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Chicago Corvette Club
March 1958 " Chevrolet is in its 6th model year "
In Chicago, Keith Lais, Corvette owner and salesman at Ferrell Hicks Chevrolet had been surveying other Corvette owners through a variety of means including newspaper ads to determine if enough people were interested in forming a club. On March 21st, twenty-two
people became members of the Chicago Corvette Club. The first meeting was held in the salesmen's meeting room, at the Ferrell Hicks dealership, which became the clubs home for
some time.
In May of 1958, the Chicago Corvette club held its first gymkhana open to all sports cars in
the Chicago area. As the membership increased, concours, rallies, and economy runs were
added to the club activities. Social events became popular. Including caravans to St. Louis Corvette assembly plant and the Indy 500 race.
Other Corvette fans followed our initiative, forming clubs nationwide. The Chicago
Corvette Club may be the oldest club incorporated in the nation. The Chicago Corvette
Club was incorporated on December 23, 1958.
The creation of a national organization of Corvette clubs was inevitable. The Chicago
Corvette Club was a key instrument in forming the National Council of Corvette Clubs,
( NCCC in January 1961.) The steering wheel logo was drawn from our club's logo.
Jerry Knight (MW004-10) is the artist who originally designed the steering wheel logo
for the Chicago Corvette Club. The NCCC copied the logo for its use.
Chicago Corvette Club emphasis changed throughout the years to the desires of its
membership. In 1996 the membership had dropped and the club temporarily faded away.
In January 1999, some of the old members suffering a "Midlife need for a Corvette,"
heard that the club was no longer active and destiny breathed life back into the club.
Our first meeting brought together twenty Corvette enthusiasts. We have been enjoying
social events and bragging rights. We don't know what the future holds, but we are proud
to be able to restore MW004
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