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Greetings from Ted Blacklidge, President, Western Michigan Region, PCA

Greetings, everybody, from the frozen tundra of Northern Kent County (Rockford!). As I am writing this on December 21st, the snow depth on my back deck measured 22” and the temperature is 8 degrees. I really could do with a little global warming right about now. We had an early Christmas with the family on Saturday, which included our really cute 16 month Granddaughter- Samantha – which involved lots of beeping, popping, clinking, jangling, noisy toys. On Sunday, our daughter, Lacey, went to Caberfae and skied in powder snow over her knees. I am sooooo jealous.

In looking at the past year, our West Michigan Porsche Club had a wonderful 2008 with many social and driving events. As you know, we have at least one activity per month, which can draw 20 to 40 participants. One of my Big Questions is, where are the other 200+ club members?? Surely, you aren’t that busy every month!! None of us bite and we do have a good time.

For those of you who attended our 2008 Grattan Drivers’ Education event, you probably noticed that we had a substantial decline in driver participation. The reason for this is twofold—the very lousy economy and increased competition. The economy is something that we can do little about, however the competition is!! I attended a meeting with several Zone 4 DE chairman and club presidents in late November, and came away from this gathering with the information that good marketing can make or break this event. Our Grattan Committee now has an opening for a Marketing Coordinator. This person’s duties would be to contact other car clubs (Corvette, Audi, BMW, Subaru, EVO, Furrin, etc.), our local dealership, other Zone 4 clubs for cooperative advertising, and more promotion in media outlets. Grattan Drivers Education is your club’s only source of income for the year. This position is critical!! Contact me if you have any questions or can help.

Looking to the future - in 2010, the Club will be celebrating its 50th Anniversary. This is a BIG DEAL. How would you like to help with the organization? We have a preliminary outline for the necessary committees to put together a 1, 2, or 3 day celebration. Again, we need for you to get involved with your club. Let me know if you have some cool ideas about how to help us create a great party.

Ted Blacklidge, President
sgrafex@chartermi.net
(616) 866-4143

Welcome!

- Ted Blacklidge, President