der Riesenbaum Redwood Region Newsletter Porsche Club of America Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma

Transcription

1 der Riesenbaum Redwood Region Newsletter Porsche Club of America Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Marin, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma March 2009 Issue III, Volume III; electronic newsletter Bill Walters, editor Kurt Fischer, assistant editor See us on the web at: Peter Ritter in his new GT3 RS, Pt. Reyes breakfast run. John Jackson pic.

2 R E D W O 0 D R E G I O N President's Message Kurt Fischer Happy March to everyone, looks like spring has sprung into gear...weather is shaping up nicely for more great Redwood Region events! Let me recap our last few events. 80 people for the TRG tech session! This is the second largest event that we have had in recent years. In addition, 54 people on the last Breakfast run to Pt. Reyes Station House Café. See the stories in this issue. This Saturday is our 1st Autocross of 2009 at the Santa Rosa Airport with our new Autocross Chairman, David Bunch. David promises good weather and a great course. We expect many drivers as ESCA folks will be joining us. Come out and learn the fine art of car control in a safe environment. Upcoming is our first microbrewery tour set up for March 28 sponsored by Rob and Mary Neidel. See the article in this issue! April 4, 2009 has us on another Breakfast Run to Rancho Nicasio where we have 55 people already signed up! Rancho Nicasio has a huge room, so sign up for this event! ESCA (Empire Sports Car Association) has a great little gimmick rally set up for April 5, All the details are on our website calendar. If you have never done a rally, this is the place to learn rallying in a relaxed friendly way for ESCA's charity. Like our Breakfast Runs? We are at Stormy's on April 18, 2009! This is a new venue for us and has great food, etc. We did visit them last year and had a great time! Check out Jerry Gladstone's plea for Redwood Region cyclists. He looks good in the Redwood Region jersey. I know we have a number of cyclists in this group... keep to the right and share the road with cars! For those of you that have signed up for the Parade in Keystone, CO, our member Don Magdanz has a condominium in the Keystone area and Don suggests that if you have not made hotel reservations that deals can be made on condo's about 1 mile from the Parade headquarters. These condo's are empty during the summertime and in this economy, we are betting that real deals can be made with the condo owners! See this link for all the places available!

3 Ok... all the details are available on the new Porsche Panamera, the prices, the interior shots. Be the 1st person on your block to own the latest Porsche which will be available later this year. Wow... are we having fun yet? The events are being listed fast and furiously, on our website calendar! Get used to using it for all the details on upcoming events! and click on calendar! As always, keep the shiny side up on our great Redwood Region roads. Want me... need me? Here I am... truk50@ix.netcom.com Editor's Corner Bill Walters One thing about Sausalito is the extreme amount of bicyclists. It is really a perfect place for the activity with its relative flatness and scenery plus the fact that Mike's Bikes is at the northern end of the strip. Not that I mind the bikes, but you have to be constantly aware of the bikes as a driver. Those visiting are not always aware and one can tell from the telltale sirens from time to time. Which I guess brings me around to our last breakfast run, the one to Pt. Reyes. A very colorful event with lots and lots of bicyclists. I don't mind driving around them at all and I know it un-nerves others but it's a sharing world. We are fortunate that there have been no incidents at least since I've been with the club and I hope our runs continue to be safe. Watching from the middle of our stream of cars, I notice that we all seem to give them a wide birth as we pass. In Sausalito, it's a little more aggressive from both sides and sometimes there is a loser. Be careful out there! And I'm not finished. Our secretary, Mr. Jerry Gladstone, has advanced an idea for the creation of a Porsche Club bicycle team to participate in the many Bay Area charity rides. Scroll down to read up on this and contact Jerry to join him. On another topic, I have left my office in San Francisco to work from home after 30 years in the City. I don't have any conflicting feelings about this in fact I received much support and it actually feels good spending more time working at my 'new' office. And the cat receives more attention! You can still reach me by and the cell; no

