Tail of the Dragon = Good Times!

[mamba184]

It was an absolutely fantastic time. I never thought that Tammy would have enjoyed it as much as I did, but she did. Everyone; especially the women, made her feel extremely welcome. She never felt out of place.

I too would like to thank all those that were responsible for organizing the event. It was top notch.

We can't wait to see everyone again!

Ron -

That's a great photo! I appreciate you finding a pull-off spot to allow me to get the top back up on the Viper during the downpour!!!

[LATAMUD]

Enny and I had a blast, as always made a lot of new friends. Thanks to Dave and Jody for following me on the trip back to Florida with my rough clutch. I'll post up photos and videos soon.

Bart

[Brian GTS]

Posted these in our region forums, but they belong here too! Enjoy!

FRIDAY'S DRAGON RUN

THE INFAMOUS DRAGON!!!




Lining up for departure at the hotel.








Staging at the parking lot before heading up the Dragon. The parking lot was PACKED with cars also parked on the other side of the street!!!

[Brian GTS]

FRIDAY NIGHT BALLROOM DINNER! A night we will NEVER forget! We had over 200 people at the ballroom dinner from 18 VOA regions.....INCREDIBLE! Special guests were Maurice Liang, Ralph & Doris Gilles, Dave Colletti from Pirelli, and Carolina member (and great friend) Seth Green who just returned from a 9 month deployment in Afghanistan. There were a lot of emotions during Seth's speech especially when he presented Doris Gilles a "Patriotic Civilian Service" award. Doris continuously delivered care packages to Seth and his soldiers throughout the deployment which positively affected the morale of his soldiers. It was a very moving moment and I don't think there was a dry eye in the room.

BELOW: VOA Members scouting the VOA merchandise table operated by Bob & Sandi White. Side note: This was the first time I ever met Bob & Sandi and to say what wonderful people they are is an understatement. Not only did they bring merchandise from afar (Michigan!) in their Viper, but they were extremely helpful throughout this event and always offered a helping hand. It was truly a privilege to meet and work with them.



Seth flew an American Flag for Joel and presented it to him for all of his efforts planning and executing the Tail of the Dragon, something Seth looks forward to every year.



For his service, and because we missed him, the Carolinas VOA presented Seth with a poster size print of him with his 96 Viper GTS in front of the Biltmore Estate located in Asheville, NC.





Maurice presented Seth with a one off preliminary print of the next VOA quarterly magazine.



Maurice and Ralph were guest speakers. It was so awesome to have them both present for this event!





Jeff presented Ralph and Dave commemorative coins of their cars....a White GTS (Ralph's) and a blue/silver SRT10 couple (Dave's)





Seth and Doris with her Patriotic Civilian Service Award.

[Brian GTS]

The cruise scenery was AMAZING!











The parade line up! Over 100 Vipers paraded through downtown Gatlinburg.

[Brian GTS]

CAN'T WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR!!!

[NSviper]

Just made it home. Would like to thank Joel, Chip and the rest of the crew for putting all this together. You really out-did yourselves this year! We had a great time....and already thinking of making plans for next year. Was great to see old friends, and to make new ones.
Until next time.......

[outnumbered]

Ron -

That's a great photo! I appreciate you finding a pull-off spot to allow me to get the top back up on the Viper during the downpour!!!

Thanks, and you're welcome. Just wish you could have had some cover!

[outnumbered]

This was the first VOA event that Lisa and I attended and we felt so welcomed by everyone. I thought it was the most fun I've had with a car, but I realized it was the most fun I've had with a great group of people.

Thanks to Joel, Brian and everyone involved in organizing this event.

Hi Ed and Lisa! Tammy and I enjoyed hanging with you guys.

[Martin2000GTS]

Just made it home to MA. One of the best vacations of my life. Thanks to everyone for making it what it was. Thanks to all the guys that helped me out of the ditch when I couldn't handle the turn to well lol. Bunch of guys getting together, thank you so much! Big thanks to Tom Sessions for hanging out with me for 5 hours the next morning at the alignment shop to fix up and inspect my car. Ill see most of you at VIR next week!
Martin-

[sfm79]

I love all the pictures from this event. I wish we could have joined all of you. Maybe next year. I found this video on youtube of the Gatlinburg parade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1ZKjnU14zs

[Brian GTS]

One of our members (Elaine) took some REALLY NICE shots of the Vipers while we were departing the hotel parking lot. Check it out. A BIG thank you to Elaine for sharing these with everyone!!!

https://flic.kr/s/aHskd7ndNb