April 2012 New Member Reception

Wow, what a meeting. You might be asking yourself are they kidding. What could be so exciting about a New Member reception? Well let us start with the fact that we had a record number of new members turn out for the reception followed by what most attending the meeting would agree was one of the most entertaining and engaging speakers to come our way in recent memory. And let us not forget the food. The Villa put out a spread that had everyone at the reception’s taste buds singing.

We began the evening festivities by signing in the new members and giving each a name tag. We also gave them a heads up that after the reception, when the regular portion of monthly meeting starts, we would be introducing them to the club and ask them to speak about what model Porsche they own and what activities they plan on participating in with the club. With the help of the BoG members in attendance, we did our best to answer the new member questions about the Club and its activities. We encouraged them to share stories about their Porsches and themselves and we did likewise. This led to some very lively conversation. While all this was taking place we dined on the aforementioned sumptuous finger foods from the Villa’s kitchen.

At 8:00 club president Craig Mahon called the meeting to order and it was time to introduce the new members to the club. We called the group to the front of the room and each was given the opportunity to speak. All spoke enthusiastically of their love for the Porsche marque and their future plans with the club. It was great to see this large group of inspired Porsche owners join us and we look forward to seeing more of them in the future.

Club business came next and then it was time for the evening featured speaker, Andrew Davis. Andrew is an incredible speaker and held the entire group spellbound through his entire talk. He began with a little family history. He was born with automotive genes as his father was an SCCA racer and the family vacations were spent at various race tracks, mostly in the south as the family being from the Atlanta area. Andrew attended his first race at the tender age of four.

Andrew developed a passion for everything pertaining to auto racing at a very young age. His in-depth knowledge of the sport along with an unquestionable desire for success has allowed Andrew to thrive as both an instructor and a race car driver. Starting in SCCA club racing, he captured two Sports 2000 championships in his first two years of competition. Next, he made the jump to open-wheel cars earning a points championship in Formula Continental. Andrew then moved to the professional ranks of auto racing by competing in the United States Formula Ford 2000 Championship. In 2001, he set his sights on sports car racing. Andrew captured a podium finish in his first ALMS race at the 2001 Petit Le Mans. Over the last five seasons, Andrew has proved to be a very versatile driver by competing in Prototypes and GT Porsches in the Rolex Grand-Am Series and the American Le Mans Series. Since 2005, Andrew has focused his efforts on racing Porsches in the Rolex Series and won the 2011 GT Championship for Brumos Racing. His recent success on the track has solidified his position as one of the most talented young drivers in endurance racing. When not racing he can be found at the Porsche Driving School in Birmingham, Alabama, instructing along with Hurley Haywood of the renown #59 Porsche of Brumos Porsche Racing Team.

All in all it was a great evening. Our new program chair James Coleman is off to a great start and already has many more great events planned for us, so if you missed this meeting, do your best not to miss anymore.