*Michael.*

Even though I currently do not own a Porsche I have still participated with the PCA - Germany. This year we have not been able to have any events because of trouble with insurance thanks to PCA. We are probably one of the most diverse clubs with Americans, Germanys, Irish and our president from South America. That is where the problem starts, we have a President that isn't American. The fact that he has been active in the club for 10 years and works directly for Porsche AG doesn't seem to matter either. This club had an incredible auto-x racing program that we ran on some inactive runways that were huge! It was fun while it lasted. Here is the message that I recieved.....

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi all,

Once again let me apologise to you, our members, for not having had any events this year.

As you know there are difficulties over securing insurance cover for our motorsport events this year. We are currently under instruction from PCA HQ not to run any events - even social events - until they have secured insurance to their satisfaction. However this issue has now dragged out for an excessively long time and the management of PCA Germany region is totally frustrated. We have no reliable estimate from PCA HQ for how long PCA Germany region will have to wait for this to be resolved.

Attached is a resignation letter from our president, XXXXXXXXX, who feels that he cannot continue as president under these circumstances. He presents his reasons in full in the letter.

This is extremely bad as XXXX has been responsible - almost single-handed - for evolving the club from a dormant region into the active thriving region we had up to last year. It is depressing that such leader and motivator - and such a good friend to all of us - is frustrated to the point of resignation when all he was trying to do was help other to share our common passion for Porsche cars.

I must say that I share his frustration and I am planning to resign as well.

If any of you are interested in becoming more active in running the region and continuing the work of trying to resolve this - particularly if you are one of our US Citizen members - please contact us now - your region needs you.

XXXXXXXXXXX
Vice President


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
And the letter.....


Dear PCA Germany Region members and Porsche friends,

My membership in the enthusiast Porsche club scene of the PCA stretches back to 1994. Over the years I have made a lot of friends in the Germany Region and I have also dedicated a great deal of my time and enthusiasm to the club. For several years I served as Motorsport Chairman where I managed to turn a struggling slalom series into the very popular and competitive slalom championship that we have today and finally, after the region’s bylaws were changed, being elected as the first non-American President of Germany Region.

I never realised that my “foreigner” status would be a problem to anybody (certainly the Germany Region membership have no problem with that, seen that approximately half of our region are non-US citizens), but unfortunately Tom Bobbitt (PCA National President) has questioned if non-Americans had the right to be senior officers. It is not a very comforting thought to know that “foreigners” could be seen as second class members within the PCA organization, but I brushed it all aside and concentrated on looking after the interests of Germany Region.

Beginning 2003 PCA HQ changed their insurance underwriter, but the new policy completely left Germany Region out of the contract. We obviously complained about this situation to PCA HQ, whereby their reaction seemed to be that in some way it was the fault of Germany Region for not having insurance cover. When I demanded that Germany Region receive the same insurance cover as given to other regions, Tom Bobbitt personally wrote back threatening to “reconsider the viability” of keeping our region.

In agreement with PCA HQ, Germany Region purchased insurance from a German insurance company and proceeded with the 2003 season. The cover we obtained complied with all German legal requirements, but was not deemed to be good enough by PCA HQ. This we can accept, but the progress from there on to obtain satisfactory cover has been incredibly slow.

In the mean time, Tom Bobbitt wrote a secret letter to Porsche AG and PCNA stating that he was considering withdrawing Germany Region’s regional charter. As a senior employee of Porsche AG, Tom Bobbitt’s letter was brought to my attention and I managed to block any negative action against PCA Germany Region. As a consequence of this letter, I questioned Tom Bobbitt’s motives and emphasized the fact that he is operating outside of his mandate as National President. Since then the relationship between me, as President of Germany Region, and Bobbitt, as President of PCA, has been severely strained.

The situation now is that Germany Region has been forbidden from holding any events until PCA HQ settles the insurance issue. Germany Region is not authorised to agree on any policy. Failure to adhere to this directive could mean legal action against our region.

XXXXXX XXXXXXX(our Vice President) has taken over the negotiations with PCA HQ, but he is also experiencing severe frustration with the slowness of the discussions. This insurance issue has been dragging on for more that 1 year now. The inability of PCA HQ to find a solution is totally undermining our efforts to run a successful region and we already had to cancel the 2004 Potluck and Slalom 1. There is nothing we can do on this as we are not authorised to act and PCA HQ say that they can do nothing to speed up the negotiations. We are completely at the mercy of PCA HQ here.

