From the Zone!

Wow, the summer is moving way to fast. Many of your regions events are already completed. I hope everyone is having a fun year enjoying their cars and their club.  Now that Parade is over, I thought I would pass along some of the happenings of the year so far.

I am not sure how many members know how the Club is organized at the national level. All of the Presidents of all the Regions, The Executive Committee, and the Chairs of the Standing Committees comprise the Board of Directors of the Porsche Club of America. Twice a year, in addition to the Winter Board Meeting and the Summer Board meeting, a phone based meeting is conducted. It is on this phone call that all members of the Board have the ability to comment on and then cast a vote for the items up in front of the Board. During this year’s summer call, voting was held for members of the Audit Committee and approval was sought for the Nominating Committee Policies and Procedures. All items voted on were passed as presented.

The Executive Committee continues to look to establish minimum standards for our events. As the cost of insurance continues to escalate, we must do what we can to minimize our risks to keep our rates low. The Club has been able to do this by an aggressive risk management philosophy. This is why Minimum National Standards have been implemented for Driving Tours. Leeds Gulick, our National Autocross Chair, has almost completed the minimum standards for Autocrossing. He is currently looking for volunteers to become part of the Committee to finalize the standards.

Parade 2017 was a great success. It was one of the largest Parades with over a 1,000 individual registrations. The City of Spokane was amazing with its hospitality and beauty. The Concours along the river in the park was an ideal location. Hopefully, you were lucky enough to catch the streaming of the awards presentations on Facebook. This was the first time awards were presented on the field to much success.

Congratulations are also due to the Bluegrass Region. Their newsletter won First Place in Class II and their Website took Third Place in this year’s contest. I encourage all to look at them. It’s never too early to start thinking about submitting for next year. Congratulations to Bluegrass!

Parade 2018 is going to be in Lake of the Ozarks, MO at the Tan Tar A Resort. This is almost in the backyard of our Zone. It’s never too early to start thinking about Parade and the activities that make Parade. It would be great to see a big turnout form Zone 13. For those that have never attended a Parade, this is your chance. This year it will be within a day’s ride for most members of our Zone.

We noticed this year that many first timers entering the Rally and Concours. This is wonderful. I have reached out to all the Presidents within the Zone and have offered to work with them should they want to put on either a Rally School or Concours School. A little knowledge and preparation for these events would make them much more enjoyable to participate in, and that’s what makes Parade a fun experience. So if you think this would be a benefit to your region, please let your President know!

The next two Treffens have also been announced. The first scheduled for April 25-29, 2018 will be in Santa Ana Pueblo, NM. The second is scheduled for September 12-16, 2018 and will be at the Fairmont Banff Springs Resort, Banff, AB. Next year will offer several fantastic experiences. Start making your plans now to attend one or all!

A Zone 13 Facebook page has been created. It can be found at www.facebook.com/groups/Zone13. Hopefully all the regions will start posting their upcoming events here. Click on and become a member now.

Please continue to enjoy your summer, your Porsche and your Club!

Jack Stephensen
Zone 13 Representative