Like the automobiles that inspire most of our activities, the Connecticut Valley Region of the Porsche Club of America has an illustrious history - not on a par with that of the marque assuredly, but hey, lots of us are in the Region's history so it must be illustrious. At the time of our 25th Anniversary celebration in 1984, Linda Goodman researched the history of the Region, presented it at that gala, and subsequently printed it in Challenge. With her permission, it has been edited, expanded for 1970-1985, and updated through 1999 by Prescott Kelly.

           In Parts I and II, we relived those fun-filled early years, first 1959 to 1975 when driving a Porsche labeled you as eccentric, knowledgeable, and maybe a little nerdy- or as an engineering whiz kid who appreciated the craftsmanship; and then 1976 to 1985 when driving a Porsche was more fashionable and the Region came of age. Now for the recent times when we will mostly recognize the players:

~ 1986 ~

Eric Grossman is still President, Prescott Kelly is still V.P. and Program Chair, Peg Mayer is Secretary, Jack Mella is Treasurer, and Bo Skutnik takes Track (while Wally Simon goes off to run the Parade "speed event"). Rocky Rookey keeps Autocross and Mike Bochow is Tech Chair. Linda Goodman and Pam and Paul Kudra edit challenge. CVR's Judy Boles is National Membership Chairman and John Boles is still Zone 1 Rep. Prescott Kelly is Contributing Editor for Porsche Panorama. Porsche AG announces its Turbo Cup Race Series for the 944 Turbo spec racer in Germany.

January - With the upcoming Parade in Portland Maine being run by a tiny (90+ member) Region, the National powers decide that Zone 1 will take an active role in running the Parade. Several Regions in the Zone get assignments. CVR takes the Autocross, and Wally Simon signs on to run it. Over 65 CVR families sign up, most of us to work for Wally, and another 20 CVRers will show up just to work at the Parade. Bridgewater's Drake Olson wins the inaugural Porsche Cup U.S., driving for Dyson Racing out of Poughkeepsie.

February - John Bishop, former Executive Director of the SCCA, then founder and big boss of IMSA (and a resident of Fairfield) comes to talk about the history of sports car racing and the SCCA/IMSA battle. He comes to the meeting straight off the plane from the 24 Hours of Daytona. And yeh, he has the inside story on that race! (Porsche 962's placed one-two-three with the Lowenbrau sponsored Al Holbert/ Derek Bell/Al Unser Jr. car winning.) Good stuff.

March - Skip Barber comes to talk about the early days of glory in Formula Ford and the Racing School he now runs AND all the improvements he's planning for our track (Lime Rock). Lots of CVR folks have already done the Barber school. Many more will sign up in the coming months and years. Tech Tactics VI happens flawlessly with 150 attendees. Don Ross and Helene Ross are still Registrars. Bruce Anderson debuts the 959 to us. CVR friend Bob Akin (with Jo Gartner and Hans Stuck) wins the Sebring 12-Hour in Bob's 962.

April -  Bob Russo of Holbert Racing comes to talk about the Al Holbert Lowenbrau 962 season and race car safety. He has a great demo of a blow torch on kevlar (which he is holding). Tom Weaver runs a "Son of Cannonball" Rally for CVRers.

May - Jim Newton goes public and shows how he is cleaning up his '73 Carrera RS to go for the Manhattan Trophy ("best in show") at the Portland Parade. The pressure is now REALLY ON. The 7th Annual CVR Time Trial Challenge draws almost 100 participants. CVR takes 7 firsts led by Dave Porter, Ed Tobolski, and Jim Spacek. At the Zone 1 Concours, Bill Miller and Dave Bess both win their Divisions and then finish one-two for Best in Show, separated by one point 272 vs. 271, with Dave's Ruby Red 1958 Coupe just "besting" Bill's 911 Targa.

June - CVR members Tom Weaver, Boz Coffin, and Carl Prutting tell us all about their most recent Cannonball at the Monthly Meeting. Tom did most of the driving, so Boz and Carl do most of the talking. Seems right. The lads finished 15th out of 130 cars. Eighty CVR folks show up for the Greenwich Point Park picnic and Gimmick Concours. The Zone 1 48 Hours at the Glen draws 300 cars. The secret is out! Holbert, Bell and Stuck win LeMans for Porsche.

