Annual Holiday Party: The Shenandoah Region, Porsche Club of America’s annual holiday party took place on Sunday, December 6 at Historic Michie Tavern near Monticello. A record 83 members and guests arrived for cocktails and a tour of the tavern museum at 6 PM and a buffet dinner (including colonial fried chicken and Virginia country ham with raisin sauce accompanied by an assortment of old-fashioned side dishes and peach cobbler a la mode for those who saved room for dessert). Dinner was followed by the autocross awards presentation and distribution of door prizes. The autocross winners for 2009 are Rick Ebinger (class I01), Jeffrey Elmore (class P05), Mike Kilmer (class P03), Cristina McCann (Autocrosser of the Year and Ladies class winner), and Emmett Richardson (overall points winner and class P04 winner).
Name tags for the record 83 guests
Gary Hagar and Jeffrey Elmore welcome the early arrivals
Michie Tavern's 18th century decorations
Herb Distefano and Mary Whittle warm up by the fire
Michie Tavern manager and Boxster owner Sam Morris
Table of door prizes handed out after dinner
Bill Sanders and Sam Morris in the dining room
The buffet line
Peach cobbler with ice cream for dessert
President Bill Sanders speaking after dinner
Rick Ebinger announced the autocross award winners
Sherry Westfall drew names for the door prizes
Phil and Susie Audibert’s Fabulous Fourth Fall Foliage Tour began at 10 AM on November 1 at the CDOC facility a half mile south of the Gordonsville traffic circle, off of Rt. 231. CDOC let us tour their racer’s goody store. Also, Paul Overstreet showed us around his new shop, Overstreet European Motors, which is located within the CDOC building. Since the club anniversary party was rained out this year, we had an anniversary cake and coffee, too. Note the photo in the frosting showing a car on last year’s Fall Foliage Tour. |  | |
Phil and Susie led the tour in their gray Boxster because it was raining and their 356 “Green Bean” is only marginally able to run the wipers and headlights at the same time. The winding roads were scenic, and the sun actually came out for the second half of the drive. We ended up at Graves Mountain Lodge for an “all you can eat” buffet of southern cooking, followed by apple pie and ice cream for those able to eat more. | ||
At the CDOC parking lot, in the rain
At the CDOC parking lot, in the rain
Phil and Susie bringing in the food
The anniversary cake
Phil, Mary, and Herb
Phil and Susie leading the tour
On the road
Mike Kilmer
Jim and Sherry's new Cayman S
Drew Donaldson in his BMW
More Rainex needed!
Sunshine at last!
Phil making sure everyone arrived
At Graves Mountain Lodge
Paul Sponseller and his Cayman
Eighth Annual Euroclasssics Day at Virginia International Raceway: The eighth annual Euclassics Day on October 12 at VIR (Virginia International Raceway) provided another driver’s ed opportunity and a great introduction to high-performance driving for first timers. Qualified instructors were available to give free driving instruction.
Porsches and Pastrami: On Sunday, October 4 Gary Hagar hosted our final Porsches & Pastrami for 2009. The owners of ten Porsches and one BMW arrived at Durty Nelly’s Pub for lunch. Most followed on a brisk driving tour, led by Dan Graff and his son Jakob, through the scenic rolling hills of eastern Albemarle, western Louisa, and southern Orange counties and ending at the Civil War Museum at the Exchange Hotel in Gordonsville. Here we were given a group tour of the museum and adjacent kitchen, both part of a Civil War hospital complex.
Dan Graff and his son Jakob led the tour in "JOHANN".
Porsches (plus Drew Donaldson's BMW) arriving behind the museum
Jim and Sherry's "new" 2007 Cayman S
The Exchange Hotel and Civil War museum
A ward in the Civil War hospital
The operating table, with horsehairs for sutures
The adjacent kitchen
Basil and Spec Boxsters: On Sunday, September 13 the Shenandoah and Blue Ridge regions met for lunch at the Basil Mediterranean Bistro followed by a tour of Werkstatt in Charlottesville. Raif Antar served almost 70 of us another outstanding meal at his restaurant on The Corner near UVa at his expense. Afterward, we went to Werkstatt to meet with Kenny Shreves, Nicole Shreves, and Scott Leopold. They showed us around their shop and explained Boxster Spec Racing, a newly adopted class that has been added to PCA, NASA, and SCCA club racing. We saw some of the Boxsters they are preparing for sale and lease
Blue Ridge and Shendandoah members welcomed to Basil Mediterrean Bistro, run by member Raif Antar (photo at right)
Blue Ridge and Shendandoah members welcomed to Basil Mediterrean Bistro, run by member Raif Antar (photo at right)
Blue Ridge Region President Jerry Hampton
Raif's street/track 930 on the roof of the 14th street parking garage. Raif's current project is a 935 K3!
