Sometimes You Instantly Say Yes!

Sometimes when you get an invitation to an event, you stop and think about your availability. Sometimes, you instantly say Yes. I said yes instantly to Mariana Small, COO/CFO, of Accelerating Change when she invited me to attend a Porsche Driving Experience at the beautiful Monticello Motor Club on September 24th.

My rabid Porsche passion has been with me for over 10 years now. My 1st P Car was a 2001 Boxster S seal grey convertible. I truly loved it. So much I went on my Honeymoon in it. Driving from New Jersey down to the Blue Ridge Mountains was a trip of a lifetime. Drove the Tail of the Dragon and fell in love with the outdoors again.

Next up was a Christmas Gift for my husband, Matt. Signed him up to attend the Porsche Driving School at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, AL. Not sure if this is true or not. Let's face it, Porsche's marketing machine is genius. On the 1st morning, before the classroom session started, I was told they had a cancellation and did I want to participate.

Back to the invitation, you instantly say Yes too. After our spectacular first day driving on Track, I told my husband that we had to find a way to make Driving on Track a big part of our lives. We have done just that and then some.

Off to Monticello for the Porsche Experience with Accelerating Change.

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The massive front gates that welcome you into the Monticello Motor Club give you a small peek at what a special Motor Racing facility is. Registration included temperature checks and waiver signing, the new normal when you arrive at a Race Track. Then it was a scenic ride up to the amazing Porsche filled Gallery on the Hill where Registration for the Porsche Experience Event was held.

As always, Porsche hit it out of the park. The friendly staff that presented us with our Track credentials, encouraged us to have a look around the Collector Cars. There were all the new models but my favorite was the 2011 Brumos commemorative Cup Car, 1 of 7 in the World.

Right on time at 2:00 pm, the real fun began. We watched a mesmerizing video of the rich Porsche History of Racing Cars and then a detailed vehicle segment on the various cars we would be lucky enough to drive. What a lead up to an afternoon of Porsche driving.

This road course exercise left me feeling confident about whatever challenges I might face the next time I drive my Cayenne GTS in unfamiliar territories!

First up, we jumped into a brand new Cayenne and made our way to the massive Off-Road road course. As we pulled into the dusty off-road paddock, I could see some pretty gnarly looking rock inclines and tight turning terrain ready to be scaled. The brand new Cayennes and Macans for us to jump into were COVID cleaned and radio-ready for takeoff. It was an interactive roller coaster ride demonstrating the endless Porsche Performance capabilities. Most folks will never drive their Cayenne or Macan on an off-road course. But, most of them will drive their P-car SUV in the snow. This road course exercise left me feeling confident about whatever challenges I might face the next time I drive my Cayenne GTS in unfamiliar territories!

Time to hop back in a clean Cayenne and head back to the Rack Track. Ready to drive 3 new rockets, sorry, I meant Porsche's on the challenging Monticello Race Track. We were fortunate enough to drive a white Macan, a white Panamera GTS, and a Red 911 S. The Taycan is a serious game-changer. Higher tech than NORAD but easy to drive. Instant power different from any other car I have driven.

The center console radios were easy to hear our Instructor as we pulled out onto the Track for a wicked fun Lead/Follow session. There were roughly 6 cars in each run, 2 people in each car. This allowed the Instructor to get us all up to speed and move pretty fast on Lap 1. Time flew by. Counting down to the brake markers, turning in at the right apex, and not pinching corners is the best recipe for safe, speedy success.

When we pulled back into Pit Lane after each run, I was struck how quickly everyone hopped out of the Porsche's with massive high watt smiles and cheers of excitement.

The very generous giveaways included a modern chic, white Porsche Wine Cooler. It will be my must-have accessory when I get together with my P Car Posse for some Prosecco.

Accelerating Change has a vision for the future that encompasses creating opportunities for Women to develop skills in the Automotive Industry. Inclusive events for Women. The time could never be better than to launch into the future.

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With Christina Nielsen, a top World Class Female Winning Race Car Driver and Mariana Small, marketing whiz & Los Angeles PCA President, at the helm of this exciting Company are creating true female empowerment opportunities and hosting events in the Auto Industry. Sincerely hope Christina and Mariana find all the momentum and support they need to build their AcceleratingChange brand into something huge.

The day ended too soon. I really appreciated all of the Porsche Staff that made the event one; I will never forget.

As I drove out of the main gate and tried to take the whole day in, I drove my Cayenne GTS with just a little more excitement on the ride back to New Jersey. Every day I am aware of how fortunate I am to have Porsche's in my life to drive.

In closing, it will always be an instant YES, to any future invites from AcceleratingChange!!

Thank you, Christina and Mariana! Women supporting Women!

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