Former POCI Car Show Coordinator Rick Gonser passes

Former POCI Car Show Coordinator Rick Gonser Has Died

Richard “Rick” Gonser passed away September 28th of a heart attack. He was born August 28, 1940. Rick was a former Naval Aviator and Vietnam veteran. He retired from L-3 Communications in 2010, where he directed the activities of a Software Quality Assurance group responsible for numerous Military and Civilian GPS applications. Prior to L-3 Communications, he held various mid-level engineering positions at Aerojet ElectroSystems, Boeing, Magnavox, Rockwell International & Unisys Corporation, combined for over 50 years in the Aerospace industry.

His love of Pontiacs began many years ago when he acquired one of his father’s race cars, a 1956 Pontiac. He joined POCI in 1976 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 1986. He also served as POCI Car Show Coordinator, Chief Judge, Technical Advisor for 1959-’64 Full-Size, Tri-Power, and Tech Forum Moderator for Tri-5 Exhausts and Manual Transmissions. He was a member of the Southern California Chapter and Street Rod-Modified Chapter. He also was a member of the AACA where he served as a Senior Master Judge.