Tosh Kanno, Treasurer
I was born in Japan to a second-generation US Citizen Mom. My family moved to LA; then I moved to Hawaii, where I was in sales at the Maui Searsstore, in Kahului. Eventually, I moved to Oregon, answered a newspaper ad for insurance sales, and started my career in personal insurance sales. As part of that career, I met my wife, Wendy, and went to work with her. I retired in May 2016 after 43 years as an insurance agent.
Through the years I’ve been lucky to own some nice sporty cars: a Datsun 240Z, a Toyota MR2, and a Honda S2000 (my best driver to that date). Also, I owned a couple of Porsches. The first was a very used two-liter 914. Not a fast car with no heater, no air, no power anything, and a go-kart hard suspension. I loved driving that car. Later I purchased a new 2005 Cayenne Turbo. In those days, that was a crazy fast vehicle but certainly not as nimble as the 914. In 2018 I purchased a new 2018 Macan Turbo and my relationship with cars and driving changed. I love this SUV. It’s fast, agile, very comfortable, reliable, elegant, and great-looking. Three years later, I ordered my 2021 992 Turbo S. Like all Porsches, it’s much more car than anyone needs but if you can appreciate and learn to respect their capabilities, they are certainly worth the investment. For me, it’s the perfect sports car. Every time I drive it, it makes me feel very lucky.
Also in 2018, I joined PCA and ORPCA. I recall talking enthusiastically to a friend in our club about the revelation of how well the Porsches drove and handled corners. He asked me if my Macan was my first sporty car. I had to pause and consider what he said. I’ve owned some sporty cars but never focused much beyond the basic transportation value of those cars. Now I have the support of our club to experience and learn the capabilities of driving a great car. Driving straight and fast is easy but one has to learn to master the curves. The ORPCA has opened my world to the joy of driving. But even more than the cars, what I enjoy the most is sharing the Porsche experience, the camaraderie with veteran members, and introducing new members to our group.
In the years since joining the ORPCA, I’ve had the opportunity to plan and lead many drives, have assisted in several events such as the Monthly dinners, and even assisted with our Northwest Passages.
I look forward to seeing you on the road and sharing the drive soon.
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Maintaining Momentum
Oregon Region is marching through the year at a steady pace. March turned out 11 events, which may be a record for this time of year. Even though it is still early, we have seen a couple of new events on our calendar including the new dining event, Road and Fork, and an out-of-town tech session in Tacoma. I was thrilled at the number of new faces attending the New Member Orientation. Be sure to check out stories about each of those later in this edition.
I realize now one of the key elements of having so many events on the calendar is maintaining momentum while not over- burdening our volunteers. The processes and procedures are ever- evolving, and while much of it is becoming routine, keeping all the balls in the air at once is challenging. The Drive Team and the Social Committee have been working overtime, and it shows. If you see any of the drive team or social committee members out and about, be sure give them a thumbs up and a smile – they deserve it!
This year ORPCA is celebrating 65 years and PCA is turning 70! The cars, the people, the clubs have a lot to celebrate. Back in 1955 and 1960, there were no 911s, no 914s, 944s, Boxsters, Caymans, Cayennes, Macans, Panameras or Taycans and very few variations on the models that did exist. There were a handful of regional clubs and not many members. Today there are 148 regions under the national umbrella with over 160,000 members participating in over 4,000 events every year.
In the area of Club history and how PCA and Porsche have evolved in 70 years, there are two great things every Porsche owner should check out if you haven’t already. One is the fantastic history of Porsche Club of America found on the PCA website: https://ww2.pca.org/pca- history (login to PCA.org, drop down the “Membership” tab to “PCA History” near the bottom.) This is a long read, but worth it. The other entertaining and education place to spend some time is PCA’s YouTube Channel: If you have not visited the PCA YouTube Channel, be forewarned, it is an addictive spot. https://www.youtube.com/@ PorscheClubofAmerica/featured
With nine more months of this exacting year ahead, I trust I will bump into many of you more than once and that alone makes it worthwhile. As you know, it’s not just the cars, it’s the people.
Let’s Drive! You can reach me at [email protected].
Let’s Drive!