Raif's street/track 930 on the roof of the 14th street parking garage. Raif's current project is a 935 K3!
A wide variety of Porsches from the Blue Ridge Region, including a 356 with unique "wings"
A wide variety of Porsches from the Blue Ridge Region, including a 356 with unique "wings"
A wide variety of Porsches from the Blue Ridge Region, including a 356 with unique "wings"
A wide variety of Porsches from the Blue Ridge Region, including a 356 with unique "wings"
Scott Leopold and his boxster
Elliot Carter with Virginia Donaldson in his 1956 Speedster
Elliot Carter with Virginia Donaldson in his 1956 Speedster
Elliot Carter with Virginia Donaldson in his 1956 Speedster
The Werkstatt people:
Kenny and Nicole Shreves
Kenny and Nicole Shreves
Scott Leopold
"Before" and "after" Spec Boxsters
"Before" and "after" Spec Boxsters
Roll cage for tall drivers
Porsches and their admirers at Werkstatt
Porsches and their admirers at Werkstatt
Mick Mickelson's 356
August Fun in Verona: Another round of the Shenandoah Region’s Autocross series happened on August 23rd. Coincidentally, we had 23 racers also, so kind of weird. We had some visitors new to the club and also had some first time racers give it a shot. It was good to see the new blood giving it a try and having a ball. It is nice to see people having fun no matter what speed they run and where they place. New blood reminds us why we got into this stuff in the first place. | |
We built up a unique track that allowed two cars on at once. We wrapped up everyone’s 6 runs by 2:40 PM, which was really nice. There were no major straights, an 8 cone slalom, and 61 seconds pulled down FTD. The course was technical and not one I had come up with before. Most all enjoyed it but were tired at the end of the day. I actually fell apart on my last run and basically slid, tank slapped, and basically lost it for about 70 yards before I gave up and called it a day. I explained what one run too many looked like. We had a tight group in the top five, with Emmett Richardson coming back up to the top again. I got a drive in that car during this event and it is amazing how well a 997 runs and handles. Nice car, Emmett, and thanks. Three strong ladies made that group fun to watch, with Cristina McCann taking top honors, while slipping by her co-driver, Paul Sponseller, by 0.4 seconds. I think Paul caught her in the fun runs, but too late to count. Good win Cristina. We had a strong showing of the Miatas, and lots of sliding and car control. Stephen Garstang showed yet again that your car doesn’t have to have an S to run fast and high in the ranking. I once again couldn’t catch the FTD of Gary Krichbaum. The one second threshold seems to be my Everest. I have upgrades for the car, but not till next season, so second will have to be good enough for now. Lots of good drivers for the event, and it is always fun to see the people who push and continue to get better. Next month is our last Autocross of the season, and then we have the VIR day with Euroclassics for Columbus Day. For the September 20th autocross, I have an idea that will be like nothing we have done before in Staunton. I saw something 10 plus years ago at the Virginia Nationals, and I think I can pull it off at our local track. If done right, it will be something you will never forget, and hopefully enjoy. I usually change things up, but this will be a stretch. Come check it out. | |
Rumble at the Oak Tree: PCA Zone 2 sponsored a three-day club race and advanced DE on June 26–28 using the full course at the Virginia International Raceway (VIR). Shenandoah Region members “Mad Mel” Brannan, Jim Condon, David Israel, Erin Israel, and Emmett Richardson drove in the DE. Emmett served as a volunteer grid-tech inspector, Jim Condon and Sherry Westfall assisted with registration, Rick Ebinger was the Steward Assistant, and Erik Boody was the Scrutineer Assistant. Matt Einstein, Mark Francis, and Scott Leopold (shown in his Spec Boxster the photo on the left) drove in the races. Matt won has class and came in third overall against very strong competition in the enduro on Sunday.
