Ben Davoren
President
Daylight Saving Time starts March 14 so Spring can’t be far behind, and with it our first tour of 2021!
Although COVID gathering restrictions will make our Goat Rock Run on Saturday March 27th a bit unusual as I will be giving you Driver’s instructions via bullhorn while you are seated in your beautiful Porsches with the windows rolled down, it will be great to see each other and enjoy the Marin and Sonoma backroads again. (You might even get to hear me over your FM radio.)
Pre-register through our March Calendar link to MSReg.com as we cannot take any on-site registrations.
I want to thank the energetic team of Sharon Castle and Paul Simmons for keeping the momentum going on getting this drive to happen. They are normally the architects of our biggest annual event (the Run for the Crab) which we had to cancel due to assembly limitations, but their enthusiasm to try to get something in place to break the COVID driving drought helped make this first tour a reality!
In April we will have our return to Autocross at Thunderhill, and our Board is hard at work seeking other opportunities to get us out on the roads together. As a teaser, member Jim Robison is putting together a ‘time-speed-distance’ rally or two that can be run once we get out of the current purple/red COVID tiers which will include TSD rally classroom training. This sounds like a great way to get a good mix of both two-door and four-door Redwood Region Porsches amassed for a common purpose.
As always, Board meetings are open to all interested members on the last Tuesday of every month at 7 pm. The March meeting will still be held over Zoom but we hope to return to in-person dinner meetings soon. Please see our calendar link at redwoodpca.org.
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Collin Fat
Zone 7 Representative
PCA National Leadership
Updates National Strategic Plan for 2021:
Your PCA National leadership team has worked hard during the pandemic and continues to do the work behind the scenes that keeps our club active and growing. Each year PCA National reviews where it has been, what has worked, what has not and where we would like to go as the world’s largest single marque car club. The strategic plan covers many areas of focus including membership marketing, improved resources for our members, an updated website, and continues to bring large scale national events like Parade, Werks Reunion, Tech Tactics, Club Racing, Sim Racing and Treffen.
In the area of membership marketing, PCA membership has recovered from this past spring’s decline and finished 2020 on a positive note. New resources that national has introduced to its members include 1) PCA YouTube, 2) Tech Tactics Live, 3) Appointing a new national PCA Tech Coordinator, 4) adding tech articles to Panorama and 5) Project 964. These initiatives continue the pattern of bringing tech information and resources to our members.
PCA will also be releasing its new and improved website in the spring with an emphasis on providing an enthusiast extranet-focused home page highlighting the Porsche Lifestyle, news and entertainment while offering its members an administrative-focused intranet for club functions. The purpose of the extranet focus of the website design is to encourage more visits to our website and potentially more enthusiasts to join the club.
Also part of the updated strategic plan is a renewed emphasis on Region Engagement and Coaching Initiatives that will include focusing on providing assistance to our 146 regions in areas including 1) finance, 2) risk management, 3) updating of bylaws, 4) club elections 5) records retention, and 6) region operations related to supporting website development, social media, newsletter and membership development.
At the recent PCA National Staff meeting held on Zoom, I was very encouraged with the direction our national leadership team is planning for a successful 2021. With 2020 national events being cancelled due to the pandemic, the EC (executive council) is none the less planning its large events with a positive outlook and the hope that with everyone getting the vaccine the nation will finally be getting a handle on the pandemic. With that said, Treffen Scottsdale is looking like it will move forward as well as the Parade at French Lick. The PCA Club racing schedule and West Coast Racing series are open with many more events scheduled in 2021. Good news for all our club racers! National staff takes seriously the safety of our members in everything it plans and have instituted strict guidelines to prevent our members from contracting the disease. Werks Reunion in Monterey that is held in conjunction with Monterey Car Week and the Monterey Historic is being planned but is waiting for more guidance. Porscheplatz and the Porsche Car Corrals that are usually associated with this event as well as the IMSA event in September will be dependent on local conditions as well.
Your National leadership team has been busy planning for events and are looking forward to a great 2021.
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Upcoming PCA National Events:
Your leadership team at PCA national has been very busy. Last year, national had to deal with the consequences of Covid 19 on our club’s national events such as club racing where at least 16 events had to be cancelled in addition to Spring Treffen and Parade in Palm Springs. National hopes that the planning for Treffens, Werks Reunion, Parade and a host of other events scheduled for this year can continue as planned. Your national leadership team has been diligent in being flexible and in developing policies and procedures to enable large national events such as Parade to continue, but with a twist. Phase 1 registration for Parade 2021 is open and Treffen Scottsdale will open on February 24th. Treffens have in the past sold out in about an hour so if you have any interest in attending, mark the opening of registration on your calendar.
The winter national staff meeting originally scheduled for February 6th in Jacksonville Florida has been cancelled due to concerns with Covid and instead will be conducted virtually. This meeting gathers all the national committee chairs, Zone Reps, Executive Council members and national headquarter staff to share plans for the year as well as to provide updates on their committee. Updates are generally provided by the chairs of Parade, Treffen, Werks Reunion, Club Racing, Policy, Audit, insurance and social media.
Dates and Registration:
1) Zone 7 Presidents Meeting, March 13, 2021.
