Chip Witt
President
November 2019 President’s Message
I hope this month’s message finds you safe and in relatively good spirits. Like me, I’m sure the proximity of currently burning fires, news of losses, power shutdowns, and concerns for the safety and comfort of friends and family has your nerves a bit frayed. If nothing else, times like these serve to remind us all to be thankful for all we have and the responsibility we all share to do what we can where we can for those less fortunate than ourselves.
I was very sad to learn that the location of one of our most recent winery tours, Soda Rock Winery off of SR 128 in Healdsburg, was lost in the Kincade fire. It reminded me that news often travels slowly in a crisis, so I suggest we all check-in with members and friends of the club in the areas affected by the fire that we know personally to ensure everyone is safe. While there may be little any of us can do to offer direct assistance in the immediate term as we care for our own families, I’m certain many will be in need of our friendship and support in the days ahead. If you know of anyone in particularly dire straits as a result of recent events, please make sure to convey any information you can share to me or any other
club executive council member
so that we can see how best to offer the club’s support.
On October 20th, we had our Annual Members’ Meeting in Occidental following a lovely drive led by our Vice President, Ben Davoren. In addition to sharing details on some recent and upcoming events, Ben Davoren, Alan Geddes, Jerry Gladstone, and I all announced our candidacies to continue service in our respective, current roles for 2020. In this issue you should find a link to cast your votes to make it official. Your participation in the process is, as always, greatly appreciated.
We're just days away from registration closing for our Holiday Party on December 14th. For those planning on coming to Mill Valley from out of town and not wanting to have to drive all the way home after the event, Jerry Gladstone managed to secure a 10% discount for rooms available on a first-come-first-served basis at the Acqua Hotel. Check the
MSR registration page
for more details.
Please take a minute to vote in the
Redwood Region Board of Directors 2020
election.
Candidates for 2020 are:
- President: Chip Witt
- Vice President: Ben Davoren
- Treasurer: Jerry Gladstone
- Secretary: Alan Geddes
Thank you and stay safe out there!
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Collin Fat
Zone 7 Representative
Wishing everyone a Happy Holiday! By the time that you get this column we will be right in the middle of the busy holiday season. With Thanksgiving behind us and the hectic pace of the Christmas and New Year holidays around the corner, let us all be thankful for all that we have, our wonderful families and great Porsche Club friends.
Yosemite Region 60th Anniversary
:
Yosemite Region celebrated its 60th Anniversary on October 27
th
with more than 60 members in attendance. The original location of the event, Ironstone Vineyards in Murphys, California was cancelled due to concerns of fire and yet another power shutdown by PG&E. Scrambling to find an alternate location, club president Chuck Pierce made an executive decision to keep the event on schedule and hosted the event at his home. My hats are off to Chuck for the quick recovery. The tour started as scheduled but with a modified route. High winds were the menu of the day as some 15 cars departed from the Starbucks Coffee parking lot in Manteca for some great backcountry driving roads.
Zone 7 Presidents Meeting:
The fall president’s meeting was held for the first time in many years in the Sacramento area and was attended by all the presidents or their representatives in Zone 7. A special presentation by Ed Won, past president of Diablo Region, on building your relationship with your local Porsche dealer was well received. Ed provided a lot of insight into the some of the common pitfalls in the relationship and tips on how best to develop a relationship that is mutually beneficial to both the club and the dealership. The most important point to remember is that the dealer is in the business of selling cars and service and that anything our clubs can do to reciprocate adds to the value the dealership gains from this relationship. The president’s meeting is one manner in which national communicates with region leadership. The next meeting will be scheduled sometime in March. Among the topics discussed included a financial report submitted by Zone treasurer, Howard Thomas, tips on succession and transition planning, membership retention, Parade 2020, and a report by each region on what went well and did not in their regions and also what goals they were working on for 2020. In attendance were; Brian Adkins (Diablo), Ed Hunter (Golden Gate), John Reed (Loma Prieta), Steve Taty (Monterey Bay), Craig Steele (Redwood), Gregg Plourde and Rob Lee (Sacramento Valley), Ed Suarez and Darrick Duerksen (Sequoia), Wayne Martin and Terry Topolski (Shasta), Millie Smith (Sierra Nevada), Chuck Pierce and David Boyd (Yosemite).
Zone 7 Awards Banquet:
The annual awards banquet was held in conjunction with the presidents meeting and was attended by nearly 60 competitors who participated in the Zone autocross and concours series. The concours series hosted 7 events over the year while the autocross series hosted 8 events.
The concours series overall winners by class were
: Bill Sardella
, Full Concours,
Ken Lewis
, Touring I,
Thorsten And Simone Kopitzki
, Touring II, and
Jim McMahen
, Street. The prestigious Rookie of the Year award went to
Juan Fernandez
.
In the autocross series, there were award winners in almost all of the classes with multiple drivers who competed. The highly coveted PAX awards for men and women both had 3 award recipients. In the men’s PAX,
Grady Carter
garnered top honors with
Monty Pack
finishing 2
nd
and
Andrew Blyholder,
finishing 3
rd
. In the ladies PAX competition,
Stacy O’Connell
garnered top honors followed by
Corrin
Vanetti
, 2
nd
place and
Kelsey Leet
, 3
rd
place. Kelsey was also honored as the Rookie of the Year for autocross.
