September 2022 President’s Message

By the time you read this, Labor Day has passed, the local kids have headed back to school, and Northern California’s “Indian Summer” has begun. September is yet another great month for our Region, especially for those of us lucky enough to own Cabriolets. It doesn’t stay too hot to keep the top down (okay, this Labor Day weekend notwithstanding), and the backroads often immerse you in the beginnings of fantastic fall colors. My favorites are the valley vineyards, knowing that harvest time has come (and of course this year the Harvest Moon on September 10th has its own dedicated rally!)

Although it’s undeniably hot, August is another fun-filled month for our club and this year was no exception. Our first overnight event, the Twin Pine rally, was a success (see Jim Robison’s Rallymaster report in this issue for more), and our return to Maple Creek Winery on the 27th was a real treat, always one of our best medium-length tours on great roads; see the complete report later in this issue. We also had our first monthly Board meeting at our new location, Mary’s Pizza Shack in Petaluma, which proved that it is quite central for our membership as we had the best attended meeting I’ve been to in 10 years. 

September and October will definitely have something for everyone. In addition to the Harvest Moon rally (taking place as you receive this der Riesenbaum), the New Member mixer otherwise known as the driving tour to Vacaville’s excellent Oktoberfest will take place on Saturday September 24th. The (free!) preferred parking and reserved tables in front of Pure Grain Bakery are just two reasons to get out your dirndls and lederhosen (in fact if you look at the official event page, you’ll see two familiar faces in costume!) Registration is open. Others of you will be on a separate multi-day tour to historic Murphys centered around the Ironstone Concours. Look for the article in next month’s dR but better yet, get out there and help write the story!

Before the next dR comes out, two highly-anticipated club events will take place in early October. First, our annual Concours this year on Sunday October 2nd (registration is open) will take place in downtown Sonoma on the Square. With the elements of extra detailing and the spirit of competition, this will bring phenomenally beautiful Porsches from both Redwood and our sister PCA regions into one fabulous location. There will even be a band sponsored by the City of Sonoma playing around noon!

The Annual Meeting to which all members are warmly invited will be Saturday October 8th. We are looking to gather outdoors in the spectacular Redwood grove at Chenoweth Woods, west of Sebastopol. Registration should be open when you read this and will include the choice of three ways to get there that I have been hawking for a few months: a long tour to the coast and back inland, a shorter gimmick rally, or on your own. This “state of the club” meeting includes lunch (BYOB) and the introduction of the new candidates for our Executive Council positions, whose terms begin in January.

Whether at our meeting or not, we are always looking for your creative energy! Many of the new ideas in the last two years (rallies, the long weekend at Murphys, midweek tours, a backstage racing team pass) came from members who brought their vision to the Board. Please email us directly or attend our monthly meeting on Tuesday September 27th at Mary’s Pizza Shack in Petaluma at 7 PM. Dinner is always on the club – you just pay for your drink. (Zoom will also available if you wish to attend remotely). Please see our calendar link at redwoodpca.org  for details.