President's Message
It's that time of year again. The daily temperature is on the rise, the smell of fireplaces burning the last of the winter's load of wood is in the air, and the traces of salt are vanishing from the roadways. Spring is just around the corner in the Mid-Atlantic.
Members are taking the wraps off their Porsches in preparation for another season of motoring enjoyment. The Chesapeake Region board met in January to make plans for 2009. This year is shaping up to bring you another full complement of events with a mix of old favorites and some new ones as well.
The region was treated to a couple of new events in February. Alan Gunzelman, Tourmeister extraordinaire, arranged for a tour of Maryland Public Television where we had an interesting evening with MotorWeek's host, John Davis. This popular and highly anticipated tour filled up within a four days for good reason. Another event introduced in February was the region's first "Cars and Coffee". Members met at the Shallow Creek Bookstore Cafe in Edgemere for a morning of car talk. I'm sure we'll see more of these during the year.
Current plans for March include a tech session on the 28th and a tour to The Simeone Museum in Philadelphia on the 29th. These two events are sure to make for a memorable weekend. The Simeone Museum includes racing cars from 1909 through 2002 and includes a 1970 Porsche 917LH. Plans for the tour include a lunch buffet, so you won't go away hungry. Our tech sessions, under the direction of our Tech Chair John Patterson, are as informative as they are fun. Make sure you get to at least one of these.
In April, we have another busy weekend planned with a tour to the annual Hershey Swap meet on the 25th and the Autocross School on the 26th. If you haven't been to the Hershey Swap Meet, you need to treat yourself to this unique event. Even if you don't do your own maintenance on your Porsche, you will find something of interest, whether it's Porsche memorabilia, racing gear, care care products, or shirts and hats. This is a huge gathering.
Also on the swap meet weekend is our annual Autocross School. Don Malson, our Autocross Chair, is running the school again this year. For those who have not yet tried autocross, it's an excellent way to become familiar with the handling of your car in a safe environment. The school will provide you with experienced instructors, challenging exercises, loaner helmets, and a week-long grin that will have your co-workers wondering what you did on the weekend.
The events will keep coming all year long with a mix of autocross, tech sessions, monthly socials, and tours. We'll have the annual crab feast in the summer, and we are working on plans for the 40th annual Chesapeake Challenge sometime in September. If you don't see something that interests you on the calendar, please let me know. As always, watch the web site at pcachs.org for the latest details.
I look forward to seeing you at an event soon.
Andrew
