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Driving Tour – “Season Opener” – May 13, 2023
The GMR is pleased to start the 2023 driving season with a driving tour organized by Nico Seldon. This drive is rife with well-maintained curvy roads and beautiful river views that will take us from Vermont to New Hampshire and back to Vermont. Click here for more information.
To register for the tour please click here or enter motorsportreg.com/ in your browser. If you have any questions please drop a line to gmrpca@gmail.com.
Don’t miss the April 8th GMR New Member Welcome & Season Kick-Off
All GMR Members are Welcome
Registration is now open
8 April 2023 / 11.00am to 2.00pm / Capitol Plaza Hotel, 100 State St. Montpelier, VT 05602
Since our last new member welcome in June 2022, 18 Porsche owners have joined the Green Mountain Region of PCA (with more to come over the coming months). This year the Club would like to extend a special welcome to these new members at our New Member Welcome & Season Kick-off Meeting.
Needless to say, this event is for all members new and returning.
This event will take place from 11.00am – 2.00pm at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Montpelier on Saturday, April 8, 2023.
The program will include a buffet luncheon, a preview of GMR’s 2023 calendar of events, an open forum and most important, a chance to socialize with like minded Porsche owners and friends.
The lunch menu will be a “deli buffet” that will feature an assortment of premium deli meats and cheeses, tuna salad with lemon and capers, green salad, coffee or tea, and dessert. The cost for lunch is $30/per person.
It is important that we provide the hotel with an accurate count of attendees so please register no later than 1 April 2023. To register, please click here.
Welcome New Members
- William Withum, 2001 Boxster
- Ilan Weitzen, 2008 Cayman S
- John Layton, 1987 944
- Derrick Senior, 2012 911 Turbo S Cabriolet
- Matthew Hannon, 1991 911 Carrera Cabriolet
- Charles Dinklage, 2009 Boxster
- Alan Kirkpatrick, 2016 Cayenne Diesel
- Stephen Schmida, 2017 911S Carrera S
GMR’s membership continues to grow with 204 primary members and 129 affiliate members as of October 1, 2022. If you are a new member and we have not acknowledged you in the Green Mountain Mountaineer Newsletter please email Sandy Gilmour at gmrpca@gmail.com. Click here for more information about PCA and how to join.
Thank You – GMR 2022 Charity Fundraiser – Thank You
The Green Mountain Region’s 2022 has now drawn to a successful close. Our two beneficiaries were the Vermont Foodbank and the Vermont Automobile Enthusiasts (VAE) Golden Wrench Scholarship Fund. As was done over the past few years GMR member donations were supplemented with GMR and PCA matching grants. The final numbers follow…
- Total Donations: $5,081.00
- Beneficiary Breakdown
- Vermont Foodbank – $3,506
- 17 Member Donations: $2,131.00
- GMR Match: $1,000.00
- PCA Match: $375.00
- VAE Golden Wrench Scholarship Fund – $1,575.00
- Member Donations: $600.00
- GMR Match: $600.00
- PCA Match: $375.00
- Vermont Foodbank – $3,506
2022 Member Survey Results
As you may recall the Board conducted a member survey during Q4 2022. All GMR primary and affiliate members, approximately 300 in total, were invited to respond and we had a 12% response rate. The responses, which contained a few surprises, will be used as a guide by the Board as the 2023 Event Calendar is put together over the coming weeks. To everyone who responded we thank you.
Click here to see a summary of responses
Recap – GMR Driving Tour & Annual Meeting/Luncheon (October 15, 2022)
Driving Tour
The valley fog lifted in time for the GMR to hold the final driving tour of the 2022 season. Lou Krieg and Board member Anne Pettyjohn led about 18 cars from Williston to the Sugarbush Resort traveling through the mountains and gaps. The fall foliage against the deep blue sky illustrated why Vermont is such a special place to live and play!
2022 Annual Meeting / Election of Officers
Upon arrival at Sugarbush, the GMR Annual Meeting was opened and the election for officers was conducted. Nominating Committee chair, Lou Krieg, announced the Committee’s recommended slate of candidates [President, Alessandro Iuppa; Vice President, Ben Curran; Secretary, Susan Eastman; and Treasurer, Christina McCaffrey]. No further nominations were made from the floor and the new slate was elected unanimously. Once the formal meeting was completed a delicious buffet lunch was served and the socializing began in earnest. During the course of lunch several members took turns driving a remote control Porsche GT3 around the bar – suffice to say they were all more proficient with their own cars on real roads. Several items were raffled off including a collectors GMR/Automasters jacket, a remote control Porsche GT3 and 4 GMR gift certificates.
A Wonderful September Day for a Tour
Approximately 20 Porsches and 36 enthusiasts turned out on a spectacularly beautiful early fall day to take in 96 miles of some of Vermont and New Hampshire’s best back country roads. We gathered in Brownsville and headed to the Cornish-Windsor covered bridge to cross the bi-state border across the Connecticut River. The bridge is 156 years old and until 2008, when the Smolen–Gulf Bridge opened in Ohio, it had been the longest covered bridge (still standing) in the United States. From there we headed south passing iconic NH farms and fields until we reached Charlestown, NH and crossed back over the Connecticut River and back into Vermont. Once back on “home territory” we headed through the sleepy village of Saxton’s River home to Vermont Academy Prep School. More scenic byways lead us down into Putney where we took a break at the Putney Coop. Jason and his navigator /chocolate lab Moxie joined us in their classic maroon colored Boxster.
