2023 Bloomington Gold Presidential Award Recipients

John Carlson, Joplin MO The Voice of Bloomington Gold and Information Booth Consultant

John Carlson has worked at every Bloomington Gold Show in some capacity since 1974. Early on he worked as a volunteer parking Corvettes in Gold Field. A few years in, he was systematically volunteered to read the show announcements in between his parking of the cars. Over the years he became the Voice of Bloomington Gold and an expert in everything Bloomington.

John is also the Voice of Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals in November each year as well as Display Coordinator at Mecum Auctions.

David Burroughs, El Paso IL Founder of Bloomington Gold, SURVIVOR®, Benchmark Certifications, & Special Collections

After going to car shows where only one car would win, David developed a judging system where every car had a chance to achieve the top award, thus was born the Gold Standard® of Judging. In 1978, the Gold Standard of Judging was implemented into an all-Corvette event that David had started in 1973, called the Corvette Corral, later to be renamed Bloomington Gold. While many people recognize David as the founder of Bloomington Gold, it is equally important that he is recognized for founding Bloomington Gold judging, which today, is still an important component of the event.

Al Grenning, Boonville NY Division Director Stamp and Tag Team

Matching numbers. Broach marks. Pad stampings. Casting dates. VIN and trim tags. ECL codes. Protect-O-Plates. Terms that glaze one’s eyes. Al Grenning’s unique skills have helped “pilgrims” better understand these very important clues before plunging into a high risk transaction.

Grenning is the single most respected authority decoding these arcane and obscure terms. He has collected tens of thousands of photos, copies, and tracings of this data in his library—all for the purpose of helping determine the authenticity of a Corvette’s identity.

Without his dedication to collecting, analyzing, organizing, and publishing much of this data, the Corvette community would be subject to rampant forgeries and disinformation relative to rare and desirable Corvettes. His contributions and research data have been incorporated within the intricate judging systems unique to the Corvette community.