February 2024: Steve & Victoria Sweet

Arizona Mountain Region Co-Founder,  former Region President, Vice-President and Committee Chairperson

Porsche Life is Good

Victoria first encountered Porsches during her childhood in the 1970s. In Laguna Beach, California, she would walk home from the beach while primarily passing Porsches parked along her narrow street. She dreamed of owning her own Porsche one day. Years later, after receiving a second speeding ticket in a short period of time, a judge in California gave her a choice, receive points on her insurance or go to Laguna Seca Raceway driving school. She wisely choose driving school where she drove a Porsche while a professional driver was in the passenger seat. She learned a great deal about navigating the apex of each turn.

Steve purchased his first Porsche in 2005, a Boxster with six speed manual, Porsche Active Suspension Management, and beautiful guards red exterior.

In 2005 Steve also became a member of PCA in the Grand Prix Region of California. While Steve was part of the Grand Prix Region, he and Victoria enjoyed Region driving tours. They also took their own tours of Big Sur.

Steve’s second Porsche was a 2013 Boxster S, his first PDK equipped car. It was highly optioned including Platinum Silver exterior and Carrera Red top and full leather interior.

After retiring in 2016 with 30 years at Toyota Motor Sales, USA, he moved to Prescott and brought his Boxster S with him.

Steve has been a member of the Arizona Mountain Region since the club’s beginning in 2018.

In 2019 Steve married the love of his life, Victoria. That same year they bought a 2017 911 4S. All wheel drive and all wheel steering makes this one fast Porsche! They still enjoy driving it.

Recently, Steve and Victoria purchased a 2023 Macan S. With an emphasis on sport, it is a fun to drive SUV. Recently, we found out that the Macan goes very well in the snow.

We’re grateful to be able to experience Porsches and love spending time with many friends in the Arizona Mountain Region.

November 2023 : Linda Fuegen

An Amazing life of service and a Love for Her Macan

My journey to own my first Porsche took a long circuitous route. Growing up in Auburn Maine, an only child to working class parents, I watched my parents’ very frugal attitude to transportation for all those years. They always bought really old cars, and my Dad would try to stay ahead of the salt on the roads in winter that “eat “cars, by painting over Bondo in a yellow tan color. Each batch was different, and after a while their car started to look like a “paint by number” canvas.

My first car was a 1963 Rambler American (Nash) bought in 1968 from a man in his 80’s who used to sell popcorn from a wagon near the City Hall. It looked like a box on a box. My dad and I would try to fix it to keep it running. I bought some brightly colored large Ricky Ticky flower stickers and adorned it, much to their dismay. When my mom would drive it, hippies would give her the peace sign, until they saw she was no teenager. I took it to college, and when I got married in 1974, the morning of my wedding, it DIED. So much for my mom inheriting my flower power car. The cost to repair it was more than the worth of the car, so it went to a junkyard. Larry and I married in Nov.1974 and will soon celebrate our 49^th anniversary. Since 1987 he has been a full time knifemaker, earning his Mastersmith rating with the American Bladesmith Society. We traveled the world doing invitational knife shows, from Paris to Milan, and California to New York and in between. This year he retired from doing shows, but he still makes jewelry, spurs, bits and knives for friends and family, so the forge is not idle.

When we arrived in Prescott in 1993 to purchase our land, we delayed moving out until 2000, as I was finishing up my job at an atomic power plant as a Senior Information Center staff, and then decided to go back to college for two further degrees – Social Services and Gerontology with a concentration in Dementia. That brought me to Prescott where I was able to work with Dementia patients at the Margaret T. Morris residential center, ending up as the Director of Education training caregiver and assisted living managers for the State of AZ. I ended up training 1,200 certified caregivers and 350 assisted living managers during that 10-year tenure. I also worked for Northern Arizona Council of Governments (NACOG) on the Advisory Council on Aging, training family caregivers in central and northern Arizona until that funding ran out. My last job was with the Yavapai tribe in the Education Department until I retired in 2018.

