BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (April 26, 1999) – A parade of over 600 Corvette owners and enthusiasts from around the United States and Canada traveled the rolling hills of Kentucky last weekend, heading towards Bowling Green, Ky., home of the Chevrolet Corvette assembly plant, where a celebration was taking place…the 2^nd birthday of the C5 Corvette.

The three-day birthday bash, co-hosted by the C5 Registry and the National Corvette Museum, was not only an opportunity to showcase brand loyalty at its best, but also a chance for C5 Corvette owners to meet and mingle with the very people who design and build them. "The brand loyalty that Corvette has is unsurpassed," said Dan Adovasio, Director, C5 Registry. "Corvette owners love their cars. To us Corvette is not only America’s performance icon, it’s a lifestyle."

"This event was the opportunity for any C5 Corvette owner to sit and talk with key GM executives such as Jim Campbell (Corvette brand manager) and Dave Hill (Corvette chief engineer)," said Adovasio. "It also gave them the chance to personally thank those who build the car."

The event featured celebrity guests, seminars and assembly plant tours. A favorite among the car owners was the countryside road tours, where multi-colored streams of C5 Corvettes winded through the hills of the Bluegrass State. One highlight of the weekend for Corvette owners was forming a line outside the gates of the assembly plant to personally thank the workers as they left, shaking their hands and acknowledging their commitment to C5 Corvette with a one-of-a-kind lapel pin.

Guest speaker Jim Campbell, Corvette brand manager joined Dave Hill, Corvette chief engineer in a question-and-answer session while Ken Brown, Corvette C5-R chassis engineer, gave a seminar on "Engineering C5 Corvette Race Cars." Other speakers included John Cafaro, Corvette C5 chief designer, Dave Peacy, Corvette brand quality manager and John Heinricy, vehicle chief engineer for Camaro and Firebird, aiding in the design of the GT2 C5-R racers he currently drives.

Corvette memorabilia was auctioned off at the C5 Registry banquet, with nearly $23,000 in proceeds benefiting the National Corvette Museum. The weekend was capped off on Sunday as car owners took their C5 Corvettes drag racing at Beech Bend Raceway Park.