DER President's Letter

by Glenn Hill

First of all, I want to apologize in the late arrival of this issue of PORSCHEFORME. I got a little behind due to the birth of our new son Robert!  We spent five days in the hospital due to some complications, but Mom and Baby are doing just fine!  (Dad is still a little iffy though!)  We’re now getting used to the business of parenthood.  It has already been a great challenge but also one of the great experiences of my life, and hopefully in 20 years-or-so, we’ll have another DER member in time for our club’s 50th Anniversary!

            So besides my personal activity level, the warm weather is at its peak here in the State of Maine, and so is the level of DER club activity. As club president though, I’ve got good news and bad news.  First the good news: There’s a lot that has happened that should be of interest to all club members.  The annual Ice Cream Run was fantastic…with a super turnout, great weather, and darn good ice cream.  Our Mackworth Island Show & Shine was an enormous success, with over 70 cars participating and over $2,800 being generated for the Baxter School for the Deaf’s Family Learning Program!   Also our 2^nd tour to The Balsams in Dixville Notch NH was another huge success!

            Now for the bad news:  Sadly, we’ve had some trauma in the DER and learned that our Newsletter Editors, Doug and Terri Omatick, have had to move out of state due to employment issues.  That means that the Newsletter Editor position is again up for grabs!  This position is a super way to increase your involvement in the club, meet tons of new people, learn new skills, and generally have some creative fun.  If you think you can swing it…and I know you can…please give me a call at home at 775-2635.  I’ll answer all your questions…and I promise no hard-sell! 

            However, even more tragic than this is our decision to cancel our involvement in the 2005 Zone-1 Concours and Rally.  We based this difficult decision on our newly learned experience with the Mackworth Island show.  We were all astounded by the amount of effort, coordination, and participation that such an event requires, and quite frankly, we don’t realistically see that level of participation happening here in the Down East Region.  For the Mackworth Island show we had enormous help from the Rotary Club and the Baxter School’s staff, and we can’t expect to match that based on what we’ve seen in the past or from the handful of volunteers that had signed up so far.  This is a big disappointment for the club, and furthermore does not put the DER in the best light at the Zone and National level.  Painful though it may be, it’s also a realistic decision, and I’d rather support that decision now than be unable to deliver when the big moment comes around.  All I have to say to our membership is, “if you think it doesn’t matter that you’re not active in our club’s activities…think again”.  Here endeth the sermon.

             Of course, we all know that summer in Maine is a busy time, but we hope that all of you can find an event to participate in.  Unfortunately, we Mainers only have a limited window in which to fully enjoy our sports cars, so please “make hay while the sun shines” and hit the road with the Down East Region.  Upcoming events include the return of our ever-popular German Restaurant Tour, and don’t forget the Annual DER-BBQ at Past President Jeff Smith’s house.  That’s a must-do event if there ever was one!  Equally exciting is that later this year we’ll be starting a kart-racing league at Maine Indoor Karting.  Our trial run of that activity was showed that we have plenty of support for forming our own league.  That should help keep the winter blues in check…at least part of the time!  Details will be forthcoming, so keep an eye on the newsletter and the website.

            So folks, we’ve got tons of stuff going on, and a whole bunch of stuff to do, but this is fun.  We’re enthusiasts, and that’s why we’re in the Porsche Club of America, right?  That’s why I want to see well-attended events and full volunteer rosters!  Get out there and meet your fellow club members, have a good time, and mostly enjoy your Porsche as much as you can.  That’s what all this is about!

Glenn

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