August - The long-awaited Portland Parade happens. CVR, under Wally Simon, runs the Autocross for about 600 cars over three days. Wally has put forward a peerless effort-even if he did work so long and hard on it that his business really suffers. The other highlight is Jim Newton winning his second Manhattan Trophy-this time with his own car. Jim scores 297 points out of 300 possible by disassembling the entire car, replacing or restoring every single part, checking them off in the factory parts manual as he goes.

September - At Porscherama Linda Goodman wins Women's Overall (and a BIG trophy) while Jim Newton finishes third overall in the Men's Division (and a much smaller trophy). Their photo shows Jim eyeing Linda's trophy.

November - Bob Akin comes for the Annual Banquet with knowledgeable wife Ellen and keeps the huge assemblage in stitches with his stories. Bob is awfully approachable for a famous race car driver, successful businessman, vintage car collector, etc. At the Annual Banquet, Wally Simon gets a well-earned Enthusiast of the Year award, some kid named Chris Musante wins Rookie of the Year. The Autocross season ends with Charlie Mayer the season champ, followed by Rockie Rookey, Paul Kudra, Fred Zetterberg, and Dave Porter. Concours Overall is Dave Bess and the Rookeys win Rally Overall.

~ 1987 ~

Prescott Kelly is President, Chip Hall and Wally Simon are Vice Presidents, Peg Mayer is Secretary, Rocky Rookey is Treasurer, Jim Russel is Track Chair, and Fred Zetterberg and Dave Porter co-chair Autocross. Out-going President Eric Grossman joins his wife Linda Goodman and the Kudras to continue their excellent tutelage of challenge.

January - CVR's John Boles retires as Zone 1 Rep to be replaced by Bob Moir from New Jersey. (That fact aside Bob is a terrific choice.) John joins the National Staff as Safety Chairman. CVR announces its schedule for the year with new track events planned for Watkins Glen and Bryar Motorsport Park (now completely rebuilt as New Hampshire International Speedway).

February - The seventh Tech Tactics comes off without a hitch with speakers Bob White, John Paterek, Bob Russo, Bob Strange (of BFG and SSGT fame) and Perry Lingner from ESPN Motorsports. Holbert, Bell, Unser Jr, and Chip Robinson win the 24 Hours of Daytona. March-Two Bridgestone reps speak at the Monthly Meeting and give away a set of RE-71's, won by Linda Goodman. Much gnashing of teeth by envious attendees. Bobby Rahal and Jochen Mass win Sebring in Bruce Leven's Bayside Disposal 962.

May - The first and latest of CVR's three Manhattan Trophy winners, Joe Sangiovoni ('70) and Jim Newton ('86), give a talk on how it's done, including an aptitude test for concouring. We all flunk. Whew! At the Porsche Club tent at Lime Rock on Memorial Day for the IMSA races, Price Cobb (U.S. Porsche Cup winner in 1986) drops in to talk to the fans before he drives the Dyson 962 in the afternoon feature race. Pam and Paul Kudra and Jack Mella are pictured in Panorama taking the tech quiz at Tech Tactics.

June - The Annual Zone Concours and Swap Meet is held at West Point, a terrific new venue arranged by Army veteran Dick Hyland. Dave Bess and Bill Miller again win their Divisions, but no Best in Show for CVR this year. Porsche wins LeMans again with Holbert, Bell and Stuck.

July - At one of the hottest Parades in memory (July 4th weekend in Dallas!), our challenge Editors won second in class in the National PCA newsletter competition. Old buddy (and past CVR prez) Ken Fengler's Gold Coast Region (southeast Florida) won the Region of the Year award. (We should've kept him!) The Editors introduce the new look challenge produced for the first time on a Mac desktop publishing system.

August - Prescott Kelly and Ken Fengler arrange for Derek Bell to speak to the Region and then be Chief Instructor at the following day's Drivers Ed event, joined by pro-driver Bobby Akin ("big" Bob's son). Both events sell out with 215 people attending the Monthly Meeting (still a record some 12 years later). Jim Newton and Charlie Mayer lead the Autocross series at mid-season.

