Hemmings Motor News Presents 1997 Hobby Hero Awards
22 August 1997
Hemmings Motor News Presents 1997 Hobby Hero Awards
BENNINGTON, Vt., Aug. 22 -- A family from Wisconsin, a top
executive at Chrysler Corporation, and a trend setter in the publishing world
were named the 1997 Hemmings Motor News Hobby Hero Award winners at HMN's
Ninth Annual Media Motor Show and old-car ride-&-drive here today.
George, Janice and Kurt Kreissl of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin; Tom Gale,
Chrysler's Executive Vice President of Product Development; and Robert
Petersen, Petersen Publishing Company's Chairman of the Board, all received
their Hobby Hero Awards from HMN's Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Terry Ehrich.
Hobby Hero Awards are given annually by HMN to people or organizations who
have had outstanding positive impact on the collector-car hobby/industry.
Hemmings Motor News has been "the bible" of the collector-car hobby for more
than 40 years.
The Kreissl family was honored for their outstanding work founding,
organizing and running the annual Classic Car Rally Poker Tour around Lake
Geneva. The 20th annual edition of the event is scheduled for September
27-28.
While the Classic Car Rally Poker Tour attracts over 800 cars and
thousands of participants, the heroic feature of the tour is the money raised
for childhood cancer research. After losing their daughter, Corinne, to
childhood illness, George and Janice Kreissl set up the Corinne Kreissl
Memorial Foundation which runs the tour to benefit the American Cancer
Society.
Their son Kurt, a high school senior, is actively involved with the
Foundation as a board member and as designer of t-shirts and promotional
materials for the rallies.
To date, the event has raised more than $250,000 for its cause and the
Kreissls have become well known as a family who have expanded the scope of the
collector-car hobby to benefit a broader community.
Tom Gale is no stranger to classic cars either. When not overseeing
vehicle design, engineer and product strategy for Chrysler, the Flint,
Michigan native is usually tinkering with his own creations in his garage. He
recently completed a four-year project building a hot rod from scratch.
It was Gale who dreamed up Chrysler's new Plymouth Prowler, which pays
homage to the rolling art of hot rods. Gale's Prowler project also reminds
collector car-buffs of Chrysler's leading role in hot rodding over the years.
For over 40 years, Chrysler dominated the hot rodding and drag race scenes
with its powerful Hemi engines.
Robert Petersen has also been an automotive enthusiast for decades, dating
back to when he published the first issue of Hot Rod magazine in 1948. Hot
Rod is one of the largest automotive magazines in the world and one of more
than 30 special-interest consumer magazines and books which make up the
Petersen Publishing Company, based in Los Angeles.
Other automotive magazines Petersen publishes include Motor Trend, Chevy
High Performance, 5.0 Mustang, Mustang & Fords, Rod & Custom, Specialty Car,
4-Wheel & Off-Road, 4x4 Power, and Car Craft.
Lately, Petersen has been most visible in founding the country's premier
automotive museum. Three years ago, a legion of automotive hobbyists and
collectors hailed the opening of the 300,000 square-foot Los Angeles-area
Petersen Automotive Museum, which displays the complete history of America's
love affair with the automobile.
SOURCE Hemmings Motor News