President’s Corner PORSCHE CLUB OF AMERICA GOLD COAST REGION PCA PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD SUBMISSION From December 2020 Peter Olliviere, President
Each year the Gold Coast Region of PCA has organized and implemented a comprehensive program of charity giving. For several years the object of our giving has been children’s hospitals like the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and Nicolas Children’s Hospital in the South Florida area. Our gifts to these worthy institutions were usually monetary donations derived from the proceeds of our Club’s events. Those functions included our Premier Concourse d’Elegance and holiday toy drives for hospitalized children. From the proceeds of these types of events in 2019 we donated in excess of $30,000 in charitable giving. These efforts were heartfelt attempts by the membership to give something back to the communities. We in the Gold Coast Region and all of PCA have been blessed. We get the opportunity to play with our set of “toys” that are beyond the reach of most average people. By giving back to these various communities, we share our blessings. I had fully expected to continue our normal level of charity events during 2020 and would have effectively done so if not two things: COVID19 and the creation of a new PCA Region from the Northeastern section of Gold Coast. This virus impacted Florida drastically in March and April, completely shutting down the state. Venues that we normally used became unavailable because of quarantines and CDC standards and regulations. Since a large percentage of our membership is older in age and in the potential risk category, the Board of Directors felt it was better to be cautious. With caution in mind, we agreed to temporarily cancel all events until later in the year, hoping that the virus would be manageable and controlled by then. Regrettably, that was not the case.
Unfortunately, with quarantines and CDC issued guidelines, little thought was given to charitable giving. As conditions remained dark and controlled in Florida, we felt it was safer to just ride out the year and work towards 2021. Fortunately, I happened to be watching the news when it was reported that there were an inordinate number of needy citizens in the Ft. Lauderdale area who had been gravely affected economically as a result of COVID 19. This television report showed people standing in a line that extended twice around the governmental compound of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. The people standing in line were those who had lost their jobs and would not normally be waiting food lines. At this time, I realized that the Region had not done any charitable work in 2020 and we needed to and were able to correct that as soon as possible.
personal. With that in mind I was able to connect with a representative of the City of Fort Lauderdale and the HBCU Consortium and shared with them what our Region would like to do. I was told that the city was just about to cancel a Thanksgiving food drive because the sponsor for turkeys declined their commitment. They welcomed our offer support. I attended several planning meetings with representatives from the City of Fort Lauderdale, Feeding South Florida, HBCU Consortium, and Publix Supermarket to organize together a pertinent event. It was determined that a drive-thru food giveaway that would take place on November 22nd in the City of Fort Lauderdale would be the best solution. And so, with the location agreed upon, the Board of Directors committed to purchase 500 hundred turkeys to be given away at the event. The other sponsors would supply the rest of the sup-
I realized that we needed to be geared towards the community. We had to undertake a project that directly affected local families who are in need. Many people who were hurting needed help and our Club could be of assistance. There’s a “here’s a check” kind of help and we have been guilty of checkbook charity in the past. We needed to give of ourselves along with our dollars because this year the giving was going to be a lot more
plies needed to create a complete Thanksgiving meal. The event was November 22nd in Joseph Carter Park in Ft. Lauderdale which the city allowed us to use at no cost. Their help also included the Parks Department personnel that operated the park and opened the facilities for our use. Initial planning for the event started on November 9th and (Continued on page 8)
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