I feel that we have proceeded with the insurance negotiations in good faith and tried our best to resolve the situation with PCA HQ. Unfortunately this good faith has not been returned and the differences with Bobbitt are not likely to be resolved. The PCA organization should be a meeting place for like-minded Porsche enthusiasts and not a fighting square where certain individuals can practice their xenophobia and spitefulness. I am particularly upset that the PCA President has not withdrawn the statement he made where he claimed the right to unilaterally “reconsider the viability” of Germany Region and 40 years of Porsche club tradition of supporting US citizens overseas - not to mention many other nationalities. I am also very aware of Bobbitt’s attitude that it is not appropriate for a non-American to lead the region and that it would simply increase the conflict between PCA and PCA-GR if I confront this attitude. I should say that I do not think this attitude is representative of the American members of PCA-GR and no other member of the PCA National board has expressed the same bias.

After a lot of thought on this situation I have decided that it would be in the best interest of PCA Germany Region if I step down from my position as Germany Region President (effective immediately) and hand over my duties to an US citizen.

In the meantime XXXXXX XXXXXXX will act as interim President of Germany Region. Together with the Board of Germany Region he will form a nomination committee, which will be tasked to recommend a suitable candidate for the position of President.

I hope to remain an active member within Germany Region, it just will not be on an executive level any more. I wish PCA and PCA Germany Region the very best for the future.

XXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX 18 May 2004



-This is very annoying, this was a very good club with a lot of nice people.

Geoffrey

I wonder what the root issue is.

A930Rocket

Sounds bad, especially for the the current leadership and the everyday PCA guy who just wants to get together, have fun, etc.

I hope that it works out and you are back on track soon.

Good luck!

ron mcatee

Mr Bobbit may be the President of PCA, but he is only one person and not the complete PCA Board of directors. He is there to serve the best interest of all regions. May be it was his fault that Germany Region was not included on the list and he won't own up to it, or maybe not. Anyway, I would think that any reasonable person would go to the insurance underwriter with a statement that the Germany Region was inadvertently left off the list of approved regions for PCA insurance and should have quickly obtained a rider showing that approval. PCA National is at fault here, not Germany Region.

Jim Sorensen

Boy what BS. I joined the Germany Region in 1968 and we had 7 members. I don't even know if we had insurance for our events. The region grew because of the support from "foreigners" and made it even better. The fact that a German National cannot be president or an officer is absolutely ridiculous. What about the Regions in Canada?!!!!! I hope the insurance situation is resolved, but I would not be concerned about holding events when all parties sign a release statement indicating that they reliaze the situation and forgo special coverage and call it a non-sponsored event amongst friends for comraderie.
Best of Luck to Germany Region

Les.cook

Here is the response by the Germany Region Members. This daft is to be sent to all PCA National Officers. It is posted for the information of all PCA - GR members and those effected by the policies of PCA,inc.


Porsche Club of America – Executive Committee and National Officers,

Please consider this a notice of intent by the members of the Porsche Club of America – Germany Region to pursue legal action against the Porsche Club of America, Inc. (PCA) on the following issues:

1. The PCA did violate it’s own by-laws by failing to provide adequate insurance coverage for the Porsche Club of America – Germany Region (PCA – GR) for social and moving car events so far during the 2004 season. (Article IV Section 7)

2. The PCA did violate it’s own by-laws by expressly forbidding the enjoyment and sharing of goodwill and fellowship engendered by owning a Porsche and engaging in such social or other events as may be agreeable to the membership. (Article II, B)

3. The PCA is in breach of contract for failing to provide the insurance that allows PCA – GR members to participate in regional activities, while still collecting dues and fees from said members.

4. We, the PCA – GR members, allege racial discrimination against our now Ex-President (then President) (properly elected by the PCA – GR membership in accordance with PCA – GR by-laws) and refusal to acknowledge him as our elected president by the leader of the Executive Council and current PCA President. Specifically, questioning his right to lead the PCA – GR because he is a non-US citizen. Then, failing to respond when our now Ex-President expressed that he was offended and continued to pursue a solution to PCA issues.

5. PCA violated Section II Part 2 of its Region’s Procedure Manual for failing to provide or offer the insurance necessary to conduct normal PCA - GR club operations.

6. PCA failed to act with a good faith effort to resolve the issue of insurance coverage for PCA – GR so the membership could enjoy the benefits that all other PCA members enjoy. This constitutes discrimination against the PCA – GR.

