Now in its third year, our ‘new-style’ awards scheme presentations took place on Saturday, 9 April. After two years of virtual presentations, we were delighted to personally present the awards as part of our Officials Annual Conference held at Whittlebury Park in rural Northamptonshire.
As a Club we depend heavily on the selfless contribution of our volunteer Officials and on countless members who help keep Porsche Club Great Britain at the heart of Porsche ownership and enjoyment in the UK.
The Club’s Board of Directors would like to thank everyone that took the time to submit a nomination and to the RO/RS volunteers who, as the rules encouraged, could self-nominate. A big thank you also goes to the ‘Panel of Peers’, who assisted with the nominations; Mark Byrne (964 Register Secretary), Jon Fisher and Peter Hogarth (Joint Regional Organisers for R17), Kim Sutch and Tom Downes (Joitnt R9 Regional Organisers) and Steve Johnson (997 Register Secretary). A special thank you is also owed to Steve Gilling’s, our Regional Operations Manager, who works exceptionally hard behind the scenes pulling all the enormous amount of admin together.
This year’s awards and winners are….
Bill Goodman Trophy
Awarded to a member who has been judged by the panel as having an exceptional record of long service during a period of not less than ten years membership. This year, the Bill Goodman Trophy was awarded to Ed and Nick Pike. On the evening the award was accepted by fellow R20 member Chris Collard.
Ed and Nick have made enormous contributions to the Club in ways just too many to mention. They manage one of the largest Regions in the Club and have built up a loyal following who enjoy a range of activities and drives. During COVID in particular they worked tirelessly in maintaining a sense of community, and pretty much introduced the idea of ‘pop-up events’ to the club.
The David Gillhooly Trophy
Awarded to the Register which has consistently embraced the notion of a Register by innovation, by bringing members together at events and regularly offered support by providing regular articles in Porsche Post, online, and directly to members to promote their specific model. The 2021 David Gillhooly Trophy was awarded to Mike Allen for his work in the Macan Register.
This Register had been led consistently in a welcoming and friendly manner - has organised and delivered multiple events, including Peak District Tour, Cotswold Drive, Nottinghamshire Drive and, so we are told, a pretty good BBQ event for good measure!
The John Piper Trophy
Awarded to an individual who has over 20 years membership and judged by the panel as having made a significant contribution for the good and benefits of members. The 2021 John Piper Trophy was jointly awarded to Tracy and Cliff Wilkens.
The couple have made their mark across the Club, they manage one of the busiest Registers, the Boxster, which they would tell us, is the most popular model to have been built by Porsche. The events they organise are renowned for the massive turnouts they attract, for their prompt responses to technical questions, and their good sense of humour.
The Sheffield Award
Awarded to the Region which has consistently delivered, as full as possible, a complete programme of events for its members, including events delivered on a virtual platform such as Zoom and has taken positive steps to increase membership, and has promoted national virtual and physical meetings.
Congratulations to joint winners, John and Jane Evans in Region 19 and Sue Dennis and Chris Torre in Region 25. With the nominations being so close this year, it was impossible to pick one Region over the other, with both providing special events, breakfast meets and quizzes. Region 25 faced the difficult challenge of taking control of the Region just one month before lockdown restrictions came into effect in 2020 and had to juggle getting to grips with running the Region at a time when events were not permitted. For R19, this is the second year in a row they have won the award, after previously winning an award for most improved Region in 2019.
The Paul Kelley Trophy – Spirit of Porsche Club GB
This trophy recognises a member who has consistently upheld the standards of PCGB by supporting and encouraging membership, embracing change, becoming involved in events and supporting the Club in what may be considered above and beyond that normally expected of a member. The winner of the Paul Kelley Trophy – Spirit of Porsche Club GB was Simon Barnes from R25 and Southern Register Assistant 911 SC.
Simon has been praised highly for work in the Region and as Register assistant, he has been described as an inspiration for fellow members. The winner has a long family tradition with the Porsche marque we all value so much.
Member of the Year
The winner this year was nominated by several members for recognition in a number of different categories. A Regional organiser who to quote ‘has transformed the Region’ into a vibrant group, someone who reintroduced monthly meetings, day-long drive outs, and looks after the communications channels of the region - and devoted many hours to the Club. He has been credited with ‘tireless organisation’, ‘even-handed approach’, and proactive communications with members.
It was therefore a delight to announce Nick Taylor as 2021 PCGB Member of the Year. Unfortunately, Nick was unable to attend due to prior Regional activities.
Honorary Membership
‘The Panel’ may recommend to the board a nomination for Honorary Membership and we were delighted to fully endorse the nomination.
The award of Honorary Membership went to former chair of PCGB, Martyn Molyneaux. He has been described in many of the nominations as a ‘devoted member’. Martyn has served the Club for many years in a number of different positions. At a Regional level he has organised countless events - extended drives and visits. Unfortunately, Martin was unable to attend to collect his award due to a prior event organized with his Region.
Board Award 2021
The final award for the evening was the ‘recognition award’. The awards scheme was revised three years ago, a scheme where our members get to decide who our awards should go to. The awards night is the culmination of countless hours of background work to get the scheme established and running. Without strong support and encouragement, awards nights like this could not happen.
The award went to Region Operations Manager Steve Gillings for his boundless efforts in assisting in the development, and delivery of the scheme over these first three years.