Welcome to the March edition of Challenge. 

In my column last month, I mentioned that the design of Challenge was being “refreshed” for February. The section that received the biggest big update?  Our event calendar system.

The new calendar can be viewed in “month view” in “list view” or “photo view” (which is my personal favorite). In any view, a click (or tap) on an event will bring up a separate page for that event, which contains details including the date, the time, the location, a Google map link, the name(s) of the host, contact info and, if appropriate, links to external documents. There are even links you can click to save the events to calendars on your computer or smartphone. Which view do you prefer? Take the poll below.

There is also a widget on the right-hand side of every page that shows the next 6 events in chronological order. Just like the main calendar, a click on any of the events will take you to a page for that event. Pretty cool, right?

Take Our Poll – Which calendar view would you like to see as the default view?

But wait, there’s more.

How about a list of upcoming events delivered directly into your mailbox? Introducing the Weekly CVR Events List email.

The switch to a new Club calendar system also means that we can automatically notify members of new events or changes in event details. It also means we can reduce the number of emails you get from CVR by consolidating all the notifications into a single email.  Starting this past Feb 16th, and every Tuesday morning at 7:00 AM hereafter, you will get an email from Challenge with a list of the next 10 CVR/PCA events on our schedule. Click on either the title, the image, or any of the other links you see, and you will be taken to a page on Challenge with all of the details of that event.

And there’s more. There’s a new ticketing / RSVP system for selected events.

DE and AutoX haven’t changed, but suppose there’s a Coffee Run that you want to attend? Now you can reserve your spot right from the calendar. The Tourmeister will open registration at 7:00 pm on the Tuesday before the run. When that happens, you’ll see an RSVP button appear (like magic) on the event page for that Coffee Run. Simply click the button, enter your information and press Submit.  There won’t be any guesswork about whether you can register – the system automatically checks the number of available slots and will once there are 5 or fewer spots available, you’ll see the remaining slots.  The system will automatically stop accepting RSVPs when the event is sold out.

Oh, and if you forget you’ve registered, you’ll get a reminder by email.

And now in other news…

In his third column as the Club’s President, Allen Fossbender makes an impassioned request for all of us to support our community and our neighbors by participating in CVR’s first-ever Food Drive. Community Service Chair Susan Alyson Young has provided a list of dropoff locations, beneficiaries, and a list of items needed on the Food Drive page.

Uncooperative weather notwithstanding, the first track event of 2021 was held this past Saturday at Lime Rock Park.  You can check out the pictures and a write-up on the event in Dave Vaccaro’s Winter Workshop column.  While you’re there, don’t forget to check out the all-new 2021 DE Photo Gallery page. Did you know that a 1921 Ford helped to define CVR’s future?  I didn’t. But Paul Kudra did, and he wrote an article about it. Good stuff.

Editor-at-Large Walt Hyjeck grabbed his cameras and his laptop and headed down to Daytona to give us an in-person report on what’s been going on at Florida’s most famous track. Don’t forget to read his article on the 59th Rolex 24 at Daytona. And last but not least, we have Jeff Coe’s last installment on his 968 Matador Red project car.

It’s another busy month.