Mark's 930-a-thon! *please read / please HELP*

[krasuskyp]

Longtime Pelican 930 forum member Mark Houghton shared with us all last week Disaster strikes, I'm finished (GRAFFIC!!) that he suffered an unfortunate and unimaginable loss, as a disastrous fire severely damaged his home and completey destroyed his beloved '87 Grand Prix White 930, his Mitsubishi VR4, his Harley Davidson, and three motorcross bikes.




As devastating of a loss this is for him to experience, it was compounded by the fact that... Mark opted to suspend his insurance during winter storage for these items and is left with nothing.

While this is a sad consequence of his insurance strategy, we believe this is not a loss anyone should have to face.

Mark has been a helpful and friendly asset to the 930 forum for many years, eagerly sharing the expertise he had gleaned from this group.

Upon hearing of Mark's terrible situation, the level and speed of unanimous desire to help felt amongst the forum was palpable - and it was decided that we would begin a campaign to get Mark back into a 930 once again.

Being a man of pride and humility, Mark felt the natural reluctance for such an endeavor to proceed. Our argument? Most anyone spends $100 in a day or a week so frivolously that if a mere 350 of us instead diverted such frivolity toward Mark's cause, we could rectify this problem very quickly.

Mark has requested that if we are to proceed with this, that someone else run it. As it was me that initially quantified what was already on the minds of many others, we have agreed that I will act as Fiduciary of this campaign.

We encourage you to visit Mark's Fire Recovery Fund | Help a Neighbor - YouCaring.com, where you will learn some interesting bits about Mark, see some footage of his formerly beautiful 930 - before & after, with pictures and video.

And then we encourage you to support Mark with a contribution to help us reach our goal. Please also share this link throughout your various networks: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, enthusiast forums, and your own personal contacts!

Be sure to read all of the details of this effort, and then browse the site's FAQ to appease any concerns you might have. Please also contact me directly at any time with any questions.

We all eagerly look forward to enabling Mark to move past this challenging chapter of his life, and to once again enjoy unbridled WOT upshifts in a 930!

Warm regards,

-Pelican 930 Forum members

[MikeD930]

Good work Paul!! May Mark H. be blessed!!!

[mooney265]

Takes 30-seconds!!

[Ronnie's.930]

The tally is already on the way up! Great effort, Paulito! I guess you're alright after all (even if you do like to gay-up perfectly good 930s)!

[Norm K]

Thanks for heading this up, Paul.

Still a lot of fine people in this world - and a good number of them are right here on this forum.

[Tt surgeon]

Nice

[krasuskyp]

5hr update... 15 friends @ ~ $1,600!

8-)

tell yer friends!

We RULE!!

[Ronnie's.930]

I see there is some one-upsmanship going on in thar (as you would say, Paulito) - hmmmmmmm, kinda gets the ole' competitive juices going!

[Groovie Ghoulie]

I just noticed that. I might need to go shake that ole piggy bank, depending on how much traction we can generate here......

[jwasbury]

Nice work Paul. Thanks for your efforts and sounding the rallying cry.

We all know that this entire Pelican Community is full of great people. What we have here is a fine opportunity to demonstrate just how great a community it is.

Originally Posted by Ronnie's.930

I see there is some one-upsmanship going on in thar (as you would say, Paulito) - hmmmmmmm, kinda gets the ole' competitive juices going!

^in the 930 spirit fersure.

[1986911]

$2180 So Far guys. 2/1 @ 12:55pm

Lets keep it coming!

[nickyclyde]

Paul , re- post the link please , make it easier to contribute!

[///Criss]

Lets keep it going!

[9dreizig]

I'm in !!! but won't get to pay pal until tomorrow ( credit card stolen long story)..
Let's keep this going !!!!

[full quack]

Well done Paul!!!!!

Glade you could find the time, to see this venture through to fruition.

Agreed it takes less than a minute to add to the kiddy.

I wish I could play the "one-upsmanship" game, but alas, my lowly "C" note will have to do from me.

Best of luck with the growing fund. I placed a notification over on Rennslist, regarding Marks disaster, do not know if it will gain traction there but.....

Mark

[totle]

Paul, what a great initiativ.

When hearing about the tragedy that hit Mark, I was devastated.

This is a great way to help and show humanity to each other.

I'm glad that I can contribute to get Mark back in the 930 marked

[krasuskyp]

Ah, you're all welcome but I only opted to do this b/c I knew without even hearing it that I was merely speaking the minds of the masses. And, I am more than happy to do this - as - I know - Mark would do the same.

We're well on our way here and have made some tremendous initial progress. Better yet!!!... Jacob just updated Mark's original thread below with this gem of information:

Originally Posted by jwasbury

I have a line on what may be the ideal replacement for Mark's BBQ'd baby. This car is an '87 Grand Prix White Coupe (like Mark's) with Burgundy interior (also like Mark's I believe). It is a 2-owner car, originally from California with 143k on the odo, and two binders worth of maintenance history. The car has had recent body and paint work due to an agricultural excursion at a track day...the work was done to a high standard by the current owner on a "spare no expense" basis.

The engine is stock, still has all the factory emission equipment intact and functional, still has factory A/C. I viewed and drove this car last weekend and it runs and drives very well. It's not going to win Pebble Beach but is quite a good looking example (looks better than mine cosmetically, truth be told).

This car is not for sale publicly. I explained the situation here (Mark's loss and our fundraising effort) and the owner offered this car to me at a "special friend and family price" that is below our fundraising target by a decent amount. The car has some safety equipment installed for track use that can be removed and sold, further lowering the cost of entry. One could probably sell the emission stuff to someone in Cali that needs it too (assuming its not required in WA), even further defraying the acquisition cost.

This is a good enough deal that I would write the check tomorrow to buy it for myself as a "spare" -- but I don't think I can bring a 3rd Porsche home without sustaining domestic collateral damage, if you understand my meaning. Wouldn't be prudent for plenty of reasons, continuing marital bliss being one of them.

I suppose I could buy it and flip it if the fundraising effort falls short, but I feel as if that would be taking advantage of the "nice-guy" pricing the owner has offered to me. He wants the car to stay "in the family" so to speak.

So consider this a challenge friends...I'm prepared to write a check for this car, buy it and hold it securely with the ultimate plan that it will end up in Mark's rebuilt garage IF the all the finances come together in way that guarantees he can take it off my hands. This can happen even if we are short of the stated fundraising target.

How cool is that? Almost fate-like.

We very much have the power to almost easily make this happen for Mark, gents!!! We're 38 supporters deep within the first two days - incredible! Alas, we have some work to do to get to the goal. Another 150-175 folks and I'd bet we'd get there!!! It sounds like a lot of people, but that really isn't!

I know this community is strong and determined enough to ensure success - we can do it men!... We will do it!!!

Any amount helps, and it only takes a moment. There are certainly still some amazing people left in this world...

[hobie911]

I have only been a part of pelican for a short time, and new to the whole Porsche world.
Never in my wildest dreams would I ever have imagined that the purchase of a car could actually change my life, I am here to say that it has. I have met more wonderful people in the past few months than I ever would have imagined.
All this being said Mark was one of the few who commented on my posting where I introduced myself to the P world.
I would like to thank him for the warm welcome and wish you the best of luck on the new acquisition that will be in your future. My contribution may have been small but it was from the motor.

[shbop]

I'm in.

[Ronnie's.930]

Holy sh@t!!!! Someone from Rennlist just donated $1K - WOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!!!!