September - Porscherama is a sellout as well, and CVRers do very well in the Time Trials and Concours but not the Rally. Alan Issacson gets 2nd in Men's Overall, Newton is 3rd. The Porsche Quaker State Indy Car debuts at Laguna Seca. (We'll get 'em next time.)

December - Bruce Jennings ("King Carrera" for his two SCCA championships with 4-cam Speedsters) is our guest speaker at the Annual Banquet. He shows the film of his eight-flip barrel roll at the Glen in the early 1960's. Fred Zetterberg wins Enthusiast of the Year and Jack Miner is Rookie of the Year. Jim Newton wins both the Concours Overall and Autocross Overall in the same car, his '73 Carrera RS -yup the same one that won the Manhattan Trophy at the Portland Parade in '86. To cap off his year, Newton is the subject of a fawning profile in Porsche Panorama, written by some heavily indebted customer.

~ 1988 ~

Kelly, Hall and Simon continue as President, VP, and VP. Fred Zetterberg becomes Secretary. Rookey continues as Treasurer. Russel keeps Track and Dave Porter goes solo with Autocross.

January - American Peter Schutz leaves as President of Porsche AG on the heels of a 30% decline in sales (led by the U.S. which in 1986 accounted for 60 % of sales) and monster earnings declines, in part due to currency losses as the dollar plummets vs. the deutschmark. Price Cobb, driving for Rob Dyson, wins his second straight Porsche Cup U.S. That's three in a row for Dyson drivers. At CVR's Annual Planning Meeting, a year with 15 track days is laid out.

February - Jaguar wins Daytona. Is our demise in sight?

March - Eric Grossman and Linda Goodman take over Tech Tactics with CVRers in all the key worker slots. CVR's Helene Fox and Don Ross continue as Registrars. Jim Newton is added to the roster of speakers. The result? The biggest crowd ever at 190 people vs. 140 maximum B.N. ("before Newton"). Jim graciously takes full credit. At Newton's Sunday morning talk, the 40 CVRers in attendance all, on cue, noisily break out their Sunday New York Times. "We've heard it all before," Paul Kudra tells the crowd. Nope, the end is not in sight as 962's sweep the top five places at Sebring!

May - PCNA's PR chief, Bob Carlson, comes to the Monthly Meeting to explain Porsche's new Indy Car program: the new Quaker State sponsored team with Teo Fabi as driver. The Region's first ever "Rookie Weekend" is organized by Linda Goodman and Nancy Haugh. It is a big success with 50 rookies on hand (and becomes a fixture in CVR's future plans). At the Zone 1 Concours, now moved to the Stouffer's Westchester Hotel in White Plains, NY, Bill "Mr. Clean" Miller and his 1970 911 Targa win their long-sought "Best in Show" trophy after five straight Division victories. Well done, Bill! Prescott Kelly's '65 356C Coupe wins its Division. Dave Bess and Jim Newton/Jack Miner win their classes. CVR wins the Time Trial Challenge behind Fred Stautinger, Sally Curtin and Judy Durkin, all of whom set lap records in their classes. At the Memorial Day PCA tent at Lime Rock, drivers Price Cobb and Jim Weaver from Dyson Racing both show up to talk to the fans. Also there is Bob Carlson, fresh in from the previous day's Indy 500, where the Porsche-March (the Type 2708, Porsche's own Indycar chassis having been returned to Weissach for more development) gets as high as 10th before a pit stop error costs the car a wheel. Finally, the Rothmans Turbo Cup (for spec 944T race cars) series is introduced in Canada with $500,000 Canadian in total season prize money. May was a major month!

June - Jaguar wins LeMans but Stuckie has the fastest lap in one of the Shell-Dunlop 962's and finishes 2nd in the race.

July - At the Parade in Colorado Springs, CVR's challenge wins the coveted Paul Heinmiller Award for the best Regional Newsletter in the country. WE HAD KNOWN IT ALL ALONG! Congratulations and adulation are showered on Linda Goodman, Pam and Paul Kudra (and associate editor/advertising manager Eric Grossman). Linda, Pam and Paul get their pictures in pano. At CVR's Bryar event, Vermonter John Buffum shows up to drive Prescott Kelly's SC/RS for article in Sports Car Illustrated. Buffum goes past everyone, usually sideways. "Everyone" learns the difference between a pro driver such as Buffum and the rest of us warrior wannabes in Driver's Ed and Vintage Racing.