Lastly,
Himanshu Patel
was honored as the Zone 7 Enthusiast of the Year and joins a very special group of past Zone members who have been so honored to have their name on the perpetual trophy. Pictured below L/R are
Bill Sardella
and
Himanshu Patel
with
Grady Carter
.
Events of Interest:
CRAB 38 will be hosted by Sacramento Valley Region, May 29-31. And Shasta Region will host the Zone 7 Tour again on June 11 -15. Porsche Parade 2020 will be held from June 21 – 27
th
at the La Quinta Resort in La Quinta, CA. with phase one registration opening in January. Sierra Nevada Region will host the Mammoth Tour July 25-26.PCA's Treffen 2020 to be held at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs in the spring and the fall Treffen at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia. The dates will be April 29-May 2, 2020 for the Colorado Springs event and September 16-19, 2020 for the West Virginia event. For more information on registration, go to
https://treffen.pca.org/
. Remember that past Treffens have sold out in as little as one hour due to their growing popularity!
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Greg Matsumoto
AutoCross Director
The autocross season has come to an end (sob, sob). Zone 7 autocross awards were given the other week and we’re all reflecting on what we have learned about our personal driving techniques, any suspension changes, new tires, and which classes to run next year.
The October
Panorama
highlighted autocross and a couple of our local drivers (pages 52 - 57). For those who haven’t taken the autocross plunge, the article gave a brief opening description.
“
Autocross, gymkhana, parking lot racing. No matter what it’s called, this event tests a driver’s reflexes, patience, and memory. It provides seat-of-the-pants thrills without the danger of wheel-to-wheel racing. No wonder it has been the bread and butter speed event at regional and national PCA venues for years.”
If you haven’t joined us yet, please join us for our 2020 season.
“It’s not just the cars, it’s the people” phrase is a big reason why we autocross. The
Panorama
article shared Terry Zaccone (Golden Gate Region) and Mike Hinton’s (our past-president) experiences. Autocrossers spend the day with drivers across the zone on a monthly basis and great friendships develop. Terry is a great role model, who just celebrated his 83d birthday by driving his heart out with his 1968 911 Targa that he purchased new from Germany. Tosh Yumae (Golden Gate Region) is another of our local icons being three months younger, driving his 2015 GT3. Tosh autocrosses every weekend during the season with PCA and the Sports Car Club of America. And, Mike Hinton, who just moved from St. Helena to Walla Walla, Washington, preserved his record of four consecutive Historical and Tech Quiz titles at Parade.
Redwood Region has our own title holders and was well represented for the annual Zone 7 Awarded Banquet. Our congratulations to Stacy, Grady, Drew and Doug!!!
Women’s PAX Standings - 1st Place, Stacy O’Connell
Open PAX Standings - 1st Place, Grady Carter
S05-W Class - 1st Place, Stacy O’Connell
S07-O Class - 2nd Place, Drew Powers
S10-O Class - 1st Place, Grady Carter
P11-O Class - 1st Place, Doug Brekke
You might be asking about next year's season. After three years as Autocross Director, I’m handing the steering wheel over to Drew Powers (Autocross Director) and Stacy O’Connell (Autocross Co-Director). Drew and Stacy have been autocrossing for several years, have been autocross team members for years and, most importantly, they love the sport. They will be a dynamic leadership team.
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We are awaiting the 2020 Sonoma Raceway schedule and will again pair up with Trackmasters. Grady (our Zone 7 Autocross Director), Drew and Stacy are planning a weekend event at Thunderhill Raceway with the Sacramento Valley Region for October of 2020.
On 11/23, our club generously treated the Redwoodies that attended both autocross events to lunch. We also recognized the autocross team volunteers.
It has been a sincere pleasure being your autocross director. But, the real credit goes to our autocross team and great volunteers. I could fill several pages of the contributions by all. Without the support of Redwoods Executive Committee, Presidents Craig Steele and Chip Witt,
Grady Carter, Bob Schoenherr, Anita Benzing, Stacy O’Connell, Drew Powers and our volunteers we would not have an autocross program. The autocross program is a well oiled machine that will bring continued smiles for years to come.
I’ll see you next year at our first event! And, please don’t hesitate to volunteer to help enjoy the sport.
Class Standings
Class Place Driver
S05-W 1st Place Stacy O'Connell
S07-O 2nd Place Drew Powers
S10-O 1st Place Grady Carter
P11-O 1st Place Doug Brekke
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Ben Davoren
Vice President
Two Bird Brunch Run 2019
A record-setting 30 Redwood Region Porsches rendezvoused under a not-quite drizzle at Vintage Oaks on Saturday November 9
th
for the annual Two Bird Café run, brainchild of longtime member Bob Hall, this year led by the trusty ‘Visok’ piloted by Kurt Fischer. We had seven first-timers in our contingent, including Gary Stabile in his absolutely stunning Irish Green 1965 356C and Richard Liu who came all the way from Palo Alto just to see what the Redwood fuss is all about!
