Monrovia Chamber of Commerce at Dalcorp/AREA 51 - "It's All Good"

Last Thursday, February 19th, the business cards were flying as AREA 51 hosted the monthly mixer for The Monrovia Chamber of Commerce. The many in attendance were treated to some very tasty treats provided by the catering services of our very own Erica Nocita. The Monrovia Chamber does an excellent job of combining business with pleasure, and keeps the business owners informed of the many changes, both political and economic, that may have an impact on their livelihoods. And it's always a great time of networking, meeting new friends and finding old ones. For me, it was finding an old friend. I was introduced to the owner of Castle Catering and McRon's Party Rentals, Mr. Ron Hobbs. I knew Ron from the class of 1965 at Arcadia High School where he was a senior and a BMOC! I was a sophomore and not many seniors would even give you the time of day. But Ron was always nice to all those around him just as he is today. What a great time we had reminiscing about those times, old friends and the roads that we've traveled. Reunited with an old friend and created a new business relationship....Thank you Monrovia Chamber of Commerce!

Lots of good eats...you can almost smell the cookies;

they were still warm!

Work! Work! Work!

It was a packed house with a lot of laughs!

Hey, wait...How many Simpsons are there?

It looks like it's "3 girls for every boy" at the

Monrovia mixers!

Erica and Kristy talking with an old (young) friend,

Elizabeth Booth, who now works for the LA Turf Club

at Santa Anita Park.

"Celebrate Life" - Ulises Gutierraz brings a powerful message to family and friends at AREA 51

It was a night of cheers and tears as Ulises Gutierraz celebrated not only his 28th birthday, but also his 5 years of being clean and sober. About 80 friends and family came to support Ulises and hear his testimony about where his journey has led him, his hopes and dreams for the future and for others. Ulises now works as a pastor at the YMCA and is helping others like himself escape the grip of addiction. Also celebrating with Ulises was Thomas, who has been on his path of sobriety for over a year with his mentor, Ulises, by his side. Several spoke about the lives of these two young men and offered prayers of praise and support of their new directions. It was a great night and one that won't soon be forgotten by all those who attended. Congratulations Ulises and Thomas!

One of his biggest supporters, Becky Shevlin was

there to help Ulises celebrate his "birthdays."

Photo ops with Betty are always on the agenda!

Erica meeting Thomas for the first time with Pastor

John looking on.

Ulises gave a moving testimony of his life's journey

and where he feels The Lord is taking him now.

Chris and Becky Shevlin..."When do you guys

sleep?" They never miss a chance to help and

support others in the community.

Kristy and Erica celebrating a job well done.

If it's Tuesday, it must be Pomona!

What a difference a day makes! After being rained out for 5 days, Tuesday turned out to be one of the most beautiful days of the year. Almost all the pro category cars stayed over and The Winternationals resumed on what turned out to be a record setting day. It was amazing how many people were in the stands; the official count was approximately 15,000 but it appeared to be many more. There was great racing all day long and even a record set in the second round of Pro Stock by Greg Anderson. Anderson went a 6.528 at almost 212 mph and shattered the record that he had also held. He couldn't finish the deal, however, as he was taken out on a hole shot by Mike Edwards in the semi's. His teammate, Jason Line, went on to win Pro Stock along with Ron Capps in Funny Car and Doug Kalitta in Top Fuel Dragster. Kalitta's win was an emotional one as it was the first for the team since the death of Connie's son, Scott Kalitta, last year in Englishtown. All in all, just a great day of racing in beautiful sunny California.


Not a bad view from the staging lanes.....

It felt like we had the stands to ourselves near

the starting line!

There was great side by side racing all day. Don't

any of these people work?

Doug Kalitta, the eventual winner in T/F.

There was quite a celebration at the starting line

when Doug Kalitta won T/F. That's Connie in the

lower left hand corner.

The Winternationals: Rain, rain, go away!