August - PCNA's Ed Tirolo comes to speak and tell us that 20 sport 959's will be coming to the U.S., that the Indy car program will continue, and that Porsche will not be sold (especially not to Ford!). Those 959's will come, then leave, as DOT and EPA had their say. At Porscherama CVR women take nine out of 15 trophies!! The CVR men take 21 trophies out of 29. Some enthusiast named Tom Bobbitt writes an article on the '88 running of LeMans for challenge Yes, he was there! We'll all get to know him better later on.

September - The Akin-White racing team comes to show us their fleet of 944S showroom stock race cars and talk up the program and their racing school. At the Zone Autocross Paul Kudra and Geoff Ehrman win their classes and Pam Kudra took second overall among the ladies.

On Friday, September 30th, Al Holbert dies when the twin-engine plane he is piloting crashes on takeoff from the Columbus OH airport. With his death Porsche North American Motorsports takes a dive from which it has not yet really recovered.

December - The Annual Banquet is held at the Norwich Inn and Spa. Sally and Dave Curtin are double-double winners as they are voted Enthusiasts of the Year and win the Rally Overall championship. Andy Weiss wins Rookie of the Year. Prescott Kelly is Concours Overall. Jack Miner won the Autocross season championship and then the same car runoffs at a Malibu-like Grand Prix facility in Massachusetts.

~ 1989 ~

Chip Hall becomes President, Linda Goodman is V.P. and Program Chair, Fred Zetterberg V.P.and Track Chair, Geoff Ehrman is Secretary, and Pam Kudra is Treasurer. Paul Kudra is Autocross Chair. challenge is taken over by Sally and Dave Curtin and Christine and Rocky Rookey. CVR's Judy Boles becomes National Secretary. Two atta girl's!

January - Price Cobb wins Porsche Cup North America number three. Rob Dyson returns as Monthly Meeting speaker and tells us why running a Porsche 962 in IMSA is tougher and tougher. He announces that he will be trying CART in 1989 with a one-year old Cosworth-Lola. (That experiment will prove to be short-lived and Rob will be back in sports cars before the new year.) Membership hits 1072.

February - Jim Busby's Miller High Life Porsche 962, driven by Derek Bell, Bob Wollek, and John Andretti, wins the 24 Hours of Daytona-just after the public burial of the 962 as a winning race car. Over the last four hours the 962 is never more than 90 seconds ahead of the 2nd-place Jaguar XJR-9. Several CVRers (including the Kellys and the Bergans) are in the pits for the victory, guests of Kenny Fengler and Derek Bell. Neil Goldberg, ESPN's Supervising Producer for Motorsports, does the Monthly Meeting and explains why sports car racing won't make prime time for a while yet. (It's now 11 years later and if you don't get Speedvision and read you SUFFER with Cablevision, it's still true.)

March - Linda Goodman recruits Alois Ruf and Derrick Walker, g.m. of the Porsche CART team, to join the usual staff of speakers at Tech Tactics. Over 180 people learn a lot by attending. Nissan wins Sebring. Ugh.

May - At Indy the Porsche-Indy 89P suffers engine failure after running third fastest in the final practice. CVR wins the Time Trial Challenge again, with Christine Rookey ('73 911S) and Prescott Kelly ('86 944T/Escort) setting new lap records and CVR taking 10 of the 12 class wins. At the 10th Annual Zone 1 Concours, Dave Bess and Bill Miller win their Divisions and John and Judy Boles win People's Choice with their Red '59 Convertible D.

June - Mercedes wins LeMans

July - Bob Akin and Justin Bell (Derek's son and the current season leader in the Barber-Saab Race Series) handle the Monthly Meeting speakers' duty with grace and aplomb. The Regional Concours with "People's Choice" voting results in Dave Bess winning Best Overall with Ron Leford's nice 914 Second Overall.

August - At the Travers City MI Parade, challenge wins its second consecutive Paul Heinmiller Award as the best newsletter in all of PCA-land. Because we know that the national powers really prefer to move the grand prize around, this is a stunning success for the Editors: Linda Goodman, Eric Grossman, and Pam and Paul Kudra. Two atta boys and girls!! CVR's Ashley Carroll is presented with the Bill Sholar Memorial Award which is given (infrequently!) for extraordinary service to PCA. Ashley was National Treasurer 1967-1969 and Executive V. P. 1976-1980.

