Author Archive: Reid Smith

Author Archives for Reid Smith

From the President’s Desk,

Well, it has been an incredible 50th Anniversary year so far! It began in January with our Winter Gala where we pulled out all the stops. Our guest speaker was none other than the Face of PCA, Executive Director Vu Nguyen. Then on our actual club’s 50th Birthday, we held the largest LVR member event in history, with over 250 members registered for our EXTRAVAGANZA. I have never seen such a display of Porsches, not to mention the live music, magical acts and Las Vegas showgirls. What a memorable celebration for the club! A shout out to our LVR Board, Committee, and volunteers. And a heartfelt thank you to Gary Ackerman, Paul Jarrett, and all of the members of the Gaudin Porsche team that helped make it happen. You are the best!

LVR members are welcome to participate in our planning session for possible future events and activities. Bring your ideas [...]

SPANISH COOKING AT IT’S BEST!

By Reid Smith

If you have not eaten at Tres Cazuelas yet, you need to! What a great experience in Iberian Peninsula cuisine. Club members started with a wine tasting and then proceeded to the cooking presentation. Chef Angelo Reyes took us through the steps of preparing paella. Originally, this dish from the 1800’s combined your weekly leftovers, but now it is quite a delicacy. The right ingredients and careful preparation is the key to a tasty dinner. Rather than leftovers, our paella included rice, chicken, pork belly, jumbo shrimp, mussels and clams seasoned just right. Yum!

The LVR Board and 50 th Committee have been working for months on our big Birthday bash. What a time
we had! There were many things to do at the celebration. Listen to the fine vocals of Michael Ross
Nugent, get your picture taken at the step and repeat with Las Vegas Showgirls, view our charter and
other memorabilia of our club’s earlier years, eat Wicked donuts, and view over 150 Porsches! We had
Porsche visitors from Leipzig and Switzerland join us in the celebration. Past Presidents shared
interesting stories about club members during their watch.
If that was not enough, 100 enthusiasts departed at 12:30pm for a trip up to Mt. Charleston. We were
greeted with snow along the roadway and delicious Geo’s Tacos. The drive topped off a great day!

From the President’s Desk,

Due to deadlines, I am writing to you two days after our big 50th Extravaganza blowout. Our Board and volunteers put in months of planning for this once in a lifetime event and I am so proud of the outcome.

We had over 250 members sign up for the Extravaganza and we also hit our limit of 100 for the Mt. Charleston Drive. We had perfect weather for the morning and the display of Porsches was something to behold. I want to not only thank our dedicated volunteers, but to personally thank Gary Ackerman, Paul Jarrett and their professional crew at Gaudin Porsche for offering the venue and assisting with the event. We are lucky to have what has become an increasingly rare family-owned dealership that truly cares about us local Porsche enthusiasts and considers us as part of the family!

We are planning a three-day, two-night tour to Southern Utah, [...]

By Reid Smith

We had scheduled a tour of the Phil Maloof Car Collection last October and we quickly sold out the 25 slots that we were allotted. I asked Danny Barnett, the tour guide, if we could schedule another visit in a few months. Danny agreed, and we again sold out our 25 slots for the February 25th tour in a hurry.  Those who attended were not disappointed. Treated to pastries, the tour of about 100 cars in a dozen garages began.   

Well, my President’s Desk also doubles as my rehab safe space while I recover from hip replacement surgery. Unfortunately, I took a tumble and cracked my hip. Fortunately, I had a fantastic young surgeon who called me the day I went to the hospital and said he had my X-rays and had the replacement sized and ready to “install” the next morning. And he did! A few days out of surgery and I am walking and feeling no pain (even without the Oxycodone)! Now I can’t wait to see if I still fit into the Boxster GTS and the Carrera S. 

The BIG DAY is only two weeks away. Las Vegas Regions’s 5Oth ANNIVERSARY EXTRAVAGANZA! Our Birthday is April 20th with the party kicking off at Gaudin Porsche at 10:00am. We have planned quite a bash with coffee, pastries and entertainment along with an unbelievable collection of Porsches on display. Make sure that if you [...]

By Reid Smith

It was a rainy, cold January weekend in which we celebrated our 50th Anniversary at our annual Winter Gala. At least we did not have any outdoor activities or drives planned. As guests arrived and signed in, the big surprise was that they were then ushered to our photo corner where we took their picture flanked by two gorgeous Las Vegas Showgirls! The young ladies are the same ones you see at the Golden Knights games, known as the Golden Bells.

By Reid Smith

It was a chilly morning as we assembled at Railroad Pass in anticipation for our drive to Topock AZ. A sizable group divided into two groups of 12 cars lined up and were ready to go. The drive to Kingman, our first stop, was fairly boring except for spend most of the time dodging sizeable pot-holes. Arizona should pave their roads! When we turned on to Route 66 the drive got interesting, especially when we hit the twisties. Porsches are built for tight turns on narrow roads and we made the most of it. We were temporarily delayed by an active shooting in the old west town of Oatman. After they cleared the carnage, we were able to proceed through town. I did see a sign that the [...]

From the President’s Desk

Our Board has been quite busy planning for Las Vegas Region’s 50th Anniversary. It will be quite a celebration that will take place on April 20th, the same day of the inception of our charter, in 1974. Make sure that you sign up soon as we are having to limit attendance. Gaudin Porsche has generously provided their venue for the morning. Check out the article and registration in this issue of Desert Drives. SIGN UP SOON! Also, check out the 50th Anniversary Gear website. Great prices on quality merchandise.

Topock is an Arizonan town that most have never heard of, or let alone, visited. Topock 66 BBQ and Grill was a very interesting destination for our day drive in February. The historic mountain Route 66 Highway through Oatman brought smiles to Porschephile’s faces. [...]

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