Bruce bought his Fiero SE new in 1986. Gary bought his '84 SE in 1994. In 1996, Terry bought his '88 Formula, and Russ bought his '87 Fiero.
Bruce and Gary have known each other since high school and Gary, Terry & Russ work together. We started going to car shows in June 1997 and it was Gary's idea to form the Cleveland Fieros in December 1997.
Our first meeting was held on December 12, 1997 at the Villa II Restaurant in Brooklyn. Eighteen people attended and Gary was elected president, vice president - Bruce, treasurer -Terry, webmaster & newsletter editor -Jim, secretary-Melanie.
We decided to hold our meetings the second Thursday of each month. Our January meeting was also at the Villa II. In February we met at Axelrod Pontiac, where a large turnout at the meeting necessitated a larger location and also brought us ASE & STG Master Technician, Ken.
Our March through July meetings were held at Jackshaw Pontiac. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we found it necessary to leave Jackshaw, and moved to Jay Pontiac in September. We are most appreciative of Jay Pontiac's hospitality to Cleveland Fieros.
In our first year we developed a special relationship with Northern Ohio Fiero Friends, and established our club logo (courtesy of Mike C.), website and quarterly newsletters. We offer Cleveland Fieros t-shirts, jackets, hats and antenna flags, and purchased three 2'x3' club banners for use at shows, cruise-ins and outings.
As of May 1, 2002 we have 74 members, not only from Ohio, but also from Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York, Illinois, California and Arizona. We have a close relationship with the Michigan Fiero Club, the Northern Illinois Fiero Enthusiasts, the North Coast Pontiac Club and our good friends, Joe Rossman, "The Motor Doctor" and Cruisin' Times editor, John Shapiro.
In 2002 we became an “International” Fiero Club, with the addition of Jens from Stuttgart, Germany! Jens has a Fiero Community in Stuttgart, which can be found on our “Fiero Links” page. In April we held our 5th Annual Spring Outing to The Barn in Smithville. This is a Cleveland Fieros’ tradition - our first outing to The Barn was held in 1998! Other events during 2003 included: 4th of July Parade in Westlake; a cruise to Mill Creek Park in Youngstown; a guided tour of Stan Hywet Hall in Akron, and the Eastlake All-Pontiac Show. In August we held our 2nd Annual “Fiero Fever” at Pontiac Nationals at Norwalk Raceway Park and met Paul Zazarine, editor of Pontiac Enthusiast Magazine, who has featured Fieros in the magazine. Thanks, Paul! We gained four new members during “Fiero Fever 2002,” thanks to the Great Fiero Recruiter, Stanley B!
Scott S. took over the presidential duties in January 2003. (And he did such a good job, he was re-elected in 2004)! Several members attended out-of-town Fiero shows: Pontiacs at the Track at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway; Fieros at Auburn, Indiana, and the 20th Anniversary Fiero show in Pontiac, Michigan. We were once again invited to the Independence, Ohio Ice Cream Social and Car Show. We sponsored Fiero Fever 2003 at Pontiac Nationals at Norwalk Raceway Park in August. We had more Fieros in 2003 than in 2002, had a great time and gained several members from this event. Our summer outing was at Hale Farm and Village in Bath, Ohio followed by lunch at Gasoline Alley. In September, several members drove their Fieros to Annabelle’s Diner in Mentor, Ohio for a Saturday night cruise-in. Our Fall Outing was well-attended by Fiero and Pontiac owners, and wine connoisseurs! It was a cruise to Ferrante’s Winery, DeBonne Winery and a covered bridge. Our November Chili Party provided good food, friends and fun and our December Holiday meeting/party was highlighted by a whistle-blowing gift exchange. Please check our Events calendar and feel free to join us whenever you can!
We have many events planned for 2004 and look forward to another prosperous year under the guidance of our president, Scott. Check out our Events page and also the “Fiero Fever 2004” link on our home page! Membership in Cleveland Fieros is only $20.00 per year; click “Join” on our home page to print out an application!
