Club Members / friends,
Many of you know me very well. Others of you may not even know my name.
It was many years ago that I bought my first Glastron. It happened to be a V-173 that my ex-wife and I called "The Gravy Boat". I contacted my cousin Scott Glasspoole and he said I had something special in my old Glastron. He said there were a few people in the area that seemed to like the boats and that I should contact the CGOA site to try to get connected. I contacted the national site and consulted with the national chapter president. I talked with Jesse Gully who at the time had a small MN chapter. I believe that there were 8-10 members that had gathered a few times, but the foundation was there.
Jesse had recently had children and he was focused on their childhood and upbringing, so his beautiful CVX-20 Jet had to take a back seat to his family. I was very willing to step up to see if we could grow the club and it's membership participation.
In the years to follow our numbers grew! I can't name you all, but I assure you that each of you played a vital role in our growth. Jim, David, Jason, Gregg, Jeff, Doran, Scott, Shelly, Rich, Jerry, Red, Barb, Shawn, Sean, Andy, Ken, Bob, Margi, and SO many others....
As we look back on our growth, I remember the first meet I arranged. We met at Hok-Si-La campground on Lake pepin and had somewhere around 15 boats on that warm Saturday run. Looking at the calendars and pictures from the past years meets, it baffles me that we have grown to the levels that we have. As I look back at our original 8 members, I am humbled that so many people and families have looked to this group as a source of inspiration and excitement for what a social organization could be. I can't count the times that our members declared "Brian says... No club member will be left behind!" I've seen our club members leave the dock after dark with a spotlight and tow rope in hopes of finding the stranded club member. Jeff did exactly that... He put his own boat and life on the line heading south on the Mississippi after a V212 that had lost it's water pump at 10pm in the middle of the the barge shipping channel. We all wished him well as he departed... He returned at 1am with fellow club members in tow. their motor and battery were dead. They were adrift in the shipping lane with dying power and no propulsion.
Why do we do what we do??? We do it because we understand each other... we know the struggles that we face, and we know that the solution is not in unhealthy things. The solution is in social support and in standing together. Rich.... you know that you helped me get my very first motor running. Had you not told me about how to jump the solenoid, I never would have had the Gravy Boat on the water.
With all of this being said... I would like to humbly ask for all of your support.
With the approval of the current leadership, I have asked to step back into the leadership role that I once had within this club. I request to be your ambassador, your voice, your advocate, your Deckhand.
Doran and Gregg will remain as the backbone of out site and it's functionality. I am simply here to serve you and to help grow this club.
Please feel free to respond and provide input!
Brian Bergstrom
651-260-5266
bbergstrom260@gmail.com