September - At Porscherama, CVR's Christine Rookey wins Women's Overall and Jack Miner wins the Men's. Peg Mayer sets a fastest lap for a woman ever at Lime Rock! Bill Richter, Rocky Rookey, and Jack Miner set lap records in class. Connie Huebner and Rick Kummer win Best Overall at the Concours in their first time effort! Christine and Rocky Rookey win People's Choice.

October - David Finch in his tube-frame 944S wins GT2 and Joe Cogbill in his 356 Speedster wins E Prod at the SCCA runoffs.

November - At the Annual Banquet at the Aqua-Turf, Geoff and Mimi Ehrman win Enthusiasts of the Year and Dave Clark wins Rookie of the Year. Jack Miner is the season Autocross champion and Geoff Ehrman wins the Runoff.

December - CVR ends the year with 1110 members, the most ever, in its 30th Anniversary year, and is the third largest region in PCA.

~ 1990 ~

Linda Goodman is President; Fred Zetterberg and Geoff Ehrman are the Veeps in charge of Track and Program, respectively. Jack Miner is Secretary and Pam Kudra stays Treasurer. Paul Kudra keep Autocross. The challenge Editors remain the Curtins and the Rookeys. Porsche AG announces a new Carrera Cup series for the fatherland based on the new Carrera 2 911.

February - Rob Dyson (bless him) returns to explain why CART racing wasn't for him and why he's returning to sports car racing with a new Porsche 962C.

March - Eric Grossman and Linda Goodman continue to chair Tech Tactics, now celebrating its tenth year. Derrick Walker returns to update us on the Porsche CART effort. But the big news is Jurgen Barth who comes from the factory to update us all on the factory's racing programs-and lots of interesting history.

June - Mike Joy speaks at the Monthly Meeting, filling us in on the town vs. track situation at Lime Rock Park and then on the intricacies of televising races. Geoff and Marilyn Muggelton have a "sold out with a waiting list" Rally. Tom Weaver would have been proud. Geoff and Mimi Ehrman leave CVR for Philadelphia. (We all tell Geoff to turn down the promotion!) Rick Kummer takes over as Program Chair. Connie Huebner finishes the best Yearbook CVR has ever submitted for the Region of the Year award. Jim Adelman joins CVR. Jaguar wins LeMans and Porsche is shut out on 1990's big three: Daytona, Sebring, and LeMans.

July - At the Parade in Monterey CVR does not win Region of the Year, but the challenge Editors score again, with a second place in class in the newsletter competition.

August - PCA's Executive Council approves the proposal by National Safety Chair Alan Friedman to study the possibility of a Porsche Club racing series. (Teh-heh. IT'S COMING!)

September - CVR wins the first Regional Team Championship at the Zone 1 Autocross held at Orange Airpark in Orange, MA. At Porscherama Rocky Rookey finishes 2nd Overall and Charlie Mayer 5th. Peg Mayer finishes 3rd Overall among the women. The Rookeys also win their class in the Concours and People's Choice. The Harbecks, Bobbitts, and Gollahers finish one-two-four in the Rally.

November - Through Fast Fred Zetterberg, the Annual Banquet is held at the Pine Orchard Yacht Club in Branford with the unforgettable Brian Redman as our guest speaker. Brian amuses everyone with his stories about the factory team efforts in 1969 - 1971, when he was frequently teamed with Jo Siffert in 908's and 917's. Brian won eight races over that span while the team won 18 out of 24 races. Gary Plassman is honored as Enthusiast of the Year and Rita Costantino as Rookie of the Year. Tom Couchon wins Autocross Overall, the Bobbitts win Rally Overall, and the Rookeys win Concours Overall.

December - The outgoing challenge Editors bid goodbye with the second cheesecake cover in history. Do you remember the first one with the Pam (Kudra)? If not, go reread the previous installments in this series.

