A few years ago, a First Settlers Region breakfast would muster barely 15 car guys in a bagel shop to talk about an upcoming DE and maybe plan a short fun run. Now our events attract the whole amily and we're concerned about outgrowing our meeting places! We exceeded each goal that was set: supporting the PCA mission, improved communication, increased membership, more diverse activities and commitment to giving back to the community through charity. This is the summary of our 2010 activity.
This information was submitted to PCA for the Region of the Year award. We should be proud of how we have grown and what we have accomplished. Great job everyone. 2011 is going to be even better!

Level of Activity.
The activities in the First Settlers Region had events every month with something for everyone from social events for the family, charity and outreach events, track sessions, to events coordinated with other regions and clubs. Each event is advertised five primary ways.

• Discussed during the 'business' portion of each monthly breakfast,
• liberal use of the PCA-sponsored mass email,
• Details are posted on our website and registration completed on-line,
• Schedules are published in the "horizontally opposed" newsletter,
• Through social networking via our group Facebook page.

Ideas for new events are solicited at every gathering, via online communications on our web forum and via a Member's\Activity Survey. One indication of the strength of the First Settlers Region is the fact that nearly every event - fun run, rally, fund raiser or lunch - was organized by someone different. This involvement by a diverse number of members has resulted in some very unique events.

First Settlers is very open to multi-regional participation.

We maintain a close relationship with other regions in Zone 2 - in particular with Shenandoah to our west. We share joint members and support their Richmond Porsche Meet and they reciprocate with a strong attendance at our DEs.
Membership Growth. Overall membership in PCA grew 3.3% with First Settlers having a leadership role in that growth. We grew from 502 primary members in January 2010 to 578 in December; an increase of 15.1%. We finished 5th in actual growth and 3rd in growth when region size was factored. The regions that finished in front of us were as much as four times larger. Similarly, the regions finishing ahead of us in factored growth were much smaller. In the factored results, please note that the results were extremely close with a difference of two separating us from the top spot.

-- The secret to success is in our people. Our Membership Chair was enthusiastic, energetic and very well organized. However, it was the outreach from every member, at every level that drove our growth. Old members would always meet and greet new faces at the monthly breakfasts. If a prospective new member indicated interest in track events, he or she was pointed to a track junkie who took them under their wing. Many new members learned about PCA and First Settlers through a brochure placed on their windshield.

-- Specifics of the membership process included personalized letters from the Membership Chair, mailed the old-fashioned way, to members coming up for renewal. Follow up letters were sent to members who's membership had expired. We brought in 25 new members in the month of September alone!

-- The status of First Settlers membership growth and the value of PCA membership was a continual theme in each "horizontally opposed" newsletter. The Membership Committee used all of our media options to stay in touch with members and highlight the advantages of membership. The web-forums allowed us to share information on local Porsche repair shops, track down previous members, locate formerlyowned Porsches and provide advice on buying new ones.

-- The following is an example of the outreach from our Membership Committee:

IMPORTANT MEMBERSHIP UPDATE - The easiest way for new folks to join us is through our website, "http://fst.pca.org",and use the form at the bottom of the "Contact Us" page. You can place a business card with the website addresses of both First Settlers (http://fst.pca.org) and Porsche Club of America (www.pca.org) on windshields. If you haven't gotten any of our recent club-wide emails regarding the new logo contest, breakfast reminders, there's an easy explanation. Make sure you've updated your email address online at www.pca.org . It's quick & easy, and you won't be missing out on updates, upcoming event information, etc. anymore! Just log onto your www.pca.org account and follow the link under "Members" to the "Member Record" link.

Community Activity. Charity is a major focus of our Region's efforts with the number of planned events and member participation growing each year. We continued to sponsor four charities: the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia, The Special Olympics, The Boys' Home of Covington and the Virginia Beach SPCA. In addition to various fund raisers, we sponsored the boys from the Boys' Home and gave
them rides in the Porsches during the DE parade laps.
Sponsor support from over 35 individuals and businesses was needed to make our monthly breakfast raffles and auctions an important part of our overall charity fundraising efforts.