The Richmond contingent at dawn
David Israel's new track 993
Grid tech inspector Emmett Richardson
Jim & Sherry's 996
Erin Israel,
David Israel, and
"Mad Mel" at the DE driver's meeting
DE cars on the false grid
Erin Israel's 2000 996
David Israel's new toy
Mel Brannan's 964C4
Emmett Richardson's 2006 997S
The Synergy tent/trailer
The Francis car and tent
Mark on the track
Matt Einstein racing
Richmond Porsche Meet (RPM): Shenandoah Region’s thirteenth annual RPM took place on June 5, 6, and 7. The (rain free!) concours (results) was held just a few miles from the hotel at the beautiful river home of Howard & Leeanne Faunce.
Gail and Alex Smith
Bob Duntley in RASKUL
Johnny Joyner, Bob Duntley, and Bryce Jewett
Bobby Smith's 2008 Parade Autocross winning 914
Bobby Smith's 914
Bobby Smith just after setting the FTD
Bryce Jewett and Pat Daily
Rick Ebinger on the track
Rick Ebinger staying away from the wall
Elliot Richardson
Erik Boody at the timing table
Jeffrey Elmore in his Boxster S
Mad Mel's 964 C4
Pat Daily, Jeffrey Elmore, and Gail Smith
Rick adding air
First Settlers Region Driver Ed: The First Settlers Region ran a three-day DE event on May 22–24 using the full course at VIR. The weather was beautiful, and the event was sold out despite the recession. New Shenandoah member David Few showed up for his first DE with his “new” 2006 Boxster S (photo), and Sherry Westfall was signed off for a solo run in the blue group.
The red group lined up on the grid
John Kessler's 1971 911
Manny Alban's 1990 964 "Wunderbred"
Tom Bobbitt's 2007 GT3 Cup
Fire-breathing 930
David Few and his 2006 Boxster S
This BMW did a 180 after Turn 4
Sherry Westfall solo in blue
Social/Business Dinner Meeting: On Tuesday, May 19, Johnny Johnson hosted our meeting at the downtown Charlottesville office of Pace Real Estate Associates. Johnny showed off his latest acquisition, a black 1974 Carrera Targa. Carter Elliot took advantage of the excellent weather to bring his black 1956 Speedster. Phyllis and Weldon Scrogham donated several door prizes, and President Bill Sanders spun a beer bottle to determine the winners. Raif Antar, owner of Basil Mediterranean Bistro, treated us to an outstanding dinner from his restaurant at no charge. Raif is building an amazing 935 K3, and he left a book of photos showing the progress in this project.
Click on any of the four photos below to enlarge it.
Shenandoah Valley Tour: On Saturday, May 16, Pam and Rick Ebinger led us on a driving tour of windy back roads in the Shenandoah Valley. Rick led the line of Porsches in a Baja Bug, and Pam herded the stragglers from her VW Cab. We stopped at the Taylor-Boody Organ Factory near Staunton, where Eric Boody showed us how they build mechanical tracker organs in German baroque style. They do everything themselves, from growing and cutting their own trees for the cases to melting metal ingots to roll and form the pipes. After leaving the organ factory, we drove to the Osceola Mill Country Inn in Steeles Tavern for a private lunch. The tour finished at the Ebinger’s house, just across the road from a scenic
Rick Ebinger at the drivers' meeting
Pam Ebinger drove the "sweeper" car
The Taylor & Boody organ factory near Staunton
Andrew Stevens admiring Rick's Baja Bug
Joan and Jim Pullen in their black 2000 Boxster
Eric Boody led the factory tour
Herb Distefano playing an organ pipe
The pipe smelter for melting lead/tin ingots
Bill Sanders, Bunny Turner, and Phyllis Scrogham looking at sheets of pipe metal
Pipe feet that were formed on wood mandrels
Joan and Jim Pullen looking at finished organ pipes
We ate lunch at the Osceola Inn
Part of the Porsche lineup at the Osceola Inn
Ken Gregory's 1974 914-6
The waterfall across from the Ebinger's house
Porsches parked across the road from the Ebinger's house
Peaks of Otter Tour: Deane Parker (orange shirt and matching special edition Boxster S) led a scenic driving tour of country roads and the Blue Ridge Parkway down to the Peaks of Otter on Saturday, April 18. We met at the Bank of America parking lot in Crozet at 8:30 AM and picked up an Alfa driver at Humpback Rocks. After a morning of driving and stopping at occasional overlooks, we had lunch at the Peaks of Otter restaurant with Blue Ridge Region members Gary and Donna Templeton plus Linda and Alec from Lexington.
