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grinding on a magnesium based Volkswagen case when it combusted and caught all of
the magnesium dust on fire. He was covered in dust and sustained serious burns over
all of his torso and arms. Joe loved to race and now because of his debilitations and
handicap, he was limited on outlets for his love of racing. This was a huge key in
gaining access to the lake as the county saw it as a positive for handicapped persons to
participate and use their facilities. Having access to local water again was a huge
opportunity for fellow model enthusiasts so I agreed to come back on board and join
the club. I also built a boat shortly afterwards as well. Thanks a lot Henry!
In 2011 the Rio Grande Racers club was
reformed. While drag racing, I had worked
with a few track owners to help organize
events. One of the races I helped organize
worked exclusively with the Susan G.
Komen foundation. I quickly learned that
being teamed up with a charitable
organization helped open the door in so
many ways. I took that approach to our
club and asked the members for their
support in doing the same. Henry Keller’s
daughter Annmarie has a high functioning
Autism Spectrum Disorder and it was a
logical choice for us to partner with our
local Autism chapter. The local chapter provided support for many families like the
Keller’s and it was a great way for us to give back to our community.
Our club members all jumped on board and supported our involvement with the
Autism Society of El Paso. Each year we now use our District race as a way to raise
money for our local Autism Society chapter. We have been able to donate nearly
$5,000 in two years. $3,600 of that coming in 2012. We donate these proceeds on
behalf of our club and the County of El Paso.
It takes a ton of work to keep a club going, but we are blessed with a great group of
guys that make up the Rio Grande Racers. We have strengthened our partnership with
the Autism Society and also with the County of El Paso. We make sure to make our
presence known at the park and within the community. We met some resistance early
on, but after our continued presence we are now seen as regulars at the park. Our use
of county facilities isn’t just for our personal gain, but it’s also now being used as a
tool to help our community.
Focusing on giving back first will help reward your club for years to come. The Rio
Grande Racers are now venturing off into different divisions much like the original El
Paso Dry Land and Navy. We have several members now involved in sail and a few
have even brought out their scale boats. We embrace all aspects of model boating and
we are enjoying the growth as a club as a result.
I am sure over time we will have members step away and we will gain many more
as well. I hope to keep the positive, fun family atmosphere always alive within our
club. I remember when the El Paso Dry Land and Navy had over 50 members. We
aren’t quite back to those numbers, but we aren’t too far away from reaching 25. Not
too bad for a club that was initially reformed with only six members in 2011.
Starting A Club
(Continued from page 11)
use again as we did try several times
since 1999.
In 2000, I pushed the other ex-El
Paso Ragged Edge Racers members
to form a new club. The Rio Grande
Racers was soon formed.
We were now a club but with no
water. We tried to obtain every body of
water located in our area. For a short
time we were granted access to
Mountain Shadow Lakes/Lake El Paso.
We used the facility only a few times
before the owners and their represent-
atives started imposing unrealistic usage
fees. We were left scratching our heads
once again. During this time we were
traveling to other NAMBA District
Seven races and enjoying ourselves.
Tom Balliet, Eli Karagich, Al Giron,
Paul Matthews and I decided we should
host races to help take the burden of the
load off the other district clubs. We
began hosting events in Carlsbad, New
Mexico. Carlsbad is 180 plus miles for
all of us, but it was our closest possible
location for events. We continued
hosting races in Carlsbad for several
years.
In 2007, I stepped away from model
boating to venture over to sand drag
racing and the quarter mile drag racing
realm. I continued to bump into Henry
Keller at drag racing events during this
time. I had raced boats with Henry
during the nineties. He informed me in
2009 he had gotten back into model
boating and tried to persuade me to do
the same. I told him I would never get
started again because what I had not
sold boating related was given away. I
knew if I had stumbled across even a
prop, I would get the itch again and
build something.
In late 2010, Henry called me to
inform me that he and Joe LaPille had
worked tirelessly to get El Paso County
to allow us the use of Ascarate Lake.
Henry was ecstatic and informed me
that we had been granted access to the
site again. Henry used every contact he
had within the city as did Joe LaPille.
Joe LaPille is a long time drag racer and
hot rod enthusiast. Joe had been in a
severe motorcycle accident a few years
prior and it left him with some paralysis.
After his motorcycle accident, Joe was
Annmarie Keller and her father Henry
JC Greenlee and Tony Solo
An always happy Tom Balliet
April 2013