2014 NAMBA Nationals – District 8 – Marysville, Washington
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of the notorious “Hawaiian Horde.” I can still remember Francis King slicing pineapples at the awards’ banquet
with the precision of a skilled surgeon. Gary was very creative in his paint schemes and detailing. For Gary, it
was being with people first, enjoying a malt beverage second, and racing boats. Gary had attended many NAMBA
Nationals. He was the awards’ banquet master of ceremonies at the first NAMBA Nationals held in 1972 at Legg
Lake. The amount of time required to conduct that event still holds the longevity record. On the plus side, the
prime rib was excellent. It wasn’t until the 2004 NAMBA Nationals held at Legg Lake that Gary won his first and
only National Championship. The great thing about the class Gary won was it was Classic Gas Crackerbox and Gary
dearly loved Crackerbox boats. It took some extraordinary coaching by his son, Joel, a world class RC car racer, to
convince Gary he could win the class. Definitely a “Better late than never” outcome.
Without question, the passing of fellow District 8 and HOF member Roger “Czar” Newton had the largest
personal impact. I first met Roger in 1968. Roger’s model boating interest was always scale unlimited
hydroplanes. Since there wasn’t a dedicated 1/8 Scale Unlimited Class in the late 60s, Roger raced his .60
powered Slo Mo in the 60 hydroplane class. Roger won a few races simply by finishing heats. Seattle has been
hot bed for full size unlimited hydroplane racing since the early 50s. It was not surprising Roger’s enthusiasm for
building and racing scale model unlimited hydroplanes generated one of NAMBA’s most popular racing classes.
Roger helped build the scale unlimited class by offering plans through Newton Marine. Although Roger is no
longer with us, his son David “Mini Czar” Newton, continues a family tradition of providing plans and support for
scale unlimited racing.
I am pleased the following NAMBA Hall of Fame members are participating in the 2014 NAMBA Nationals
:
Lenny Blake, Alan Hobbs, Robert Holland, Lohring Miller, Joe Monohan, Al Waters, and Jim Wilson
. Their
continuing participation and support is greatly valued and appreciated
2009
Roger Newton (the “Czar”)
HALL OF FAME MEMBERS BY YEAR OF INDUCTION
* Indicates participation in the 2014 NAMBA Nationals
1981
1981
1981
1981
1981
Myrtle “Mom” Coad Donald Coad Gary Johnson
Al Metalak
George Campbell