Panteras Northwest - Birch Bay 2006 

(The following article will be submitted to POCA Profiles for publication) 

Previously, on Panteras Northwest . . . We left you hanging at the end of our summer here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest on the honeymoon season of the newly formed Panteras Northwest.  Now, we don’t have the tropical vistas which Paradise Panteras, the other new POCA chapter, has to enjoy every time they take a drive.  On the other hand, Island hopping is rarely a challenge around here. 

Ah, but I digress. 

Our first year had almost come to a close after the Seattle Italian Concours, but the conclusion would be a doozy.  Normally, as you saw in Profiles 2005 No. 4, we typically close out the year with a drive on the Sunday after Labor Day weekend to Birch Bay State Park, near Blaine, WA and the Canadian border. 

This has been the tradition since long before I ever imagined I would be a part of it.  As this was to be the 20^th anniversary of this event, we thought we should make it something special.

Panteras Northwest Comes to Life

(The following article will be submitted to POCA Profiles for publication)

They had been together for over 20 years.  By anyone’s standard, that is far too long to wait to take that last step and make it official, to give the relationship that final stamp of recognition. 

All their friends had seen it, had been with them on many occasions, enjoyed picnics, parties and Saturday-morning get-togethers to share stories and help each other out.  They’d been there to share the successes, the occasional breakdowns, and to lend a hand to get things back on track. 

And so it was, on a drizzly and dark evening in early January, when the indoor life of a typical Northwest winter lends one the time for more contemplative endeavors, that the final plans were hatched.