April is the cruelest month- T.S. Eliot…
It felt like a betrayal. Almost six inches of snow after a winter of record warmth. Porsches confined to garages or sitting in driveways, covered with snow. But, not enough snow to keep more than two dozen HCP members from driving to Porsche of Clifton Park for the club’s regular First Monday of the Month dinner and business meeting.
Those who attended got a picture of a club in good health. Three new members over the last month pushed the club membership roll to 616. Treasurer Will Waldron pronounced the club financially sound and reports from Board members and committee chairs presented a varied menu of coming attractions that should appeal to a broad range of HCP members.
April, which has already kicked off with two days of DE at Lime Rock Park, offers the season’s first autocross event on the 17th at the McCarty Ave. parking lot in Albany and a trip to Woodstock and Dyson Racing in Poughkeepsie on April 30th. Matt Rutten, autocross chair, promises his event will be “the most fun you can have in a parking lot with your clothes on”. “The worst thing you can do is kill a few cones,” Matt adds. While experienced drivers will be at the event, the day will be geared to newcomers with instruction available.
Activities Chair Louis Dahoda talks about the April Drive and Dine
The Drive and Dine on the 30th will begin with a stop at Dyson Racing, home of one of the longest running and most successful North American sports car racing teams and proceed to Woodstock where members can visit a number of artist’s studios that will be open for the day, or simply walk the streets of the town.
Looking ahead to May, watch for details on a Bryan and Joyce Hollenbaugh led trip to Cooperstown. Bryan and Joyce promise a picturesque drive down and a number of interesting ways to spend the day.
[Editor’s Note: If you are attending a club event in April, please consider helping our blog- if nothing more than with some photos of the event taken with a cell phone camera. Let’s try to feature all club events in Open Roads. If you’d like to help in some way, you contact me at newsletter@hcp-pca.com.
Wrapping up committee news, the Club will continue its tradition of charitable giving. Members attending the club picnic in June will be asked to consider making a charitable donation and a silent auction will raise money for charity at the annual banquet in November. The Club will also conduct another Coats for Kids Drive in the fall.
Dinner eaten and club business concluded, the evening ended with Porsche of Clifton Park general manager Christian Trujillo offering members a sneak peek at the new 911’s that the dealership will formally unveil at the Saratoga Auto Museum on April 8th. Needless to say, gorgeous automobiles. Club members who would like to attend the 911 debut but haven’t yet reserved a spot at the event should RSVP to the dealership.
Christian also outlined a more active role for the dealership in promoting the Porsche brand and involving club members in the process. How about an autocross where members can drive a new 718 Boxster? Of course, Saturday Cars and Coffee events at the dealership will continue. Put April 22nd aside for the next C&C. A special treat: Stephen Pivonka, Club member and proprietor of Barkeater Coffee Roasters, will be brewing coffee for those in attendance. See you there.