2) PCA Spring Treffen at the Marriott Scottsdale, AZ May 5-9 treffen.pca.org
Registration opens February 24, at 12 noon PST
3) Loma Prieta Region 50th (plus 1) Anniversary Gala, June 19
6) Monterey Historic, Porsche Corral August 14-15th
7) PCA Fall Treffen at the American Club, Kohler, WI, Oct.3-17 treffen.pca.org
8) PCA Spring Treffen at the Broadmoor, Colorado Springs, CO, April 27-May 1, 2022
9) Monterey Bay Region 60th Anniversary, TBD
9) Sacramento Valley Region 60th Anniversary Celebration, May 7, 2022
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Zone 7 Concours and Autocross Series: |
The Zone competition series is still in the planning and should be finalized by spring. The regions in Zone 7 that have active autocross programs and sponsor Zone autocross events are awaiting finalized contracts from various venues prior to publicizing a final calendar. Please check for updates on the Zone 7 website.
The concours series schedule is still in the works with the regional concours chairs and the support of Zone 7 concours chairs Roy Schauben and Simone Kopitzki. Regions have traditionally been dependent on local dealerships for support and event site support. So far, only Sacramento Valley Region has locked down a date with location to be determined.
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Zone 7 Membership Declines in 2020:
Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic, membership in Zone 7 for 2020 declined approximately 1% compared to 2019. Comparing membership at the end of December primary membership at the end of 2020 was 6323 versus 6393 in 2019. Bay Area regions saw the most significant declines. On the bright side, several of our smaller regions saw significant increases in membership with Sierra Nevada Region showing 6.45% growth and Yosemite posting a 5.7% growth. Congratulations to the leadership teams at both regions. Nationally, while all other major car clubs in the USA saw declines in membership PCA posted a modest gain of about 1.5% year to date.
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2021 PCA West Coast
Race Series Schedule
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With Federal and State directives pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Club Racing schedule is very fluid and subject to change on a day-to-day basis. The racing schedule shown will be frequently updated with the latest official status of each of our races. |
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G. Kelley Reid
New Redwood Member
This month’s spotlight falls on Kelley Reid, former JAG attorney and Mayor of Ross, current barbershop quartet singer and owner of 2 Porsches. He recently joined our club in November of 2020.
Born into a Porsche family in Cedar Rapids Iowa, Kelley and his brother Justus both inherited the Porsche gene. Kelley’s father was a claims adjuster by vocation, but his avvocation was buying old Porsches, fixing them up, and then re-selling them.
He bought his first Porsche and “best buddy” a 1962 356B Porsche “notchback” in 1969 when he was relocated from Florida to Castle AFB in Merced, CA where he was serving as a JAG officer. He likes to say that he traded up from hurricanes to earthquakes. While in Merced, he heard of a 356 for sale in Modesto, so he drove up 99 in his friend’s Corvette to negotiate a deal of $2000 to purchase the car.
Kelley took his new buddy everywhere, or maybe it took him, from ski trips to Tahoe, to nights out in Sausalito, to drives up to visit his grandmother in Oakland and thrill her with a ride and dinner out. He got lucky finding a great German mechanic named Rudy that took great care of his pal.
When Kelley married Mary, whose father drove a Porsche of course, they immediately jumped in the 356B after the ceremony and drove right up to surprise his now 93 year old grandmother by smuggling champagne into the hospital where she was recuperating from a leg fracture.
2 years ago, Kelley walked by his beloved Porsche and realized that “tears were leaking from its headlights.” Realizing that his car was feeling neglected, he decided that it was time to restore it to its former glory so he brought it to a local shop in San Rafael where it has been undergoing a total and complete refurbishing of almost every system. At this point all that’s left to do is the paint and upholstery.
To tide him over while his car is being overhauled, Kelley bought a 1999 Carerra with only 43 thousand miles on it. Ever since that purchase, he has wanted to join the Redwood Region. When asked why he waited so long to join, he responded that he had joined the Yosemite region long long ago, but never had the time to enjoy any of the drives. He has waited until now when he and his wife can get to know the other members and join in on all the fun! He’s a gregarious guy and is looking forward to swapping Porsche stories and making like-minded friends.
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2017 Carrera 991.2 S in Graphite Blue Metallic-
Perfect for driving above the clouds on Mt Tam!
photo submission by : Anthony Leite, DDS
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Rick Duste
Redwood Region Secretary
Our board meetings are on the last Tuesday of the month at 7:00 pm. The next board meeting is March and will be held virtually. Please visit the Redwood Website for login details.
All members are welcome to attend.
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Membership Report & Information |
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Tom Short
Membership Director
In February 2021, 28 PCA Redwood Region members marked five or more years in the club, including one member with over 50 years in our club! two with over 40 years, five with over 30 years and one with over 20 years.
Congratulations to all of you for such long-term loyalty, 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!
This February, we welcomed four new members to Redwood Region PCA. You will be receiving a complimentary Redwood Region name badge shortly. If you’d like to order a name badge for your associate or family member, follow the instructions on how to do so on our website where you can get the latest news about what’s going on with Redwood Region members and sign up for upcoming events.
Our events are a great way to meet other PCA members and have some fun with great people and our amazing cars. In the mean time, we wish you and your families and friends well during these extraordinary times. Stay healthy.
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Got something to sell? We'll post it for free. Send us details and a picture by the 5th of the month to be included.
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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 authenticity
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.
Want to reach an audience of Porsche enthusiasts with your marketing message? Consider advertising in der Riesenbaum. Contact the editor for more information and rates.
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!
Lisa Davoren
der Riesenbaum Editor
Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region
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