User 41221

John, once again, you undersell your participation! The KCWS owes its existence to Rennlist and views itself as a "Region" of Rennlist. You provided the opportunity and the means for the KCWS to get started, and we hope we are a worthy reflection of the ideals that you hold dear. Trust me when I say this, John, we are ALL humbled to be able to say that we are associated with Rennlist!

Great news on another front, by the way... Lin Burney, head of the "Exterior Committee", has gotten a local paint/collision shop called KC Colors involved with the project. Since they are slammed with their paying customers work during the weekdays, they are going to take possession of the car on Friday, Dec 8th and volunteer their time and materials over the weekend, so that by Monday the 11th, we should have one spiffy looking car on our hands.

Through all this, not much has actually been said about Jim Cooper, and I'd like to address that, if y'all don't mind. Before Rennlist, this forum was know as Porschelist, and prior to that, a bunch of us were on an email list known as Porschefans, and prior to *that*, a bunch of us old timers were on the email list known Porschephiles. Around the time we had made the jump to Porschefans, a guy by the name of "Jim" showed up and started asking questions about an '84 944. He had a quick wit about him, and we all started looking forward to reading his posts on the email digests that we received once each day. He seemed like the plucky type, so no one was too worried when he was asking about about having a problem with shifting into second gear. From there, it all went down hill, and I'll let you read about it at www.coopercup.com if you are interested... The bottom line is that when faced with adversity, rather than let it get him down, he'd spit in its face and carry on. I've known Jim for getting close to ten years now, having met him (and Jim Dimas, Dave Ganapol, John Pohl and others!) at one of the first "beer nights" that were organized on Porschelist out in San Francisco, and then as my travels allowed me to and I am always inspired after talking with him. Jim has been faced with medical issues as well as mechanical ones over the years, and altho legend has it that blood sacrifices are required to earn "Cooper Cup" points (the old timers know what I am talking about), thats really not the case. A little bit of bad luck can go a long ways, but quite frankly, Jim has such a stranglehold over the award that I doubt anyone will ever take it from him. It was an easy thing to decide to take on this project for someone that I know, but y'all that have contributed without knowing the guy or his reputation, I truly take my hat of to you!

Regards,

DanD

One thing we tend to forget is that through adversity we grow. Jim is actually quite adept at doing his own repairs. It's just his body that has taken a bum turn. Between GI problems, Heart surgery and now Melanoma, it's amazing that he's been able to do any work on his cars. Doesn't stop him though. He still goes out there and tinkers on the 84 even while we're working over the 89. He'll be out there again.

Most important is that Jim is always willing to lend a hand. Here is one entry from another lister..

" Here is a small donation for the Cooper project. I learned a lot from his posts on the email list before I bought my car. He helped me do my first timing belt job and drove all the way to SF to lend a hand. Send my regards to Jim. "

The first time I met Jim is when he came to my house to help me change my torsion bars to MO30 bars. We calculated and broke out the spreadsheets and still had to do it twice. He knew what he was getting into and still was there for the duration.

Even more than that, he helped hundreds of Listers around the world by being frank and honest about his mechanical adventures both good and bad. We've all learned from this and many of us post our deepest darkest secrets at the risk of humiliation just so others can benefit from our mistakes and successes. None of us come close to earning the Cooper Cup, though many have tried. In the early days, someone would post about some misadventure only to be reminded of Jim's stranglehold on the cup. It has been retired.

I'm just rambling now, so I'll quit before,,, opps too late.

Tom R.

John,
If you need a hand with regulatory filings send me a pm. Happy to help get the foundation off the ground.

John D.

OK - I promised an update by day end today - so here goes....

Short Version After spending a great deal of time over the past few weeks, Jen and I are going to proceed on setting up "Rennwish" with the sole and single purpose of supporting causes - like Jim Coopers in this thread - on a permanent and on-going basis.

Long Version... Here is where we are... In the next few weeks, we are filing for incorporation of an organization, with the sole purpose of providing funding to designated causes. We are not certain of the final name - but it will include "Rennwish". As well, today, I registered "rennwish.org" as a domain (which currently points to "rennlist" since it should go to something??! ) and rennwish.com (to protect from domain poaching). As we evolve this - the "rennwish.org/com" site will have it's own presence & content, very separate from "Rennlist".

Also - recently, I asked a noted individual to be on the Board, and he accepted. He is well known in the media circles and has worked with the major networks behind the scenes in a number of initiatives. He is also personally involved worldwide for overseeing and coordinating donations into third-world countries. I will announce his name in the future as well as his curriculum vitae, and in the future - we will announce other Directors.

There are some caveats that Jen and I are demanding on this entities creation and operation. These include things like full public disclosure of the financials - whether "rennwish" raises a single dollar or tens of thousands of dollars. To this point, we have entered into conversations with a third party CPA firm to manage the books for the creation and on-going financial management of this organization.

