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

[gsxrken]

Bump for a great cause.
There but for the grace of God go any of us on this forum!
Ken

[MikeD930]

Will you guys and gals consider to help out your 911 brother out here? I'm sure a few of you could learn Mark's lesson about losing uninsured car (being stored away for winter) and everything else mentioned at the link to a freak garage fire. I admit there were times I did not have auto insurance due to a major car project. So I contributed to Mark's fund as a price for a lesson learned and to help him get back into 911 turbo ownership. Any amount of contribution is appreciated and it's easy to do!

[SilberUrS6]

What a horrible loss.

[krasuskyp]

We're well on our way here and have made some tremendous initial progress. Better yet!!!... Jacob just updated Mark's original thread 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. No one denies the ill conceived insurance strategy, but "it won't happen to me, right"? There are certainly still some amazing people left in this world... it is important to help our brethren where we can when we can. Mark would do it for you.

I hope you will find it within yourselves to consider participating! This has gained great traction on the 930 side - hopefully folks here will help get us there and reinforce that the 911/930 community's bond is unparalleled in its depth of truly amazing resolute camaraderie...

[allaircooled]

Sad loss and an awesome effort from the community. I will take a few to browse through the link you provided. I would be happy to help out once I get back to work as I have been off these past two months.

[Creve]

Just donated. Not a lot but hoping any bit helps.

P.S. Don't know the guy, don't read the 930 forum. Just wanted to help cause I know how I'd feel if my baby were gone.

[krasuskyp]

Originally Posted by Creve

Just donated. Not a lot but hoping any bit helps.

P.S. Don't know the guy, don't read the 930 forum. Just wanted to help cause I know how I'd feel if my baby were gone.

Creve... wow, you really just summed everything up so well. PRECISELY!!!

Very cool, sir.

And you too Mr. allaircooled... good luck to you getting back to work.

I've never met Mark yet either, but he has helped me out countless times and is nearly always the first to help any/everyone out. He's a really great dude...

[RSBob]

A very unfortunate loss for Mark but a very important lesson for the rest of us. Never un-insure unless you live in a mountain 2 miles under the surface

[matt930s]

Gave what I could, but I can never repay what I've received from this group.

God speed Mark.

MattR

[ewave]

Hi Mark,

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of such a fabulous vehicle. The 930 is one of my favorite cars!

I am so touched and impressed with the generosity of the Pelican Community.

Occasionally I give to charitable causes. Before I do, I like to evaluate the charity, and how the funds will actually help the needy for whom the funds are being solicited.

Could you please provide your current net worth, and your reported income for the last two years, along with your expected income for 2014. This information will be critical for me (and I suspect others) in evaluating whether this is a worthy cause for charitable donations.

Thanks!

[matt930s]

Originally Posted by ewave

Hi Mark,

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of such a fabulous vehicle. The 930 is one of my favorite cars!

I am so touched and impressed with the generosity of the Pelican Community.

Occasionally I give to charitable causes. Before I do, I like to evaluate the charity, and how the funds will actually help the needy for whom the funds are being solicited.

Could you please provide your current net worth, and your reported income for the last two years, along with your expected income for 2014. This information will be critical for me (and I suspect others) in evaluating whether this is a worthy cause for charitable donations.

Thanks!

You are kidding, right?

MattR

[Ronnie's.930]

Originally Posted by matt930s

You are kidding, right?

MattR

I was wondering the same thing. Anybody that would let people do this for him (and Mark needed A LOT of prodding) does not have the "net worth", or income, necessary to fix things on his own.

[matt930s]

Originally Posted by Ronnie's.930

I was wondering the same thing. Anybody that would let people do this for him (and Mark needed A LOT of prodding) does not have the "net worth", or income, necessary to fix things on his own.

Agree.

Besides that, just give what you are comfortable with.
Or don't.
The guy has been through enough.

MattR

[matt930s]

It's at $6740

Can we get it up to $7k by midnight west coast time?

MattR

[Augustus]

Hi Mark,



I am very sorry to hear about the loss of such a fabulous vehicle. The 930 is one of my favorite cars!



I am so touched and impressed with the generosity of the Pelican Community.



Occasionally I give to charitable causes. Before I do, I like to evaluate the charity, and how the funds will actually help the needy for whom the funds are being solicited.



Could you please provide your current net worth, and your reported income for the last two years, along with your expected income for 2014. This information will be critical for me (and I suspect others) in evaluating whether this is a worthy cause for charitable donations.



Thanks!

Sounds reasonable....

[krasuskyp]

$10 away from $7k, 1:15 left in the night!

8-)

We're doing great here folks! Everyone has their own feeling on this, anytime you are talking $$$ it's going to be a controversial issue (akin to politics / religion).

MattR said it best - either give or don't, don't grille the guy. Put yourself in his position maybe before you consider such perspective... guy's lost a lot here.

I hope and trust this will continue to retain the positive spirit it has been afforded thus far gents...

Jake's got the replacement car - exact same year / color / interior at that (!!! !!! !!!) - lined up and ready to purchase! And that can occur at an amount that is drastically beneath our goal, due to the seller's desire to also contribute to Mark's plight.

We're going to make this happen men.

[ewave]

Originally Posted by matt930s

You are kidding, right?

MattR

No more than you!!!

[Ronnie's.930]

One thing I want to mention, in case anyone hasn't read it in Paul's write-up on the YouCaring/Help a Neighbor page, is that if Mark is able to take possession of a new car, such as the one Paul mentioned above, and down the road he decides to sell it, all of the proceeds from the car's sale will go back into charity.

[msterling]

OK. I'm in. What a great community that has developed on this board!

BTW my 911 sits all Winter but I keep it insured.