~ 1991 ~

Linda Goodman continues as President; Jack Miner is V.P./Program Chair and Bill Richter is V.P./Track Co-Chair (with Zetterberg). Pam Kudra is making a career out of the Treasurer's job, only because she is so good at it, and Susan Wheeler is Secretary. Paul keeps Autocross and Geoff keeps Rally. Gary Plassman and Ray Prokoski take over Editors duty at the challenge. CVR's Judy Boles moves up to be National Treasurer from National Secretary. The real power lies where the money is!

February - Just when you're about to give up the Joest team 962, with drivers headed by Bob Wollek and Hurley Haywood, wins the 24 Hours of Daytona!

March - Linda and Eric keep up their great show at Tech Tactics. Featured speakers are Mike Valentine, Alois Ruf, and Alan Freidman who explains his proposal to PCA's Board of Directors for a PCA race series. Alan shows a tape of the Porsche Club Great Britain's Pirelli Race Series-which generates enormous support for his proposal. Sebring, you ask? Nissan.

April - The latest installment of Rookie Weekend draws 42 people.

May - The Time Trial lives but is now mostly a CVR event. Of the 55 cars entered, 38 are from CVR. Foreigners do claim five of the eight class victories in which there are more than one car. The only CVR member to set a new lap record is "Fast Fred" Zetterberg.

June - At the Father's Day Concours, new member Suzanne Keenan from Greenwich shows up with her immaculate (special order) Bali Blue '73 911 Targa and wins best in show. Most guys voted for the blue-eyed, brunette beauty; some few for the car. Both were spectacular. LeMans, you ask? Mazda. (Who? What?)

July - CVR teams up with Brian Redman to stage the Brian Redman Invitational for Porsches only- preferably vintage-over the July 4th holiday which is an extra unmuffled weekend for Lime Rock this year. (Under the terms of its agreement with the town-it only happens every seventh year or so.) About 50 vintage Porsches turn out to race and about 50 more CVR street cars for Driver's Ed. (Driver's Ed is more fun with Spyders, 906's, 910's, 908's 917's, RSR's and 935's around!) Famous ex and current racers Joe Buzzeta, Bruce Jennings, Bob Holbert, Derek Bell, and, of course, Brian Redman are here to lend creditably to the proceedings.

At the end of the month the Parade in Danvers, MA happens. Many CVRers are in attendance. Roy Walzer's stunning 1973 RSR wins the Manhattan Trophy. Of course, the car was restored by Jim Newton -who now has his hattrick of Manhattans. CVR's Paul Kudra, Mike Piera, Pat Barnett, Pam Kudra, and Jim Newton win their classes at the Parade Autocross. Pretty classy. Prescott Kelly's largest-ever Parade Historic Car Display of 36 historic race cars is the subject a two-installment article in panorama. Of note: The Board votes to launch PCA Racing in 1992 to be run under "Vintage Racing like rules" and with schools and licensing procedures. Car classifications are to be power to weight derived. CVR officers immediately volunteer to hold an early event at Lime Rock. Soon, Newton will get to build RACE CARS!

September - Over 120 competitive souls turn out for Porscherama. CVR's Jim Hoffman wins Men's Overall, besting Jim Newton by some 1.5 points. Connie Huebner takes Women's FTD. Tom and Eleanor Bobbitt take first in the Rally. The Muggletons take first in the "Concours only" class.

October - Fred and Judy Sears join CVR. (More later.) Porsche 944S's sweep all ten Firehawk races. Joe Vardi wins the driver's championship and his car owner Mark Sandridge wins the team title.

December - The Annual Banquet yields honors for Bob Wolf as Enthusiast of the Year and Jack Wieselman as Rookie of the Year. Overall Autocross champion is Paul Kudra and Tom Couchon wins the Runoffs (in which everyone drove the Skip Barber BMW M3). Roy Walzer wins Concours Overall and the Hoffmans win Rally Overall.

~ 1992 ~

Paul Kudra becomes President. Dave Curtin and Bill Richter are VP's and run the track program. Susan Wheeler continues as Secretary and Pam Kudra continues as Treasurer. Rita Costantino is Program Chair. Some guy named Bobbitt becomes Rally Chair. Plassman and Prokoski stay on as Editors of the challenge.

March - Eric and Linda do Tech Tactics proud and get Hurley Haywood to be the dinner speaker. Hurley speaks plainly about the sad plight of Porsche racing in the U.S.

