HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Maria and I hope everyone had a happy holiday and wish you a Happy New Year! I am truly honored and thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president. Being a part of this great club is one of those things we look back upon as “yes, that was a good decision”. As an introduction, it was 2007 and we are were looking for a convertible. We drove a 2003 Boxster S and didn’t stop smiling for the rest of the day. We bought the car and joined CVR. The first event we attended was a Coffee Run put together by Richard Garmany, the feeling was like we were meeting up with longtime friends. I am not sure at the time we knew the club motto, “It’s not just the cars, it’s the people” but we just experienced it. I want to thank our outgoing president Dick Strahota for his great service to CVR not only as president but throughout the preceding years of volunteering. He truly was an advocate for CVR and its members. I appreciate knowing that he is just a phone call away when I need to seek his advice. I know we all wish him and Trish the best of luck in their future endeavors.
Congratulations are in order for the 2018 CVR Award winners who were recognized at our Annual Meeting and Photofest in October:
| Autocross Awards | |
| Autocross 2018 Rookie of the Year | Mike Appel |
| Autocross 2018 Most Improved Driver | Jill Finch |
| Autocross 2018 Overall Champion | Paul Kudra |
| 2018 Hoffman Cup Champion | Ed Bogue |
| Concours Award | |
| Jim & Mary Ann Newton Award | Michael Sutka |
| Ernst Benzien Award | Richard Ruggiano |
| CVR Overall Awards | |
| Rookie of the Year | Mike Appel |
| Enthusiasts of the Year | Caroline & Alan Davis |
| Frank Carrington Award | Allen Fossbender |
| Driver Education Awards | |
| Enthusiast of the Year | |
| Instructor of the Year | Chuck Veth |
| Dale Smith Award | Chris Musante |
| Rally Award | |
| Rallyists of the Year | Melissa & Zach Little |
We have an outstanding group of people who serve on the board as officers and I am grateful to be in their company. Welcome to our new board member Joe Kunecki.
The following were elected to serve two years terms starting in 2019:
- Executive Vice President – Allen Fossbender
- Secretary – Joe Kunecki
- Treasurer – Don Phelan
- Vice Treasurer, Club Race – Deborah Cloud
- Vice President, Autocross – Paul Kudra
The following will be completing the second year of the two year team in 2019:
- Vice President, Programs – Jeff Coe
- Vice President, Driver Education – Dave Vaccaro
- Vice Treasurer, Driver Education – Susan Vaccaro
Along with our club motto there is another phrase that is associated with our club; “fueled by Volunteers” I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to all our activity chairs and volunteers who provide such high quality events that people outside of the club say we put some professional organizations to shame.
Phil Capella
Along with our club motto there is another phrase that is associated with our club; “Fueled by Volunteers” I would like to take this opportunity to say Thank You to all our activity chairs and volunteers who provide such high quality events that people outside of the club say we put some professional organizations to shame. I would certainly encourage everyone to consider volunteering in some capacity, even if it is just lending a hand at an event.It certainly will be appreciated and you will have fun!
Looking ahead to 2019 we will be taking on the task of transforming the printed Challenge monthly publication into an electronic format. This decision was made by the CVR board after assessing the current situation and the outlook going forward. I am confident that we will develop a product that will meet the expectations of our members with the added benefit of being timelier than the current physical publishing process allows.More to come in the months to follow and we certainly welcome your input.
I would like to end this article at the beginning.2019 will be the 60th year that CVR brings Porsche owners together to enjoy the fantastic cars we are so fortunate to own.
CVR was chartered as a PCA region on June 8th, 1959 and consisted of Connecticut counties Hartford, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland, Windham and the Massachusetts county of Hampden. That didn’t last long because the charter was revised on June 16th, 1959 to add Litchfield and Fairfield counties. On June 30th, 1999 the Massachusetts county of Hampshire was added. At the time the CVR charter was granted by PCA in 1959, we had 56 active members and 30 family members, today we have 2,248 active members and 991 family members. Considering that Porsche celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2018 and the Porsche Club of America was founded in 1955 puts the start of CVR near the beginning of the Porsche experience itself and certainly the American version of it.
In the spirit of CVR’s 60th anniversary, make 2019 the year you try an activity that you have been saying ‘I would like to try that someday … ‘ I can assure you based on our experience that the activity chairs, volunteers and fellow participants will be there to help you get the most out of the activity and have fun!!
Safe Travels.
