Treffen at t he Greenbrier

photo by Greg Kahles

Treffen, translated into German, means ?to meet?. Meeting is exactly what 300+ enthusiastic PCA members did at the Greenbrier Resort in September 2020 despite Covid complications. The four-day event included driving awesome roads, eating great food, catching up with friends and making lots of new ones. Treffen is a PCA National sponsored program, that normally happens twice a year, and the one at the Greenbrier (the only one of 2020) was hosted by the First Settlers, Shenandoah and Potomac Regions. You may have read the stories in Panorama or online, but the real story starts two years earlier.

In 2018 we gathered at the PCA Headquarters with Harry Season the National Treffen Chair, Rose Ann Novotnak the Zone 2 Rep, and some Region Presidents. Disguised as a meeting, this was an explanation of how Treffen works, and an interview of those interested in making it happen. Rose Ann raised Josie Grandfield?s hand and she was selected to be the Treffen Chair.

PCA National coordinates details with the hotels to include lodging and menus for the major parties and dinners. They also handle the website, advanced registration, the swag and signing the contracts. The staff is small with only one paid employee, Mariela Murphy. The rest of the National team consists of volunteers and the heavy lifting comes from the local regions.

Our primary job was to plan, coordinate and execute six driving tours. We avoided use of the same roads, offered a variety of tours with varying cuisine offerings at our destination restaurants, and showed our guests some Southern Hospitality. Planning details included scouting the roads, negotiating with restaurants, preparing descriptions for the website and writing up the turn-by-turn driving instructions. All the while, being on the lookout for even better roads, unique roadside sights and the most fun ways to get there. Much of this searching was trial and error, with many roads only driven once, most all done while socially distancing while at our homes five hours away.

Each of the three Regions took responsibility for two tours, but every detail had to been coordinated and balanced against the other. We obsessed over the details of the experience we wanted to offer down to the smallest detail. For example, we figured some folks would appreciate the tablecloths at the iconic Homestead Resort, but others would prefer the BBQ at Wolf?s in Marion.

If that wasn? t enough, the tours were required to meet exacting PCA standards for length, appropriate bio-breaks and safety considerations. We didn? t want

people to wake up too early and we needed to get them back to the Greenbrier in time for high tea and the evening events. Most importantly, we wanted people to have great memories of driving experiences from our Treffen.

Given the Covid-19 restrictions and changes across Virginia and West Virginia, Josie stayed in near constant communication with the National team, each of the venues and the volunteers as the situations evolved. PCA did a masterful job of working with the Greenbrier and the Regions to ensure our planning met their criteria. Finally, they made the tough call to ?go? because they were convinced we would get it right.

photo by Greg Kahles

photo by Phil Grandfield

Even though we started advanced planning two years earlier, the final decision wasn? t made until about two months in advance. "This is really happening! Let?s go!?.

For the tours, we settled on the famous ?Tail of the Dragon? from Tazewell to Marion, VA; the New River Gorge to include driving into the gorge and under the bridge; lunch and tour of the Homestead Resort; a trip to Snowshoe Mountain with a stop at the Cass railway; a walking tour and lunch in historic downtown Lexington, VA; and lunch at the historic Natural Bridge Hotel.

The ?nerve center? for the tours early each morning was the Staging Area. Our responsibility included volunteers managing flow in order to safely get 150 Porsches parked in the right place and heading on their tours on time. It began with Google Maps and a tape measure to design the area and ended with orange cones to mark it.

The key to every Treffen is the driving tours. Get it wrong and there could be lots of unsatisfied folks who traveled a long way for the experience. If safety were compromised, it could have been even worse. Each tour required a lead, mid and sweep cars driven by volunteers from the Regions. The Leads were responsible for their tours and drove them several times in advance. Mids and Sweeps also pre-drove the routes to ensure everyone was ready for contingencies. Each lead used a standardized safety briefing guide for the driver briefs that were touted as ?best ever?by the National team.

Meanwhile, back in the hotel, the volunteers were registering our guests, welcoming them with goodie bags and answering lots of questions about the event, the local area and other activities. The Registration Team was our first chance to make a good impression and it worked! The info desk was manned by volunteers through the entire weekend. Overall, it took about 60 dedicated, smiling, and hardworking volunteers to make Treffen Greenbrier happen!

Treffen at the Greenbrier was a massive effort, but we pulled it off making the only National PCA event in 2020 a huge success! Working with the National staff, and the cooperation from all the volunteers from the different Regions, was great and made all the work worthwhile. Most of all, it was lots of fun!

The best part was the universally positive feedback we got from our fellow members; ?the customers?. Several people boldly proclaimed that their experience was the best ever in PCA! Great feedback indeed!

photo by Phil Grandfield

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