Story and photos by Mark Wing (posted Nov. 22, 2019)
The Model T Ford Club of America (MTFCA) board members elected our own Dr. Larry Azevedo as the next MTFCA President effective January 1, 2020. Congratulations Larry! Larry has been serving as the MTFCA’s Vice President with Mike Vaughn as the 2019 President. Larry was also awarded the MTFCA’s highest honor – the Rosenthal Award in 2013.
By assuming the Presidency, Larry is carrying on a fine Tin Lizzie tradition. Tin Lizzie members Tom Miles and Joe Fellin also served as MTFCA Presidents and both are also Rosenthal Award winners!
Tom Miles
Story and photos by Mark Wing (with information and insights from Bernice Young’s – “A Tribute to Tom Miles”, 2011)
Tom Miles has been a Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque member for 35 years and his contributions to our local club and to the MTFCA are numerous and impactful. For instance, Tom has served many terms as an Officer (President in 1994-95) and Director in our local club. He’s assisted in the restoration of other club member’s cars and either organized or contributed to several tours on a local and national level. For instance, Tom helped to organize the memorable 2016 MTFCA National “Land of Enchantment Tour” in New Mexico, hosted by the Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque.
For the National Club, Tom has served for years as a member of the Board of Directors, Vice President, and MTFCA President (2011-12). Tom was also the recipient of the highest honor that the MTFCA can bestow – the Rosenthal Award in 2008. This award was due, in large part to all the skills and expertise he brought to the MTFCA from his professional career in TV broadcasting, journalism, and photography. Among his creative contributions has been writing articles for the Vintage Ford as well as photographs for covers.
Tom’s single and perhaps most impactful contribution to the Model T hobby was to initiate and accomplish a multi-year effort that is the Restoration Video series. This comprehensive collection of videos (now available as DVDs) documents a wide-range of topics related to the restoration and maintenance of Model T’s. Tom coordinated, filmed, produced, and edited the content in this series. This was accomplished largely at his own expense for travel and equipment! This 9-part series, which now spans 44 DVDs, are available through the MTFCA store, and have been a valuable source of revenue for the national club. In addition to serving as a great technical resource for restorers today, this series is preserving the collective knowledge of recognized experts in the Model T Ford hobby for posterity!
Tom has also organized and co-chaired three National MTFCA business meetings, promoted the club at the Hershey, PA swap meet, and was an organizer of the 2008 Centennial Celebration.
Now at age 80 Tom still continues to actively participate in our Chapter activities. Both he and his beloved wife Cathy were on our most recent 2019 Tin Lizzie tour to Clayton and Raton, New Mexico. Tom’s generosity, kindness, technical expertise, organizational skills, and professionalism have left an imprint on all who are fortunate enough to know him and has made a huge impact to our local Chapter and to the MTFCA. Tom has devoted his life, heart, and soul to ensure that the Model T hobby can prosper – now and into the future!
With great pride to count him as one of our Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque members, we say thank you Tom!
Joe Fellin
Joe Fellin served as MTFCA President from 2009-10. Joe was recognized for all of his contributions to the MTFCA with the Rosenthal Award in 2014 (the year after Larry received that honor). Joe and Bernice Young currently live in Apache Junction, Arizona and are members of the East Valley Model T Ford Club (Arizona) as well as the Tin Lizzies of Albuquerque. You may recall Joe’s detailed series of articles on the restoration of his 1923 Centerdoor sedan that appeared in several issues of the Vintage Ford in 2007 and 2008. This documentation is available in a compiled DVD format from the MTFCA store: “9-5: Anatomy of a 1923 Centerdoor Restoration”. Joe is also an avid photographer whose work has graced the covers of numerous issues of the Vintage Ford.
Thank you to Larry, Tom, and Joe for all that they’ve done for the MTFCA, our hobby, and for our local chapter!