I was born in South Africa and graduated from Witwatersrand Technical College in Johannesburg with training in automotive engineering. I immigrated in 1978 and the first thing I did when I got to America was to get certification for USA flying at the Greenville downtown airport. I already had my pilots license and owned a Piper Cherokee and V tail Bonanza.
My background in automobiles got the attention of a professional racing team in Charleston, SC, and I crewed for them at tracks nationally including Daytona, Sebring, Laguna Seca, and Road Atlanta among others. My son-in-law was an avid Porsche racer, and I was his crew chief on tracks all along the east coast, setting track records at almost every location. In our last year of racing, we achieved podium status at every race. The racing fever ended when he moved to Utah.
In addition to motor racing I partnered in a Scuba diving business in Greenville called Dive Downunder Center and I became a certified dive master.
Raylene and I joined the club at their first Euro event which we attended with our Jaguar XK150, which won best in show. BMW was still new in the upstate and asked if I would allow them to show my car in the Zentrum visitors center. It was on display there at Zentrum for 3 months and it was later moved to a prominent position on the “Parkplatz” inside the factory.
Being a member of FBCC for this long has been an absolute privilege. We have made so many good friends. I have been president of the club twice and have been an advisor for many years. I have watched the club grow into what it is today, a premium car club in the upstate.
I restored a Jaguar XK150, Jaguar MK2, MGA Coupe and an Austin Mini Traveler. Because of my automotive background and passion for anything automobile related, FBCC has afforded me the opportunity to restore engines and transmissions for a few members.