7. PCA violated its by-laws when the President of PCA, Tom Bobbitt, instructed the PCA Treasurer, Judy Hendrickson, on 26 November 2003, to withhold authorization and payment of insurance coverage for the 2004 season as PCA was “continuing to assess the viability of maintaining” the region. This violates Article XIII Section 3. His unilateral action has, in effect, suspended the PCA – GR from conducting activities through the refusal to authorize insurance payments to be made. According to the PCA by-laws mentioned in this point, a two-thirds vote of the Executive Council is required and formal notification and an opportunity of the effected Region to respond (either directly or by representation) is required. PCA cannot be allowed to circumvent their own by-laws by withholding moneys or benefits that the membership and region are entitled to.

8. PCA did violate its own order to restrict ALL activities, social and moving car, in the country of Germany because of the lack of insurance coverage. Specifically, PCA has advertised a “PCA Treffen” for 17 to 21 June in various locations in Germany. We, the PCA- GR members can only interpret this as discrimination against each of us, as we are forbidden from gathering even socially, when PCA members from all other regions are invited to our home soil to participate in a PCA sanctioned driving event. This event is advertised on the PCA website as “PCA Treffen.”

I would like to explain a couple of the points.

The members of PCA – GR can in no way be thought of as responsible for the insurance issue that PCA had in March 2003. As a matter of fact, to my knowledge, there has never been an insurance claim that originated or concerned the PCA – GR in all its 40+ years of existence. It is my understanding that when new insurance was negotiated, PCA “forgot” about us and thus failed to procure proper insurance coverage. That is not the responsibility of the PCA – GR, but indeed is the responsibility of PCA.

As a member who pays dues each year (along with all the other Germany Region Members), I expect - NO, I DEMAND that we get equal treatment as all other members of the Porsche Club of America. I honestly believe that if any other region in the PCA had an issue with insurance, there would have been a good faith effort by the HQ to resolve the issue. I also believe that in our case you have not. I do believe, however that the PCA – GR board has tried to help PCA solve the issue by offering several ways that the Region may assist; i.e. offering to pay supplements to cover additional insurance cost as a result of being overseas and providing and paying for our own coverage. These offers constitute more than any effort that is required of any other region and is “above and beyond” the call of duty for our membership.

Additionally, PCA has a policy of automatically assigning any new members that reside outside of the United Stated to the Germany Region. We have members from all over the globe, as far as Australia and Japan. Why should the PCA President be surprised when the Germany Region membership elected a Non-US Citizen into our board (in accordance with PCA – GR by-laws), then refuse to return his calls and E-Mails?

PCA – GR started 40 years ago as a region to support American military personnel assigned to Germany. In fact, right now, the Kaiserslautern Military Community is the largest concentration of Americans outside the United States, with over 40,000 Americans living here. That does not include the others that are scattered throughout the rest of Germany and Europe. This population base has helped our (PCA – GR) membership grow to a respectable level of 232 active members. As American culture and racial tolerance has changed throughout history, so has the views of our membership. We now enjoy a wonderful atmosphere of muti-cultural tolerance and do not discriminate against anyone, regardless of race, sex, or where they were born.

The nature of an American military assignment in Europe means Americans are here a very short time. The typical military assignment is between two and three years, so our American population is always turning over. It has been vital to the survival and indeed the success of the Germany Region that those who will be in the area on a more permanent basis take active rolls in the club. That means that some of our non-US national members are really our most valuable assets. We take great offence to the way our non-US leadership has been treated by PCA and the PCA President.

In conclusion, we, the members of the Porsche Club of America – Germany Region, demand the following of the Porsche Club of America:

1. The immediate resignation (or removal) of Tom Bobbitt as President of the PCA for acts in direct contradiction of the PCA by-laws and acts inconsistent with the nature of a motor car enthusiast club (and indeed American Values) – including racial discrimination.

2. A complete report of the attempts made so far by PCA to procure adequate insurance coverage allowing PCA – GR to continue its 40+ year tradition of holding social and driving events, consistent with the goals set out in the PCA by-laws. This report must be in writing, directed to the current PCA – GR President and received no later than one week from the dispatch of this notification. Failing to open or read this notice will not be grounds for extending this deadline. We will hold the PCA – GR President responsible for forwarding the information to the membership.

3. A complete report of the ongoing good faith efforts by PCA must be reported to the President of PCA – GR no less than weekly. For months, his attempts to get information regarding this issue have gone unanswered. We will not lie down and let out Region die because of inaction or ineptness on PCA’s part. Additionally, whether or not PCA is making a good faith effort will be determined by the PCA –GR membership when deciding how to proceed.