As well, Jen and I will be paying for the creation of this organization from our own pockets - so as to assure that any organization is created and operated to the same standards we have set for ourselves and, frankly - all of our professional endeavors. In short - our "mission" is to assure that every dollar donated is reflected as a WHOLE dollar given to the designated cause.

Timeline? If everything continues at it's current pace - we will have the organization incorporated in the next few weeks. After that, we will submit the application for status to the IRS.

Anyway - Jen's and my thanks to Scott, Dan - KWCS - and all of you!!! You folks pushed us down this slippery slope, and so far, it's been an interesting ride!!



John D.

User 41221

Bravo, John!

Regards,

PorscheDoc

Wow John, you and Jen have once again gone above and beyond! Thank you so much!

Der Cupmeister

Ok, I give up !! It is quite quite hard to sit here reading these messages with tears streaming down my face. It seems to be happening a lot lately....
I have been avoiding talking about all this stuff on the forum as it seemed like something I wanted to share with my best friends on Rennlist (and before) and not burden a bunch of folks that don't know me from Adam with my tale of woe. I know that some of you WERE on the email list but I figured you would find out about it anyway. You have made me remember that we are all the same family no matter which method (s) we use to communicate.
The outpouring of support has pretty much knocked Candy and I for a loop. This is the kind of thing I will never feel is something deserved. The obstacles life has thrown at me feel more like that.
One thing Scott left out was that he came up with the Cooper Cup concept many years ago ! A gentleman named John Anderson from San Diego (some history there !) fabricated the trophy. Many people have tried to wrest the Cup from my scarred, bleeding hands over the years but a few hours in the driveway takes care of their feeble challenges.... And what about Dan D? Dan is one of the few people that I feel comfortable with while working on a 944. He knows so much more than I do about auto repair it is GREAT. I never feel the need to "check up" on what he is doing on the other side of a car as I know that all the pieces will be back on. torqued, etc.... he spent many hours working on the 944's when I was sick and has been a true friend . (Even if he is a "Booster") I miss his company since moving to New Mexico. We lived about 15 miles apart in Central Cal.
We will never be able to thank Scott, Dan, the KCWS, John and Jen, the 944 email list AND everyone else at Rennlist for this incredible gesture, gift, support, whatever you want to call it. We are truly overwhelmed and humbled.

And now for the health update:
Stage 4 Melanoma was diagnosed in August, upgraded to Stage 3 after further review, surgery in September on my head and neck (looks like I had 1/2 of a face lift), and I have been on Chemotherapy since then. After the surgery, the cancer was reclassified as Stage 4. What this means is that it is in my lymph system and that they were also unable to remove all the effected tissue.
There are no current lesions visible by PET scan so the metasteses are microscopic. A recent blood test shows that I am in the acceptable range for melanoma activity but at the very top of the acceptable limit. The chemo is an oral med so I get to stay home while taking it and only have to drive up to Albuquerque (VA hospital) once a month.
I may start looking around for more treatment as the VA seems to be a bit more relaxed on their schedule of various scans than the private cancer institutes and at this point an aggressive schedule feels kinda important so that any new lesion doesn't have a lot of time to get a foothold. Ok, so I am paranoid. Who wouldn't be ?

THANK YOU !!!!!

John D.

Hey Jim..!!!

Thank you for posting..!!!

OK - here is the deal.....

You focus on getting better, OK???

Scott, Dan, KCWS an the rest of us will focus on the rest of the little stuff...

As for us - you and Candy are in our thoughts and prayers...

Always,

John

Der Cupmeister

Thanks John !

Mark

John D -
This is a great thing! I just happened to come across this post today. You REALLY need to do a post on RennWish and put it as a sticky on EVERY R'list forum!

rixter

are any parts still needed for this project? if so would someone pm me what's needed and I'll see what I can do for the cause

ROG100

I have a ton of 928 parts, does anything fit what you need.
Anything else that we can do - DFW is not that far from NM.

Champagne

If there is anything I can help with on the interior, I would be more than happy to contribute.
I can start by re-covering that steering wheel that was offered

Paul

User 41221

A steering wheel recover and shifter boot would be VERY nmuch appreciated, altho I will let boxdoc say whats actually needed, since he's the interior committee leader.

I need to get busy making a list of parts that we need to get everything else back together, the 2.7 liter engine headgasket is the biggie at the moment. We've got a lot of parts, and we've done a lot of cleaning, but are still a head away from starting the major reassembly.

You 928 guys ROCK, by the way! Thank you for your interest and support!

Regards,

SharkSkin

Jim, Just get better so you can enjoy your car! Donation sent, not huge but it's a step closer.

Thanks for pointing this out, Mark!

John, looking forward to seeing RennWish become a reality.