Starting from Crozet
Western Albemarle County
On the Blue Ridge Parkway behind an ALFA and cyclists
"ALFA male" Alex Sullivan from Waynesboro joined our tour
Malcolm Hopker and his dark blue 1999 Carrera
Perfect driving weather
Deane Parker (orange shirt and Boxster S) led the tour
Porsche lineup
Gary and Donna Templeton's Targa
Linda and Alec's beautiful 1958 356
A British car club (note right hand drive) was also at the Peaks of Otter
An MG and a Morgan
Porsches and Pastrami: Gary Hagar, owner of Durty Nelly’s Pub and Wayside Deli in Charlottesville, hosted the second Porsches and Pastrami on a warm, sunny April 5. Then Sherry Westfall and Jim Condon led a short driving tour through southern Albemarle county and northern Nelso
Our host, Gary Hagar
Durty Nelly's
Jeffrey and Ginger Elmore in Durty Nelly's
Andy Turner
Deane Parker in his orange shirt and matching Boxster S
The country store in Schuyler, VA
The lineup
Gary's "Bucket List" Targa
Boyhood home of "The Waltons" creator Earl Hamner, Jr.
Dan Ehrman and Bonnie Falbo with their 2002 Boxster
High-Performance Driving Clinic: Instead of going to the autocross, Paul Sponseller drove at the high-performance driving clinic run by the Potomac Region on the Jefferson Circuit at Summit Point. This driving clinic is an excellent preparation for autocross, driver ed, and accident avoidance on the street. In the morning sessions, participants learn how to brake hard and how to drive around obstacles, and they get to spin on the skid pad. This all-day clinic ends with instructed hot laps on the Jefferson Circuit, essentially a mini DE. This photo (click to enlarge) shows Paul with a big grin following the hot laps.
Shenandoah PCA Goodie Store Goes On-Line: The Shenandoah region has a new on-line Goodie Store with a huge selection of items for the enthusiast. The web store will allow our club to have items never before offered with our club logo. The items sold through the on-line store will still help support the club with a percentage of each sale. So when you’re looking for Shenandoah Region Porsche Club gear, just go to the MART or LINKS page on our web site and click on the link http://shnpca.webstore.us.com/ [now obsolete].
The Club still plans to have some items for display at upcoming events, and grille badges will still be handled by the club owing to their uniqueness.
Porsches and Pastrami: A New Shenandoah PCA Event
On March 1, Gary Hagar, owner of Durty Nelly’s Pub and Wayside Deli in Charlottesville, kicked off his first in a series of Porsches and Pastrami—a casual gathering of Porsche enthusiasts who have lunch together at Gary’s place and then go out for a short driving tour or other Porsche-related activity afterward.
On a cold, dreary, and eventually snowy Sunday afternoon, approximately 13 Shenandoah members gathered around a cozy fire, ate some delicious pastrami, chicken BBQ, and other tasty deli selections, talked about cars and even other subjects, and dreamed of the sunny, warm days that lie ahead when we can exercise our Porsches. A big thank you goes out to Mike and Geoff Kilmer of Photoworks who donated a beautiful banner for Gary to display to advertise his event. Unfortunately, the tour scheduled for later in the afternoon had to be canceled because of the weather.
We all can look forward to more Porsches and Pastrami on the first Sunday of every month at 1:00 p.m. Come enjoy a great lunch and a fun afternoon of driving—or whatever Gary may have planned for us. Check the Heat Exchanger, the Shenandoah PCA web site, or the Shenandoah PCA forum for more details.