When I was driving around Prescott, often I would be behind a bronze-colored Cayenne. I had no idea it was a Porsche, but I always liked the lines of that car. I said “Someday I will own one of those. “

In April of 2019, just after my mom’s death, I went in for what was supposed to be a no-stress breast surgery. All indicators were that it would be benign. The pathology dept. had a different opinion, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer with no family history. It required a second surgery a few weeks later. It was during that time of diagnosis and radiation that I found myself at North Scottsdale Porsche. My thought was “what am I waiting for”?? I thought I wanted a Cayanne, but in test driving both SUV’s and not needing room for car seats, and kids, the Macan was a better choice for me. So, I bought a 2018 Macan, loaded, with the wheel type I wanted. After my childhood years of being ashamed of the cars we had, I finally had a moment when I decided to buy my dream car. I have had it for four years already and I’ve enjoyed every mile. The first thing I did was research how to keep it clean and I invested in a foam cannon and special products and brushes for various functions. This car has never been through a commercial car wash and has no swirls.  I joined the AZM group shortly after purchase and when the treasurer had to step down for medical reasons, I was asked to step up to the position. I have finished my three years and I have seen the group grow so much during that time.

September 2023 : Joe Korpiel

A whirlwind of global adventures

Joe was born in Belgium in 1936, and before he was 5 years old his family was desperately scrambling to escape their Nazi occupied homeland.  The Korpiel’s avoided capture and in 1945 when Germany surrendered the family was able to reunite. Joe’s dad was determined to emigrate with his family to the USA to avoid involvement in any other possible conflicts in Europe.

In the Big Apple, Joe grew up, learned English, and quickly became an American Teen. His life was again interrupted by war when S. Korea was invaded by the North. Joe joined the US Army in 1953 and for three years he gave up his teen lifestyle of girls and cars. When he returned home Joe attended college in CA and settled in the San Francisco Bay area.

Joe married his life-long partner Marilyn in 1961 and started his career and married life with his new wife.  Joe was interested in racing and began racing sports cars on the weekends.  Racing led Joe to his love of Porsche, and a 1961 356 Super 90 changed his life! He won races from Washington to Florida and still cherishes his memories of gliding past other cars on the track in his snug, road-hugging Porsche.  Joe continued racing and had the most successes with his 1970 914-6; he was West Coast B Class SCAA Champion three years in a row, and still holds the Willow Springs track record in B-Sport!  All this while raising two daughters and earning a living.

Joe has owned a couple dozen Porsches for street driving including 911’s, Boxster’s, and a 930.  Today Joe drives his new 2023 GT4 RS which you can enjoy seeing on our AZM Porsche Club drives when the weather is suitable.

From a boy who started life in an uncertain world of bigotry and conflict, Joe had an incredible life journey which brought him and Marilyn to Prescott a few years ago for the mountain life.  Marilyn passed last October from a long battle with cancer, but Joe is surrounded by his many friends and his daughters Stephanie and Rachel who are always a call away.

August 2023 : Keith and Beth Guidus

Lived East and West – Long Time Porsche Owners

From Keith:

“We grew up in Pittsburgh area so RUST was our nemesis. First car was SAAB 96, then a Ford Falcon Sprint, MG Midget, AMX and then cars for business. Getting married in 1976 we bought a TR7 Coupe, TR7 Convertible, and then a TR8.

There was an attempt or 2 at 70’s era 911’s but all seemed noisy or NO A/C. Moving to So Cal in 1980 we saw very few English cars but so many Newport Beach VW’s everywhere. First Las Vegas trip in the TR8 we discovered minimal AC  and overheating. Being in sales (SnapOn Industrial) I set a goal to sell 2 of our $30K Torque testers in 1983 and Rohr in San Diego and the San Onofre Nuclear plant ordered one each! Commission went to down payment on 1984 911 Targa. Shopped around and EVERYONE was buying Guards Red so we ended up with Slate Blue  w/dark blue leather and picked up in May 1984 from Circle Porsche-Audi. The MSRP was $37,500 and $770  monthly for 5 years. First road trip was to Mammoth for Memorial Day skiing. Second road trip was Las Vegas and cool air NOT cold air. Circle said ”cool is good!”. We did a track day or 2 at Willow Springs and several autocrosses in the next years It became Beth’s daily driver until unhappy former employee keyed it in 1986.  Our son came along in 1987 and we tinted the back window so he wouldn’t fry in the car seat. 1990 brought a new clutch, etc. at 70K miles but we also started riding Harleys. Rode to Sturgis 1992, 94, 96, 98, 99, and the 911 sat a bit except for Beth using it for work drives to San Luis Obispo, Palmdale and Yuma(not in summer).  She also picked up a ticket or 2. Picked up a Weekend Warrior in 2004 and spent many weekends in Ocotillo Wells and Barstow areas on dirt bikes and graduated to SXS’s in 2012. We had some paintwork done in 2005 due to our son and a curve in Trabuco Canyon and a street crossing sign and it looked better than new.

