President's Message 

First let me say thank you to the Board Members who have served with me over the past three years...it has been an honor. An exceptional job has been done by all of you, and I want to especially single out those who have gone above and beyond by taking on not only one job, but two, or three. 

Bob Schoenherr has been Membership Director, Autocross Co-Director, and Autocross Chief Instructor for this time as well. I am always impressed with how Bob juggles his instructor duties to assure that all who need AX help get it. Thank you Bob!

Before going on to specifically acknowledge other Board members, I need to take a moment to give thanks for my sweet wife, Susan, without whom I would not have been able to give so much time and effort to the Region. She had been a steady supporter over these three years and has always encouraged me to hold to my vision. THANK YOU my dear! 

This Region only thrives through the efforts of its volunteers, and the continued participation of our members.  It has been a privilege to serve as your President, and to have such competent and enthusiastic Directors on the Board.  Big thanks to Mike Hinton, Craig Steele, David Bunch, Don Magdanz, Grady Carter, Simone Kopitzki, Mac Cranford, James Heisey, Greg Maissen , Kurt Fischer and Scott Downie.  I also want to thank my first VP Chris Harrell who was so valuable in helping me determine my vision that first year. I could not have done this without the support I got from all of you!

I want to thank and congratulate Chip Witt for being elected our new Secretary, and Tom Short for stepping into the role of our 2015 Membership Director.  As per our Bylaws, the position of Membership Director is filled by appointment at next year's first Board meeting. I am sure that as long as Tom is still willing, he will be appointed at the January meeting. Gentlemen, thank you for stepping up. 

I had the opportunity at this year's Holiday Party to bring a new ceremony to the transition of the Region Presidency.  I secretly prepared 26 different 8.5x11 sheets of heavy card stock with the names of each President the Region has had since our inception on January 20, 1969 (1). (Thank you Barbara for the list of Presidents.) These were put into sealed, numbered manila envelopes and handed to attendees of the party with instructions to not open until told to do so. Just as the dessert course was about to be served, I had all attendees with envelopes come to the stage and arrange themselves in number order. Once in order, I had them all open their envelopes and hold the presidential sheet in front of them.  We now had the names and terms of all Redwood Presidents running from left to right across the stage. One thing remained. I had Craig Steele (holding envelope #1) unwrap a Presidential Scepter that I had constructed from an aluminum 991 Turbo model, and a 928 hood shock (donated by Tom Strobel).  Once unwrapped, the scepter was passed from "President" to "President" all the way from 1969 to 2014 (me), and I presented it to Mike.  Presidential transition completed. See picture below:

Presidential Transition                photo by Sandy Steele, photo editing by Vern Rogers

Before signing off, I would like to ask you all to support the 2015 Redwood Region Board of Directors and the Club just as vigorously has you have over the past three years of my Presidency.  They have an exciting year of activities already planned, and room for more should you have an addition.  We always need more volunteers as many hands make light work.  Please come out and support your Region.

Lastly, please know that I am not leaving Redwood and will serve as the most Recent Past President until Mike's successor is elected.  Hopefully that will be a few years.  My role will be mostly that of an advisor and mentor to Mike, but I will also lead an event or two, as well as attend many of them.

That's all for now. Down the road (wearing a different hat).

Vern

(1) Ed. The Club was first formed in June 1966 as the Tamalpias Porsche Club. The name was legally changed to the Redwood Region - Porsche Club of America in January 1969. 

From the Editors

by Jerry Gladstone, der Riesenbaum Co-Editor

Barbara McCrory, pictured to the right, and I have now completed 25 issues of der Riesenbaum as Co-Editors. We assumed these roles on a temporary basis when our previous Editor, Chris Harrell, relocated to Southern California as a consequence of his career. We were to serve as interim Co-Editors for a maximum of six months until a new Editor was found. Obviously that did not happen and we just stayed on. As previously announced, this is Barbara and my last issue as we will be limiting ourselves in 2015 to our primary roles of Webmaster and Treasurer, respectively.  

The future of der Riesenbaum is unknown at this time. Surely it will be missed if not published and the Club might encounter some difficulties in communicating with our over 550 members. This is your chance to step up and help the Club in an important capacity. It is an interesting an rewarding job, give either of us a call and we will fill you in on the duties and details. We are of course always available to help get you started.  

Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for the New Year,

Headline: Plan your trip to Porsche Rennsport Reunion V - tickets available now!

In case you haven't heard, Porsche is bringing their world-class festival of speed back to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in October 2015. My wife and I attended last time it was here in 2011 and we were both blown away by the quality of the event. It truly demonstrates PCNA's commitment to the owners, fans and enthusiasts of the world's greatest sports cars. And if you've never heard the roar of a group of 917s heading into Laguna Seca's famous corkscrew, flinging themselves into one of racing's most spectacular corners, the Porsche Rennsport Reunion will give you a chance to experience this thrill of a lifetime.

Once I heard the news about the event's return in 2015 I immediately checked out the event website to see about getting tickets. The first time I visited the site back in October there was a full rundown of the available ticket packages, which range from one-day general admission passes all the way up to three-day VIP packages. Then PCNA decided to remove this information leaving me wondering when I would be able to buy tickets.

It turns out all I had to do was call the track ticket office at (831) 242-8200. The nice woman there said she didn't know why PCNA took the ticket information down, but she'd be happy to take my order. So order I did, securing a couple of Saturday and Sunday tickets for my wife and I. We already have our hotel room booked in Carmel, and we're looking forward to enjoying another excellent, world-class Porsche Rennsport Reunion - right here in our "backyard" in Northern California. Does it get any better?

Hope to see you there. 

Autocross Results

Redwood History - 1981 Year End Autocross Trophies 

Board Meeting Minutes

Membership Report

Membership Information

Der Riesenbaum is the official newsletter of the Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region, encompassing Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa, and Sonoma Counties. This publication is intended to inform Club members about Club activities and other related matters of interest. The opinions expressed in der Riesenbaum are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region, its officers, or its members.

Letters to the editor, feedback, questions, and suggestions about der Riesenbaum and the Redwood Region in general are welcome. We also encourage members to submit photos and/or write-ups about Club events or related activities. Written contributions and photos are welcome and should be emailed to the editor. The submission deadline for publication in der Riesenbaum is the 5th day of the month for that month's publication. Material received after the deadline will be considered for publication the following month. The editorial staff reserves the right to edit all material submitted for publication.

All written content and images in this publication are protected by copyright. Permission is granted to reprint any original content herein provided credit is given to the author, to der Riesenbaum, and to the Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region. 

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Thank you all for supporting your Club!

Barbara McCrory & Jerry Gladstone, der Riesenbaum Co-Editors

Porsche Club of America, Redwood Region