Smooth sailing in the Rockies!!!
This whole letter is really about the eastern slopes, the “front range” of the Rocky Mountains, where the club took me during the last month, and also the location of some big PCA news.
The big deal for this month is the announcement that the Alpine Mountain Region has been selected to host the PCA Treffen in April 2020. For those who may be new to PCA, or who may not be familiar with Treffen events, here’s the “Cliff Notes” description. While Porsche Parade is held once each summer, Treffens are held in the spring and the fall. Unlike the Porsche Parade which is filled with competitive events, Treffens are all about enjoying the local beauty via driving tours- and with a day in the middle to do whatever you wish. By comparison, the week-long Parade requires la carte activity and food sign up in a “3 or 4 star” setting, but Treffen is a 5-star all-inclusive four day event. Some think of it as more of a couple’s weekend. In keeping with the concept of a luxury setting, the spring 2020 Treffen will take place at the iconic Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado Springs, Co.
A lot goes in to hosting a Treffen. The selection process is led by an advance team, headed by Harry Season of the Roadrunner region. The team travels to candidate locations throughout North America to create a potential list for consideration for the next 2-3 years. Once locations are boiled down to a “short list”, the volunteer advance team then contacts leadership of the associated zone and region in an effort to assess the capabilities of the local region to provide the skills and the volunteer base to host this type of event. Denise Jordan and Alex Ching as President and VP of AMR have now been engaged since late in 2018 in the initial preparation and recruiting volunteer staff. Alex will provide local leadership for the event itself. The fact that the AMR team has been chosen to support this Treffen event is a huge compliment to all involved. Congratulations to the Alpine Mountain Region!!
On the travel front, I’ve chosen events in the Rocky Mountain Region and in the Alpine Mountain Region during the past 30 days. The really neat thing about RMR/AMR events is that their geography is close enough that many attendees cross between region activities. First RMR held their annual new membership social. Hosted by Denver Auto Shield, the event was a great way for new members to circulate to individual tables hosted by volunteer leaders and members of all of the committees within the region. There was an answer, for any question that could be asked. For me, it was a terrific way to meet and thank the teams of people that volunteer to make RMR a great PCA region. There were lots of cool prize giveaways, including some deluxe paint protection packages offered by the event host, Denver Auto Shield.
My next travel stop was an “instructor only” refresher track day held at Pueblo Motorsports Park. The event, led by Chief Driving Instructors Mark Stolberg (AMR) and Dan Carlson (RMR) was attended by 60 people who were either current driving instructors or candidates. Candidates spent ¾ of their day in classroom training sessions and the remainder on the track, practicing “student scenarios” with their CDI committee instructors. Current instructors had the opportunity to familiarize with the Pueblo road course, while volunteering to act both as driver and instructor with each other throughout the day. As an instructor myself, I found this peer to peer instruction process to be a very effective skills refreshment experience.
Kudos to the event leaders in pulling together this innovative refresher approach, to make RMR/AMR Driver Education programs among the best in PCA, while doing everything possible to provide students with the best and safest experience possible.
After 75 degrees in Pueblo Colorado last weekend, it’s hard to believe that 40” of snow fell in our Utah resorts in the last 36 hours, and that there’s snow here at the valley floor this mornings. I know that the front-range got the same treatment as well. Maybe winter will finally decide to leave by the time I write next month’s newsletter.
