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The 2015 Packard Proving Ground Open House was this past Sunday, October 18th and we had a great turnout. One of the Motor City Packards members brought along some friends that produce videos using a drone. They shot some great footage and posted the results on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJClpdJNH2Y&sns=em

The weather was sunny but the high temperature was only 48 degrees - still we had a big turnout. Some 33 Packards showed up, over 325 collector cars came by and we are still trying to get a good count on attendance. IMHO I would estimate 1,500 people passed through the front gate. There are more photos on the PPG Facebook page - look here:
https://www.facebook.com/Packard-Proving-Grounds-Historic-Site-113306305392346/photos/

You may wonder what the stacks of white material are doing on the roof of the Repair Garage. Work has started on insulating and re-roofing the building. Reason? We are finally getting heat and air-conditioning installed.

This is a major undertaking for the Packard Motor Car Foundation as it will extend our rental season from 6 months to year-round use. Back in 1928 when Packard constructed the building it was never insulated, so that is being added now. The coal-fired boiler is now history and will be replaced with a modern, fuel efficient HVAC system. This is a major hit to our budget and we are still looking for your support to help pay for it. Donations are graciously accepted.

Roger, as always - congratulations to you and all the other volunteers on your accomplishments in restoring and preserving the proving grounds. We all owe you a debt of gratitude and financial backing. I will continue to support your efforts with contributions.

(o{}o)

Great video.

Quote:

Hello JW:

Thanks for your kind words and your continued financial support - it keeps our volunteers motivated.

Last Sunday we had 32 volunteers working to make the event a success. I don't know what I would do without them. During our 26 week summer season we hosted 81 events this year. This means I have folks working nearly round the clock at the PPG.

For example; last week we had weddings both Friday and Saturday night. They wind up at midnight and then it takes until 1:00AM to 1:30AM to clean up the place and get ready for the next day. On Sunday (Open House) we had folks back on site at 8:00 AM for set-up duty and we closed down at 5:00 PM, then we cleaned up the site and re-locked the gates at 6:00 PM. It makes for a FULL day.

Tom and his wife Kathy were in charge of the Open House - just as they have been doing for the last few years. Like many of our volunteers they do not own a Packard, but are interested in saving a piece of Detroit's automotive history.

Notice that I continually use the term "volunteers" because that is what they are - no one draws a salary at the PPG.

Best, --Roger--