I must say we have quite a group of folks that have made themselves available to assist with the car. Some have been with us on all of the trips. We have added a few this year and will be missing a couple due to the COVID-19 situation. It seems to work out that each has a job to do but all pitch in wherever needed. I am so appreciative of them because I am not much help. Having them around makes me the coordinator of food and accommodations and other non-technical tasks. There is a lot less frustration due to them being there!

Here you see Trey Williamson at the rear of the car, David Skipper on this side, Adam Privette on the other side and John Watkins sitting in the doorway of the trailer. Joey Watkins is hiding on the other side of Trey helping to pack the parachutes. Marshall Welch is on the other end of a parachute and out of the picture if I had to guess.

Trey manages a crew at a local electric cooperative. He and Amanda and their kids John and Dalilah are members of our church and good friends. They all went last year but we will be missing Trey’s family this time around. We asked him to accompany us 3 years ago. Trey goes out of his way to be available for us and we treasure their friendship.

John and Joey Watkins are father and son and have been friends of Mike’s for many years. Joey and Mike served in the SC National Guard together. Joey works in the maintenance field at A. O. Smith and John owns a moving company. They both love hot rods and have project cars that they have built. Both are so good-natured and the trips would not be the same without them. Joey has a special place in the hearts of our grandsons Cary and Hudson as he is always up to something . . . like locking up the hand brake on his car and skidding across the parking lot. John reportedly had “cootie bugs” in his bed at the hotel the first year. He has also been known to fund the kids’ trips to the ice cream truck.

Marshall Welch is Mike’s brother. He is a retired project manager from BASF. Both Marshall and sister-in-law Ann were with us last year. Ann, Shannon, Amanda and I shared the duties of feeding the gang. We will miss Marshall this year as he has decided to play it safe. I know Marshall will miss us too. I am betting there will be quite a bit of communication back and forth as he has been involved with ALL of Mike’s project cars.

David Skipper is Marshall’s grandson and Mike’s great nephew. (I think that is the way it goes. He is Mike’s niece’s son.) He was able to go last year as he had just graduated with his engineering degree. He is newly married and working now so won’t be with us. Louis especially will miss picking on him. David was not even engaged when we made the trip last year but he and Emilie were definitely “an item”. The guys picked on him mercilessly about that and his long showers.

Speaking of Louis, Louis McRae is a high school friend of Mike’s. They have kept up through reunions over the years and Louis found out about the Bonneville trips through Facebook. Louis works in the maintenance field with medical devices. He and his wife, Julie, live in Denver, Colorado. With Denver being so close to the Salt Flats he decided to join us last year. He is the kind of guy that you immediately feel like you have known all your life. He fit right in with everyone. We are grateful that he will be coming again this year.

This photo shows David Williamson who, sadly, will not be with us this year. David is another friend from our church. He has been trying to maneuver his schedule to go with us but has opted out this time around. We will miss him but hope he can go another time.

Adam Privette is our son-in-law. Adam works in the maintenance field at Honda. He first went to Bonneville with us with a different car when he and our daughter Shannon were dating years ago. Fast forward to now and they are married with 4 children. Adam has been on all the streamliner trips and is invaluable to us. Shannon and the boys, Cary and Hudson, went with us last year. This year Shannon will be staying home with the two girls but the boys will be going.

Cary has been on all of the streamliner trips and this is Hudson’s second. We were afraid that school was going to dictate that they stay home this time around but it has worked out for them to go. They both play baseball and love all things “motor” . . . mini-bikes, go-carts, dirt bikes, lawn mowers. They both are cutting grass, trimming shrubbery and weed-eating these days. Hudson likes to get out and ride the mower around and around their house. They scare me to death at times. I am generally grateful I can send them home in one piece at the end of a visit. At the Salt Flats they know well the sound of the ice cream truck.

Our new crew members this year include Sheldon Garrick, Lee Gardner, Dave Holt, Mark Gallagher and their friend Lou Vanderherp.

Sheldon is yet another member of our church. He is a lifelong friend of Adam’s and has become a good friend of Trey’s. He works in the maintenance field as well. We are thankful that his wife and kids are willing for him to go with us.

Lee Gardner is a long-time friend of Mike’s. He just recently decided to accompany us and we look forward to having him along. Lee is a retired dentist and has always had a love of hot rods.

Dave, Mark and Lou are all Utah guys that we met last year. They have already proven to be good friends as they housed the truck and trailer for 6 weeks for us last year. When Speed Week ended without us being able to make any passes due to the rain they went out of their way to accommodate us. Ultimately we flew out and picked up the rig and drove home in October when that event also got cancelled due to weather. They are all coming back this year and will be integral to Mike getting set up before the rest of us get there.

Thanks, friends and family, for helping make running the streamliner possible. We couldn’t do it without you!