4 changes there, just closer to most of you. In fact, I believe we have about a dozen members within shouting distance in the hamlet. Fun stuff already and you're still smashing records for venue attendance. This club really does work! Thank the folks around you who do and host this work as they are all volunteers making this happen. Enjoy what we have and please feel free to comment or contribute where you see fit. Your editor accepts articles, stories and photos gladly. Our Board meetings are also open to the club and you are welcome to sit in and contribute ideas in this forum as well. That's how I got started, and they put me to work! Stuffing envelopes. And I still came back. So, read on, there are articles from Kurt, me and Jerry and great pics from John Jackson, and Tim Shore. Check out our advertisers and classifieds and get to know our Board as well. Ed. Calendar of Events This is an abbreviated calendar...for all the details on each event use our full calendar on the Redwood Region website! > < March March 3, Registration for the 2009 Porsche Parade opens ion.aspx March 7, Breakfast run to the Pt Reyes Station House Cafe - RSVP to Bill Walters william@waltersarchitects.net or cell March 14, st Autocross of Contact David Bunch for questions david.bunch@sbcglobal.net or March 28, Hoppy Easter Beer Tour - RSVP to Mary Neidel salinahs@yahoo.com April April 4, Breakfast run to Rancho Nicasio - RSVP to Bill Walters william@waltersarchitects.net or cell April 11, Autocross #2 - Contact David Bunch for questions david.bunch@sbcglobal.net or April 18, Breakfast Run to Stormy's Cafe

5 Get Involved! Jerry Gladstone

6 The Redwood Region Porsche Club is about our great cars, great people and our outstanding events. It takes many people behind the scenes to assure that the club functions well and that we all have lots of fun. Since our Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with our 40th Anniversary Party in July, we need to get an early start on identifying those of you who are interested in volunteering to help run the club. A nominating committee chaired by Past President David Bunch has been formed; Bret Boutet and Mac Cranford will work with Dave on this important task. The positions to be filled for 2010 are: President - elected office Vice President - elected office Treasurer - elected office Secretary - elected office Membership Director - appointed Social Director - appointed Autocross Director - appointed Safety Director - appointed Concours Chair - appointed Advertising Director - appointed Newsletter Editor - appointed Webmaster - appointed Goodie Store Director - appointed

7 Northern Representative(s) - appointed The four officers will be elected by the general membership in an October ballot. The 2010 elected officers will appoint the other board positions. If you are interested in serving in any of these capacities, please reply with your interests(s) to David Bunch ( or david.bunch@sbcglobal.net), Bret Boutet ( or PCARRMembership@windsorspecialty.com) or Mac Cranford ( or mcran@orionre.com). If you already hold a board position and would like to continue in that or another position, we need your response too. Serving on the board is a lot of fun and another way to get involved with your club. Experience is not required as there are always people to help you get started. TRG Tech Session - February 21, 2009 Kurt Fischer; John Jackson and Mac Cranford pics.

8 What do 80 Redwood Region members do on a cloudy Saturday in Petaluma? We go to a tech session at the famed Porsche race shop...kevin Buckler's "The Racing Group"! I arrived at 10:20AM and close behind me were the Redwood Region contingency from Humboldt and Del Norte Counties, Jim Giampaolo and his son Cody, new member Merle McDougall and his son, Ian along with Milann and Rose Marie Reynolds. To travel 4+ hours to a Redwood Region event is a testament to the quality of our functions! Greeting us from TRG were Scott Smith, Peter Thomas, Kjell Kallman and Martin Steger. These TRG people bring a wealth of information and years of experience with our favorite marque...porsche! The format was simple... TRG would examine selected cars up on their lift for comments on suspensions, brakes, tires and of course, the mysterious "oil" leaks that Porsches will exhibit from time to time. It is one thing to jack up your car in your garage to look at work that needs to be done versus seeing it up on a lift where all is visible and easy to work on!