Our membership with Orange Coast PCA started in 1985 and we went from being the rich kids with a NEW 911 to being the not so rich in the 2000’s so our participation was spotty. Working at the yearly race weekend at California Speed weekend being a fun event. Moving to Prescott in 2019 we found a new life with both PCA AZ MTN and our HOG group. No one was trying to out do and one up each other with the money spent on toys. Just nice, mostly retired Porsche and Harley owners. Wanting to participate in group drives in warm weather brought us to a 2006 Boxster with only 44K on it at Porsche Palm Springs and Beth drove home with AC that works!  So the 911 is mine at 132K miles now!”

June 2023 : Jeff and BJ Boehm

New to AZM from Minnesota’s Nord Stern Region

From Jeff: “The first Porsche I saw I was 7 or 8 years old and a coworker of my dad’s stopped by the house.  I remember it vividly to this day being the car nut I was and still am.  It was a faded red 356 cab.  I’m not sure if it was a Speedster or not.  It had the top down and a rollbar behind the seats.  The thing that impressed me the most was the “stinger” exhaust!  I will never forget the sound that that little car made when he left!  Fast forward to summer of 1977.  I was cruising the car lots in my 1975 MGB when I spotted a 1970 914 in the Datsun (Nissan) dealer’s lot.  I asked about the price and my trade value and promptly went home and sold the MGB.  A week later I was driving the 914.  She was kind of a beater!  It ran good but leaked oil and had been painted and changed from signal orange to a blue metallic.  I didn’t much care for the color so I asked a friend who worked in a body shop to paint it for me which he did after hours with another color change to black!  Nobody cared about originality back then! I sadly sold that 914 in 1983 to help fund an upgraded house.  Then life really got in the way and there were no Porsches in my life until 1999 when BJ suggested I get another Porsche like I had in the past.  We found one a couple of weeks later right in Rochester, MN where we lived and ironically it was black in color having been changed from Phoenix red.  It needed shocks and struts and some general repairs and clean up before BJ would even ride in it!  In 2000 we joined PCA and the Nord Stern Region.  In 2003 our 914 won 1^st in the “Street” class at the Nord Stern Concours!  After buying, restoring and selling a 1976 911 Targa and a 1983 911 SC coupe it seemed like the right time to move to something newer and per BJ’s suggestion I did.  In May of 2014 we found a Cobalt Blue Cayman 3 hours away in Iowa that soon joined us in MN.  We “upgraded that Cayman in 2019 with a 2014 Cayman when BJ said she would like a white one with tan interior!  We found it online at of all places a Hyundai dealer near Dallas Texas.  Our current 2018 Cayman which we purchased in April of 2022 is sapphire blue and only had 20,000 when we found it in Scottsdale.

BJ and I moved here in early August 2021 and by mid-August Steve Sweet had us going on a drive to Payson with the AZM group.  I became a member the next day!  Steve soon found out about the picnics, drives and events I planned in MN and asked me to join the Activities Committee.  When both Steve Sweet and Bob Frith resigned from the committee president elect Lorraine Friedman asked if I would stay on as committee chair which I accepted.  BJ and I are having a lot of fun at the club events and meeting a lot of new people.  The AZM region has made our move to AZ a lot easier!”

