Time flies when you are having fun
That saying is certainly true for 2019, it is hard to believe that it is already July. CVR’s activities are in full swing and our calendar is full of events for our members to enjoy in the months to come. I certainly encourage you to get out there with your car and take part in the club’s activities, especially one that you my have not tried before.
I cannot express frequently enough my Thanks to our activity chairs and all the volunteers that do such an excellent job of planning and executing events for our benefit. Please consider joining the team and it will give you the opportunity to meet many of our fantastic members, give back to the our club and have fun! One area the we are looking for help is with our new digital Challenge, see our Challenge Chair, Eric Richmond’s article for more info on the positions were are looking to fill.
Speaking of volunteers, we are fortunate to have a number of Coffee Runs that will be added to our schedule. I would like to thank a couple of new volunteers, Andrew Anello and Rich Adua, for volunteering to put on a Coffee Run or two. Between them they will be putting on some of the runs that Tim Anderson did in the eastern part of our region and some new ones. Thank you to James Ball for taking the time to mentor Andrew and Rich in order to help get them started. I am also pleased to announce that Sean Leahy will be putting on a Coffee Run in the northwest part of our region. Last but not least, John Collins and Steve Tougias will be putting on a run in Berkshires area, similar to a Coffee Run that was well received last year and a new area for our members to explore. We will be working to get our calendar updated with all the latest information once the details are finalized, stay tuned. We are “Fueled by Volunteers“.
60 years and going strong
In a letter dated July 1, 1959 from the PCA Executive Office, CVR was officially charted as a region within PCA. We had around 50 members when the region was chartered. Today CVR has 2,186 primary members and 1,316 co-members. It is certainly hard to imagine today what it was like in the beginning days of the club when the sighting of a Porsche on the road was a very rare occurrence.
Here is a brief excerpt from CVR’s history:
CVR’s first President was Olive Toombs of Cheshire, who joined PCA in February 1956. Mrs. Toombs attended the first Porsche Parade in 1956 along with founding CVR members Norm Millard of East Hartford, Lucas Ziluca of Weston, William Brewster and Ernest Kearns, both of Suffield. Olive was also the first National Membership Chair.
In 1962, the first Annual Tri-region Porscherama event was held. A Porscherama was a 3 day mini-parade event sponsored by Connecticut Valley, Metro NY and Northern New Jersey Regions.
In 1963, at the second Annual Porscherama, Ashley Carroll took 3rd in the Rally and 40th in the Gymkhana. Mr. and Mrs. Sumner Stanley were the Challenge editors. Car badges became available for the Region. { A Gymkhana is a single lap-driving event with “gimmicks” included on the course. This can include a section to be taken in reverse, stopping to pick up or drop off an object, stopping at a specific point, parallel parking or other similar driving skill.}
In December 1966, Treasurer Jack Tighe reports that the club is solvent with $392 in the bank. Registration opens for the Porsche Parade in Washington DC. (Registration fee is $20 and room rate is $20/day for a double)………
You can read the history of CVR on our website at http://cvrpca.org/ourregion.php?id=4.
We will be celebrating CVR’s 60th Anniversary on November 23rd at Saint Clements Castle, in Portland, CT so be sure to save the date. The details of the event will be published as soon as they are finalized.
Hope to see you at a CVR event, until then,
Safe Travels