FSR History

Enjoy reading a brief history of the First Settlers Region

Key Milestones

Listed below are some key milestones and achievements in our history. And with you, we’re looking forward to continuing this journey with our favorite marque, Porsche.
  • September 13, 1955 – The Porsche Club of America was officially founded by Bill Sholar and friends in the Washington, D.C. area.
  • March 31, 1959 – A petition for recognition of our Region as a chartered club of the Porsche Club of America was submitted. The name of the club was to be “PCA, Richmond Region” with the county boundaries of Henrico, Hanover, Chesterfield, Powhatan, Goochland, Dinwiddie, and Prince George.
  • April 22, 1959 – The original charter was granted by PCA.
  • 1964 – The name of the region was changed to the “First Settlers Region” and as the region grew, its membership extended to the west to include counties in West Virginia.
  • 1965 – The official boundary of the First Settlers Region was expanded to include all counties east to the Chesapeake Bay and south to the North Carolina border for a total of 36 counties.
  • 1971 – Held its first high performance drivers education (HPDE) event at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). About 30 Porsches gathered for the event. VIR closed its gate in 1974 and reopened in 2000.
  • 1980 – The Blue Ridge Region was chartered, split off from First Settlers and included counties in western Virginia and southern West Virginia.
  • 1993 – The current First Settlers Logo was approved and adopted.
  • 1995 – The Shenandoah Region was formed from the counties above the Blue Ridge Region and west of First Settlers Region to the West Virginia border.
  • 1999 – PCA assigned seven unassigned Virginia counties to First Settlers Region.
  • 2009 – Celebrated our 50th Anniversary with a spectacular gala held at The Tides Inn resort in Irvington, Virginia.
  • 2010 – Initiated The Air & Auto Charity Car Show as one of its annual events. This very popular concours event is held at The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach. The event is a major fundraiser for our local charities.
  • 2011 – Turkeys in the Trunk became an annual fundraising event for The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia.
  • 2011 – Won the Region of the Year Award: runner up won the Best Website Award
  • 2012 – Won the Region of the Year: 1st place
  • 2013 – Won the Community Service Award: 1st place
  • 2015 – Won the Website Award: 1st Place Class IV
  • 2016 – Won the Website Award: 2nd Place Class IV
    • Won the Public Service Honorable: Mention Award
  • 2017 – Won the Website Award: 2nd Place Class IV
    • Won the Public Service Award: 3rd Place
  • 2018 – Won the PCA Website Award: 3rd Place Class IV
  • 2019 – Won the PCA Region Public Service Award:1st Place – again. We built a house for Habitat for Humanity
    • Won PCA’s Website Award: 1st Place Class IV – again
  • 2022 – First Settlers introduces a custom iOS and Android App bringing news, and event related information to its members in mobile form
  • 2026 – Host our first PCA Club Race at the Virginia International Raceway