Dave & Linda Delbridge celebrate in their colorful Christmas sweaters. (Photo by A Strom)With a “Ho, Ho, Ho” the Sierra Nevada Region kicked off its annual Christmas Party in one of the beautiful, multi-level suites on the 17th floor of the Peppermill Resort Spa Casino. The December 5th event hosted by Debbie Dell was the grand finale for Sierra Nevada Region’s 2009 event season.

Kelly & Bob Jordan enjoy the festivities and smile for the camera at the Christmas Party. (Photo by C Kugler)The 56 attendees who took part in the festivities came from far and near to enjoy an hour of social time in a beautiful setting with night time city views of the Truckee Meadows. Afterwards a wonderful meal of roast prime rib, stuffed chicken breast or the vegetarian selection with all the trimmings was served, followed by the obligatory desert. Yum! Festive holiday and contemporary music was provided during the evening by Mark Luperini and Chris Hanson which had numerous couples out of their chairs and on the dance floor.

Cindy Wyett & Judy Costin enjoy their dinner but stop to flash those pretty smiles. (Photo C Kugler)“It’s not just the cars, it’s the people” has become the catch phrase for the Sierra Nevada Region. On November 6th fifty-one SNR members gathered at LaVecchia Ristorante to celebrate those that helped make the 2009 year a success. The Volunteer Appreciation Dinner brought out old and new members for an evening of Porsche camaraderie, delicious food and a wonderful presentation of club events from 2009.

Kathy & Bob McLaughlin before dinner at La Vecchia. (Photo C Kugler)Before the retrospective began, President Ken Hollman thanked the event hosts for their efforts and support on behalf of the club and presented each with a small token of appreciation. Craig Kugler put together the 135 picture slide show, which featured key images from all our events. As the pictures flashed onto the screen you could hear laughter and voices acknowledging an event they had attended or hosted. Craig identified each event and the event host(s) and pointed out interesting tidbits about some of the pictures.

The Planning Party for 2010 is already on the calendar (January 22) and now all we need are a few good men and women to step up and volunteer to host club events. Hosting an event for the first time can be a little intimidating, but we are a very easy going group and will be happy with just about anything that involves cars, people and food. Any extra twists you might add are frosting on the cake.

What exactly is involved with putting an event together? For those of you that have never had the courage to host an event, but think it could be fun, the first thing you need to know is we are all eager and glad to help! That being said there are some simple guidelines involved that will make an event run smoothly without a lot of hair pulling!

1. Let people know! Have the “who, what, when and where” for your event placed on both the web site and in the newsletter at least two months before your event. Make sure to have your contact info, an RSVP date and a “no refunds after date” if appropriate.

2. If you are doing dinner at a restaurant it is strongly suggested that you have a set price for the meal. Make sure tip/tax is included along with any extras the restaurant is providing. It is best to get something in writing so all the costs are clear to all parties.

Engine sizes for several 911 variants have increased in the latest model year to a whopping 3.8 liters. This includes the Carrera S, Carrera 4S, GT3, GT3 RS and most recently the Turbo. While this transition may seem like a natural progression for Porsche in the great “size and horsepower race” that many manufacturers have engaged in over the past decade, the move to 3.8 liters was not always a sure thing. For some it’s hard to remember that it all started 45 years ago with a 2.0 liter flat 6 engine that was “originally designed to be stretched to 2.7 liters”. Then came the 3.3 liter Turbo motor of the late 70’s and later the 3.6 liter 964 motor of the early 90’s. All of these air cooled engines were based on the same cylinder spacing (bore centers) with ever increasing cylinder bore diameters.

Contrary to the expectations of many, in 1992 Porsche was looking to upgrade the 3.6 liter Carrera RS with a more powerful engine. Again the cylinder bore was increased from 100 mm to 102 mm which, coupled with the standard 76.4 mm stroke, increased the overall displacement to 3746cc. This got upsized to 3.8 liters for marketing purposes. The question was how reliable would the new engine be given the minimal cylinder wall spacing in air cooled form. Porsche put the engine to the test and entered it at Le Mans and at Spa, both 24 hour races, where it won both GT classes and proved its reliability.

Band director Tim Reynolds looks over some of Grandma Pat Bauderer’s art work. (Photo C Kugler)Late October can be a risky time for a Car Show in northern Nevada with rapidly changing weather conditions and widely variable temperatures. The opportunity to give back to the community and help a worthy organization was a strong inducement for club member Gilbert Dayao, Gilson Autobody, to sponsor a charity show and shine to help the Spanish Springs High School Marching Band reach their goal of marching in the Main Street Parade at Disneyland during Spring Break 2010. Acting on short notice Gilbert put together a team of car people, band parents, school administrators and even Department of Public Safety staff (DPS/NHP) to organize, publicize and execute a quality car show in 7 weeks. Lead by Band Mom and DPS team member Lynn Brooks, a solid and focused group of 12 people (including our own Rich Wyett) started identifying key elements of a successful show, assigning duties, notifying the local car clubs and securing donations. Raffle and silent auction items were targeted not only from area “car” related sponsors but also from community businesses.