Blog

From the Archives #12, February 2023

We’ve spent most of the last year reviewing our Region’s first year, 1974. Once we jumped ahead ten years to look at 1985, only to discover that poor attendance at Region events was the primary topic in most of that year’s newsletters.

Now let’s take at look at 1995, at which point in our history the Las Vegas Region was 20 years old (and the Porsche 911 had been on the market over thirty [yes, 30] years).

In the February 1995 meeting, the main topic of discussion was the Region’s need for a computer and printer for publishing the Sandscript, and a compatible laptop to be used for racing events. Note that the Region still had “meetings.” We don’t have meetings of the membership anymore. I guess the monthly brunch at the RRCC is as close as we come to a membership meeting. The Board meeting are open to the entire membership, but usually only the Board members attend. As I proceeded through the year’s reports, I saw that the LVR board approved $7,000 for the purchase of a computer, printer, and laptop. That’s about $13,500 in 2023 bucks. Must have been a heck of a system, or have these things gotten less expensive? 

Our Region made charitable contributions 30 years ago too. We received a thank-you letter in 1995 from the Make-A-Wish foundation for a gift of $2,685 (over $5,000 in today’s purchasing power). This year (2023) the LVR is applying to PCA National for the award for charity-event-of-the-year for the Sam Schmidt foundation benefit we held several weeks ago at Premier. Wish us luck.

It is fascinating to read the “classified” sales ads in the 1995 Sandscripts. There were lots of them all year in the issues of our newsletter. The ads ranged from Porsche cars of all types: 944s, 914s, 911s, et al, to all sorts of Porsche parts, including lots of wheels. I called on one of the 356 ads, but the car had already been sold. It might be nice if we had classified ads for LVR members in today’s sleek Desert Drives, IMHO.