A Run to E@RTC Part 2
I write the weekly blog posts for the E@RTC site leading up to the event. This is what gets the chatter going, and so by the time cars start to arrive on Saturday morning, it’s a wild ride.
The amazing and well orchestrated volunteers manage to land over 500 cars in two hours before the show. What makes E@RTC so remarkable is that we do all this with a group of about 30 volunteers putting in no more than 100 hours each per year except for about four of us.
Our opening day group shot before the event. I bought everyone fake tats to live up to our Thug image.
I can’t say enough good things about our volunteers. Not only are they wonderful people, I’m grateful to be a part of the whole thing. I have the utmost respect for this group that’s made us even better all these years.
By 7 AM that morning, the line of cars waiting to get in was about a half a mile long, stretching around the block and down Bear Creek to the traffic light. We still managed to keep the line moving in spite of the long wait.
I was thrilled to be there and say hello to everyone. It was wonderful seeing old friends and hanging out for the day. By 9 AM we were full and I had a lot of meet and greets to get through. A big part of my role is administrative and to take care of special needs at the show. I also manage press when I’m there and generally assist in any challenges we face, especially with some difficult participants.
Some of the top collectors in the world were there as usual, along with exquisite cars from their collections. The Aston Martin DB4 was just one extraordinary car along with so many others.
In total, somewhere between two to four thousand people attend as spectators. We guess that for every one car, it draws about four to eight people depending on day and weather. We have no way of knowing for sure because people cycle through and they are constantly moving around. The event is free and it’s like one big party over a very large area.
After it’s over, a group of volunteers met for lunch at the Cut Shop in Woodinville before it was time to get back to the hotel and take a nap. Early that evening we met up with friends for dinner at Pogacha on Mercer Island, which is one of my favorite restaurants of all time. I’ve been a continuous customer since 1986 when they were located near downtown Bellevue. Yes, Dobar Chicken is my favorite.
Later that night, I sat up answering email about the show as I usually do. My name is barely mentioned anywhere and I’ve preferred it that way because I didn’t want any of this to be about me. I never wanted to be the Paul Poberezny of E@RTC, where his name was everywhere at EAA.
It’s never lost on me that we couldn’t do this without our volunteers and they deserve the recognition. I’ve always wanted to remain in the background from the day we started E@RTC. I never sign the blog either. I’m there to make sure it all runs smoothly, and I’m there to support everyone who helps make this all happen. Give them the credit.
If you want to see some of the photos, go to our Facebook Page, or Instagram. I also did some looking on YouTube and here is what I found. More videos will go up soon. If you Google the term, even more comes up.
Like any big party, there is this sudden quiet after the event, and it was time to start thinking about the trip back. The whole goal was to get to Redmond and back in the least amount of time without missing work.
Chelsea and I were up early Sunday morning getting ready to leave. I was still answering email and, she was already at the Sprinter before I left my hotel room getting it ready for the long trip back.
See Part 3.