2018 WERKS Reunion Amelia Island

Omni Amelia Island Plantation

March 9

CLASS WINNERS

P1 – 356 Closed

Pete Bartelli

1963 356 Carrera 2000 GS Coupe

P1A – 356 Open

Christian Carlsen

1965 356 Cabriolet

P2 – 1965-68 911/912

John Hodgson

1968 911S Soft Window Targa

P3 – 1969-73 911/912

Michael O’Krongly

1973 911T Targa

P4 – 1974-89 911/912E

Kevin Meany

1989 911 Turbo (930)

P5 – 1989-98 964/993

Edwin Martin

1996 911 Turbo (993)

P6 – 1999-2010 996/997

Kevin Fitzsimmons

2009 911 Carrera 4S

P6A 2011-Present 991

Doug McKee

2018 911 Carrera S Cabriolet

P7 – 914/914-6

Christopher Turner

1970 914-6

SPONSOR AWARDS

Pirelli

Bill Riddell

1969 911T

Porsche Cars North America (PCNA)

Richard Papy

1979 911 Turbo

Cobb Tuning

John Volchko

2012 Boxster Spyder

Griot’s Garage

Mark Erbesfield

1973 911 RSR Tribute

Leland West

Matt Peckham

1955 356 Speedster

Sunday, November 5 – Open House at Bill Amos’ Car Collection in Yulee.

Bill Amos is one of our Florida Crown Region Members and he has graciously offered to open his “airplane Hanger” car storage facility for members to view his collection of Porsches and other sports cars, as well as all his other collectables and memorabilia.  This will be a brunch time gathering, with live music. 

You won’t want to miss this very special opportunity.  More details to come.

The annual Florida Crown Region Holiday Party is set for Tuesday December 12^th at Jacksonville Golf and Country Club.

As usual we have a terrific evening planned to celebrate the season. A great menu has been ordered with champagne, hor d’oeuvres and your choice of Cedar Roasted Salmon or Oak Grilled Tenderloin of Beef. More details to come.

Remember: Hold these dates

November 5^th – Bill Amos Open House

December 12^th – PCA Holiday Party at Jacksonville Golf and CC

DELIVERY OF FIRST PORSCHE…AND THEN SOME

By Thomas W. Herren

Florida Crown Region – Porsche Club of America

The photos that accompany my article were taken in 1959 at the Porsche factory in Stuttgart when I toured the factory prior to accepting delivery of my new Porsche 356 1600S coupe. I was finishing a three-year tour of duty with the U.S. Army’s 4^th Armored Division based in Erlangen, Germany, which started in August 1957. While my association with the Army lasted for 25 years, my association with Porsche has been going strong for over 55 years.

My engagement with sports cars began in Germany with the purchase of a new Triumph TR3, which gave me the opportunity to participate in the Scuderia Hanseat driver’s school on the famed Nurburgring in August 1959. I did well enough in the school to feel I was capable of competing in the sport a little more seriously, and I placed 7^th overall in a group of 133 drivers, and second in class at the ‘Ring. Stirling Moss (long before being knighted by the Queen), and Wolfgang von Trips were among our instructors, along with Leo Levine, Eberhard Mahle, Heinz Meier, Helmut Schulze and Hans Stuck, Sr. My greatest memory of that driving experience was the performance of the Porsches I watched on the track. I ordered my first Porsche when I got back to Erlangen.

My Porsche was delivered in time for me to enter Norisringrenne, a “local” racing event held at Nuremberg in July of 1960, and also prior to my return to the U.S. When back in the states, I was stationed at Ft. Benning, GA, where I joined both PCA and SCCA and drove my first stateside race at Savannah’s fledgling Roebling Road Racetrack. I followed up with races at Courtland, AL; Corry Field, Pensacola, FL; and Osceola, FL.

My military assignments included Korea, followed by ROTC Instructor duty at the University of Rhode Island, a tour in Vietnam, and then followed by a year at Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. By the time I started duty at the Pentagon in 1970, my Porsche ownership and participation were at a low level. I then found my Porsche action at Summit Point Raceway, which was conveniently located about an hour from my home in Falls Church, VA. For the next 15 years, I was an instructor at that great track for the Potomac Region of PCA.

Overall, my romance with Porsche includes ownership of more than 20 models, ranging from that 1960 356 to include a Speedster, seven 911s, two 928s, a 924, two 944s, four 993s, a Cayman, and two 997s. Other than Porsches, I have also enjoyed a Mercedes 300SL, Ferrari 330GT, and an Alfa Romeo 1600, along with a collection of family sedans. I will confess that all this automobile experience started in Seoul, South Korea, in a 1942 war surplus Willys Jeep my father gave me at age 14.

Upon my retirement from defense contractor work that followed me from my Pentagon days and my Army retirement, my wife, Peggy, and I moved to Jacksonville in 1993. These last 22-plus years have been spent enjoying the many Florida Crown Region events at Roebling Road, as well as serving as President of the region from 1997-2001. I’m proud to say that my son is now using the same Roebling Road today that I taught him “how to” on 25 years ago.

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