9 We featured the cars of Jim Giampaolo ( SC Weissach), Mike Burns ( Turbo), Mitch Rossi (highly modified S), Milann Reynolds ( Turbo), Don Cameron (1983 SC Cab) and Chuck Fell ( ). A great group of cars representing the diverse selection of Porsches from our Redwood Region members! Scott Smith from TRG, armed with his flashlight and "oil" rag was underneath each car, pointing out the good... the bad and the not so good with all of us milling around poking our fingers at shocks, springs, tie rods and the small oil leaks and commenting and asking questions of Scott and his extensive knowledge of Porsches. See the pictures in this article to get a sense of the chaos as we all had a million questions to ask. The cars up on the lift were in overall excellent shape with only very small areas that needed attention and normal with the care and feeding of Porsches. A testament to the fine engineering that Porsche has out into their cars over the last 60 years and to the excellent work of our members with many aftermarket parts. There was also a table of TRG parts for sale and I saw a number of people take home goodies that they needed. The TRG race shop is a true treasure trove of cars, race parts and that spare Grand AM racecar for a measly $185K. Several people commented that the Redwood Region should pitch in and buy that car. I laughed and said we would have a major fight on who would drive it! Since we were limited to 4 hours at TRG, we all ate our lunches on the fly while the cars rotated on the lift. About 12:00 noon, the big oak doors of Adobe Road Winery opened and we slowly made our way into the vaulted tasting room for a 5 wine taste of Kevin's excellent award winning stock. Adobe Road featured a Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and my favorite...zinfandel. Not only does Kevin Buckler's TRG do race winning cars... his wines are to die for! The man has the golden touch on anything he sets his mind to! TRG had a raffle drawing of dynamite race posters, TRG T-shirts and five of our members took home nice souvenirs of their day at TRG. It was a great day... perfect to break up the winter months where Porsche driving events are slim. It was old

10 members and new members gathering for tech talk, tire kicking, wine tasting and general camaraderie...a great way to kick off our 2009 season! Many thanks to the TRG staff for hosting us Redwood Region Porsche crazies and we look forward to more events at TRG! We are proud to count Kevin Buckler as a Redwood Region member... other Regions are jealous! Mac Cranford pic. Peter Dempsey with prize. Photo(s) of the Month Ed.

11 Sebring, March 20th Another cool GT story I found. This car, shown in the hairpin and then down Sebring's flat-out back straight, was piloted by Steve Behr, John Buffum and Charles (Pete) Conrad. The same Pete Conrad that commanded Apollo 12 and was the 3rd man to walk on the moon! The number 29 car also finished 29th with a DNF as it did not complete the required minimum number of laps. Also of note in this race, the Gregg/Haywood finished 14th. The next year, 5th, the next year, 1st. The '71 race was won by the Elford/Larrousse 917.

12 For the curious, the other 3 cars from left to right are; a Ferrari 312P, Gulf-Porsche 917-damaged, and the fabulous Ferrari 512M of Mark Donahue owned by Roger Penske. I thought the driver of the 914 was waving with his left arm, but that is a pylon as these were necessary when the flooding rains came and you couldn't see the pavement... Breakfast Run to Pt. Reyes Station House Cafe, 7 March 2009 Bill Walters, pics by John Jackson & Tim Shore I believe the Almighty owns a Porsche. And the Almighty loves breakfast runs. In the last five years, at least, we have not had rains interrupt any of our runs. I've probably just jinxed it though, right? Saturday, March 7th was an exceptional day with mild temps and a clear robin's egg colored sky. This was our second scheduled breakfast run, this time for a visit to Pt. Reyes Station House Café; a favorite. A month earlier, I had around 42 of you signed up and the numbers were climbing daily, so Bob Hall, our run leader, arranged with the restaurant to seat 60. Could this be? 60? Well, we climbed to 60 a week later and I had 5 more on a waiting list. On this perfect morning, a total of 54 of you made it out including two newbies with some pretty cool rides. Richard Gale came out with his original '74 Carrera RS complete with green trim and ducktail and Peter Ritter made the trip with his son Michael in a spankin' new orange GT3 RS. How's that for toys?!