Three MAJOR charity events in 2010:
(1)Tour, (2)Lunch and (3)Silent Auction
Air & Auto Classic Car Show including many local car clubs

"Turkeys-in-the-Trunk" high-visibility food drive .......

Plus monthly raffles and charity laps!

We raised $8700 and 3100 pounds of food for four local charities:

-- The spring event was a luncheon, wine tour and Silent Auction at the Williamsburg Winery.  We maxed out the restaurant seating with a sell-out crowd of 54 members to include some cars from our neighbors in the Shenandoah Region. The Silent Auction included some very spirited bidding and raised $2700 in cash.

-- The 1st Annual Air and Auto Classic concours and fundraiser was a smashing success. This complex event was coordinated by a dedicated core of about 10 Region members but attended by well over 70 local members. our direct involvement on the Board of the Car Club Council of hampton Roads gave us access to the other local gear-heads and allowed us to spread the word about the local Porsche
Club's community support. Advertising for this PCA-sponsored event was in the local newspaper and on the local TV news. American muscle era marques, a few Ferrari's, lots of Porsches and a great mix of other makes and models adorned the show parking. 115 vehicles were registered and judged.
24 trophies were awarded to import and domestic vehicles in antique, vintage and late model categories. Over 500 spectators crowded the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach to enjoy the cars, bi-plane rides, music, food, beer and wine and to generously support the charity raffles. The event was supported by the local Boy Scout Troop and the SPCA found a good home for one of the dogs at the show.

-- Our first annual "Turkeys-in-the-Trunk" charity event in support of the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia's Mayflower Marathon Thanksgiving food drive was a breakthrough success. Through the generosity of members who attended and contributed to the effort, First Settlers collectively donated over 3,100 pounds of food. The money and food donated by our members was turned into over 5,000 meals for those in need at Thanksgiving.

-- The day began at the Checkered Flag Porsche dealership, where over 70 First Settlers members gathered, had their donations weighed and enjoyed lunch, courtesy of the dealership. A Porsche varsity jacket donated by the dealership went to the McDaneld family for bringing an amazing 366 pounds of food, all stuffed in the back of a 944. The 44 car caravan of Porsches, led by a shiny new Panamera, driving from Checkered Flag to the food drive location at Pembroke Mall was quite a sight. We were welcomed with cheers as we lined up to unload our trunks and present the Air & Auto Classic donation check.

-- Community involvement was recognized by the large throng of local volunteers supporting the drive who unloaded all of the food from the Porsches. More recognition came directly when the premier disc-jockey for local classic rock radio station met our Charity Committee Chairperson during the food drop and recognized the First Settlers Region with a live, on-air announcement of PCA's involvement. The radio station also broadcast an on-air interview with Region President.
However, the most important non-region involvement came when our new President and our Charity Committee Chairperson met the Executive Director and Vice-President of the Food Bank and handed them a check for $1700 in donations from the Air & Auto Classic.

Multi-Region Participation. The First Settlers Region had members participating in various multi-regional events in 2010 to include Parade, Porsches-to-oxford, Shenandoah Region's Richmond Porsche Meet and our own PCA DE instructor Clinic. Every major First Settlers Region event is coordinated with the other Regions in Zone 2 through our Activities Officer with open invitations to every event.

-- Our Region President, Dave Conklin, represented us well at Parade by bringing home a trophy from the Concours. Andrew Chisholm, a very long time PCA member and Past President of First Settlers, also brought home a trophy from the Parade Tech Quiz. Our region was also highlighted at the annual event with the award of the Best Website Award for 2009.

-- We maintain a very close relationship with our immediate neighbors to the west - the Shenandoah Region. Many of our members hold dual membership with Shenandoah and we routinely have a 'mixing of members' at various events. An estimated 25 members from the First Settlers Region help defray the cost and were part of the 70 PCA members that supported the annual Richmond Porsche Meet (RPM)
sponsored by our friends in Shenandoah.