This route heads onto 101 North for a short drive to the San Antonio Road exit before heading west into the curves of Marin. The sun broke through just as we left the freeway, and most of the cyclists were headed the opposite direction, which added to the ambiance. Yours truly was the sweep; Lisa and I enjoyed the view from the rear and since this route doesn’t involve any critical intersections or a need to block traffic, the fact that I locked the route map in the frunk became a non-issue.
Our midpoint stop as always was the Marin French Cheese Factory, which was extremely popular and made parking a bit of an adventure (see Paige Gaines’ annual photo with this article and look closely!). Even though brunch wasn’t far ahead, our crew hit this backroads jewel and picked up vinegars, jams, jellies and of course, cheese, before we headed onto the rest of our journey.
Back in our pack, we traveled south to our final destination: Two Bird Café in San Geronimo. In past years we have included a loop on Lucas Valley Road but for safety reasons we bypassed it this year. That shortened the drive, but frankly, everybody was hungry! As we completely took over their venue, somehow the staff at Two Bird (I only counted two servers and a busboy) once again did a great job of pleasing our party of 50, offering up 6 different brunch choices, all generously portioned, and all a tremendous value.
This is a regular event for a reason. You can tell that everyone enjoys the drive, the food, and each other’s company as we can make this quiet café pretty boisterous. Two Birds will be on the calendar for next year too, likely with an even more fun and extended driving course!
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Alan Geddes
Redwood Region Secretary
Our board meetings are on the last Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm. The next two board meetings are January 28 and February 25 at Mary's Pizza Shack, located at
121 San Marin Dr., Novato
. All members are welcome to attend.
You can read previous board meeting minutes
here
.
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Membership Report & Information
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Tom Short
Membership Director
In October 2019, 37 PCA Redwood Region members marked five or more years in the club, including one member with over 40 years in our club. There were also three members who have been in our club for over 30 years, and four more with 20 years or more. Congratulations and thank you to all of you who are marking anniversaries – I hope you are enjoying your membership and taking advantage of all the great benefits our club has to offer!
In October we welcomed nine new members – I hope you take advantage of the excellent activities our club offers throughout the year. You will be receiving a complimentary Redwood Region name badge shortly. Check out our website for upcoming autocross events. Also, you can order a name badge for your associate member there as well.
I encourage everyone to participate in your club’s events – it’s a great way to meet other PCA members and have some fun with great people and our amazing cars.
If you spot any errors or have any questions about membership please feel free to email me at
pcaredmembership@gmail.com
or call me at 415-300-7457.
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Porsche Calendar Collection
A rare offering of Porsche calendars for years 1975-1979; 1981-1983; 1985 1994; 1996-2000; 2002; 2008-2011. All but one include coins and are in excellent condition.
$500
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1987 924-S Black 5 speed, 26,500 miles, meticulously cared for. $19,000 OBO
Email Ed
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1995 993 C4 Carrera Coupe
35,350 miles, 3.6 liter, manual transmission, AWD, sunroof, OBDI, sports suspension, highly optioned, Steve Wong chip, N spec tires, sound package and more. All original paint, interior and drivetrain. Two owners, serviced, clean title, Mint. VIN WP0AA2996SS323698
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2004 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Convertible
2-Door 3.6L 3596CC H6 GAS DOHC Naturally Aspirated
48,000 miles - Silver with two hard tops one black and one silver
Asking $31,500 with the two hard tops OBO
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Hi Tec Automotive
Marin's Highest Rated Porsche & Audi Facility Since 1985
Specializing in:
-Audi & Mini Cooper
-Porsche, new & vintage
-Factory recommended maintenance & repair
-Entire building
-Performance tuning
-Restoration & reconditioning with emphasis on authenticit
y
San Rafael
415 258-9619
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Porsche Marin
When you want the best selection and prices on new, used and pre-owned Porsche vehicles, Porsche Marin offers exactly what you’re looking for. 911, Boxster, Cayman, Cayenne, Macan, Panamera and more.
Mill Valley
415 578-9101
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Autobahn Automotive
Sonoma County's premier automotive location for maintenance, servicing, auto repairs and performance upgrades for your Porsche and BMW since 2007
Santa Rosa
707 545-1958
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Dress in style and get your Redwood Region branded items in our Goodie Store.
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Der Riesenbaum is the official newsletter of the Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region, encompassing Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma Counties. This publication is intended to inform Club members about Club activities and other related matters of interest.
We encourage letters to the editor, feedback, questions and suggestions about our newsletter and the Redwood Region in general. Want to contribute to the newsletter?
Submit photos and articles
about Club events or related activities. Please submit your entry by the 5th day of the month for inclusion in that month's newsletter. Articles received after the deadline will be considered for the next month's newsletter. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit all materials submitted for publication.
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All written content and images in this publication are protected by copyright. Permission is granted to reprint any original content herein provided credit is given to the author, the der Riesenbaum and to the Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region. The opinions expressed in der Riesenbaum are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region, its officers, or its members.
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Thanks for supporting our Club!
Andy Cole
der Riesenbaum Editor
Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region
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