13 Tim Shore pics. Conversations were pretty fun in the parking lot as I suppose there would be with 50 people hanging out with a common goal. We had a constant mimicking by a small band of starlings crackling about in the surrounding trees. We waited a tad past 9:30 am for Kurt to round us up for the driver's meeting and announcements and with that said, Bob had us lining up to embark on our run. His tour had us travel just up 101 to the Atherton Exit headed out past the homes along San Marin Drive out to Novato Blvd, which meanders up and down past the farming countryside out to the 'T' intersection with Petaluma Road. Turn right, rev it up for a quarter mile and then take the left onto Hicks Valley Road, through some horse country until it also 'T's' with Petaluma-Marshall Road then up and over and out into Marshall. Now I have to pause here to describe the country. When I used to live in Petaluma, the locals referred to this area as "God's Country". That's very apparent on this particular Saturday. I mentioned, we had a cloudless blue sky. The rolling hills were just emerald in blankets of grasses and alfalfa. Mustard made gashes of glaring yellow in broad strokes and old rustic fences contrasted their patterns in shadowed black. Practically everywhere were plum and apple blossoms just emerging alongside budding spring leaves. Even the oaks looked great with their rain washed limbs and trunks. Throw in a smattering of brown and black cows, some horses and sheep, the chortling of redwing blackbirds and you get the picture. Oh yea. Now imagine a train of thundering Porsches, lights ablaze, in stunning red, orange, green, black and yes, even white, to dazzle the eye. The rest of the trip is that wonderful gently winding stretch of Hwy 1 running alongside Tomales Bay with its cold cobalt waters. I think we were averaging around 70 miles an hour through here passing rotting boat hulls and teams of coots, not to mention the scads of cyclists. This leads us right into Pt. Reyes were we parked in front and in back of the restaurant. Get out, stretch the legs and get on in to eat! Our selections were placed on special a Porsche Menu prepared by the staff with eight items ranging from your burger to a salmon sandwich, Mexican omelet to fish and chips. I believe there was a sampling of the entire menu just by looking around the tables. Because of our numbers, we split up between the usual back room that handles about 40, and the main dining room where the rest of you found adjoining tables. And that back room gets loud! You have to practically yell at the person across the table from you to be heard, in this case, Tom Strobel received an earful from me on many topics.

14 Around the tables; Dena & Steve Lash, Joe McCrary & Susan Leick, Kaye Jackson, Anna Everett & Joe Kennedy, Holger & Martina Seibert, me & Lynn, Suzana & Cary Weltken and Wendy(peeking) & Tom Strobel. The food was delish as usual and there was a light round of accompanying beverages to assist. We shattered the old record for attendance that I believe was 45, so we continue to thrive and enjoy the camaraderie of the club and our wonderful venues. Be proud of yourselves, and give thanks to Bob and Kurt and the owners and staff at the Station. Nice job all around. See you in Nicasio! Steve Davis, George & Shirley Neidel, Dan Lewis & Julianne Anshutz, Bret Boutet, Vern Rogers & Susan Stuart, Alan Straub & Rosemary Machado, LaVonne & Dave Benson, Larry & Joanne Robison and Bruni Thylin.

15 Jose Garcia, Charlie & Antoinette Alegria, Don Magdanz, Cris Fischer, Bob Hall, Kurt Fischer, Bruce & Cheryl Lawton, Tim Shore and Dave Lundgren. Of interest... Bill Walters & Fred Nelson

16 Taken shortly before the 1960 Le Mans race, the Porsche 718RS of Edgar Barth & Wolfgang Siedel finishing 11th overall, 6th place in S class. Note curved windows. The following was sent by club member Fred Nelson and we thought it would be of interest. Greetings, In June 1960 my mother and father flew to Paris just prior to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and purchased, at the Mercedes Benz dealership on the Champs d' Elysees, a SL Mercedes for $3,500. This car was purchased for 2 reason's, #1 - he was unable to get another 356 at the Porsche factory and, somewhere that I've yet to be able uncover, I have a letter from Dr. Porsche to my dad indicating that he, Dr. Porsche, would be; 'unable to chisel another car from that summer's delivery schedule for my dad'. (I know I have that letter someplace!). The 2nd reason my dad bought the Gullwing was as an homage of sorts to his friend Juan Manuel Fangio who'd driven the W196 Mercedes & 300 SLR's to many victories. Below are some pictures shot by my father, John, at the 1960 race- If there are enough old timers left who might find this stuff of interest then feel free to use them. Fred Winners Olivier Gendebien (L) and Paul Frere driving a Ferrari 250 TR-59/60. Frere would continue driving & writing for Porsche excelling in both. Ed.

