The Coastal Empire has long been known as a unique region of the United States. Now it is becoming a unique region for the Porsche Club of America.
After several months of petitioning, negotiating and waiting, the charter for the Coastal Empire Region of PCA was issued on Dec. 15, granted by the Executive Council of the national organization.
The new region will include Beaufort and Jasper counties in South Carolina and Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham, Effingham, Evans, Liberty, Long, McIntosh and Screven counties in Georgia.
It has been a long road, according to area residents who were instrumental in getting the new region formed and approved.
Paul Jones, president-elect of the new region, applauds the efforts of Al and Jackie Travison of Hilton Head Island. 'Al and Jackie did a lot of legwork for this,' he said. The Travisons said that having Jones, a former vice president of PCA national, on board was a boost to their credibility.
The Travisons, owners of Heron House Graphic Studios, had retired and moved to Hilton Head in 1999. Soon after, Jackie bought him a 911 Carrera Targa, much like the one he had been driving when they met. 'I knew he wouldn't be happy until he had another Porsche,' she said. As Porsche owners, they could join a PCA club.
They joined the Palmetto Region of PCA, based in Charleston, S.C., one of 140 regions in the U.S., Canada and Germany. Palmetto Region covers the area from there to beyond Savannah.