PCA Southeast Michigan Region

From the Blog

SEM PCA 2020: Drive Your Porsche Day 2020

This was the first driving tour that I organized for the Southeast Michigan Region of the Porsche Club of America. There were so many things on my mind and so many things I had to consider according to PCA guidelines, especially in current times with the Covid-19 rules. First I was looking for a restaurant near the end location and very quickly I found one, lucky me I thought. Then I found “Classics and Beyond Auto Gallery and Museum”, which is close to where I live. That would be my starting location, lucky again. With the help of Board Member Lucas Phan, the route was done in no time, yes, the third strike. From there it went downhill. The restaurant called saying they could not accommodate the number of people. Back on the hunt for another restaurant. Then “Classics and Beyond Auto Gallery and Museum,” said they were closed on Sundays. In a chat with the owners Vince and Brandon they said they were willing to open for a few hours. A few weeks later I found a restaurant that could fit our needs and regulations. I added an in-between-stop for a restroom break and Lucas adjusted the route accordingly. The Friday before the event we drove the route one last time, made minor adjustments and we were good to go.

On the day of the event, it was sunny with the temperature in the upper 70’s. Together with 48 Members in 31 cars including Board Members and Officers Michael Cohen with Marlene Thav, Lucas Phan, Mark Vander Eyk with wife Rene as well as Jim Williams and spouse Laurie made the trip on Sunday morning to the meeting location in Wayne. Everyone enjoyed the nice cars at “Classics and Beyond Auto Gallery and Museum” and the array of refreshments including non-alcoholic beverages, snacks, donuts, and a variety of fruit. Thank you to the owners for opening their doors on a Sunday for us and their staff for arranging everything very nicely. The in-between-stop was at “Lucas Nursery, Greenhouse and Gift Shop”. They offered us the use of their restrooms. The final location was at “BJ’s Restaurants and Brewhouse” in Livonia.

We had outside seating reservations under an open tent. The weather complied with the outside seating, it was not too warm or cold. As the cars began to arrive, the staff completed setting up the tables and made everyone comfortable. They went above and beyond their duties. In return, they enjoyed the Porsches and were amazed at the number of cars arriving in the parking lot. Thank you to Icis, our main waitress, who worked very hard and was almost like having three waitresses. Social distancing was practiced and masks were used. Many members were joined by family and/or friends.
The participants had to take part in the “Pick a Chip’’ game to win a prize. The “Pick a Chip’’ game went well, winners were Kelly Shoemake and guests plus Pat Ambrus.
Everyone went home with a thank you gift provided by Porsche AG, Stoddard NLA-LLC (Cleveland), and PCA National.
This was my first experience hosting an SEM event. I enjoyed it and am looking forward to next year. I appreciate all my volunteers including Lucas Phan, Gretus Hoogestraat, Chynna Christian, Cindy Cross, and Steve Unroe. They had arranged a time to volunteer and help keep things together. I couldn’t have done it without them.
Thank You, stay safe and I’ll see you next year.
3D printed Drive Your Porsche Day 2020 cars for the Pick Chip winners.

Pictures from the day: