Hello, Zone 9 members and welcome to 2026. As the New Year begins, I am starting on year 2 of being your Zone Representative. My first year was filled with new faces, new places, and new adventures. I can’t wait to see what 2026 holds in store for Zone 9. One thing I am especially looking forward to this year is PCA Porsche Parade.
If you have been following PCA on social media, you have probably seen the teasers for the upcoming Parade. If you haven’t seen anything about the upcoming Premier PCA event let me fill you in on some of the details. This year’s Parade will be held from June 14-20 in Lake Placid, New York. For those of us old enough to remember, this was the location of the 1980 Winter Olympics as well as the 1932 Winter Olympics. I remember being riveted to the tv that winter of 1980, captivated by this small mountain town in upstate New York. It was a place so entirely different from my hometown in southwest Missouri. It was also the first time I ever really watched an entire hockey game in my life. This was the year of the Miracle on Ice. The first time that the “invincible” Soviet hockey team was beaten by the underdog US hockey team.
Okay, so I digressed a bit there. What, you may be asking yourself, does the 1980 Olympics have to do with Porsche Parade? Well, actually it has quite a bit to do with Porsche Parade. From the Porsche Parade website, The Lake Placid Olympic Center is the hub of this year’s Porsche Parade. All the banquets are going to be held on the famous hockey rink – no, I’m sure we won’t be ice skating to our tables. The Concours d’Elegance will be held on the speed skating oval where you might remember Eric Heiden won 5 gold medals.
In case you are new to PCA or not familiar with Porsche Parade let me explain a bit more about the event. Porsche Parade is the weeklong gathering of PCA members from all over the US and Canada. There are competitive and non-competitive events that all members can participate in. For those who like to shine and show their car there is the Concours d’Elegance – I know my car never looked as clean off the showroom floor as the cars in this competitive event. For those a little more adrenaline driven, you can enter in the autocross. This is fun even for beginners who have never participated in an autocross. Each day has several driving tours you can register to do. Many of these tours will take you to historic places, and as you might remember from history classes this is an historic part of the country. I would be very remiss if I didn’t mention volunteering. There are many volunteer positions for you to fill. Volunteering is the best way to make new friends, help out, and learn more about PCA. Anybody that volunteers for a requisite number of shifts can attend the free Volunteer Luncheon and possibly pick up some nice door prizes.
I hope I have enticed you to join me in June at Lake Placid for the 2026 Porsche Parade. Phase I registration will open in January. Watch your email for information. Or check the website https://www.porscheparade.org. I look forward to welcoming you to Parade during the Zone Welcome Party on Sunday afternoon.