April 2023 : Bob and Linda Frith

Former Region President, Treasurer, Driving Tour Chair, Driving Instructor and Concours Lead Judge

Bob writes: “I first encountered Porsches up close when a friend in college took me for a spin in his 356. I returned from that ride convinced someday I would own one. A few years after Linda and I were married, she surprised me with a used 356 for a birthday present, what a great present! I sold it a few years later to help finance graduate school, and continued to bemoan not having a Porsche while we were raising a couple of small children. Sports cars gave way to a VW bus. Several years later, Linda again surprised me by finding a 1983 Turbo-look 911SC! A car of my dreams! We joined PCA in 1988 with that car. Eventually, I began making some modifications to make it a better track car, to the point where she told me to go buy a track car and leave the 911 alone so she could enjoy riding in it. So, a highly modified track 914 took up residence in our garage alongside the 911. Life was good!”

“A few years later, I sold the 914 in anticipation of buying a 944 Spec series car. Then 9/11 happened and plans were put on hold. A few years later our 911 was totaled in a freeway accident in Phoenix. I walked away unscathed, with a greater appreciation for the solid quality of Porsches. A 968 replaced the 911SC, which we thoroughly enjoyed for 15 years. A very under-appreciated model and, by the time it was sold, I had it set up perfectly. But, the itch to again own a 911 had continued and when Linda suggested I should look around for one, that’s all it took. Bring-a-Trailer was auctioning a 2004 996 with an engine built by Jake Raby, one of his 3.8L Stage II engines. That’s all it took to get us back into a 911 again. Unfortunately, that meant the 968 had to go to another owner, not enough garage space.”

“During our almost 35 years in PCA, I have been a Region President, Treasurer, Driving Tour Chair, Driving Instructor and Concours Lead Judge. So when good friend and fellow Porsche-nut, Donny Blackburn, asked for my help in pursuing a new region in northern Arizona, I was eager to help organize the effort. Shortly thereafter the Arizona Mountain Region was chartered by PCA! Needless to say, Porsches and PCA have been a big source of enjoyment for us. I encourage all members to take advantage of what the club has to offer, you’ll realize it’s not just the cars, it’s the people.”

March 2023 : Donny Blackburn

Founder and First President Arizona Mountain Region

Jane and I married in 2006. We have an ’04 911 Turbo Carrera Cabriolet today.

When I arrived… 1983: PCA Porsche owners in northern AZ would automatically belong or be invited to join the AZPCA (PHX). Activities required travel to the valley and often meant a night drive back home. We participated in activities with them whenever time allowed.
In the summer of 1986, a few local private and business leaders sought to create our own Northern AZ PCA Region. Many liked the idea but wouldn’t want to serve in leadership. Over the next 25 years several (5) more attempts were made to rally our troops, but all fell short. In 2016 I began the process (again) to collect PCA members and non-members in Northern Az to drum up support. This time I had the help of my good friend Bob Frith. The response we got from northern AZ Porsche owners was terrific! A few helped with the challenging task of applying for a PCA Charter for the new proposed “Arizona Mountain Region”. In mid 2017 we began the difficult task of putting our new Region together. Working with PCA National we were finally granted the AZM Charter on March 18th, 2018. As Founder and First President I was very proud of our team and anxious to lead the new region into action. After we had just started a series of back to back heart attacks put me on the bench for several seasons. BUT the new region was now on the map! Then came nearly 3 years of Covid. Although today, with Covid almost in the rear-view mirror, our still maturing region sees plenty of fun ahead. We’re growing and adjusting to provide a great club experience for our members.

55 Years as a Porsche owner, my first Porsche in 1968 was a sweet little 912. I was a modest collector with a long list of Porsche Models (all 911’s). I admit to being a hopeless Porschephile. I’ve certainly had more than my share of beautiful Porsches. I am delighted to see the new energy in our 2023-4 leadership. My artwork has been published and used over the years to support various PCA events, create our AZMR Logo, Banners and AZM apparel. I’m a full time, professional artist (My First Passion). I hope to continue contributing, with my work, for our region. Janie and I are looking forward to the coming years with our wonderful friends.

