In the last issue of the Riview I discussed that the ROA started as a Registry for the 1963-65 Riviera. Initially, it was to fill my need to meet others, share tips and find part sources. In early 1984, I placed a small ad in the Buick Club of America’s club magazine asking anyone interested in a 1963-65 Riviera Registry to contact me. To my surprise, responses began to come in immediately and I began to communicate with a growing number of people. I began by sending out individual responses and soon discovered that many owners had the same needs and questions. However, this became more time consuming than I expected, being employed full-time with a family. I began to realize what I was getting myself into, but had no idea how to start. I found a copy of the Complete Handbook of Automotive Hobbies, which included several chapters on how to organize a car club. The book offered step-by-step advice, which was a lifesaver over the next couple of years.
In October 1984, I compiled the information from my individual correspondence into a short newsletter. I explained in my first editorial that  registries usually don’t send out newsletters, so the name Riviera Owners Association was born. I used the stylized Riviera “R” logo in the header followed by a Post Office box I opened. This first newsletter identified as Volume 1, Number 1, started out with a welcome and explanation of what we hoped to do as an organization. This five-page newsletter, typed by my secretary at work, included several restoration tips, three Q&As and nine sources for parts. Two of those sources — Cars, Inc., of New Jersey, and Classic Buicks now in Oregon — are still with us and continuing to provide needed parts. I ended the newsletter with a request for information to share and a promise to continue with bi-monthly publications. These issues were run through a photocopier, stapled, folded and mailed out at no cost to the subscribers.
|
The second five-page newsletter was mailed in January of 1985; yes—already behind schedule. In this issue, I listed books, magazines and a poster currently available that deal with the Riviera. Several members had submitted tips and the Classifieds were born.
In Volume 1, Number 3, I introduced myself, explaining how this all came about and announced that the mailing list was growing so rapidly that I was forced to ask for a yearly membership of $20 to cover the cost of printing and mailing. This 11-page newsletter included a roster of 101 people who had been receiving the free letter. Of those 101, 25 are still active, current members. This issue included our first member’s showcase, a list of newly released publications about Rivieras, two pages of technical tips, classifieds and a reprint of an article entitled “Today’s Junker – Tomorrow’s Classic, THE BUICK RIVIERA ’63-‘65.”
Every organization needs a recognizable logo, so I created a rough draft and took it to a local graphic designer. The Riviera has always been associated with an oval, a diagonal spear and the well-known fender script. I put them all together in what we know now as the ROA logo. I also added “63-65” below the word Riviera. As you may recall from the last issue, my experience, knowledge and personal library included only information on the first generation of Rivieras. I knew from my Complete Handbook of Automotive Hobbies mentioned earlier that I could not use the Riviera script without permission from GM, which they gave us in time for our fourth newsletter.
That fourth newsletter had a new look thanks to our new logo and graphics that I found at a seminar I attended on how to prepare a newsletter. I also recruited my (then) wife Ginny, an accomplished typist, to assist in the preparation. For the May/June issue, we still didn’t have a name for the publication, which we continued to called simply “NEWSLETTER.” In this issue, I announced that the ROA had grown to 150 members and incorporated with the State of Colorado as a non-profit organization “dedicated to the preservation, restoration and promotion of the ’63-’65 Riviera.” Dues were requested by June 1st if members wanted to continue to receive the newsletter. By now, we had created business cards with the motto “Share the Pride” and decals with our new logo.
In the next installment of this history, we name our publication and open the ROA to Rivieras of all years. |
