To all Eastern 4 Wheelers club members past, present, and future:
On behalf of the 2022 E4W Board, we would like to welcome everyone to the Post-COVID Reboot of our four-wheeling adventures. The past couple of years have been hard on all of us and our ability to organize large events. This year, we are back! This is a quick note to update everyone on the current status of the club as well as what plans we have for our future endeavors. We want to be sure that, as a club, we can utilize and enjoy the fruits of being a part of a continuously growing legal offroad community. But first, let’s take a step back at our roots and see how much we have grown.
The Eastern 4 Wheelers (E4W) club was established in 1987 by two gentlemen named Dave Brill and his cousin John Mantzaris. Both had just purchased very capable 4-wheel drive vehicles and were eager to test their offroad capabilities. However, there was one (little more than minor) setback; neither Dave nor John had any idea where they could possibly go to test these capabilities. They came up with their version of the modern-day “internet” to reach out to other 4-wheel drive enthusiasts who they believed were looking for the same thing they were. Armed with flyers, they took to the streets- leaving flyers on the windshields of fellow 4-wheelers. In time, two people turned into six. These six then started visiting different libraries, looking to gain access to maps showing locations of old service roads, trails, right of ways, etc. Membership continued to grow slowly until 1990. It was at this time when Dave, John, and other members of the newly formed club went down to an event in PA where they met Rudy Shoneck of East Coast 4WD Association. Shortly after, an alliance was made. From that point forward, Eastern 4 Wheelers has been growing with membership in the hundreds.
Fast forward to the year of 2022. This is the year of reemergence for much of the world. The word tradition comes to mind for many Eastern 4 Wheelers club members. Our traditions (specifically Florida Vacation) have been put on hold for the past two years. It has been a difficult two years with the unexpected arrival of the Covid pandemic, the unexpected loss of our former President Kevin Powell, and the wheel of life moving fast in general for all of us. That said, it is necessary for us as a club to reemerge in 2022, rekindle our traditions, and be there for each other as club members and friends.
To kick off the year, we would like to introduce you to your new board. You may recognize many of these names (and their rigs) from years of trail riding. If not, we can’t wait to meet you.
- President– Ben (Rock) Roccapriore
- Vice President– Brett Emons
- Treasurer– Maria Overly
- Secretary– Kristin Cavallaro
- Membership Secretary– Salvatore (Sal) Nozzolillo
We are energized and ready to get back in the woods. Keep an eye out on Facebook, Instagram, in your email, and on our website for upcoming news and events. We have a ton of ideas that we can’t wait to put into action and we want you to know about them whether you are on social media or kicking it old school. We look forward to an exciting upcoming year of events and trail rides and hope many of you can join us to continue what was started in 1987.
