Weatherly Hillclimb Association honored by PHA
By Dino Oberto ….. “Keeping Track”
(WEATHERLY, PA) On October 15, 1961 the Weatherly Rotary staged the first Weatherly Hillclimb which took place on Evergreen Valley Road. Arthur “Bud” Faust of Wilkes-Barre won the climb and racers have been coming out every year since to challenge the nationally recognized one mile course. Fifty years later and the event shows no signs of slowing. Matter of fact the popularity of this unique motorsports venue which pits man and machine against a mountain is bigger now than it has ever been. The race is run under the direction of the Weatherly Hillclimb Association and sponsored by Fairway Subaru of Hazle Township. It is a sanctioned member of the Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association (PDA), which oversees all of the hillclimbs throughout the Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia region. SCCA is also a sanctioning body of Weatherly. Weatherly is by far one of the most popular stops on the PHA circuit as drivers haul in from as far south as Florida, the Mid-West, New England and Canada not to mention to a very strong contingent of local racers. Renowned hillclimb racer George Bowland from North Carolina owns the course record with a time of 47.17 seconds. He set that mark in the fall of 2010. Because of its reputation and the widespread support the event gives back to the community, the Weatherly Hillclimb Association was lauded by the PHA and inducted into the their Hall of Fame during a special awards ceremony held last November in Grantville. The entire group was on hand to receive the accolades and a special plaque commemorating the honor. This marked the first time such an award was given to a group rather than individually. “That’s what made it so special, to be honored as a group and to have them recognize all of our active members,” said Joe Cyburt, association president and hill racer. “It was a fantastic year in 2011, reaching our milestone 50th year. But for us we treat every event like it’s our 50th anniversary. Everyone is that special to us.” What the Weatherly Hillclimb has evolved into is more than a race event. It has become part of the fabric of the borough and thanks to Cyburt and the rest of the association the twice-a-year race up the hill has become a major player in the town’s community affairs. “The local businesses and youth and church groups all prosper from the race and it has helped put us on the map,” said Cyburt. “When the out of town folks are here for the race they are always impressed at how much the community is involved. We always strive for that. We make it so that there is much more than just the racing. We’re very focused on being family oriented.” Spectators are never charged to attend the race. Instead youth, church and civic organizations from within the town have concessions setup to help raise funds. Plus the Weatherly Hillclimb Association makes contributions. Last year over $14,000 was raised and spread back into the community. “It’s a great honor that the Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association regonized us,” said Mayor Tom Connors. “It’s a fantastic event that the whole community is blessed with and the family atmosphere is great plus the best part is that it’s all free. The hillclimb is a real boost for our economy here in Weatherly. For a little town it’s a pretty big thing.” Cyburt noted that much thanks also goes to Fairway Subaru as well as State Senator John Yudichak,State Representative Doyle Heffley and the US National Guard.
This year’s Weatherly Hillclimb events will take place on June 9-10 and September 15-16 with over 100 cars expected at each date.
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