Great news to share with everyone today. I think I have a total of 8 new items to bring to everyone’s attention. I’ve highlighted the NEW events for you below.
NEW: Spring Horizons released
The Spring issue of Horizons is now posted on our HCR Website, and it’s a killer issue. It’s the biggest our team has ever produced, and it’s chocked full of excellent articles, pictures, advertisers, etc. This is planned to be our final digital edition before returning to print.
Check it out here: Horizons Spring 2021 Issue
NEW: Update on Adrian Silva’s Carrera
Guess what? Adrian sold his gorgeous Miami Blue 2018 Carrera after I shared his story last week. Many, many thanks to the HCR members who helped make this sale possible. We received terrific support from the folks at Caliber Collision and GT International who offered to pitch in and assist. And we are gaining a new HCR member as a result.
Please keep sending positive thoughts and prayers to Adrian and his family.
Distinguished Speaker Series: Bruce Canepa!
This coming Tuesday, May 18th at 7pm is our next DSS, and it’s Bruce Canepa!
We still have space available, and we’ve now opened the event to the rest of Zone 5, so be sure to register soon before we fill up.
For those who don’t know Bruce, he’s a former American race car driver, competing in IMSA and the 24 Hours of Daytona, plus Pikes Peak Hill Climb in a tandem axle big rig (yes, they have classes for just about everything at PPHC). These days he does some fantastic auto designs and restorations as CEO of his own companies. He has a terrific personal collection of various autos. His attention to detail has garnered him a “worldwide reputation of quality, performance, and style”.
This will again be a Zoom broadcast. Registration is here: Bruce Canepa DSS
For questions or more information contact HCR PCA DSS Coordinator Carl Rossi at carl@hcrpca.org.
German Motor Gathering in Boerne
ACHTUNG! All roads lead to Boerne and the 2nd annual German Motor Gathering! The event is Saturday, May 22. Cost is $10 per car, and your $10 will go entirely to the charity for this event: Autism Speaks, Austin & San Antonio.
We will leave at 8:00am from a soon-to-be-disclosed location in Oak Hill. Register, pay the entrance fee, and Chris will email you meeting location details later this week. We will caravan to the Main Square in Boerne for the event, which begins at 10:00am. This will be an official PCA drive down to Boerne, and at that point the PCA portion of the event will conclude.
For your registration and fee payment, when we arrive, we will all park in a designated HCR Porsche Corral, just for our group. The corral can handle up to 60 cars, and that’s the cap on our event. As of this morning we have about 20 spots still available for the Tour and Corral.
There will be food trucks on hand, as well as several restaurants around the Square available for lunch. Once we arrive and park, we will sign liability waivers for the event onsite, then you are free to stroll around the venue, gawk at the Concours entries, grab lunch, stroll some more, shop, drink great German beer, etc. The event officially concludes at 3pm, although you are free to stay or leave whenever you desire.
Registration is still open on ClubRegistration.net, which is also where you will make your $10 donation and it gets you access to the HCR Porsche Corral at the event.
Additional event-specific details are here, as well as information and a separate fee registration if you want to show your car in the Concours event:
https://germanmotorgathering.com/
The event organizers expect 100 motor entries for the Concours, and I’m told it’s a simple 5-question Concours judging format. I’m also told their awards are very cool and unique, so jump in there and show off your car in the Concours!
NEW: Longhorn Region Lead/Follow DE
I’m sharing this link to anyone who is NOT going to Boerne but is interested in doing a “Lead/Follow DE” out at Harris Hill Raceway on May 22.
Register here: Lead/Follow DE
NEW: Cigars and Scotch Tasting
On Thursday, May 27 at 6pm, Casa de Montecristo is hosting this event just for HCR, and it’s just like we’ve done in the past. We have space for 23 registrants, and it’s always been a sell-out so jump in quick for this social. Geoff at Casa has been a long-time supporter of HCR and advertiser in Horizons, and he puts on a very nice event. Price is $50 payable at the door, and for that you will get a premium cigar that Geoff guarantees will pair well with the 4-5 Scotches we will be tasting that evening.
Location: Casa de Montecristo, 3801 N. Capital of Texas Hwy in Austin. It’s in the Davenport Village Shopping Center.
Hurry and register here: Cigar & Scotch Tasting
Summer SchnellFest / Intro to HPDE
Summer SchnellFest comes up on June 4-6 out at COTA, and includes the new Intro to DE Program only on Friday, June 4. As a recent participant of the new Intro program, I give it Charlie’s “thumb’s up” recommendation.
Your car must pass a road-worthiness tech inspection – tires, brakes, seat belts, no leaks, etc. The Tech Inspection Form is linked here: Tech Form
A helmet is required for on-track sessions – Snell Foundation M or SA 2015 or 2020 rated helmets are acceptable. A limited number of loaner helmets will be available.
For more information, and to register for the regular HPDE or the Intro program, visit: https://austinschnellfest.clubregistration.net/index.cfm
NEW: Lunch Bunch is Baaaaaack!
Bob Hieronymus announces the Return of the Jedi….errr, Lunch Bunch! Lunches will be scheduled on the second Thursday of the month, just like in the past.
