by Rob LaPorte Jr.
In September of this year, the Volkswagen Association of Western New York will be celebrating its fifth anniversary. I thought this would be an appropriate time to share some of our club history. Since Marv Ruch and Greg Carr were the originators of VWAWNY, I interviewed them briefly to be sure I had the facts straight.
Reading a magazine one day, Marv came across the name of Greg Carr listed as a member of the Vintage Volkswagen Club of America. Consequently, Marv phoned Greg to discuss the possibility of pooling local interest into an area VW Club. At the time, the only nearby VW club was the Niagara Volks Folks in Ontario. Naturally, Greg was interested.
Eight VW enthusiasts showed up for the initial meeting at Marv's Buffalo business office in Sept. of 1987: Marv Ruch, Greg Carr, John Reedy, Bob LaPorte, Robbie LaPorte, Mike Thompson, David M. Clark and David R. Clark (yes, there was some mention of the "Dave Clark Five"). Three of these guys, David M. Clark, Mike Thompson and John Reedy, were old friends of Greg's. David R. Clark of Rochester noticed Marv's name in a VW magazine. Dave phoned Marv and Marv told him about the meeting. My dad and I met Greg at the July 1987 Michigan VW show. We were showing a custom '73 bus. Greg told us about the meeting and potential club.
During the first meeting we decided there sure was enough interest to form a club, and within a few months, VWAWNY was incorporated. Marv served as the club's first president; Greg Carr vice president; David M. Clark secretary; and Bob LaPorte treasurer. It was decided that meeting on the third Wednesday of every month was convenient for everyone. We talked about hosting the first VW show in Western New York, which became known as the Northern Bug Fest. The original key logo was Bob LaPorte's idea and was created by me using a key from my '63 Beetle as a template.
The club has come a long way since 1987. The membership has grown from eight to 86 in just over four years. Four successful Bug Fest car shows have come and gone that helped the club gain recognition across the country. Both "Hot VWs" and "VW Trends" have covered our Bug Fests at one time or another. This newsletter has had major improvements over the years and has been distributed to VW clubs worldwide. The newsletter publications and the monthly club meetings have helped many VW buffs with their problems and has unified us in the common cause of preserving our beloved VWs. I am very proud to be a member of VWAWNY and particularly to be one of the eight charter members.