Zone 8 History

PCA was founded in 1955 in the Washington, DC area. It wasn’t too long before other Porsche owners around the country became interested in joining the club. In the interest of providing the best service possible to the membership, regardless of where they lived, it was obvious early on that local governance was a must. Thus the concept of regions was born. Each region was assigned a geographic area and managed its own events and activities. The national organization provided an umbrella of essential services (such as obtaining event insurance and providing a national magazine), but for the most part the local region was the primary focus of the club; as it remains to this day. The local region is where the strength of the club lies, and where most members interact with their fellow enthusiasts.

In the early years, all the region presidents would gather annually to discuss and decide the big issues that affected the club as a whole. As the years went by and the number of regions grew, it became less and less practical to get all the presidents together for a meeting. By 1969 the Executive Council noted that, “...it has become apparent that the Annual Meeting held during our yearly Porsche Parade is a rather ineffective place to transact Club business inasmuch as attendance is becoming increasingly limited...” To help improve on this they proposed a new concept of administration where the regions of the club were divided into administrative districts, called zones, and were represented by a Zone Representative. This new appointed position would directly represent the regions in their geographic areas and present the opinions and report the consensus of said regions. Thus the Zone Representative would be a go-between for the regions and the Executive Council; communicating national policy and procedure to the presidents and the opinions and concerns of the membership back to the national organization.

Today the club consists of 146 regions, organized into 14 zones. In 1969, it was 8 zones and 69 regions. Zone 8 initially consisted of these regions, listed here according to their official dates of acceptance into the Porsche Club of America.

  • San Diego Region - 12/26/57
  • Los Angeles Region - 4/30/60
  • Orange Coast Region - 1/18/61
  • Santa Barbara Region - 6/15/64
  • Riverside Region - 3/30/68
  • California Central Coast Region - 3/12/69
The Zones as defined in 1969

Over the years, to keep up with the increasing population of the country and the ever increasing number of Porsche owners joining the club, regions have been subdivided and the zones reorganized to keep them roughly equal in size (by membership). Today Zone 8 consists of 16 regions. The other regions are listed here, again in chronological order of receiving their charters from PCA.

  • Arizona Region - 2/15/59
  • Southern Arizona Region - 6/23/67
  • Las Vegas Region - 4/20/74
  • San Gabriel Valley Region - 7/4/76
  • Golden Empire Region - 8/14/79
  • Grand Prix Region - 2/7/81
  • California Inland Region - 10/11/86
  • Arizona Mountain Region - 2/18/18
  • Vineyard Region - 11/29/2021
  • Palm Springs Region - 8/29/2023
1970: Change came quickly

As you can see from the above, California was a very quick addition to the Porsche Club of America. San Diego Region was the eighth region to form and the first west of the Mississippi. That is not to say, however, that we weren’t involved from the start. Four members of Zone 8 were charter members of PCA, joining the club in those early days prior to having regions. They are:

  • Paul Madigan, San Diego Region
  • Bill Shaffer, San Diego Region
  • Jack Case, San Diego & Grand Prix Regions
  • Gene Bussian, Las Vegas Region
The Zone map in 1977

Since its formation, Zone 8 Regions and members have taken prominent positions in PCA leadership, event organization, and had much success in competition at the National level, taking home many trophies over the years from Parade and other events.

Zone 8 regions and members have been instrumental in hosting national PCA events, listed below; along with a few of the national “weekenders” that were popular in the early days of the club.

Treffen/Escape
  • 2021 Scottsdale, AZ
  • 2019 Santa Barbara, CA
  • 2013 San Gabriel Valley & Grand Prix Regions, Los Angeles, CA, Robert Friedman & Suesan Way, Chairs
  • 2011 Arizona Region, Flagstaff, AZ, Mike Eisele, Chair
2017 Zone Map
Parade
  • 2023 Riverside Region, Palm Springs, CA
  • 2007 San Diego Region, San Diego, CA, Paul & Ruth Young, Chairs
  • 1992 San Diego Region, San Diego, CA, Tom Hauser, Jr, Chair
  • 1985 Zone 8, Costa Mesa, CA, Mike Springer, Chair
  • 1977 San Diego Region, San Diego, CA, Tom Hauser, Sr, Chair
  • 1969 Orange Coast Region, Anaheim, CA, George McClelland & John Collier, Chairs
  • 1965 Los Angeles Region, Santa Barbara, CA, Ray Hulen & Keith White, Chairs

In addition to these national events, there are a few regional weekenders that have a long standing tradition of being popular and fun events. Come out and join us, you won’t regret it!

  • Phoenix Flight, Arizona Region, since 1978
  • Cinco de Mayo, Southern Arizona Region, since 1981
  • California Challenge, Golden Empire Region, since 1998????
  • California Festival of Speed, Zone 8, since 2002

Besides these multi-event weekends, many regions have longstanding events that are quite wonderful to attend. For example, Santa Barbara Region boasts of holding their annual El Camino Real Rally, which was run for the first time in 1988. Riverside Region has their annual Porsche Timeline car show, running since 2002; and Orange Coast has been hosting their "White Glove" Concours since 1971.


Gene Bussian presents the charter to the Arizona Region President Gene Kelty
Nick Friesen presents the charter to Grand Prix Region President Peter Luelsdorf and his Board of Directors, as they put "their best foot forward"


Lou Marable presents the charter to San Gabriel Valley Region President Bill Siegmund while Secretary Hellen Boyd, Vice President Duane Alan and Zone 8 Rep Don Kravig look on.