April - Bruce Anderson's little brother, Clark, does the Monthly Meeting at Danbury Porsche and fascinates us all with his tales of the reincarnated Carrera Panamericana for which Clark has built two 2.4-liter, four cylinder 356's that run 150mph on skinny tires.

May - Our application and plan for a PCA Race at Lime Rock Park is accepted by National and we announce it in the May Challenge, hoping for 60 cars to come and play "tackle" football. There will be a licensing school the day before the two-day race series in September. At the Memorial Day IMSA races, over 275 PCAers jam the Danbury Porsche sponsored hospitality tent only to see a Corvette win the Supercar race. The Time Trials have 49 cars run with three new lap records, one each by Northeast's Mike Trombly and Dick Howe (who also cops FTD), and one by Potomac's Sue Kimmitt.

July - At the San Diego Parade, our challenge Editors, Gary Plassman and Ray Prokowski win the Heinmiller Award for the best PCA newsletter in the country. Maybe they should just retire the award in CVR!

August - FINALLY, after years of trying (and frequently coming second), Jim Newton wins Men's Overall at Porscherama by 36 thousandths of a point. After his usual stellar performances at the track and in the Concours, seventh-new-navigator-in-seven-years Eric Grossman (did you ever try to give Newton directions) finally gets Newton to the finish line of the Rally without 300 points of deductions. (They finish eighth.) Newton is now dubbed "Mr. Manhattan Overall." He immediately announces his retirement from Porscherama. He's going PCA Racing!

September - The Race happens with 94 registrants. Newton finishes second behind NER's Mark Greenburg (with all four rally lamps still on the front of his car for added drag!), but he's hooked. CVR's Jim Scott, Jim Newton, Prescott Kelly, Chris Musante, Allen Duff, Jay Putnam, and Gary Wielgoszinzki all trophy.

November - The Annual Meeting moves up a month and the year's big winners are Susan Wheeler- Enthusiast of the Year, and Fred and Judy Sears-Rookie of the Year. Autocross Overall is Ed Bogue and Tom Couchon wins the Runoffs again! Concours Overall is Mike Maulucci (stunning black over real red '73 911S) and Rally Overall are the Harbecks, Diane and Bob. Linda Goodman writes her first feature article for pano after several really good recaps of Tech Tactics.

A note: For the past several years the Club has benefited from rejuvenated Rally and Tour programs. With the Muggletons and then the Bobbitts running the Rallies and Rick Roll, then the Borios and Jim Hiller, master-minding the Tours, CVRers went to the Cape, to the top of Mt. Greylock, on Vermont foliage runs, and lots of interesting places in between. These activities have become vital parts of our program. Thanks, ladies and gentlemen.

~ 1993 ~

The Board positions change only slightly as Kudra continues as Prez and the Curtin-Richter duo keep the Veep and Track co-chair slots, although Brian Bailey will replace Curtin in a couple of months. Rita Costantino moves up to Treasurer; Pam Kudra leaves to be President of some PTA or some such foolishness and we all feel like she's the warden leaving the jail in charge of the inmates. Sue Wheeler keeps Secretary and Autocross is taken over by Roger Butler and Pat Barnett. Judy Boles is elected to the National Board as Secretary (Treasurer was a full time job-and she already had one), besting Wilma White in a rare runoff vote.

January - The Region donates $2,000 toward the "Pave the Park" fund to help repave Lime Rock. Several Region members also step up with $5,000 individual contributions to become Lifetime Members of the track. In a couple of months we'll all see and feel the benefits of the repaving-well worth it! The prototype Boxster is shown at the Detroit Auto Show.

March - Eric and Linda co-chair Tech Tactics again and Helene Fox and Don Ross celebrate their 12th anniversary as Registrars for the event.

May - The Rookie Weekend is renamed and broadened to become the "CVR Sampler" for members old and new to get a taste of the Region's activities. The PCA Race at Lime Rock has its second running with 115 cars. CVR class winners included Charlie Mayer and Gary Wielgoszinski; second place trophies went to Chris Musante, Mike Bergan, Ellen Jefferies, and Prescott Kelly.

July - The Region Driver's Ed junkies trek off to Mosport for three days at this wonderful track where the run groups average 30 minutes each!

August - The 30th Anniversary of the Porsche 911 is celebrated at the Monterey Historics at Laguna Seca. Steve Earle relents and even lets some 911's race there.

