Darrel Hulse on the left and Don Hulse (Aerodonamic) on the right.
Many of you who have attended the Run For The Hills, The Fiero Factory Swap Meets or Daytona probably know or have met Aerodonamic. His real name is Don Hulse. Don has been one of the major Fiero dedicated and Fiero friendly mechanics in the Atlanta area since the mid 90’s.
Don has kept most of the Georgia Fiero Club Fieros on the road for most of that time, plus a host of other Fieros from around the Southeast. His attention to detail is simply unmatched. All the while, he was working a full time job as a diesel fleet mechanic for a national salad dressing company.
When I say Don was a Fiero friendly mechanic, I mean that he worked on them with a true love and passion for Fieros. He was also Owners Wallet Friendly. Doing work for almost charity rates. Selling new parts for his cost and used parts at prices you probably couldn’t find at your local Pick-And-Pull.
If you’ve met him, you know that he’s always got a smile and quick to crack a joke. He can play off almost anything you say. His friendly nature just stands out. The thing you don’t see about Don is the pain he’s been enduring for all these years.
Don was diagnosed with cancer in the mid 90’s and has undergone various courses of treatment over the years. The cancer has been in remission then comes back. Another round of treatment and remission, then it returns again.
He has been receiving chemotherapy for one of the cancers. It’s my understanding that he’s had several different types, which of course are in different locations and require different courses of treatment. He recently completed a round of chemo for a particular cancer, and now it seems that a different form has appeared. He has just started a new round with a different course of chemotherapy.
Don has continued to attend club meetings and fulfill his duties as a member of our Board of Directors, even though he was so sick that he had to be driven to and from. He has also continued to work on Fieros, trying to amass enough funds to attend the 30th Anniversary of the Fiero. All the while, smiling and joking.
Don has told me that this one is very important to him. He’s made it to the 20th and the 25th, and this may be his last one. He cannot make the long car ride, so he was planning to fly and his son will be driving his car up. Don has worked very hard to get his car ready so he can enter it in the show.
We at Georgia Fieros do not have the funds to cover his full expenses though we already have some good pledges. We would like to ask the Fiero Community to step forth as you all have so many times before to help out someone who’s done so much for us. We would like to collect enough to fly Don and his wife to Indianapolis, provide them with full accommodations and cover all expenses of their trip. Don’s wife has seldom participated in Fiero events with Don, but she feels this is one to be shared and she would like to be with Don should he encounter any problems.
We’ve set up an account for Don to receive donations. It’s the Don Hulse Fund. Contributions can be made to:
Donald Hulse Fund Douglas County Bank 6157 Fairburn Rd. Douglasville, Ga. 30134
Or:
Donald Hulse Fund Douglas County Bank P.O. Box 949 Douglasville, Ga. 30133
If you have any questions that you wish to keep private, please email them to GeorgiaFieroClub@Gmail.Com Subject: Don Hulse Fund This is accessible only to the 3 club officers and myself as the Board Chairman. It will not be shared with anyone else.
At this time we don't know. As you know, fares change and specials pop up from time to time. We here in Georgia will need to do periodic checking to try to catch them. There's a national syndicated talk show host based here. He's great at advising of the secret specials. He will be contacted.
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09:36 PM
fierofool Member
Posts: 12915 From: Auburn, Georgia USA Registered: Jan 2002
Here's a more recognizable view of Don (left) and Daryl (right) at work... fixing the steering column on Fiero GTB's Mera in the Galaxy Diner parking lot after the February club meeting.
Photo courtesy Fiero GTB.
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 02-27-2013).]
I am offering up one custom made plug and play 3800 SC or N/A harness to this great cause, payment will go directly to this cause and I will ship the harness to whom ever either pays out right the $400 I charge for them or wins an auction I am going to set up in the mall section later today. Dan
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08:34 AM
TopNotch Member
Posts: 3537 From: Lawrenceville, GA USA Registered: Feb 2009
I am offering up one custom made plug and play 3800 SC or N/A harness to this great cause, payment will go directly to this cause and I will ship the harness to whom ever either pays out right the $400 I charge for them or wins an auction I am going to set up in the mall section later today. Dan
That's very generous! Thanks!
