be given\nup front before we see any revenue,\u201d said Doug. \u201cSponsorships are key not only\nfor our cash flow, but also to defer much of the cost in holding the event and\nmake it affordable to both the participants and spectators. We couldn\u2019t do any\nof this without the support of these businesses, and we are incredibly grateful\nto them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A big shout-out from the DodgeGarage team to all the hardworking\nmembers, volunteers and sponsors who work to make the Tennessee Valley Mopar\nClub the success it is! And a special thanks to Doug for sharing their stories\nwith us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Alabama might be nicknamed The Heart of Dixie, but if you happened to wander into one of the Tennessee Valley Mopar\u00ae Club\u2019s monthly meetings in Huntsville, Alabama, you\u2019d find a group with a heart for Mopar! DodgeGarage had the pleasure of speaking with Doug Eagan, charter member and current newsletter editor of the club. This California native turned southern gent gave us a look under the hood to see what is at the heart of the Tennessee Valley Mopar Club. The organization was founded in 1996 by a group of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":36267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2624],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-owners-clubs"],"acf":[],"custom_fields":{"post_thumbnail_image":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/tennesseevalleymoparclubfeature.png","icon_selection":"article","external_link":"","featured_article":[],"upload_background_image":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36263"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36263"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36263\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36501,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36263\/revisions\/36501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36263"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36263"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.api.dodgegarage.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36263"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}