| FOR YOUR
ENTERTAINMENT and EDUCATION! The ROUNDUP offers six unique seminars; no cost to attend, for registered attendees only. IMPORTANT NOTE: All seminar presenters, topics, times and locations are subject to change. Any updates will be posted at the Roundup's mobile Registration HQ. |
| SEMINAR
- THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2023 |
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THOM SHERWOOD "SECRET AGENT GTO: The Pontiacs of 'xXx'" |
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CLICK IMAGE AT RIGHT TO WATCH THE xXx GTO FLAME CAR ON JAY LENO'S GARAGE --->> |
TIME: Thursday
Night, 7:30 - 9:00pm LOCATION: ROLLING THRU TIME AUTO MUSEUM DESCRIPTION: Thom has been a member of POCI for over 40 years and currently serves as the Arizona Chapter's president and Roundup coordinator. He is a regular contributor to POCI's Smoke Signals magazine, where he has penned a number of classic Pontiac, Oakland and GMC feature stories plus the light-hearted and nostalgic "Distinctive Deeds" column. He has also researched and published numerous Pontiac-themed movie reviews under the "Rally Reels" banner. Highlighting Thom's personal fleet of Pontiacs is a pair of 1967 GTOs that were heavily modified for the 2002 Vin Diesel spy-action film 'xXx' (pronounced "Triple-X"). His Roundup presentation, "Secret Agent GTO," makes its local debut on Thursday evening at the Rolling Thru Time Auto Museum. There, Thom will share a detailed behind-the-scenes look at how his Pontiacs were transformed into the color-shifting James Bond-like gadget/spy car that serves as Diesel's hero vehicle. Accompanying his presentation for a show-and-tell demonstration will be the actual screen-used xXx GTO "Flame Car" as originally built by that film's Hollywood special effects crew. To learn more, visit www.xxxgto.com or follow him on Instagram: @triple_x_gto 
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SEMINARS - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023 |
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JEFF LOVICH "Pet Peeves, Live!" |
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TIME: Friday, 10:30 - 11:45am LOCATION: CONFERENCE ROOM at Courtyard by Marriott (overflow hotel) DESCRIPTION: Jeff has been a longtime member of both POCI and the GTO Association of America. He was a founding member of the National Capitol Area Chapter of POCI with Paul Zazarine, Chuck Roberts, and others in the late 1970s, later becoming the Royal GTOs Chapter. As a speaker and author with over 50 published articles so far, one of his most popular series in GTOAA’s The Legend is "Pet Peeves from Arizona" where he identifies, photographs and critiques the many quirky, clever, or just plain dumb "fixes" and mechanical maladies and modifications found on the so-called "restored" Pontiacs that cross the auction blocks in Phoenix every winter. The end result... Buyer beware! Jeff and his wife Sharon live in Flagstaff, Arizona. They still own the Yorktown Blue 1964 GTO coupe that they rode in on their first date back in 1982. |
DAVE ANDERSON "Jim Wangers' Final Decades: Behind the Wheel with the 'Godfather of the GTO'" |
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TIME: Friday, 1:30 - 2:45pm LOCATION: CONFERENCE ROOM at Courtyard by Marriott (overflow hotel) DESCRIPTION: Dave traveled and worked alongside Pontiac marketing legend Jim Wangers for more than two decades, managing his personal appearances and directing his presentations at Pontiac events across the country. Dave, often referred to as "Big Injun," is most notably known as the driver of Jim Wangers' 1966 "GeeTO Tiger" drag race car. As an Associate Publisher of Pontiac Enthusiast magazine during Jim's ownership, Dave hatched the "new" GeeTO Tiger show with the goal of exciting the Pontiac hobby while growing the magazine's readership. Dave was also a founding member of Pontiac Drag Days, was the Drag Race Chairman for POCI, and previously served as a POCI Western Region Director. |
JEFF SAWRUK "Continuing the Pontiac Legacy" |
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CLICK IMAGE AT RIGHT
TO WATCH JEFF's 1969 PONTIAC CUSTOM 'S' COMPETING AT THE PURE STOCK DRAGS --->> |
TIME: Friday, 3:00 - 4:15pm LOCATION: CONFERENCE ROOM at Courtyard by Marriott (overflow hotel) DESCRIPTION: According to family lore, some of the first words Jeff Sawruk ever spoke were, "My daddy works on Pontiac cars." His father, the late John Sawruk, was indeed an engineer for Pontiac who later was knighted as PMD's Official Historian and Director of Pontiac Motorsports. So it should be no surprise to anyone that Jeff, a resident of Clarkston, Michigan, has maintained a deep affection for our favorite brand. In fact, Jeff's own Pontiac ownership history began as soon as he obtained a driver's license at age 16. Indeed, the apple didn't fall too far from this family's tree. Today, Jeff's career path and personal interests proudly echo those of his dad. Although he is currently employed by Chrysler as an Assistant Chief Engineer responsible for high-performance driveline systems, his heart and soul remain firmly attached to the legends and lore of GM's Arrowhead Division. As a budding Pontiac historian-in-training, his intense connection to the brand fully honors his dad's legacy. As a side note, we are especially proud to welcome Jeff to the Roundup because 2023 marks the 40th anniversary of when his dad made his very first visit to Tucson to share an informal-but-fun Pontiac presentation that fully entertained our earliest Arizona Chapter #29 POCI members! 
