Read Issue - Florida Crown Region

President’s Message
Ken Perry
I love my job. Really! Being the president of this region has its
ups and downs. The pay is non-existent and there are numerous
problems to solve, but that’s OK since most of us solve problems
for a living and have fun with it no matter what. What’s in it for
me? I get to have a hand in the fun stuff, work towards keeping
most people happy, and ensure any negative influences don’t
impact the club. It’s all in a day’s work, and I had many good
mentors along the way to show me how it’s done.
All of this could not happen if we didn’t have an amazing team of
board members who work hard and ask for little in return. Who
needs to delegate when you have a bunch of intelligent, self
motivated men and women who want the same thing?
Let’s start with our VP, Jeremy. He was able to organize the
board to produce our latest version of bylaws and is able to step in
with little notice. He’s a hard-working vice president. Who
would have thought that could happen?
Our membership chair, Bob Schmitt is great in keeping you and
me up to date on “stuff” and ensures new members are welcomed
properly. It’s crucial to reach out to folks once they join if we
want to see them at events, and he does it well.
Next is Ed Lustgarten who has taken on the role as treasurer. His
approach is results oriented and not dramatic. He was able to
work with a CPA to obtain non-profit status with the IRS as well
as keep the checkbook balanced.
Chuck Morrison has been our secretary for a couple of years now.
He takes amazing notes, and is able to create nice looking minutes
that serve as reminders to commitments and decisions. He makes
my life easier, that’s for darned sure.
Connie Schmitt is our newsletter editor and produces a
remarkable and easy read newsletter every month. She and
husband Bob work together to ensure we publish on time and
with interesting things to read. Ed Lustgarten and Chuck
Morrison are great about pitching in for Quality Assurance
services. Well done times 12!
Rusty Russ puts in uncounted hours organizing and
communicating about our social events and has the patience to
make it work when things don’t go according to plan. Of course,
when does it go according to plan? Because of him we have gone
to too many awesome places to count, got there in style, and had
lots of spirited driving en route.
Our Driver’s Education Chief Instructor role has changed
recently from Nick Grynkewich to Allen Shirley. Nick was the
motivation behind our successful “Ride Along” program where
club members over 18 can ride along for a couple of laps for
$25. Nick also organized our instructor school in January to
ensure we had enough qualified instructors to go around.
Taking the reins is Allen Shirley, a long time veteran of our
Driver’s Ed programs, to ensure we continue to provide the
best experience that we can.
Our club race program is alive and well with not one but two
races. The first is in October at Daytona that has been chaired
by Dave Rodenroth for the past two years. He says he wants to
step aside, but I am going to get a court order to make sure he
doesn’t!
Bob Linville has been our Club Race chair for our December
event at Roebling Road for two years now. We also need to
credit him for starting our Driver’s Ed program in the early
90s. He really has brought a bunch to the club and I may
include him in Dave’s court order!
I credit Mike Haile for keeping auto crossing alive. This event
seems to be hard for us to get going and to his credit found that
the Corvette Club is ready, willing, and able to welcome us at
their events. Bless you for not giving up.
Our Concours Chair, Steve Palmer, puts on a low key, fun, and
well organized event time after time. I look forward to his
events because of that. No white gloves here and thank
goodness for that.
Last, but not least, is our recent and reluctant acceptance of
Deborah Mobbs resignation as sponsorship chair. She brought
in a small fortune of sponsorship money for our club races and
then ran around to make sure the sponsors were happy. We
will miss her. Hey, maybe I can put her on Dave and Bob’s
court order too.
I want to close this month with a mention to a big supporter of
the board, Brumos. They have been more than generous with
us over the years and I am grateful for that. It’s nice to work
with a group of folks that care about the club and the members.
Chris Lifka has been our Driver’s Ed Registrar for some time
now. He has been able to turn the event around from a financial
aspect and at the same time making it more enjoyable for the
entrants. He saw our expenses hemorrhaging and closed the gap
while working hard to increase participation. His wonderful wife
Sharon has been at his side or behind the wheel proving the old
adage that “The family that tracks together stays together,” or
something like that.
4 Porscheklatsch June 2008