17 Membership Report Bret Boutet

18 The March 2009 membership report covers activity for February New members: 4 Xfer in: 4 Xfer out: 0 Renewal: 26 Non-renewal: 9 Dual members: 12 Official members: 515 FIRST NAME New Members LAST NAME CITY Affiliate/FM CAR John Conover Saint Helena, CA Bradley Koeberer Sonoma, CA George Schikore Petaluma, CA w-karla Schikore 87 Carrera Richard Wahlberg Novato, CA w-mary Wahlberg 86 Carrera Transfers In FIRST NAME LAST NAME CITY Affiliate/FM CAR Xfer From Bill Kim Santa Rosa, CA 07 Cayman LVS Michael Mills San Rafael, CA a-lorie Sweeney Carrera Fred Scholz Napa, CA w-patricia Scholz DIA William Walsh San Francisco, CA w-lee Walsh 08 Cayman GGR DIA Anniversaries (5 years and over) YEARS NAME LOCATION ANN DATE 41 George Payne Santa Rosa, CA 03/01/ Marvin Goss Mc Kinleyville, CA 03/01/ Raymond Bonneau Novato, CA 03/01/ David Derr Mill Valley, CA 03/01/ Lawrence Brackett Sonoma, CA 03/01/ Kurt Fischer Santa Rosa, CA 03/01/ William Johnson Mill Valley, CA 03/01/ Dominic Arcuri Petaluma, CA 03/01/ Katherine Forsythe San Francisco, CA 03/01/ John Rollings Kentfield, CA 03/01/ Mitchell Rossi San Rafael, CA 03/01/ Frank Bennallack Ukiah, CA 03/01/ Tancredi Damore Corte Madera, CA 03/01/2002

19 7 John Switzer Sonoma, CA 03/01/ Timothy Tilghman Petaluma, CA 03/01/ Walter Vennemeyer Mill Valley, CA 03/01/ Mitch Branson Napa, CA 03/01/ Joe Burroughs Santa Rosa, CA 03/01/ James Howell Kelseyville, CA 03/01/ Bill Kim Santa Rosa, CA 03/01/ Doug McDonald Novato, CA 03/01/ Peter Schlosser San Rafael, CA 03/01/ Sam Silverman Sausalito, CA 03/01/ Steve Thomas Healdsburg, CA 03/01/ Roy Thylin Santa Rosa, CA 03/01/2004 Bret Boutet Membership Chair Redwood Region, PCA pcarrmembership@windsorspecialty.com Board Meeting Minutes Jerry Gladstone Board Meeting Minutes February 24 th, 2009, Chevy's, Novato President Kurt Fischer called the meeting to order at 7:12 pm. Attendees: President Kurt Fischer, Vice President and der Riesenbaum Editor Bill Walters, Treasurer Lynn Walters, Secretary Jerry Gladstone, Zone 7 Representative Sharon Neidel, Goodie Store Director, Autocross Director and Past President David Bunch, Membership Director Bret Boutet, Advertising Director Bob Hall, Webmaster Barbara McCrory, Social Chair Mary Neidel, Autocross Registrar Becky Cranford and member Rob Neidel. Minutes: The minutes of previous meeting were approved as submitted. Zone 7 Representative's Report: Sharon gave an extensive report on her trip to the PCA winter board meeting in New Orleans; she also attended training sessions for new zone representatives. Some of the