Founder’s Note
Porsche Regions and Clubs are the backbone of the PCA. I encourage every member to become involved with regional activities. You don’t need to be an officer. You don’t need to have any Regional responsibilities or even show up to be a great member and enjoy the club. Please use our new website to share your ideas and communicate with fellow Porsche enthusiasts. Share your feelings there for your Region and your passion for your Porsche.
We want to know what you think and hear what you’d like to see the club doing. It’s your club!!
Smooth Sailing to all the members and the leadership of the AZM. God Bless America!!

February 2023 : Don and Leigh Hallford

My introduction to the Porsche brand came from a friend I met in the late ’70s, we still keep in contact today. He owned Camaros and Corvettes when I first met him. He would take me for rides in them. They were great cars. Then he bought a 1990 Porsche 928. That was the first car he every scared me during a ride. I could not believe how fast that car was, fast and luxurious at the same time. Not like a Camaro or Corvette. I told myself I would own one, one-day.

My first Porsche was a 1998 Boxster. A truly fun car. “Fast enough, but not fast enough to get you thrown in jail,” I used to say. After owning it a few years we traded it for a 2003 911 Carrera 4S. It was a blast to drive and with the PDK my wife Leigh enjoyed it as much as I did. I’m a DIYer and was surprised at how easy the 911 and the Boxster were to maintain. Soon afterwards I was financially able to afford my dream car, a Porsche 928. I bought a 1988 928 S4. It was in decent shape when I purchased, but it suffered from a few years of neglect. After several years of maintenance and several thousands of dollars, (don’t ask the amount) the car has evolved into a dependable daily driver. It is everything I dreamed it would be. I buy cars to drive and maintain, not to sit in the garage.

Leigh and I decided to upgrade to a more modern car. The 911 was an “analog car in the digital age”. She is a terror internet shopping. I told her I wanted a GTS with a manual transmission, a bit of a challenge to find. It took her a few weeks, but she found a lovely vehicle in CA. When I first looked at the car I said, “that is a lovely car, I want to get it”. Making a long story short, we are now the proud owners of a 2019 911 GTS Cabriolet. What a fantastic vehicle.

Sadly we only have a three car garage and Porsches were not meant to be parked in the driveway. The first to go was the 911, it now resides in NM. The 928 is still for sale, not the same market as for a 911.

We joined PCA about 4 years ago as a way to meet more people, being new to the Sedona area. It’s a move we have not regretted. We’ve met some fabulous people and enjoyed some wonderful rides. We plan to continue our membership for a long time to come.

January 2023
Bob and Teri Taylor

I have been privileged to serve the AZM Region as Secretary in 2020 and President from 2021-2022.

My first Porsche was a 2002 Guards Red 911 Carrera Cabriolet 6-speed I purchased in Las Vegas later in 2002 with only 5,000 miles on the odo. This is when I first joined PCA’s Arizona Region. This car terrified Teri as she always stalled it shifting out of first gear. We sold it in 2008 to buy a second home in Phoenix. So, Teri was then shocked to then find a Carmona Red 2008 Porsche Cayenne S in the garage after I went shopping for a Christmas present “for us” without telling her.

I loved the Cayenne and kept it longer than any car we owned before. We reluctantly sold it when we moved to Colorado in 2014 because there was no Porsche dealer in Boulder. Sadly, we were Porsche-less for a few years until I got the itch for an alternative fuel vehicle. Teri knew it was a mistake when I was considering a Tesla, so she suggested the Cayenne E-Hybrid which had just been announced. We built this in 2018 and after multiple EPA delays, finally took delivery at Porsche North Scottsdale in September 2019.

We then re-joined the PCA and discovered the wonderful people in the AZM region. After trying to keep up with the 911’s on drives in the Cayenne, we were able to buy a 2010 911 4S Cabriolet as a CPO (Certified Pre-Owned) car from Porsche North Scottsdale. We love this car so much that we miss it when are at our second home in Longmont, Colorado. Scheming, I bought a 2017 911 4S Cab through the PCA Mart “for Teri” so we could take the 2010 911 to Colorado. The 2017 911 is our AZM touring car. Now, our garages in both homes are full and we have three Porsches to drive for fun in two states.

Porsche….”There is no Substitute!”

– Bob Taylor