This past weekend at The Auto Club Raceway in Pomona was great for racing...if you were into racing boats! It was a tough four days for drag racers and fans at The Winternationals this past weekend in Pomona with only a few rounds of racing completed on Saturday and Sunday. It was also tough for nostalgia funny car owner Dan Pisano who owns one of the most famous cars in drag racing history, the Pisano and Matsubara T/F Funny Car driven by our friend, Jeff Utterback. Dan and the team were scheduled to make a couple of exhibition runs on Saturday and Sunday along with a few other nostalgia funny cars, but that was also cancelled due to the weather. On Saturday, however, they fired up the Vega funny car in the pits and made a lot of soggy fans very happy! Their friend, Amos Satterlee, was there to lend a little tuning support and make a few changes while they warmed up the car. The fans were 6 deep with big smiles on their faces before they shut the car off. After the applause and cheers subsided, one gentleman came up to me and said that his trip to the track was all worth it just to hear, feel and smell that bad boy light up! Nitro is good.

Even with all the rain, Dan Pisano found things

to smile about.

Jeff Utterback "at work" during the warm up

on Saturday.

From l to r, Amos Satterlee, Jeff and Dan. It's

kind of funny, Amos is a very famous nitro engine

tuner...for drag boats!

A look out the front of Bob Hansen's "Wynn's

Spoiler" which was also on display in the midway.

....how cool is this....

Here's most of the Pisano gang...wish they could

have run.

Bob Hansen talking things over with one of the

other car owners.

Even with the bad weather, the fans were out

and the stands were full. Here's some of the

nostalgia top fuel cars in the midway.

Bob Hansen's "Wynn's Spoiler" which held the

top fuel record back in the mid 60's.

Gary Walker Celebrates 65th Birthday at AREA 51 - SURPRISE!!

When Susie Walker decided to throw her husband, Gary, a surprise party for his 65th birthday at AREA 51, everyone here at the shop was very excited. The Walker family not only knows how to party, but they are some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Gary's family has been in the wrecking business for nearly 80 years so it's no surprise that he's a car guy. Susie was able to put together about a dozen pictures of some of Gary's cars and hot rods that he's owned over the years which were on display around the shop. When it was time for the birthday boy's entrance, his son, Ron, drove him into the party to the shouts of "Surprise!".... and the party was on! Family and friends provided most of the food and our very own "Pato" did the bbq, some awesome tri tip roast and chicken. After dinner it was time for Gary's other passion...poker! Gary Walker's Happy Birthday Poker Tournament was a huge success with one of Gary's sons, Gary, winning the tourney! What a great night and what a great family. Congratulations Gary!



Check out these cakes! They were as good as
they looked!

The hard working staff at AREA 51...Kristy, Pato,
and Erica.

The birthday boy was surprised!

....good eats!

There was a lot of love in the room....

Gary receives a "special present" from one of

his friends.

Let the games begin!

Some of the girls had their own game goin'...

Gary Jr., the big winner. That's $700.00!!!

Fifth Annual Relay For Life of Monrovia comes to AREA 51

On January 31st a group representing the Fifth Annual Relay For Life of Monrovia met at AREA 51 in preparation for their fundraising event on April 18th-19th 2009. Jen Havens and a group of enthusiastic volunteers and cancer survivors talked about the upcoming event and what will be necessary to make this year's relay as successful as 2008's. Their efforts last year raised $100,000.00 for the American Cancer Society and the fight against this deadly disease. "Relay For Life is an opportunity to CELEBRATE loved ones who have fought cancer, REMEMBER those who have lost the battle, and FIGHT BACK against a disease that takes too much."

For more information, or to join the fight contact:

Nathan McCusker

(213) 427-7296

nathan.mccusker@cancer.org
or
www.RelayForLife.org/MonroviaCA

"Run, Becky, Run!" BECKY SHEVLIN to run for Monrovia City Council

Becky Shevlin has been a familiar name around the city of Monrovia for many, many years. She is what you would call a professional volunteer. Becky's willing to do whatever it takes to serve the entire community while helping to make Monrovia a better place to live. Well, she's taking her journey to the next level and has decided to run for Monrovia City Council. Becky, and her husband Chris, held a kick-off campaign mixer at AREA 51 on January 26th and it rocked! Nearly 100 supporters joined Becky and Chris in starting down the road to her election on April 14th with the slogan, "Win, Becky, Win!" We'll keep you updated on Becky's campaign trail or you can check in with Becky at http://www.beckyshevlin.com/ or contact@beckyshevlin.com . GO BECKY!



A few of Becky's many supporters.....

It was standing room only as Becky addressed
her friends and supporters.

Becky speaking about the campaign and her
plans for the city of Monrovia.

....you gonna' argue with the Hulk? Vote for Becky!