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04:19 PM
katatak Member
Posts: 7136 From: Omaha, NE USA Registered: Apr 2008
I am offering up one custom made plug and play 3800 SC or N/A harness to this great cause, payment will go directly to this cause and I will ship the harness to whom ever either pays out right the $400 I charge for them or wins an auction I am going to set up in the mall section later today. Dan
Don is a real Role Model to me and a great friend!!!!! Would it help with the collection if I get Delta Buddy Passes for Don and his Wife. My dad works for Delta. I need to know departure date and about what time they want to fly out and arrival airport. I assume they will be flying out of Hartsfield. PM me the info or post it here please. Is this a surprise or does Don know???? I dont want to call him a spill the beans. I also need info on how to proceed once I get the tickets. Thanks.
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08:42 PM
topcat Member
Posts: 5486 From: Charleston SC Registered: Dec 2001
I'd recommend not going the buddy pass route. Buddy passes are stand by only tickets, and have a very low priority for getting a seat - depending on your dad's seniority. It can be very frustrating when bumped off a flight when you need to be a a certain place at a certain time.
My wife works for Delta and we fly on her benefit often, but when we really need to be somewhere, we buy a ticket - that is the only way to be certain to get a seat - and sometimes you still aren't guaranteed a seat on the flight you want. Airlines are really bad for over selling flights.
quote
Originally posted by tntcary:
Don is a real Role Model to me and a great friend!!!!! Would it help with the collection if I get Delta Buddy Passes for Don and his Wife. My dad works for Delta. I need to know departure date and about what time they want to fly out and arrival airport. I assume they will be flying out of Hartsfield. PM me the info or post it here please. Is this a surprise or does Don know???? I dont want to call him a spill the beans. I also need info on how to proceed once I get the tickets. Thanks.
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09:18 PM
Mar 2nd, 2013
fierofool Member
Posts: 12915 From: Auburn, Georgia USA Registered: Jan 2002
TNT, Don and Patsy know. I met with them and told them what we were doing. Patsy has access to the account to withdraw the money they need. Let me know what your course of action will be. As topcat said, we don't want them to be standing at the airport waiting on the possibility of getting a seat. Thank you for anything you can do.
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12:44 AM
tntcary Member
Posts: 640 From: Douglasville, GA Registered: Dec 2012
I'd recommend not going the buddy pass route. Buddy passes are stand by only tickets, and have a very low priority for getting a seat - depending on your dad's seniority. It can be very frustrating when bumped off a flight when you need to be a a certain place at a certain time.
My wife works for Delta and we fly on her benefit often, but when we really need to be somewhere, we buy a ticket - that is the only way to be certain to get a seat - and sometimes you still aren't guaranteed a seat on the flight you want. Airlines are really bad for over selling flights.
True it is stand-by.... on 33 years seniority stand by Let me call my dad and see what he thinks. Last time we were bumped from a flight was when my dad had only 20 years in and that was to John Wayne International in July for 4 people. Never forget that day, totally sucked.
[This message has been edited by tntcary (edited 03-02-2013).]
Confirmed tickets are in the works by tntcary but it requires a full week's stay. He's checking with Don and his wife to see if they'll be able to stay that long. We're still trying to raise enough for the hotel rooms and other expenses for a week's stay. We're close, but no cigar, yet. Any overage donated can help to pay for meals and admission to events.
Edit to add that Don and his wife will be able to stay from the 26th until July 2. Now, we just need to know if there's anyone up that way that can pick them up and take them back to the airport on their arrival and departure.
[This message has been edited by fierofool (edited 03-04-2013).]
There have been some very generous donations. Thank you to the person who made the donation this past Sunday. You know who you are. TNTCary has donated round-trip confirmed tickets, but we still don't have enough to cover the hotel room. Every amount helps to reach that goal, however large or small. Thank You All who have donated, so far.
We discussed today that when we reach a set goal, we will close the account and all funds to that point will be turned over to Don and his wife.
Round Trip confirmed (non-buddypass) Airline tickets purchased and emailed to Don!!!!!!! Keep donating for the rest of the expenses, we are almost there!!!! We gettin' this knocked out ya'll !!!
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07:48 PM
RCR Member
Posts: 4410 From: Shelby Twp Mi Registered: Sep 2002