FORD FAN SPOTLIGHT – Lots of companies and websites ask their fans to upload their product stories and testimonials for posting just to show how connected they are with their followers. But few get to actually meet up in person. That’s what has made the Ford Performance Club Connect program so different – we get to meet some owners and fans at their own shows and events across the country each year – both to talk to them face-to-face and see their cars up close. That’s just how we’d met Gary and Faith Calhoon of Warsaw, Indiana – while walking a car show display lot and picking out some unique rides to find out the story and people behind them, and maybe even hand out a special award or two. We’ll let Gary tell you all about our meeting in his email to us below:
“Hi Ford Performance! My name is Gary Calhoon and my wife Faith and I recently attended the 42nd Annual Mustang & Ford Show at Ivy Tech in Fort Wayne, Indiana. put on by the Old Fort Mustangers Club. Their Class #4 was ‘1974-1978 Mustang II.’ Ours was the only car in that class on that day. I was approached by Ford Performance Enthusiast Communications Manager John Clor, who was at the show doing a Club Connect Meet & Greet. We talked about my car and he presented me with a Ford Performance Recognition Award!
“As he’d asked, I would like to tell you how I found my car. It was a Friday morning about 5 years ago on a country road in north central Indiana. I saw a Garage Sale sign on the road and pulled in to check it out. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw a For Sale sign in the window of a 1978 white-and-red Mustang II. It was all original with only 24,653 miles. The price was on the sign. I thought, I finally found a classic car I could afford!
“Being retired and on a fixed income I went home and told my wife what I had found, and I didn’t sleep for two nights. That Sunday morning, I told my wife I was going back to see if the Mustang was still there. She said she was going with me. It was still there – and I paid the man his very fair price.
“I have enjoyed it ever since. I take it to several car shows per season. I love hearing stories from other car owners and spectators that they had one in high school or college, and they wish they still had it. I now have 31,357 miles on it!
“Here’s a little more about our car. It is a Ghia Edition with a 2.8L V-6. I love sharing info about it with others. At the Fort Wayne show, a little girl of about 7 or 8 years old with a bright red dress was looking in the window of the Ghia. I told her mother to go ahead and open the door and take a picture of her sitting in our Mustang. Her smile lit up the car and that red dress matched the car's bright red interior perfectly.
“Thanks again to John Clor of Club Connect for stopping to talk to us and for the unique Ford Performance Recognition Award – and to the Old Fort Mustangers Club for making our day!”
Here’s How YOU Can Get In The Spotlight: For more than 20 years now, one of the most popular features on FordPerformance.com and in our weekly Fast News e-newsletter continues to be "Ford Fan Spotlight," where readers can send in their own reasons why they're fans of Ford Motor Company and its vehicles. You know who they are: Ford "superfans;" grassroots Ford racers; unique Ford vehicle owners; loyal Ford enthusiasts; notable Ford club people; special Ford families; and/or any avid supporter of Ford, Ford vehicles, Ford motorsports or Ford Performance who deserves a little bit of special recognition.
All you need to do to get you, your car or candidate considered is to send in a brief description (200-500 words or less) and a few photos (in .jpeg format, preferably around 1 mb in size) with the owner’s full name and hometown, please. Just tell us about the vehicle(s) and why you think Ford Performance should feature it (them) in the "Ford Fan Spotlight" for an upcoming installment of Fast News as well as for posting on FordPerformance.com. Then email it to: ClubHub@Ford.com with your contact info. Your submission allows us the rights to use your words and images (along with any edits) for editorial purposes; we’ll choose one submission in random order to post online. We hope to see YOU and your Ford story in our Fan Spotlight soon!
