GMR’s Milestone Anniversary
I am pleased to announce that the GMR is celebrating its 35th anniversary as a chartered region of PCA. The region was officially recognized in 1986 after a group led by then President Patrick Walsh petitioned PCA for official recognition. The other officers listed in the application were Lou Hochheiser (VP), Don Cummings (Secretary) and Cindy Walsh (Treasurer). In the application they demonstrated the imperative for recognition by reporting that they had “already had one formal meeting, a tour, lunch and concour (sic) in Stowe, Vermont. It was attended by 45 enthusiastic PCA, or soon to be, PCA members. There were 27 cars entered in the concour”. The Board hopes to incorporate the anniversary theme into our 2021 calendar, perhaps with a joint holiday/gala event in December. If you have ideas to share please give a shout out to any of the Board members or email me at gmrpca@gmail.com.
GMR’s Membership & Financial Positions
Our membership and financial positions finished the year in good shape. Despite Covid, the number of primary members remained stable over the course of the year with 186 in January 2020 and 181 at year end. When you include affiliate members the total GMR membership at year end 2020 was 295 members. Financially, we remain strong with a closing cash balance of $12,317 after making a member challenge grant of $2,500 to the Vermont Foodbank.
2020 Event Recap
Our calendar was constrained by the pandemic but we nonetheless held several successful events. We kicked off with the July tour that attracted 11 cars. That was followed by tours in August, September and October, each with a growing number of participants. The greater Burlington tour attracted the highest numbers with 31 vehicles and 45 members. We also made history by holding the first virtual Members meeting in October and then capped off the year with our first ever Zoom holiday party where more than 30 members enjoyed a musical performance by Jon Gailmor and swapped travel stories and cocktail recipes.
Looking Ahead
The Board, along with several invited members, held a virtual retreat in January. The purpose was to review the 2020 events and most importantly, assess what we need to do to increase membership participation. The discussions triggered numerous suggestions/ideas/enhancements, some routine others surprising. While not comprehensive, the following offers a flavor of the discussion.
• Events should be structured to maximize socializing opportunities.
• Tour formats should be varied, for example using a modified ramble format where a destination is selected with members free to drive any route arriving in time for a function.
• Give more consideration to overnight and out of state tours.
• Traditional tours should not have more than 10 cars in each group coupled with clear route directions/information. To paraphrase, “Driving in a pod of 10 or more cars is just too stressful to be enjoyable”.
• DIY tech sessions
• Ramp up our use of social media.
As I look out my office window I still see a hillside covered in deep white snow but hope springs eternal and we know that our cars will soon be on Vermont’s roadways. As the driving season approaches the Board encourages you to save the following dates in your calendars. The details will be forthcoming as we progress through the spring.
I look forward to seeing you over the course of the driving season and encourage you to regularly check the events calendar at the GMR website and/or our Facebook Group page for more details.
“It’s not just the cars, it’s the people”
Alessandro (Al) Iuppa
President
Green Mountain Region Porsche Club of America