-- The Zone 2 PCA Club Race at ViR was another popular multi-region event with strong support from First Settlers members. This very popular event on the Club Race calendar began several years ago as a First Settlers sponsored event.

Though now run by Zone 2, First Settlers Region continues to provide volunteers and key staff members that are required to make the administrative aspects of the Club Race happen. The event egistrar and registration staff, along with the Club Race Medical Chair for 2010 were all from the First Settlers Region. The Registrar was recognized with a personal award for his outstanding execution of this complex volunteer job.

-- The First Settlers Region's greatest contribution to multiregion participation came from sponsoring two major Driver's Education events again in 2010; to include an exceptionally well-planned, flawlessly executed, PCA-endorsed Instructor Clinic. Although not large enough to fill a major DE with our own membership, First Settlers continues to take a substantial financial risk by sponsoring multiple track events that support PCA Regions all throughout the mid-Atlantic.

Spring DE at ViR 223 drivers
• 60% from outside of First Settlers

24+ different PCA Regions represented
• Included BMW CCA

Spring PCA instructor Clinic at ViR
• 46 Instructors Qualified
• 57% from outside First Settlers Region
• 7+ PCA Regions and BMW CCA were represented
• 21 Brand new instructors
• 25 Previous instructors obtained PCA certification
• 26 PCA Certified instructors served as mentors

Fall DE at ViR
• 115 drivers
• 54% from outside First Settlers
• 5+ other PCA Regions represented
• 11 drivers from BMW CCA

-- The Instructor Clinic involved four classroom sessions and four on track roll play sessions between the Instructor Candidate and Mentor. We communicated our event to all Zone 2 Regions as well as other car clubs such as BMW Car Club of America. PCA Mentors were matched with the Candidates and then Mentors were matched with each other. After completion of the program and completed evaluations,
46 individuals successfully attained their National instructor designation.

Newsletter and Website Effectiveness.
The First Settlers Region was awarded the 2009 Best Website at Parade and the site has only gotten better. It is truly a firstclass source of information and collaboration for our members. Combined with our equally effective newsletter, "Horizontally Opposed", these communication tools are keys to our success.

-- The award winning website was redesigned and continually updated with new features that include: The First Settlers website is a major communication tool and service provided to our members to better connect them to the PCA community of interest.

Our website had over 1,400,000 page requests in 2010!

-- "Horizontally Opposed" is our bi-monthly, hard-copy newsletter. It includes standard newsletter features such as the Calendar of Events, President's Message, Treasurer reports, Committee updates and officer contact information. However, its unique flavor comes from the personal articles, with accompanying photos, written by individual members about their Porsche experiences. Some of the articles even come from PCA members from other Regions. The publication has strong support from a growing number of dedicated sponsors and is nearly self-funded.

-- Through the combination of hard copy mailings for registration, mass e-mail, a Facebook group, photo galleries, electronic forums, and both a print and online newsletter, we are able to efficiently and interactively communicate with all of our members.

Ranked 5th in actual growth - just behind much larger regions! Ranked 3rd in factored growth - just behind much smaller regions!
video feeds • access control lists • integrated forum • comments • poll systems • member profiles • vehicle information • e-newsletters • member connections • photo galleries • voting • region member's list • classifieds • news feeds • document library • mass mail • member self-service password retrieval • contact information updating • interactive forums • article rating •

Air & Auto Classic
at the Virginia Beach Military Aviation Museum 115 cars!
500 spectators!
Multiple car clubs!

Boy Scout, SPCA & Food Bank volunteers!
Organized by 10 members!
Attended by over 70!

"Turkeys-in-the-Trunk"
Supporting the MAJOR holiday food drive in Hampton Roads.
Planned by 14 members and attended by over 70.
Sponsored by the local Porsche dealership.
Announced on local radio station.
15.1% Growth and
90% + Renewal Rate!!
(even higher if transfers are factored out)