4. This insurance issue must be resolved allowing the PCA – GR to proceed with normal PCA operations by 1 July 04. This is not necessarily an acceptable outcome to this issue, but we do not intend to make unreasonable demands.

5. All members of the PCA – GR should receive a rebate from the PCA for their dues and fees consistent with the amount of time that PCA HQ did not allow the Germany Region to operate or meet due to insurance or any other issue not the fault of PCA – GR.

6. PCA immediately cease and desist from “assessing the viability” of the PCA – GR, unless the proper procedures are followed.

We, the PCA – GR members, are reasonable people and welcome productive discussions of the issues and demands with the PCA.

If there is no response from PCA, our demands are not met or good faith (productive) talks are not initiated, we, the members of PCA – GR, intend to asses the viability of a class action law suit against PCA, Inc. and each Executive Council or Board Member that we determine to have personal liability.

So far we, the PCA – GR members, have incurred the following damages:

1. Improper actions taken by the PCA President to prevent us from conducting social and driving events, thus restricting our movements as an organization, by refusing to act in good faith to provide us with the insurance coverage that we, as PCA members, are entitled to.

2. Dues and fees were collected from all PCA – GR members without any indication that they would be treated any differently than PCA members in any other region. In fact, PCA by-laws guarantee us equal benefits as all other PCA members. We require financial compensation.

3.Direct discrimination against PCA – GR members for promoting a PCA driving event to take place on German soil while forbidding our region members from even gathering socially because of an insurance issue.

4. Punitive damages for unilateral directives by the PCA President, outside of the by-laws of PCA, to prevent the operations of the PCA - GR.

5. Punitive damages from PCA for failing to act in good faith to ensure adequate insurance coverage for all PCA members, as promised – specifically PCA –GR members.

Please do not consider this an all inclusive list of grievances, issues, demands or damages. We reserve the right to modify, add or subtract to any or all of these as the needs of the PCA – GR members evolve and at the recommendation of legal counsel.

We look forward to hearing from you within 7 days with productive talks and an update on the progress in addressing all our issues. If we do not hear from you, you will be hearing from us.


Respectfully,

Les Cook
Member, PCA Germany Region
Citizen of the United States of America
Member of the Kaiserslautern Military Community

Adrian

I have removed my original post and decided to take a different approach.
Serious allegations have been raised above and I would like to see them investigated by an independent panel. I would like a fair and balanced look at the situation and a resolution found. I believe that PCA members from around the world would benefit from such an investigation and any findings that are made.
For me personally I cannot understand why a PCA region founded in the 1960s is being treated in such a manner. The existing membership of PCA-GR has;
Porsche employees including some senior management people.
Alois Ruf.
Porsche dealer Larry Miller.
US servicemen and women.
US military contractors.
Business people.
Many professional people of various nationalities.
Many ordinary people who own Porsches and enjoy the opportunity to be with other Porsche owners.
Many current and former National German slalom champions in many classes all competing in Porsches.
An author of Porsche books.
A great family involvement with events to cater for all tastes.
The list could be extended. The PCA-GR is one of those sort of unsung but historical regions of the PCA.
Members of the PCA.GR drive from all over Germany and outside to attend events. Their dedication to the region and ultimately the PCA is unrivalled anywhere.
Why in the world then is the PCA-GR being treated this way?
Somebody needs to try and find out. It started as an insurance matter and the fear of litigation against PCA by a PCA-GR member should an accident occur. However it seems to have exposed a deeper resentment against the region. None of the membership can understand what is going on. We see ourselves as being no different to PCA Canadian regions.
We may only be 240 members but we are all united and currently quite pissed off.
Ciao,
Adrian
964C4
PCA-GR member (Australian citizen)

Les.cook

Tom Bobbitt has responded to the Notice that was sent. A letter was delivered to the President of PCA - Germany and is being evaluated. Stay tuned for the outcome!

John Boggiano

FWIW, I always thought it was a 'feather in the cap' (as we say here) of PCA that it even HAD a Germany region.

Adrian

A letter has just arrived from PCA addressed to all members of PCA-GR. We have been cancelled. The decision is due to be ratified by the board of directors on July 6th. The letter is dated May 25th, which, is the fastest anything from the PCA has ever arrived at my place.
The reason is that they claim they cannot secure liability insurance for the PCA in Germany. What this means they cannot insure against US citizens suing the PCA (as was explained to me) if something happens to them whilst in Germany at a PCA-GR event. The letter says that they cannot get insurance for US citizens but what this really means they cannot get insurance protection against liability from US citizens.
They also say they have cancelled PCA involvement with factory tours due to the insurance issue. They called these visits "Treffens".
I also assume that this will cause all official association between the PAG and PCA to be cancelled. I am sure there is much more fallout over this to come yet.
Ciao,
Adrian
964C4

PS: We have all been offered the choice of resigning from the PCA and being refunded our money, finding another region to accept us or to be allocated a region by PCA-HQ. I read that and thought to myself, which PCA region would want me? It would not be fair to force a US region to take us so we are not left with much choice. A foreigner living outside of the USA is not going to be much use to a US region and it is not like we can participate anyway.