Great Turnout for Shenandoah’s February Meeting: On Tuesday, February 17, we held our first social/business dinner meeting of 2009 at Shackleford’s in Richmond. Twenty-eight people joined together to enjoy a good meal, reconnect with friends, learn about upcoming Porsche events, and be entertained by the tales of Alex Smith and Bob Duntley on the 11th Annual Texas 1000 road rally they participated in last fall. Coming to their first social meeting with us were new member Dan Ehrman, recently transferred member from First Settlers, Bruce Russell, and guests from First Settlers, David Wallace and Nancy Deane. My 10-year-old nephew and junior Porsche enthusiast, Andrew Stevens, escorted me to the dinner in my husband’s absence. Alex piloted his GT3 with friend Don Charles as navigator. They were so good they were only seconds off of the winning time! Alex persuaded fellow Shenandoah member Bob Duntley and his son to come along for the adventure through the scenic Texas Hill Country in Bob’s 996 cabriolet. Bob’s son took lots of wonderful photos, and Bob wowed us with a slide show of Porsches, Ferraris (including an Enzo and F40), Jaguars, Triumphs, an Alfa Romeo, Corvettes, a Mustang, and others. Along their journey of 1,000 miles in four days they were treated to luxurious accommodations, delicious meals, and sights you could only find in Texas. One of the major sponsors of the event, Porsche Cars of North America, even provided brand new Porsches for anyone unlucky enough to have a disabled vehicle that could not be repaired. In addition, there were mechanics on standby for any mechanical mishaps. Talk about service! Thanks, Alex and Bob, for sharing a driving experience that most of us can only dream about having. |
Tech Session at Werkstatt: Kenny Shreves at Werkstatt Charlottesville (1117 C East Market Street, Charlottesville, VA 22902 — phone 434.971.6700) led a “show and tell” tech session on Friday, February 13. Kenny is an expert race mechanic who does a lot of work for the famous “Flying Lizard” race team, and Werkstatt is now preparing a number of Boxsters for spec racing.
Kenny showed us what he looks for in a track tech inspection, and he demonstrated how you can flush brake fluid and check the thickness of the brake pads. About fifteen members arrived to talk, watch, and ask questions about getting ready for the upcoming driving/autocross/driver ed/club racing season.
Making a Difference in Tanzania, Africa: Tanzania is one of the poorest countries in the world, with 58% of the population living on less than $350 per year. As a result of my first-hand observation and experience of specific needs in Tanzania, Mel and I established Tanzania Health & Humanitarian Fund, an organization of volunteers passionate about making a difference in the lives of Tanzanian children and adults. The mission of Tanzania Health & Humanitarian Fund (TanzaniaHHF) is to provide specific medical, educational, and missional support to people in Tanzania through contributions, partnerships, and sponsorships.
Please see my illustrated article describing this effort and consider making a contribution.
Brrrr!: Rick Ebinger’s 914 on the morning of January 18, at the waterfall across the road from his house.
Annual Planning Meeting: New President Bill Sanders presided over the annual board meeting on January 11. Twenty-five members attended this meeting at the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library (Northside Branch) to plan the club’s events for 2009. The tentative 2009 calendar shows both events organized by our region (lines with a pale blue background) and events of interest run by other organizations (lines with a gray background).
Jeanette and Mel Brannan requested club support for their charitable organization in Africa. They will write articles for the Heat Exchanger and the website to describe their efforts in more detail.
Rebecca Morgan and Mark Stubbs will not be able to continue beyond April as Membership Chair and Heat Exchanger Editors, so we will need to find replacements. Any volunteers? A big THANK YOU to both of them for work well done.
A trial run of the new Shenandoah PCA on-line forum (see the article below) was approved by the board.
Thanks to Gary Hagar and Dave Lasch for providing excellent munchies.
Shenandoah Region web forum: Members of a web forum can post emails on the web for others to read. A regional web forum should make it easier for small groups to organize and coordinate Porsche-related activities quickly without requiring a flurry of emails and phone calls among the participants.
The websites of many PCA regions host open forums that can be read by anyone. However, even large regions usually fail to maintain active discussion threads; and a “dead” forum makes a region look bad to nonmembers, like broken windows in an abandoned house. Also, electronic communication on a public forum may need heavy “moderation” to ban objectionable comments, flame wars, etc. To provide the benefits of a forum but avoid these problems, I created a “restricted” forum called Shenandoah PCA using Google Groups. You must become a member of this group to read or post messages; it is invisible to nonmembers.
If you would like to join the group, go to the LINKS page, click on “Shenandoah Region Forum,” and then click on “Sign in and apply for membership,” click on “create an account”, and fill in the blanks. Google will send me an email with your request, which I will approve if you are a member the Shenandoah Region PCA. After you have become a group member, you can log in to read or post messages at any time by clicking on the “Shenandoah Region Forum” link.
Thanks to Jeffrey Elmore for suggesting the forum, which I hope will help our members get together for small impromptu events. If you have any questions or comments about the forum, send me an email at jcondon@nrao.edu.