We began the year 2004 with Scott once again serving as our president. We visited the Crawford Auto Museum’s Restoration Facility in April, where we viewed a rare, 1984 Fiero and other unique vehicles.
In May we had our annual Spring Cruise to The Barn in Smithville, OH. Twelve Fieros and two Corvettes enjoyed the beautiful spring day and the unofficial beginning of car show/cruise-in season in northeast Ohio. It was here, at The Barn, that the Unofficial Cleveland Fieros Chapter of the Red Hat Society was formed!
In June, several members attended the Buick-Olds-Pontiac Show in Brecksville, OH. Seven members headed to the Third Annual Fieros at Auburn, Indiana show on July 2-3. Unfortunately, the starter on Gary’s Fiero acted up, and once he got it going again, he headed back home. All six Cleveland Fieros members came home winners! We had 10 Fieros at the Independence July 11th car show and ice cream social, which is held annually in the grassy, shady area of the town square. Cleveland Fieros was the featured car club at the July 12th Cuyahoga Falls Cruise-In, and although rain shortened this event, our members had a great time! June also brought us the sad news that Harold Hooten had suddenly passed away. “Hoot” was the proprietor of the American Fiero Museum on his property in Adrian, MI and was one of the mentors of the Cleveland Fieros when we formed our organization in 1997.
August 1st was a beautiful Sunday for the All-Pontiac Show in Eastlake. We had 12 Fieros in the SE, GT and Modified classes at this popular vote show. The following weekend we sponsored Fiero Fever 2004 at the Pontiac Nationals at Norwalk Raceway Park. We had 35 Fieros throughout the weekend and three new members joined our club. We had a Chinese raffle, and gave out over 30 Fiero Fever 2004 popular vote awards on Sunday. Six Fieros won trophies from the Pontiac Nationals, the largest Pontiac event in the USA. We ended the month of August with a visit to the Mansfield Reformatory, where the movies “Shawshank Redemption” and “Air Force One” were filmed. This is a very interesting and historical building, only an hour’s drive south from Cleveland. Everyone should visit at least once!
Labor Day weekend was the first annual Pontiac Buick Olds show held at Summit Racing in Tallmadge, OH. We enjoyed the shade of a small tree and the air-conditioned retail store while viewing over 150 cars in the asphalt parking lot at this professionally judged show. September 11th was the Central Ohio Fiero Enthusiasts “Fiero show within a show” at the SERTOMA car show in Westerville, OH. A commemorative flag raising ceremony and other entertainment were a welcome distraction from the pleasantly warm afternoon.
October began with Scott (1st) and Rick L. (3rd) winning awards in the two-seat sports car category at the annual Atwood Lake Car Show and Fall Festival. Our Fall Outing to Century Village in Burton, OH was held on a very chilly Sunday in mid-October. Scott and Sherry once again hosted our annual Chili Potluck in November, and elections for 2005 officers were held at our November meeting.
Our first off-site holiday meeting/party was held in December at Stancato’s Restaurant. The 31 people that attended enjoyed a good time and good food. In 2005 we look forward to sunny skies, attending Fiero events and meeting current and potential Cleveland Fieros members. Be safe and healthy!
In January 2005 we began the year with Rick Borecky taking over as President. Thanks to Scott Swisher for leading our group for two years.
On a beautifully warm and sunny Saturday in April, our Spring Outing was a visit to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens and Glass House, followed by lunch at Hornblower’s in downtown Cleveland.
In May we had our 8th annual outing to The Barn in Smithville, OH. In addition to Fieros, we were joined by six members of the North Coast Chapter of the Pontiac Oakland Club International. Also in May, we moved our meeting location from Jay Pontiac to Axelrod Pontiac, where we have a quiet meeting space and a lot of fun!