Les.cook

I got my letter today as well. It is the same letter that was sent registered mail to the leadership of the Region.

A couple of points to clarify. Germany Region's privilages to act as a Regional Club of PCA was revoked on 20 May 04 by the Executive Council. So we will not be allowed to even have a board meeting. During the 6 July meeting, they will determine the long term decision and there is no mystery what they will decide.

We have a right to representation at the 6 July meeting. However, we would be hard pressed to argue that we should be allowed to operate even though they cannot secure insurance. That is a bit of a loosing arguement.

I would like to voice an opinion about the insurance issue. There is no insurance anywhere which covers everything 100%. There is always a risk. That is a fact. So, at some point, you have to decide what is reasonable coverage and reasonable risk. I believe that in this case, PCA has set the requirement so high (100%) that no one could ever cover it. That is certianly an option for someone to win a fight for his own personal reasons.

Adrian makes a good point about the speed at which they sent their response. I heard a rumor that they were instructed by their layers not to tell us what they were planning. I suppose they didn't want to have to pay to fight us. But, I suspect that they saw a liability in staying quiet as well. Thus a letter is born.

Many of you have offered to begin a letter writing campaign to PCNA and Porsche AG. After much thought and the recommendation of others, I do not believe this is a good idea. No matter how right we are, we must retain our dignity and besides, in the long run, we will not benefit.

For those of you in the Germany Region, I say we cannot be kept down. I have made some wonderful friends and those friendships will not suffer because we are no longer part of the Region or PCA. We will continue to be Porsche enthusiasts, but we will leave the stupid stuff behind. We will find a different venue to drive fast and brake hard or to socialize. I suspect that Bitburg will find some new events and enthusiasts in us.

I look forward to seeing any of you there who wish to join me in Bitburg!

As for me. I will be resigning my membership. I have no use for a club that has no use for me. If I was a valued member, someone on the national level would have worked a little harder to keep us moving.

Sound off in this forum. I would love to hear your reactions.

Adrian

Dear Les,
I agree I think this is a losing battle. The PCA is only a car club after all and any action that we take that costs the PCA money, costs our US regional colleagues money, so we lose, they lose and for what? None of us could afford to fly over to the USA to make such arguments before the board anyway. The decision is already made, "Auslander Raus".
I have not spoken to Alois Ruf about what he feels yet. Maybe we should form the RUF-Porsche Club of the World.
An era is over but at least I can say I was part of it and proud to be there at the end. Maybe this is all part of the US withdrawal from Germany, who knows? But a small part of the USA, US military and Porsche history has come to an end.
Ciao,
Adrian
964C4

Geoffrey

What happened to the Porsche employee hired to act as relationship manager between PCA and Porsche North America? I wonder where he fits in to all of this?

A930Rocket

Hard to fathom...

Are there other clubs within Germany/Europe that do similar activities like PCA-GR?

Good luck!

RJT

quote:
"What happened to the Porsche employee that was hired to act as relationship manager between PCA and Porsche North America. I wonder where he fits into all of this."

That would be Jack Blair. I don't think he fits into anything. He is an employee of Porsche Cars North America and not Porsche AG. He has nothing to do with Germany. If anything the Club liaison from Porsche AG would be the one to deal with the Germany Region....

I feel very, very sorry for my fellow PCA members of the Germany Region. It is so bad that this country (meaning the USA) has turned itself into such a litigious society that clubs, which are supposed to be fun, have to worry about every little darn thing. Soon the day will come that we can't even have car clubs, garden clubs, card clubs etc. for fear that the club may be sued. What a sorry situation we have put ourselves in.

I certainly hope that my Porsche friends in Germany form their own Porsche club, just like Porsche Club Great Britain, Porsche Club Japan, and even the 356 Registry. It can be done and I think you guys have the tenacity to do it.

Anyway.... it is sad to see an end of an era. The original Owner of our 1965 356 was a Capitan in the US Air Force stationed in Germany and I would not doubt was member of the Germany region as he is still an avid Porsche collector.

JoAnne