Pantera Club of Northern California's
Las Vegas Speed Trials 2004, continued
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Kirk Evans Amerisport |
Word quietly got out that PCNC had
taken a big-time financial hit. It remained to be seen if it would be
so dramatic that the club would have to abandon the event for future
years. Then, a wonderful thing happened. A driver who had paid his full
entry fee approached Bill and contributed another $100 to the cause.
A worker who had driven the track for free kicked in $300. A spectator
gave $100. And so a Bill made a presentation at the dinner on Saturday, briefly explained the f inancial facts of life, and then thanked those people who had made after-the-fact cash contributions in an effort to help the club avoid losing their collective shirts. Right after that, even more contributions came forward, including Joe Abe who kicked in $500, and somebody else who donated $1000 towards next year's event! Bill made three or four trips to the podium to announce the additional contributions he had received; he was clearly emotional about the unabashed generosity some people were showing, and actually broke out in tears at one point. I was in the front row, and growing a bit misty-eyed too.... All these contributions, large and small, are greatly, greatly appreciated by the members and officers of PCNC. Sadly, we are still rather deeply in the red, but not nearly as much as we were on Friday afternoon. If anyone would like to contribute to the cause for the greater good, and to help ensure the event returns next year and in future years, you can send checks payable to PCNC to: Bill Santos If you wish to donate quietly, without any fanfare or public recognition, please let Bill know at BSantos@flash.net Also, I believe it's very important to acknowledge the tremendous generosity of the long-established sponsors of this track event--most of them well-known Pantera vendors. Year after year, these people contribute cash which literally is the only way we are able to stage this event. A peek at the program reveals that the total sponsorships received before the event began was a whopping $7000! $2500 of that came from individuals with no business connections to the Pantera world--enthusiasts like you and me. While this sponsorship is extremely crucial, I believe the future of this event is dependent solely upon increased participation, not increased sponsorship. I am negotiating with the leaders of CFRA and attempting to convince them to include our event on their schedule, which would presumably result in an additional 10-15 cars or thereabouts. Besides those Panteras that were expected to run, but were unable to, I am hoping that many of you will have seen the fun that was had, the tremendous safety (there was no damage to any car other than the aforementioned incidents, nor were there any other mechanical failures other than a loose water hose), and the fantastic learning opportunity that driving on a wide-open race track with no traffic can provide. Based on the generosity displayed both before and after the event, I am fairly confident that PCNC will return next year to host the Las Vegas Speed Trials. I hope that many of you who watched from the sidelines, or perhaps tasted the flavor of driving on the track during the lunchtime drive-around, will return next year and take you, and your Pantera, to the next level. Nobody should feel intimidated by driving on a racetrack, especially one as remarkably safe as this one is. Instructors are on-hand to share crucial tips and techniques which will enable you to navigate the track smoothly, safely and quickly. And I guarantee you that you will have a LOT of fun!!!!! :>) Mike |
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Lloyd Butfoy |
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Bob and Don Byars 320 N. Palm, Unit B |
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Dave and Linda Adler 1040 N. Batavia, Suite G
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