The next Lunch Bunch is planned for June 10, location TBA by end of May. Lunches will be planned at outdoor locations, where possible. Seating limits may apply based on the restaurant. Bob and his lunch recon team are scouring the area for suitable restaurants. We may run into restrictions and limits on attendees, based on what the restaurant can support…just sayin’…
Attendees will be expected to sign PCA Communicable Disease waivers at the event.
To register for any Lunch Bunch in 2021, email Bob at: rch88911@sbcglobal.net.
NEW: Ladies Lunch Bunch is Baaaaaack, too!
Ladies Luncheon will resume next month! The luncheons will be held on the first Wednesday of each month. The June luncheon will be at Maggiano’s in the Domain, on Wednesday, June 2 at 11:30 am. Due to Covid restrictions, this event will be limited to the first 20 participants.
To register and reserve your seat for this or any Ladies Luncheon, please email Michelle at michelle@hcrpca.org. Sorry guys, ladies only.
We apologize for the restrictions. We are looking forward to restarting this event, even at limited capacity. Michelle is chomping at the bit to restart these luncheons! Please email Michelle with any questions. She is committed to serve the members of this very special organization.
Attendees will be expected to sign PCA Communicable Disease waivers at the event.
NEW: Porsche Austin Open House!
Demand was so great from our first two Open Houses, so Porsche Austin has added a third date: Tuesday, June 15. Same format as before, with small group tours running at 3pm, 4pm, 5pm and 6pm.
Remember, Porsche Austin is providing a Covid-safe environment, and please bring your mask. The event is being held during normal business hours at the dealership and we need to respect that other customers may be in the dealership. Everyone who attends is a Porsche Ambassador for HCR!
Register at: Porsche Austin Open House #3
NEW: Boxster 101 Maintenance Tech Session
Chris McChesney brings back his hugely-popular Boxster 101 Maintenance tech session on Saturday, June 19. This is basic Boxster DIY maintenance, and will be simple things you can do to your car that DOESN’T require being hooked up to a computer. This session focuses on replacing FRONT BRAKES, including rotors/pads/sensors. One lucky person can have their front brakes replaced at the session.
Boxster owners ONLY! And the session is limited to 10 people as it’s conducted in Chris’ garage at his house. You MUST arrive in your Boxster!
Register at: Boxster 101 Tech Session
Looking Back
Porsche Swap Meet
Yesterday, Saturday, May 15, Julian Avent hosted his first Porsche Swap Meet at Werks11. Lots of vendors from HCR and Maverick attended, and several of us made the short drive up to Temple and scoped out the event. I talked to a lot of attendees (might have snagged 3 new members), and everyone had a great time poking around all the items for sale. Julian was happy with the turnout and indicated this will be a recurring event. And yes, I bought something for my garage.
Autocross is Big Success!
HCR hosted our Spring Autocross at the HEB Center last Saturday, May 8. Reports are that the event had 50+ cars participating, and all-in-all was a success! Everyone got in lots of runs, and the AX team is already planning for a repeat event this Fall at the same venue. Big thanks to Alfred, Alan, and the team of volunteers!
New LinkedIn Group
Richard Pankhurst (Driving Standing Committee Chair) has created a new group on Linkedin, just for HCR professionals. It’s called “Hill Country Region Porsche Club of America”. Search for it on Linkedin, and follow us! It’s all about business and career networking for members of HCR. The work you do as volunteers for HCR should be something you can leverage and share, and this Linkedin group can get you started!
New HCR site within PCA Store
With the recent update to the PCA website, we have a brand new site for securing those highly-sought after HCR apparel items. You can find brand apparel at: https://www.pcawebstore.org/regions/HCT
New HCRPCA YouTube account
Bill Plein has established an HCR presence on YouTube for us to post future videos, like tech session videos and DSS webinar recordings. The site is under development, but you can see it here at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyNkTBpmi-VHRjPlaYg8zJQ
Open Positions
HCR has multiple volunteer opportunities in all aspects of our club. In the past, we’ve all come to rely on “a person” delivering events like tours, tech sessions, happy hours, DE, picnics, dinners, etc. That leaves our club woefully under-supported, and puts all the responsibility on a core group of about 10-15 volunteers. For an organization of 1500 members, that’s not a sustainable model. So our club is moving in a new direction to create opportunities and roles that are smaller and more numerous, so that no one person has to carry a heavy load.
We need volunteers. “Many hands makes for light work.”
If you desire to help out, and can only give a 1-2 hours a week, then we have plenty of opportunities where you can help. Our desire is to find out what you like to do, and align you with that group within our club. Again, small commitments of time that can fit the schedules of not just retirees, but members still in the workforce. We will present a way for these volunteer opportunities to be “reference-able”, so that your volunteerism and skillset can be called out on your professional resume.
Contact me if you would like to help your club. My information is below.
Our objective continues to be to keep our membership up to date on what is going on in HCR, as well as PCA nationally. Please remember, our goal is to deliver events that allow you to participate safely, and to ensure you have fun!
If any questions or comments, please let me know.
Charlie Sparks
President – Hill Country Region
Porsche Club of America
918.510.3604
Charlie@hcrpca.org
president@hcrpca.org