September - At the Zone Autocross, only five CVR members compete, but they all score well, with firsts by Roger Butler, Pam Kudra, and Marland Whiteman and second-place finishes by Paul Kudra and Gary Plassman. Roger takes Men's FT2D (fastest time for the two days courses combined-whew).

November - The annual bash is held at Avon Old Farms Hotel with Mike Rand, General Manager of Lime Rock as our guest speaker. Annual awards are given to Tom Bobbitt-Enthusiast of the Year, John Bobbitt-Rookie of the Year (it's a family affair), Roger Butler-Autocross Overall, Ed Bogue- Autocross Runoffs, Mike Maulucci -Concours Overall, and Jeanette and Marland Whiteman-Rally Overall. Hans Stuck wins the Supercar Championship for himself and Brumos Racing.

December - CVR ends the year with 997 members.

~ 1994 ~

The new President is Tom Bobbitt; the new Vice-Presidents are Fred Sears (Program) and Brian Bailey (Track); the new Secretary is Chandran "CR" Rajaratnam; and Rita Costantino continues as Treasurer. Roger Butler is Autocross Chair; Marland Whiteman is Rally Chair; Lisa Musante is Membership Chair for the second year. The Plassman/Prokowski team keeps the challenge, now "officially" aided by the new Mrs. Plassman (Deanna McHose) and Carline Lutynski.

February - Linda Goodman gets a photo on the cover of panorama.

March - Bob and Joan Moir take over Tech Tactics from the long-suffering and hard-working Linda Goodman and Eric Grossman. David Donohue is the dinner speaker. Dom Miliano is added to the speaker roster and pushes Jim Newton for the funniest overall trophy. (Newton wins because all his customers vote for him. You don't want a disappointed Newton working on your car.) The March Driver's Ed event at Lime Rock gets snowed out. (Hey, this is like the '80's all over again.)

May - Ayrton Senna dies at age 34, at the zenith of his career in Formula One.

June - The Dauer Porsche 962LM wins LeMans, Porsche's first overall victory since 1987. CVR celebrates its 35th Anniversary with a combined Annual Concours and Anniversary Party at the Castle Inn in Old Saybrook. The turnout is spectacular, and includes former Region Presidents Jack Tighe, Ed Tobolski, Steve Winkler, Prescott Kelly, and Paul Kudra plus National Secretary (and President-Elect) Judy Boles and Zone 1 Rep Bob Moir.

August - The Lake Placid Parade has many CVR members in attendance. Paul Kudra, aided by Pam, Roger Butler, Tom Bobbitt, and others, runs the Autocross. Gary and Deanna Plassman and Mike Piera each earn class wins and Mike loses FTD by a whisker. The challenge cops a third in class in the newsletter competition.

November - At the Annual Banquet, Fred and Judy Sears earn the Enthusiasts of the Year award; Eileen and Joe Wilhem are co-Rookies of the Year; the Bobbitts win Rally.Overall; Joe Kane wins Concours Overall; Steve Sowa is Autocross Overall champ and Tom Couchon wins the Runoffs (after a year off as Runoffs champ).

December - CVR's 35th Anniversary year ends with incoming officers Tom Bobbitt as President, Fred Sears and Lisa Musante as VP's, CR Rajaratnam as Secretary, and Hank Voegeli as Treasurer.

On the National scene CVR's Judy Boles is set to become PCA's National President and Prescott Kelly is incoming National P.R. Chairman. In the coming years, Tom Bobbitt will become Zone 11 Rep on the National Staff and then National Treasurer in 1998. Linda Goodman will become a Contributing Editor on the porsche panorama staff. PCA Racing will grow to become the second-largest, most active racing club in the country, rivaling the amateur ranks of SCCA.

~ The Future ~

CVR will continue to grow and add more activities. Fred Sears and then Lisa Musante (with a short time out for a fill-in return to duty by Past President Eric Grossman) will ascend to the Presidency of CVR. The 40th Anniversary bash will be held in September, 1999, in Stamford with a record turnout for any CVR social event ever. But all that is too recent history to be included here. Instead, join us for the 50th Anniversary write-up in 2009 when those wonderful years 1995 to 2008 will be recapped as well.