Similar to the formation of the original Porsche Club of America, the Hill Country Region chapter was born out of necessity. When Bill Sholar and the rest of his ‘Gripe Group’ met in a D.C. area steakhouse in 1955 to form the first ever PCA, it resulted not long after in the creation of the Longhorn Region (in 1962) encompassing San Antonio and Austin. There were two other PCA regions in the (populated) side of Texas at the time but in actuality, Travis County and the city of Austin were in none of them, despite playing host to and participating in numerous activities with the three clubs. It was not until 1965 that Travis County was officially annexed to the Longhorn Region, in no small part because many Longhorn members lived in Austin at the time.
But even with three active regions this side of Texas, the activities, venues, and events were hundreds of miles apart, making it difficult to host social gatherings and meetings for the membership. Central Texas was especially popular due to its scenic geography and casual lifestyle. Driving tours through the Hill Country were always well attended, the annual Hill Climb at the foot of Mansfield Dam made national news in Panorama in 1962 and the late summer Austin Aqua Festival provided for a myriad of driving and racing events during August of every year.
Yet despite all this activity and enthusiasm, membership in the Longhorn Region remained steady through the decades with half or often more than half residing in and around Bergstrom Air force Base and neighboring Austin. The elected officers of the club often reflected this reality with some years seeing primarily San Antonio residents on the slate, in other years entirely Austin residents. And so it went throughout the 1960’s and early 1970’s with Board meetings held alternately between the two metropolitan areas and when that became too burdensome, compromise locations such as New Braunfels, equidistant from the two groups, was attempted but with no measurable success.
No one knows who first proposed the idea of a separate club but talk of it became a hot topic within the membership in the mid-1970’s with the Austin members strongly advocating for their own region. Discussions were held, negotiations were entered into, and the folks at PCA National were consulted. Lacy Seybold and other Lonestar members residing in Austin spearheaded the discussions culminating in an official request being sent to PCA National in 1977, requesting formation of a new region called ‘Hill Country’, encompassing Austin and the surrounding counties. In additional to Lacy Sebold, twenty-five other members joined in the petition and signed their names to the charter request. Contrary to expectations, the three ‘established’ Texas regions, Longhorn, Maverick, and Lone Star, gave their unlimited support to the young upstart group and offered to relinquish a number of counties in their respective territories to ensure success of the new club.
And so it came to pass that on July 18, 1977, a charter was granted and the Hill Country Region was born. It was an enthusiastic beginning amid an exciting and spontaneous explosion of Austin culture. Willy Nelson was putting the tiny city on the national stage attracting a variety of artisans and free-living souls from New Mexico, Colorado, and other places. The Austin Aqua Festival was going strong with a City Council that was as supportive and free-spirited as its populace, encouraging road races on the city streets, drag boat races on Town Lake, and other venues for the automotive enthusiast. Texas World Speedway was still a top-class track in close proximity and it seemed like the automotive ‘health’ of the nation was enjoying a renaissance after the dire doldrums of the fuel shortages and performance-strangling emissions regulations of the early 1970’s.
The tiny group of twenty-six charter members quickly grew to almost a hundred participants, engaging in hill climbs, autocross, concours, and driving events. As they entered the next decade they created some famous Hill County signature events – the Little Le Mans autocross which debuted in 1980 and received national attention as well as the Porschedillo, which grew to encompass a three-day weekend complete with concours, autocross, drive tour, dinner, as well as numerous other activities. Held in the month of August, it was a widely attended event for everyone within driving distance.
The year 1991 saw introduction of Hill Country’s own D.E. events at the new Texas Heritage and Exposition Center, taught by veteran instructor Bill Lusk (previous D.E.’s were hosted by the Lone Star Region at the Texas World Speedway). In that same year, discussions were first revealed that PCA National was considering introducing ‘Club Racing’ to the nation, an event which brought much activity to Central Texas over the next two decades, first at the Texas World Speedway and then later at Circuit of the Americas. Enthusiasm prevailed and membership began to climb, with Hill Country ranking 5th in the nation in 1994 in membership growth.
After a short sigh of relief that we did not eviscerate at the dawn of the millennium, it was back to business as usual as membership continued to climb. Porschedillo was still running strong in 2006 but sadly passed into history over the next decade, joining the Little LeMans which had ceased earlier due to lack of venue and participation. Other unique events took their places however and completion of the new Circuit of the Americas ushered in more modern events such as Carrera of the Americas, inaugurated in 2013. Tours continued to be a major focus also with emphasis on fine dining, and wine-tasting. The popularity of the Hill Country Region was evidenced by the continued growth in membership numbers, year-over-year, often by double digits.
The club today continues to grow its membership and has been recognized for that growth. The newsletter was upgraded a decade ago and now is prized as one of the top newsletters in the country. Digital access and platforms were developed and those too have been recognized as the best in the nation. The future holds many possibilities for the Hill Country Region with a strong volunteer base, wise and enthusiastic leadership, continued support from Porsche Austin, forays into SIM racing, ladies’ events, and even (shhh!) rumors of a new track coming to the area sometime soon! One thing appears to be certain, and that is our members will continue to help the Hill Country Region make history year after year. Who knows what the coming decades will bring as the new technologies of eDrive and automation gain in acceptance? It promises to be a fun ride!