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Club History
 In 1958, and just out of college, Gene waited for his new
Corvette, which was overdue for delivery. His parents encouraged
him to cancel the order and buy something else! Well , and as luck
would have it, Gene did not, and in the fall, his red and white
’58 Corvette arrived.
Gene LeDoux loved the car, and as he drove around Rochester, he
would wave at any other Corvette drivers going by (which were few
and far between). He stopped to meet the owner of any Corvette he
saw, no matter where it was or where he was going. He wanted to
meet and involve himself with other owners of this Special
American made sports car. After awhile he had a few owners
interested in forming a group to cruise and exchange information
about their cars. Gene wrote to General Motors Corp., explaining
he had formed The Rochester Corvette Club and wondered if he could
get a list of others in the Rochester and surrounding areas. GM
supplied Gene with a list of all the owners of Corvettes in New
York State, about 200 in all! He was in touch with all of them to
see if they wanted to be part of the new club (probably the first
in the state). In the Autumn of 1959, 30 Corvette owners attended
his first annual meeting held at Brook-Lea Country Club. From that
handful, the Club was formed with some of the first attendees
becoming members. Gene had taken steps to incorporate the club,
all of which had taken one year.
Through the years, a number of Presidents and Vice Presidents
have made it a point to keep Gene involved with the Club. Even
though he no longer owns a Corvette, he will always retain a place
of honor and respect as the individual who made it all happen.
Gene is an honorary member now, and has been very helpful in
bringing us up to date about the club. He attends many functions
and we are glad he is and always will be a part of the Rochester
Corvette Club again.
The Rochester Corvette Club is a social club, which brings many
types of people together who have the same common bond, a
Corvette. One of the original owners of the 1953 proto-type "EX
122" Corvette, Jack Ingle, was an Honored Life Member until his
recent passing; we sadly miss him.
We are one of the largest clubs in the United States with 350+
members and we are one of the oldest clubs, established in 1959. We have at this time over 240 Corvettes in the Club,
many members owning more than one! (More than the state had when
the Club was first started by Gene LeDoux). We are a Civic minded
group and try to give back to the community in various ways. One
of the events we hold is an indoor Corvette Show in the early
summer to raise money for charity. It is a fantastic show with all
years, styles & types of Corvettes represented. We have fun
planning and putting it together. A local worthy charity is chosen
each year. We hope we can play a small part to help a different
group each time, all of our charities deal with those in need.
Some of the charities we have donated to in the last 30 years
include St. Joseph’s Villa (2-3 times), The Norman Howard School,
Cure (3-4 times), The Rotary Sunshine Camp, The Ronald McDonald
House, Strong Children’s Medical Center, The Vietnam Veteran’s
Memorial, The Open Door Mission, Camp Good Days, The Vietnam
Veteran’s Outreach Center- Chapter 20, Mercy Flight Central, The
Make A Wish Foundation, KATS (Kids adjusting Through Support),
Strong Hospital's Pediatric HIV Children's Program, and the Humane
Society.
We recognize and honor those people who have contributed their
time and dedication to the Rochester Corvette Club:
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