Prez Sez - May 5, 2026

13 minutes ago
4 min read

Hot Summer Nites returns to DTSF

Wow, can you believe it, we’ve already hosted 16 scheduled events this year and the summer is just getting started! We know how much our members enjoy the social aspect of our club where we can gather the cars and have a great time together. With that as our purpose, our Member Events Director, Denny Robinson, and his very capable accomplices Mike Skiles and Abdulah Delibasic, have arranged for 18 Drive & Dines this season. Yes, you read that right, 18! That is in addition to the 5 general membership meetings, Falls Park Picnic, October Lamb Roast and our Fall Banquet, not to mention all of the events involved with the 55th Black Hills Corvette Classic. We know everyone cannot

attend all of our events but hopefully all of you can attend many of them. Please see the full calendar at the end of the letter.

On Tuesday, May 12, there will be a major community media event focused on the Sioux Falls Corvette Club and the return of Hot Summer Nites to downtown Sioux Falls. We need your help on this one, we need cars to be a part of the media blitz. The more the merrier. If you can, please bring your beautiful Corvette to the top of the CNA parking ramp at 9:30 AM (101 S Reid St) so we can line up the cars as the backdrop for the event. The event starts at 10:00 AM and will include all of the major media outlets in Sioux Falls. In collaboration with Experience Sioux Falls, Downtown Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls Police, 8th & Railroad, and Lloyd Properties, Hot Summer Nites promises to be a signature downtown Sioux Falls event for 2026.

In just the past two weeks our club has held 4 events gathering many club members and their cars. 22 cars attended the

drive to Take 16 Brewery in Luverne, over 90 members attended our April membership meeting, Saturday Dusty and Kathy led the Spring Highway Cleanup project for the club along with 6 much appreciated volunteers, and then this past Sunday was our Spring Rally where Dave, Jane, Paul, and Lori hit it out of the park with nearly 30 cars participating.

The balance of May looks like this:

• Tuesday, May 12 Media Day – HSN – top of the CNA parking ramp at 9:30

• Wednesday, May 13 Drive & Dine to Golden Pheasant Steakhouse, Remsen, IA

• Wednesday, May 27 General Membership meeting at The Social

• Saturday, May 30 VanderHagg Truck Museum, Sanborn, IA

Special Note: All caravans for our Drive & Dines will all launch from Abdulah’s shop (Sioux Empire Cleaning) unless otherwise communicated. The address is: 1808 W Frontier St, Brandon. This is just a couple miles east of Veterans Parkway on old Rice Street, now called Frontier St. Thank you Abdulah for graciously offering your place to gather for our Drive & Dines.

Speaking of upcoming events, former club member Clair Steiner will be hosting a pre-Hot Summer Nites picnic on Tuesday, July 14 at Falls Park in the Farmers Market shelter. The event is open to anyone interested in gathering for a bite to eat on Tuesday evening. Tony’s will be catering and the cost will be $17/person. There will be a 50/50 raffle and door prizes with proceeds going to Wounded Warrior. Please RSVP directly to Clair either by text/call to 480-764-7866 or email Clair at oldsailors@aol.com before July 7. Clair now resides in Arizona and will be bringing 8 Corvettes up from AZ and indicated 4 from Michigan and 3 from Minnesota have already responded as well.

Don’t forget to check out the Indy 500 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car on May 24! Per indycar.com: “The Corvette ZR1X delivers 1,250 horsepower across all four wheels, combining a 186-hp electric motor on the front axle with a 5.5L twin-turbo V8 putting 1,064 hp to the rear wheels. The Corvette ZR1X achieves incredible acceleration – capable of zero to 60 mph in under 2 seconds – and can reach 233 mph.” That’s impressive!

I look forward to seeing you at one of our many upcoming member events!

Save the wave!

Prez Mike Hardy