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Jan 1, 2009

Happy New Year to everyone from the AOF!!!

November 2, 2008

New mailing address for national office

Russ and Sue Bircher are in the process of relocating again. The new mailing address is: American Outboard Federation, 303 3rd Street SE, Yelm, WA 98597 The e-mail address remains: AOFoffice@comcast.net.

November 2, 2008

National Meeting Held in Spokane

The AOF national meeting was held Saturday November 1, 2008 at the Spokane Valley Eagles Club in Spokane Valley Washington. A quorum was established during the preliminary committee meetings. The general meeting was convened at 2:00 pm. The first order of business was retention of Russ Bircher as Executive Director. Not-withstanding the resume submitted by Carl Staron, the Officers and Directors felt that, on the whole Bircher’s performance has been satisfactory; he enjoys the support and confidence of the Commissioners and Officers, and therefore has been retained.

Election votes were tallied. Charles Walters was elected Competition VP and John Pifer was elected Safety VP. Several rule changes and updates were discussed in the committee meeting. Those that passed will be drafted in ballot form and sent to the members for balloting by December 1^st.

Two new divisions will be established for 2009. Outboard Drags and Nostalgic Flat bottoms have been active participant in AOF for sometime. They will be organizing their own committees to work within the AOF organization.

October 4, 2008

Weather Breaks for Nationals

In the end it was a very nice National show for AOF and SLORA. We had a very good turnout of boats and racers but Saturday weather was uncooperative. Strong wind and 18 inch chop with whitecaps prevented racing. The weather opened up on Sunday and we got to race! I want to thank Ron Baker and his team of worker bee's from the Stateline club. They did a great job, the schedule ran like my old clock, slow but sure.This race was in memory of Terry Fiorelli, who passed away last month.
Also thanks to all the AOF officers that worked to put this on (Rod Black, pres. Dave Loomis sec.The commissiors -John Pifer, Chris Henning, Daren Goehring,--Inspectors- Charlie Walters , Dennis Keller,).And thanks to all of you that came out, it was nice to see the Montana race team, the guys from Oregon, Idaho, and not to forget the westside of the great state of Washington ( Whidbey Island club, and SOA, Seattle.) It was a lot of fun working with all of you on this National. Pictures to follow (batteries dead in camera) See race results

Russ Bircher

August 9. 2008

Fund established for Terry Fiorelli Family

A fund to help the Fiorelli family with Terry's medical and funeral expenses has been opened at AmericanWest Bank. Anyone wishing to make a contribution may send funds to: Terry Fiorelli Fund, AmericanWest Bank, The Valley Financial Center, 9019 E Appleway Blvd., Spokane Valley, Washington, 99212, For more information you may contact the bank at (509) 755-2265. Please make checks payable to the "Terry Fiorelli Fund". Deposits may also be made in person at any AmericanWest branch.

June 27,2008

West Coast Racing Inaugural Success

In spite of lighter than hoped for turnout of boats, West Coast Outboard Racing put on a good show for the folks at the Woodland Washington Planters Day Festival celebration on June 22. Thanks to some creative class configurations the crowd got a good taste of outboard racing Northwest style. Considering today’s environment, opening up a new racing venue is no small accomplishment. Kudos to race organizer Al Peffley and his crew; Al put his considerable talent and years of experience to good use working his way through the labyrinth of permits, insurance, community relations, and coordination with local government to put on a well organized race program. Numerous comments from spectators that they hoped the boats would be back next year indicate the foundation is in place for future success in the western Washington and northern Oregon area. The first event for a club is often the hardest. The new West Coast Outboard Racing Club has shown they have what it takes and the AOF family wishes them every success with future events. Well done guys!

June 11, 2008

Minimost Test Successful

Saturday June 11, was first on the water test for the Spokane Minimost. Builder Dennis Westby, Rick Keller and John Pifer took the boat from the Spokane Propeller and Dock shop to Newman Lake for the test. The safety/pickup boat was provided by Harold Craig. The test driver was Amanda Krautcramer. the weather was windy with intermittent showers. There was a 6 to 8 inch chop. With full race gear Amanda weighed in at 105 pound. The motor was the stock Biggs and Straton 5 hp air cooled motor. With the exception of the added steering bar and relocated kill switch the motor was stock. Amanda reported the boat was stable and comfortable to drive. The general consensus is that the package would be well suited to 8 to 12 year old kids who want to try boat racing. More detail will be reported as testing continues. For the story of building the Minimost see the feature article.

April 11. 2008

Joe Schultz Dies

Joe Schultz, longtime boat racer, died April 10 in Iowa City Iowa after a brief illness. Joe was one of the founders of AOF and a lifetime member. He had more recently been associated with NBRA and the USTS. He will be missed by all who knew him. All in AOF send their condolences to the Shultz family.

AOF Officers for 2008-2009

President--------Rod Black

Executive Director------Russ Bircher

Competition V.P.-------Charles Walters

Treasurer --------------Jay Roesner

Tech V.P.------------Howard Pickerell

Secretary ----------Dave Loomis

Safety Director -----John Pifer

Historical Director------Steve Roskowski

AOF National Office

303 3rd Street SE

Yelm, WA 98597

aofoffice@comcast.net

Phone 360-359-6440

Please email the webmaster with any comments, questions, or suggestions. admin@aofboatracing.org