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SEMINARS - SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2023 |
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BILL SCHOENING "Restoring the 1963 Pontiac X-400 Showcar" |
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CLICK IMAGE AT RIGHT TO WATCH THE X-400's FIRST APPEARANCE ON MY THREE SONS --->> |
TIME: Saturday, 2:00 - 3:15pm LOCATION: Truly Nolen Board Room (accessible through T-N's inner courtyard) DESCRIPTION: As a lifelong Pontiac enthusiast, Bill can proudly claim to be the co-founder (and very first president) of the Arizona Chapter #29 POCI in 1981. His talent for highly skilled restoration work on classic Pontiac and Buick automobiles has since netted him the prestigious Zenith Award from the Antique Automobile Club of America in 2015. This was the first year for this honor when 20 cars from all shows in the country were selected to be recognized as the best restorations that year. The object of that prestigious award and the true gem of Bill's fleet is the 1963 X-400, a Pontiac showcar that was originally commissioned by General Motors Vice President of Design Bill Mitchell. Built upon a Catalina convertible body that had been randomly pulled from the assembly line, this factory exhibition vehicle features a one-off supercharged 421cid V8 that was assembled by Pontiac racing legend Mickey Thompson. After being displayed at major auto shows around the U.S., the bright yellow X-400 made two appearances on TV's My Three Sons, nearly 60 years ago to the day! Perhaps the most fascinating part of Bill's story — and as told for the first time at a POCI Regional Meet — is how he initially learned of the X-400 in its derelict, almost-scrapped condition before performing an extensive, multiple-year restoration on this priceless, one-of-a-kind Pontiac. To learn more, visit www.1963PontiacX400.com 
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GERSON M. GOLDBERG "GM Gold, Live!" |
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TIME: Saturday, 3:30 - 4:30pm LOCATION: Truly Nolen Board Room (accessible through T-N's inner courtyard) DESCRIPTION: Longtime POCI member Gerson M. Goldberg has a unique connection to both Pontiac and GMC Trucks. Gerson's father and two uncles founded Blue Ribbon Auto, an automotive tire and service center in Norwich, Connecticut, in May 1919. As their business grew, they acquired the local Pontiac franchise in 1940. Gerson grew up with the dealership, then working part-time through his high school and college years and full-time in summers and vacations. After his enlistment in the U.S. Army ended in 1969, he joined his father and brother full-time at the dealership. While a few other franchise lines were added and dropped over the years, it was the GMC Truck franchise that became a permanent addition to the Pontiac dealership. The Light-Duty GMC Truck line was added in 1972, with Medium- and Heavy-Duty GMC Trucks in 1973. In 1981, the brothers bought a second dealership, Nutmeg Pontiac-Buick, in Putnam, CT. Gerson and his brother eventually sold both dealerships in the mid-1980s. In "retirement," Gerson serves as a Finance Professor. He currently lives in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where he has restored many Pontiacs and GMC Trucks and pens his "GM GOLD" series for POCI's Smoke Signals magazine. During this, our final Roundup seminar presentation, Gerson will share his memories about growing up and becoming an active Pontiac-GMC dealer. He will also discuss some of the special-ordered Pontiacs and GMC Trucks with which he was involved. There will also be a Q&A. |
