Call Sign January 2010 - Page 18 & 19

Oh what a night!!! *As DaC enjoys the Taxi Driver of the Year charity bash...*
While the economic climate has seen the sponsors of the Taxi Driver of the Year Show shy away, nothing stops the committee – led by Russell Poluck MBE (T25) and his wife Barbara – from putting on one of the best bashes of the year. The TDOTY charity dinner and dance is always good, but by common agreement this year’s – held in the new surroundings of the Holiday Inn Forum, Cromwell Road – was probably one of the best ever. The food was good, the wine flowed freely and the band – once again sponsored by Dial-a-Cab – were absolutely brilliant. Fraternity have obviously been together for some considerable time because they knew exactly how to keep the dance floor full, while catering to everyone’s musical tastes. With tracks ranging from Glen Miller to Amy Winehouse – but always reverting to that golden age in the 1960s and 70s - even those few that didn’t get up to boogie, enjoyed just sitting and listening! Of course, the whole purpose of the evening is to raise money for charity - in particular those charities within the taxi trade – and that was also a big success. The Tombola stand sold out and most there also dug deep to support the raffle, with its first prize of an all-expenses trip to New York (donated by Audrey Sherry in memory of husband Doug). The result was that the five taxi charities present all received cheques for £1000 each. All in all, a great time was had by everyone there and as the Four Seasons and Francesco Castelluccio – better known as Frankie Valli - would have said and indeed sung on one of their biggest hits – reprised brilliantly on the night by Fraternity - Oh what a night!!! Russell has asked Call Sign* to thank for their sponsorship, in addition to DaC and Audrey Sherry, John Anderson (Royal Oak), KPM, Quotax Insurance and Westminster Insurance.*
*Ed’s wife Linda with DaC’s PA to the Operations Manager, Shelagh Adkins...*	*Allan Evans and wife Gill dancing the night away!*
*Gerry Dunn (S84) and Janet take to the floor...*	*TaxiTalk editor Dave Millward shows how it’s done – so now we know!*
*Russell Poluck presents the five trade charities with their cheques...*	*Mike and Maxine Son dream of faraway places!*
*John Dixon (B67) and Louise take a breather!*

Happy Birthday Yellow Cabs, Baltimore!

Call Sign has never been afraid to offer congratulations to anyone within the cab industry, even if they are in direct competition to Dial-a-Cab. On this occasion, the expression "direct competition" certainly doesn’t apply, but the congratulations are still well deserved. They go to Yellow Cabs of Baltimore, USA, who recently celebrated their 100th birthday – an absolutely astonishing achievement for a taxi company and one that leaves Dial-a-Cab some way behind in terms of longevity, with 4 January 2010 making 56 years since our first official job went out!
The Yellow Cab Company was founded in Baltimore in 1909. Its fleet of 600 vehicles serve around 5 million people each year and it has achieved some notable firsts, being the first to hire African American drivers (in the 1950s), a time when the company also became the first to hire female drivers.
Yellow Cabs also provide disabled access as well as supplying some hybrid cabs. But the bottom line to Yellow Cabs of Baltimore is a very happy 100th birthday from all at Dial-a-Cab...