And a Great Time Was Had by All!

As mentioned in an earlier post, SABCC was invited to attend the Grand Opening of MINI of Pensacola this past Saturday. We caravaned over - a group of six British cars and several club members in 'civilian' models. SABCC'er Tom Schmitz came over from Lillian in his Mini Cooper 'S'.

The weather was threatening all day, but we stayed dry all the way to the dealership on Airport Road. When we got there, we were greeted by the sight of almost 60 modern MINIs parked near the showroom. We were warmly welcomed and asked to park our cars for a panoramic group photo which can be found here.

We signed the register and were given souvenir T-shirts and stickers that commemorated the day. We found several MINI owners from south Alabama and invited them to visit one of our meetings or activities. Sandy Sansing (who is the dealer principal) presented a check to club president Noel Eagleson to fulfill their British Car Festival 2009 sponsorship commitment. We found Mr. Sansing to be a pleasant and affable gentleman who shares our enthusiasm for classic British cars.

MINI of Pensacola laid on a fine cookout with hamburgers and hot dogs fresh from the grill. Afterwards, a special birthday cake to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mini was shared with the attendees.

Congratulations, MINI of Pensacola! A special thanks to the Panhandle MINIs group, Ms. Sheila Lohbeck of MINI of Pensacola and all the M-O-P personnel.

Photos courtesy of Ron Wolverton- SABCC & Chris Calohan - Panhandle MINIs