2006 | 2005

Governance President's Message September 2006 Hello Everyone, As I write this month’s message Barb and I are just wrapping up Porsche Parade 2006. Portland was our first Parade and I must say we had a great deal of fun. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun. Anyone who hasn’t been to a Parade should plan for July 1-5 in San Diego next year. Even though we planned on trying all the major events this year, we decided to pace ourselves to last the week. There is so much going on that you could run yourself ragged just trying to keep up. So next year, we’ll pick our favorites and then slow down and enjoy ourselves. It is a vacation after all. We arrived in Portland on Saturday evening, put our car away in the concours preparation area and checked into our hotel. We then walked over to registration. Barb and I checked in with the events that we had registered for and then picked up our banquet tickets. The Oregon region did a wonderful job of getting people in and out of registration quickly. I was told that at past Parades this process was much lengthier. Since we were entered in the concours on Monday, we spent Sunday cleaning our car. Griot’s Garage sponsored an elaborate car wash area with all their best items plus a de-ionized water supply system. No spots! Concours parking started at 5AM on Monday. Yes, 5AM! We were parking in the dark and had to wait for the sun to rise to work on our cars. But the day was a success for our region as we placed in several categories. The highlight of the day for me was watching Vic Elford and George Follmer drive two Porsche tractors around the concours grounds. What a sight! The concours banquet is always a huge and long affair. Vic Elford spoke and we all could have listened for hours. He has a way of crafting his stories that just enthralls the audience. Wolfgang Porsche was present and Porsche Cars North America (PCNA) introduced the new club relations representative, Sandra Myer. The banquet concluded around midnight. What a long day! Tuesday was rally centric. Though Barb and I took this day off to rest after the never-ending concours day, we were told that the scenery during the rallies was awesome. Lots of people came back telling us how much fun they had. Wednesday and Thursday were reserved for autocross. This year’s event was set up entirely on Portland International Raceway. Though the course wasn’t exactly what we were used to, our region won a majority of classes. This is a testament to the excellence of our autocross program. Thursday night was a reserved night at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). The event attendees were treated to the wonders of the museum. These included a tour of a decommissioned U.S. submarine and the IMAX movie “Top Speed” which featured Lucas Luhr and the Alex Job racing team. The movie was made available by PCNA especially for the Parade. Friday was tech quiz day and again PNWR showed its stuff and had a good showing. That night was the closing banquet. Wolfgang Porsche spoke and his son Ferdinand helped draw for door prizes. How would you like to be Ferry Porsche’s namesake? No pressure there. But at the age of thirteen, he still has lots of time to do wonderful things. I would like to urge everyone who hasn’t attended a Porsche Parade to try and make it to San Diego next year. They already have venues reserved and one is a day at Sea World for the Parade attendees. Concours and autocross sites should be amazing. They have even scheduled one of the banquets to be held on the deck of an aircraft carrier! I would urge you to try and get down to the San Diego Parade 2007 which will run from July 1-5. -Dennis Coplen 2006 PNWR President