20 highlights of her report include: Zone 7 President's meeting will be on March 22 nd. The Panamera will debut at the Singapore Auto Show in the fall. PCA now has 100,000 members including affiliates. A new PCA.org website will be online soon; it was previewed at the meeting. The upcoming Parade will be the last in the format we know. Starting in 2010 PCA (national) will put on the Parades with assistance from local regions Parade will be in Chicago. Reviewed the Escape schedule. Outlined changes in insurance, competition, news about new Porsche cars, etc. Sharon suggested RR consider trying for the "Region of the Year" award. President's Report: The tech session and wine tasting event at TRG was attended by 80 people - our largest event since the 35 th Anniversary Party. There were even 8 attendees from our northern branch (Eureka area). The upcoming Point Reyes Breakfast Run is already maxed with 60 sign ups and 3 on the waiting list. The catering menu for the 40 th Anniversary Party was discussed and modified with chicken rather than beef as the main entrée item; a new price with be sought from Park Avenue Catering. It is expected to come in at about $35 per person. Reminder: Parade registration is coming up at the beginning of March. Vice President's Report: Working with Bob Hall organizing the Point Reyes Breakfast Run. Inquired about Redwood Region attendees at Parade; Sharon will provide information after registration closes. The Marin County Concours will conflict with the May 17 th GrandAm race at Laguna Seca. Treasurer's Report: January's activities resulted in a negative income of $ leaving RR with total assets of $17, Secretary's Report: Clarified Bylaw procedures for voting on the expenditure of Region funds. Proposed that $2.50 of each autocross entry fee be placed into reserve for the purchase of new and replacement equipment. Based on previous year's autocross participation and equipment needs this reserve will make autocross selfsupporting -- and there will not be any increase in autocross entry fees. The Board voted to adopt this procedure. Lynn will create the reserve item within RR's financial statements. Initiated the creation of the nominating committee for 2010 officers. According to Bylaws, the most recent Past President usually chairs this committee - Dave Bunch accepted the responsibility. Two Members are needed to round out the committee; Bret Boutet volunteered; Mac Cranford will be asked if he is willing to join the committee. Jerry will prepare an article on this for the next dr. Suggested that we form a Redwood Region cycling team (yes, bicycling) to participate in local charity rides to raise money for a variety of charities. The idea met with enthusiasm; there will be an article in the next der Riesenbaum with some additional information. We do have a good number of cyclists among our membership. der Riesenbaum Editor's Report: Next issue to be published after the Point Reyes Breakfast Run. Estimated delivery date is March 10 th. Readership is now up to 60% from the previous mark of 55%. Articles will be sent to Panorama for potential publication. Advertising Director's Report: Checks from Tillman's and S-Car-Go were received ($400). Reported economic difficulties many of the Porsche service shops were facing and their reluctance to buy advertising space. Goodie Store: $55 was sold at the last breakfast run; there will not be a Goodie Store at the Point Reyes Breakfast Run. The Goodie Store will be at the March 14 th autocross. Autocross Director's Report: The first autocross of 2009 will be on March 14 th. The event is planned to be beginner oriented. Some of the new autocross equipment has started to arrive. Membership Report: All is well with membership slightly up to 517. Badges for new members are on order. Webmaster's Report: Take a look at the website, it is evolving and updated as of last Friday.

21 Concours Chairman's Report: No report Social Chairman's Report: The beer tasting tour -- "Hoppy Easter Tour" - is on for March 28 th. Details of the breweries to be visited, food options and costs are coming soon. CASA: Having a "black tie" fundraising banquet on March 28 th. Tickets are $100 per person. Old/New Business: None Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 31 st at 7:00 pm at Maguire's Pub in Petaluma. President Kurt Fischer adjourned the meeting at 9:21 pm. Calling All Cyclists! Jerry Gladstone Many of us Porsche enthusiasts are also avid cyclists -- we ride for many reasons including fun, fitness and raising money for our favorite charities. A number of us have been talking about forming a Redwood Region PCA Cycling Team - not to race, but rather to participate as a team in the many charity rides in Northern California. This would allow the Club to raise money for a variety of major charities in addition to our support of CASA. It would also bring visibility to our Club and would be yet another enjoyable group activity. We could get sponsorship and/or matching contributions from our many advertisers and associates. We might even secure a feature article in Panorama as we probably would be the first Region with such a charitable activity. If you are interested, please contact Jerry Gladstone at redpca@sonic.net or Please note, that all ranges of cycling experience are accommodated at charity ride events - from beginner to expert. So even if you can only ride 10, 15 or 20 miles, there is a ride for you. Of course for the experts rides can be 100 miles or even more sometimes. The parties after the rides are a blast!

22 Jerry in mock PCA jersey.

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24 Our Board, Directors and Chairs President: Kurt Fischer, , Vice President: Bill Walters, , Treasurer: Lynn Walters, , Secretary: Jerry Gladstone, , Membership Director: Bret Boutet Webmaster: Barbara McCrory, Social Chair: Mary Neidel, , Autocross Director: David Bunch, Goodie Store: David Bunch, , Advertising Director: Bob Hall, , Concours Chair: James Heisey, , Newsletter Editor: Bill Walters, , Safety Director: Bill Newton, , Technical Advisor: Deven Wailes, Northern Reps: Jim Giampaolo, , Scott Downie, , Zone 7 Rep: Sharon Neidel sharonneidel@yahoo.com Past President: David Bunch, , david.bunch@sbcglobal.net