Porsches By The Bay – Mandarin Oriental Hotel
Sunday November 22, 2015
What a day! For one week straight, I had been monitoring the weather. It was not looking good for this much anticipated event. Up to the night before, it was like a monsoon all over the tri-state area, and Brickell Key was no different. Alternate plans had to be made just in case of a total washout since the weather professionals all called for rain from 80 to 100 % during the day. So that is exactly what I did. Ron from the Mandarin Oriental and I brainstormed starting the day before the event into the night until the following morning. I don’t think either of us got much sleep over the circumstances. We had the garage to use for the concours and the Azul dining room for the food just in case.
Ed and I arrived at the hotel at 7:00 am and Peter Olliviere and Jake Kooser were already there. I have no idea how they got there so early!! The Varela’s arrived literally minutes after us. So here we all were deciding what we were going to do since the weather called for a total washout. However, at that time (7:00 to 7:30 am), the place was miraculously bright with no rain in sight. A little drizzle but nothing to worry about.
At that point, the decision was made to hold the concours on the grounds with the stipulation that even though the lawn looked okay, it was waterlogged and if we damaged the lawn, we were liable to pay for the damages. We all agreed that the lawn was the best place since the weather was fine and we would make it very clear to all involved to be careful driving and try not to damage the premises. We did not like the garage because it was dark and not really suitable for a show like this. And so it was, the concours will take place on the lawn but the food will be set up in the Azul dining room. Final decision.
Everything was being set up. Registration was at the entrance and the three sponsors (Foreign Affairs, Tuners and ParkHaus1) had their tents set up and their cars on display. I want to thank Peter Olliviere here for he was the one who put the sponsorship program into action. He has worked diligently and nonstop to bring this to fruition and he did a marvelous job getting this aspect set up.
Also thanks to the concours chairs (Fred Kohly and Peter Olliviere) for putting the concours together and to Dottie Kidd for all the clubregistration.net work. All three of them went beyond the call of duty. Fred also designed the trophies and this year we decided to honor the late Mike Joffee with the “Excellence was Expected” trophy that Peter Olliveire designed. You can also expect another article with the concours winners from Fred or Peter.
Thanks to all the volunteers, almost 30 of you for making this event successful. You all worked like maniacs to pull this off. Registration, judging, parking, food control, toy collection and scoring. Every one of you did an amazing job to ensure that the show did go on.
The rain did deter some members but more than 190 people still ended up coming out. We also ended up with about 85 cars. We unfortunately had to turn away some latecomers because we asked everyone that was part of the show to please arrive by a certain time. Some listened, some did not. All cars had to be parked and staged by 9 am since judging began at 10 am. Judging was being closed at 12 pm so that the scoring people had enough time to tally the scores and the awards ceremony could begin promptly at 2 pm. Food service was between 11 and 2 pm.
There were some people who were part of the concours (full and wash and shine) that decided to arrive at 11 am. So unfortunately, those were not allowed to be judged. For all future events, timing is critical so you have to try to adhere to the rules, since the judges only have two hours to complete their jobs and look at all the entrants.
In summary, the event went smoothly. We did have some rain outpours during the day, but for the most part, it was sunny. We did have two members who did not use common sense when vacating the premises and peeled out as they was leaving which damaged the lawn leaving deep long gouges. Thanks to that stunt and lapse in judgment, we now have to pay to get the lawn repaired. On the flip side, I know who you are thanks to some eye witnesses who were able to describe the cars to me, so I will be in touch with you for re-imbursal. It’s unfortunate our hard day of work had a disappointing end thanks to those two members.
All in all, a good day and a great event. Thanks again to all involved for making it a great event and I hope to see you at the next one.
Beena Kohly
Social Chair