After a relaxing break we motored south to a short cut over to West Dummerston and Route 30 driving through another single lane covered bridge. Heading west now we passed by the Townsend Dam and eventually into Jamaica, and Londonderry picking up the infamous Route 100. Turning north now we made our way to the town of Weston and The Vermont Country Store. Relatively traffic free roads and lots of freshly paved sections made for a delightful day exercising our favorite sports cars. Thanks to Al Iuppa and Anne Valentine for laying out a scenic and fun route. Fall in the Green Mountains doesn’t get any better than this!
A Great Day for a BBQ
A big thank you to Lee and Brenda Roy for hosting GMR members at the 2022 Potluck BBQ. The sun shone bright and warm as 40 members gathered at their Goodsell Point home on Mallets Bay.
While we had plenty of burgers and hot dogs as the main course the guests went above and beyond with their potluck contributions that included wonderful appetizers, salads and desserts. Lee organized two Porsche themed contests that tested our ability to follow simple and direct instructions and the other tested estimating skills. For the former, guests were asked to answer about 15 questions with all relevant clues within 200 feet of BBQ grills. I’m not sure what the results say about the group but low number of correct responses was impressive. That said, Susan Eastman managed to finish first with the most correct anwsers. The latter required guests to estimate the number of Lego pieces in the Porsche 911 GT3 RS model built by Lee and Brenda. The winner was Don Jones who’s estimate of 3,000 pieces was closest, the correct total was 2,704.
A glorious day for a July “Porsche” drive
The Green Mountain Region’s July 2022 Tour was a rousing success. Thanks to tour leader, Brad Kennison, we had a great 63 mile drive from South Burlington to Middlesex. The tour took us on well paved country roads, twists and turns including a west to east ascent and descent on the App Gap [Rt 17]. After a short leg down Route 100 south we stopped at the Warren Store for a short break and snack. The final leg started with us proceeding to Waitsfield on the East Warren Road with its spectacular views of Sugarbush, the Green Mountains and Mad River Valley. From there we had a pleasant ride through Moretown to our destination at the Red Hen Baking Company in Middlesex. Click here for a link to the driving route.
Note: Our driving tours are always in need of middle and sweep radio communication assistants. If you are willing to help or have a question, please drop us a line at gmrpca@gmail.com ahead of time to allow for coordination. Doing so will expedite the tour start and more important, allows for a more efficient and enjoyable drive.
GMR Welcomes New Members
The Green Mountain Region welcomed new members at the New Member Welcome event on Saturday, June 18th at the DoubleTree by Hilton in South Burlington. While the weather was more reminiscent of late March rather than June the cold wind and moist air did not dampen the mood of the attendees. To those new members who could not make this event we look forward to seeing you at upcoming GMR event.
October 15, 2022 – GMR Annual Meeting & Officer Election
The GMR Annual Meeting and luncheon will once again be held at the Sugarbush Resort. The 2022 business meeting is an important one as we will hold the election of officers in addition to other business. Ann Pettyjohn and Lou Krieg are planning a driving tour to Sugarbush from the Burlington area and we hope to have a similar tour from south central Vermont.
Responses to the – “What is your favorite Vermont drive?”
- From Tom De Moya
- The Mountain Loop.
- The “best kept secret in NY”. This one has all my secrets.
- From Skip Wareham [While the following are just sections and not a loop they could easily be made into one]
- Route 17 – Route 100 in Waitsfield to Route 116 in Bristol
- Route 232 – Route 302 in Groton to Route 2 in Marshfield
- Route 140 – Route 103 in East Wallingford to Route 30 in Poultney
- Skyline Drive – Route 7A in Arlington to Mount Equinox Summit
- Route 132 – Route 14 in Sharon to Route 5 in Norwich
- Route 73 – Route 100 in Rochester to Route 7 in Brandon
- Route 125 – Route 100 in Hancock to Route 7 in Middlebury
- Lincoln Gap Road – Route 100 in Warren to Route 116 in Bristol
- Route 102 – Route 3 in Guildhall to Route 114 in Canaan
- Route 108 – Route 100 in Stowe to Route 15 in Jeffersonville
- Camp Brook Rd-Bethel Mountain Road – Route 100 to Route 12 in Bethel
- Route 242 – Route 118 in Montgomery to Route 101 in North Troy
- Route 9 – Route 7 in Bennington to Route 5 in Brattleboro
- East-West Rd. – Route 30 in West Dummerston to Route 5 in Brattleboro
If you are willing to share a route or two please send a description to gmrpca@gmail.com.
Southern Vermont Weekend (August 20 & 21)
GMR Member Dave Kaynor was good enough to share some photos from the May 15 Tour.
Would you like to have a Green Mountain Name Badge for GMR Events?
If so, name tags can be ordered by emailing a request to our Treasurer, Christina McCaffrey at gmrpca@gmail.com. The cost is $20 per badge. Be sure to spell your name(s) correctly! All members and spouses/ significant others are encouraged to use the name badges on tours and other club events.
Green Mountain Region Board Meetings. Are you interested in “attending” our Board meetings? The Board meets on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 6.30pm EDT via video conference. If you would like to join a meeting please email gmrpca@gmail.com to request the Zoom logistics.
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