Our members attended car shows throughout the summer including: Cops ‘n Rodders at Parmatown Mall; Buick Olds Pontiac; COFE/Fiero Show at Mid-Ohio; Fieros at Auburn, Indiana; Independence Antique Car Show and Ice Cream Social; Fiero Fever 2005 at Pontiac Nationals in Norwalk, OH; All-Pontiac Show in Eastlake, OH; Pontiac Buick Olds Supernationals at Summit Racing; Car Show and Chicken/Rib Dinner in Chardon, OH; Atwood Lake Car and Craft Show.
Rick & Joan Borecky hosted a cookout in June and Bud & Dee Newcomer hosted the Chili cookoff in October.
Our Fall Outing was a viewing of the NASCAR move on the IMAX screen at the Great Lakes Science Center followed by lunch at Hornblower’s (our favorite downtown restaurant)!
Our Christmas dinner party was held at Stancato’s on December 8th in the Festivali Room. The snowy evening really put us in the Christmas spirit as we enjoyed a delicious meal, a rousing gift exchange and friendship. Looking forward to a healthy and happy 2006, filled with sunny days for our Fiero friends!
We began the year 2006 with Rick Borecky continuing as president. Some of our members took in the winter/indoor car shows such as the Canton Hot Rod Show, the Cleveland Auto and Classic Car show and the Cleveland Auto Rama. We welcomed the arrival of spring with our 9th Annual May outing to The Barn in Smithville, OH. We were joined by several members of the North Coast Pontiac Club, and a Model A Ford club was also in the parking lot. We discovered the Model A and Fiero are about the same size in length!
On a very, very hot Sunday in May, Walt & Pat arranged for us to visit Johnson’s Island’s annual Memorial Day remembrance ceremony, parade and tour of the island, which was used as a Civil War prison. Not much remains of the original structures, but our personal tour guide, Ed, pointed out “what used to be here.”
Our members attended the Buick-Olds-Pontiac show at the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center in Brecksville, OH; the Spring Cookout at the Borecky home; Fieros at Auburn, Indiana; the Independence Car Show and Ice Cream Social; the Fieros at the Automotive Hall of Fame show in Dearborn, MI;
Several members “worked” at the Blue Suede Cruise at Norwalk Raceway Park, earning monies for the club, and met Don Garlits who trailered his Swamp Rat II from Florida. Later in the week, Don Garlits and Arnie “the Farmer” Beswick We had beautiful hot, hot, hot weather for Fiero Fever 2006/Pontiac Nationals at Norwalk Raceway Park and all the Fiero owners entered in the show received FF 2006 awards.
Our summer outing on the Wild West Train was a well-attended, enjoyable afternoon followed by dinner. On a sad note, September brought the passing of Greg Demko, one of our founding members. Our Fall cookout at Concord Woods Metroparks was very successful and we hope to make it an annual event. Three members and their Fieros attended the Atwood Lake Fall Car and Craft Show and all three won trophies. Our Christmas Party at Stancato’s was a great start to the holiday season enjoyed by good friends with good food and fun!
Rick Borecky continued as our president, as well as all of our 2006 officers. We began the car season with our 10th annual Spring Cruise to The Barn in May. Throughout the year our members attended the Buick-Olds-Pontiac show at the Cuyahoga Valley Career Center in Brecksville, OH; Fieros at Auburn, Indiana; the Independence Car Show and Ice Cream Social; Fieros at the Automotive Hall of Fame show in Dearborn, MI; and the Atwood Lake Fall Festival and Car show in Delroy, OH. Our second annual Fall Cookout was held at Concord Woods Park and our Christmas party was once again held at Stancato’s restaurant in Parma.
We had very poor attendance in August for our Fiero Fever show-within-a-show at the Pontiac Nationals at Summit Motorsports Raceway Park in Norwalk, OH, and all Fieros registered for the show won awards sponsored by the Cleveland Fieros. Rick Laney won a Pontiac Nationals top-five award, presented to the best five Pontiacs in the entire show – a good endorsement for the Fiero! Thanks to Axelrod Pontiac for allowing us to meet at their facilities on the second Thursday each month at 7:30 PM. Fiero owners, past and present, are welcome to join at any time!