Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JUly 14, 2023 ASKS | FROM PAGE 9 turnout with 55 cars last Tuesday on Cruise Night – 55 cars. We came to Cruise Night and formed a “60” with the cars. We put all of the cars together to form a “60” and used the leftover cars to form an underline to utilize all 55 cars that came that night. As far as driving somewhere, the biggest one I would say was this thing we call “the Poker Run.” We have five stops along the way. And at each stop, you pull a car out of the hat, and then you go to the next stop and the next stop and the next stop. All those cars, I’d say we had 25 or 26 cars at one time, just from our club. Q: What’s the biggest thing about being a Corvette owner? The passion? What does it mean? Please share. Frank: I like the style of the car – the way the car looks and rides. I was always into sports cars, but I never really had the time or money to have them when I was young. Like Al said, everyone that has got one now has gray hair. That seems to be the majority of the case. Now that Corvettes come out with this mid-engine, it seems to be drawing in a lot younger crowd now. The new style almost looks like a Ferrari. If you took the badge of a Ferrari and put the C-8 Corvette next to it, it looks almost the same. So that’s what’s driving the younger crowd now, to buy into that car. I enjoy driving it and I enjoy the people and everything else. And then I got nominated to run the club. And I’ve been on the board now for four years now, going on five. This is my second year as president. My term ends in December. Q: What is the most remarkable thing you can tell me about the history of the club? What is the most remarkable thing about this club? Frank: The most remarkable thing – the fact that they were able to stay as a club continuously since 1963. To have a club grow… they started out with a handful of people in 1963 to grow to 180. Some people drop off, but newcomers join. Who knows, we might hit the 200 mark. Q: Linda, please share with me. If it were up to you, what would the color of your Corvette be and what kind? If Frank says, “Okay. For your birthday present, I am going to buy you a Corvette.” Linda Puccia: I’d drop dead! I like the older ones, around ’58. I don’t know what you call it with that little dent in the Frank Puccia, president of North Shore Corvettes of Mass. Inc., is shown in his 2011 Corvette. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) side. I like the look of it. And I do like the red. Q: So, you would get Torch Red? Linda: Yes – I think I would. Q: It looks like a cross between an old Chevy and a Ferrari. Linda: I would take whatever he gets me. Q: Besides going along and being a good sport, what do you get out of it? Linda: The friendships are incredible. Q: So, you would probably connect with the wives of the Corvette owners? Linda: Absolutely. We share stories. Q: Are most of the Corvette owners married and they bring their wives? Frank: The majority of our membership are husband and wife. Linda: We do have a lot of women who have lost their husbands recently. There are, like, four women, offhand, who I think they drive their Corvettes. The women share stories and we go out. It’s so fun riding in the convertible on a beautiful day. Q: Let’s say I’m going to buy a Corvette tomorrow morning. Tell me why I should join your club. Linda: It’s so fun! It’s a lot of fun and great people. It really is. There’s a lot to do; it keeps you busy – going out to eat or just driving in the car – or going on an adventure. Q: Anybody else want to share anything more? Al: Obviously, we don’t live forever. And when we have a member that passes, barring it’s not in the middle of dead winter, we have a procession, so to speak, and the fellow who had inspired me to buy my Corvette had passed away. And it was a pretty good procession. There had to be 25 to 30 cars in that procession. It’s quite a sight. It’s a sad affair when you lose somebody you care for who is a member of the club. But it seems like the people honor it. We care for every member. We have a member who is going through difficult times right now. We kind of muster together and give him some support, whatever way any individual can. It’s close-knit. It’s almost like somebody has got the same blood type and heartbeat – DNA. Linda: The guys get a lot of information on the cars – on how to maintain them. Frank: And we’re a charitable organization. We raise money every year for St. Jude Children’s Hospital and the Edith Nourse Rogers Veterans’ Hospital in Bedford. That’s our main two charities, and every year, we give them a thousand dollars each. In addition to that, we do Toys for Tots. CELEBRATING 60 YEARS: The decal for the North Shore Corvettes of Mass. Inc. club, which observed its 60th anniversary this week. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) Al Marotta, vice president of North Shore Corvettes of Mass. Inc., is shown in his 2019 Corvette. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler)
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