I recently had the good fortune to visit the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. I expected to be impressed by the incredible (hard not to over-use the word here) work they do in treating and finding cures for children’s cancer, but I was equally impressed by the whole operation as well as what they have accomplished since their founding in 1963.
Throughout my visit, my heart welled with pride, thinking about Nord Stern’s relationship with St. Jude and, of course, reflected on how we became such great partners.
Nord Stern’s history of philanthropy primarily began more than 25 years ago in 1999 with an effort to get more members involved in the annual Club Race. That year, Nord Stern member and Club Racer, Bobby Piper, took it upon himself to create an opportunity to donate to Courage Center based on the number of laps he completed in the enduro. This effort was well received, so for the 2000 Club Race, Nord Stern got fully behind this effort, and we were off and running with a two-decade-long relationship raising impressive sums for Courage Center. By 2009, the amount surpassed $300,000 and was easily more than double that through the life of the relationship.
There have been several fundraising methods used over the years, but the primary fundraising method was silent and live auctions as a key element of the annual Club Race event at Brainerd International Raceway. An important benefit of this effort was creating an event that appealed to the non-racing club members. These auctions provided a fun opportunity to wind down track activities and socialize for a good cause at the end of the day on Saturday. Keith Jones and his wife, Susan, took charge of the auction and other fundraising activities and did an incredible job for the next 17 years.
Keith masterfully reached out to his business contacts as well as fellow club members to come up with some incredible auction items. He had a relationship with Target and Chip Ganassi Racing who annually donated unique and very special auction items. On my credenza as I write this, is a helmet visor worn by Scott Dixon during practice for the 2010 Indy 500. Signed by he and his teammate, Dario Franchitti. I’m proud to say I paid a lot for it. Two other examples of many, are in 2008 we had a 1980 911 SC donated to the auction and in 2010 transportation via private jet to the 2011 Long Beach Grand Prix where Chip Ganassi Racing provided credentials and hosted our very lucky winners. Also included was a meet ‘n greet in the Ganassi hauler with the aforementioned Indy 500 winners, Scott Dixon and Dario Franchetti. All Dario wanted to talk about was his modified 911.
Over the years, the Club Race auction remained the primary fundraising activity, but philanthropy was becoming ingrained in Nord Stern’s culture and increasingly became a feature of many of the club’s events.In 2016, Nord Stern member and professional photographer Michael Grabner noticed a piece in Panorama regarding a Florida Region creating a charity calendar. Michael researched what they had done and thought he could improve on it, and set forth to create something truly special for 2017. He was motivated that first year to do something in remembrance of a very active member we had lost, Roy Henneberger, so the calendar supported NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness). Participants made a donation to have their car featured for each month. Michael took the photos and produced an incredible calendar which was then sold to additional donors.
The response was very strong, so Michael endeavored to create a 2018 calendar in memory of Mark Bouljon, long-time Parts Manager at Carousel Porsche and club supporter, who we had lost to cancer. Logically, this calendar supported the American Cancer Society. As an encore, his 2019 work was in memory of a beloved member, Teresa Pfister, and donations went to her favorite charity, Boys & Girls Club. The three calendars raised $20,000.
Things changed dramatically in 2021-2022. Nord Stern leadership recognized that the charitable efforts at the Club Race had become stale. The consensus was that the social aspect was a critical feature of the event, but the auction had lost its luster, and something needed to be done. Our Porsche dealer partners were supporting the Club Race and suggested we meet with their primary charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Immediately, St. Jude was excited about the relationship and supported Nord Stern’s efforts with enthusiasm and a level of professionalism we had not experienced previously.
By 2023, the relationship between St.Jude, our Porsche dealers, and Nord Stern had ramped up to a new level of collaboration and communication. JDC-Miller MotorSports also entered this picture as a Porsche team and became part of the conversation. The highlight of this collaboration featured the dealership holding its 75thAnniversary of Porsche event at the JDC-Miller MotorSports race shop and featured the brand new Porsche 963. This was likely the first event of its kind with the 963 in the world. Very desirable t-shirts were created and quickly sold out, with funds going to St. Jude. Over 400 attended.
In 2024 things continued to ramp up with St. Jude becoming increasingly a key component of not just the Club Race, but many of Nord Stern’s activities. St. Jude was heavily involved from kicking off the year at the Green Flag party to closing it out at the Checkered Flag party. Just one highlight of many, was impressive Nord Stern support for St. Jude’s “Love Racing. Stop Cancer.” effort. This featured donors putting a sticker on the JDC-Miller MotorSports Porsche 963 for the 6-Hour IMSA race at Indianapolis. The 963 was covered with LOVE RACING. STOP CANCER. stickers. All this goodwill was converted into a 3rd place finish.
2025 is off to a great start. This year’s Green Flag Party featured a St. Jude Patient Family who came to personally thank Nord Stern for its efforts and share their St. Jude story. A silent and live auction featuring a Nord Stern quilt handmade by Eileen Karn, was very successful. Nord Stern, our Porsche dealers, and JDC-Miller MotorSports, will again be supporting St. Jude’s “Love Racing. Stop Cancer.” effort with another shop event in September and at the Indianapolis round of the IMSA championship.
So there you have it. 25 years of Nord Stern philanthropy. Demonstratively, Nord Stern is so much more than just a bunch of folks who enjoy their cars and each other. We have impacted the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of kids over the past 25 years and are clearly on track to do even more in the coming years. I hope you feel as proud of what our club has done, and is doing, as I do.