ell, we’ve done it again! January 28th’s AONE Winter Party has now been recorded in the annals of history as another successful and fun affair. Nearly fifty party-goers gathered again for our annual mid-winter bash at the Josiah Smith Tavern in Weston, MA. It was great to see so many of our old friends again, and equally terrific to see so many new faces this year.

Huge quantities of wonderful food began arriving at around 6pm, and within a short time the long serving table was brimming with good stuff to eat. One never knows what pot luck dinners will bring, and the theme of this year’s mix was definitely … pasta! Delicious pasta of every imaginable variety! There were many other scrumptious dishes to choose from as well, and this was all followed by an eclectic array of desserts to sample. You people sure know how to delight our palates!

As we started to let dinner settle, we watched a promotional video provided by the Oklahoma AROC chapter on the upcoming national convention in Tulsa this June. In addition to giving us a feel for what to expect when we get there (the convention hotel, race track, nearby cultural attractions, etc.), we were entertained by the, uh, regionally-oriented background music as well as by the uncanny lack of traffic on Tulsa’s streets.

We then went for the door prizes—and what an assortment of treasure it was! Several Alfa Romeo parts vendors made contributions to us, in total valued at well over $500, in addition to giving us sizable discounts on items that we purchased. Our attendees went home with Alfa Romeo key fobs, posters, hats, car care kits, shirts, signs, and even a beautiful new steering wheel. Literally everyone was a winner! We offer our heart-felt thanks to Centerline, International Auto Parts, and Jon Norman’s Alfa Parts—please show your appreciation by supporting these generous companies with your purchases!

We then showed our appreciation to one of our members who has made an enormous contribution to our club over the past several years. Kevin Murphy was presented with the prestigious Founders Trophy by President Tom Lesko in a lavish ceremony that consisted of … well, primarily handing him the trophy, freshly engraved with his name. Kevin either single-handedly organized or had a hand in organizing several club events in 2005, including the spring kick-off gathering, the Attleboro BBQ meeting, the Mount Washington Hillclimb, our tech session at AlphaCars, the AONE caravan to Watkins Glen, the Great Wachusett Run, and the year-end wrap-up meeting. Whew! Nice going, Kevin, and many thanks!

Next, we ran a slide show of photos taken at last year’s events, to let us reminisce and to give us some perspective on the things we accomplished. Lots of the party attendees got to see themselves and/or their Alfas on the big screen, and everybody participated by throwing out descriptions, comments, and occasional jibes.

Finally, it was time to pack up the leftovers, put out the trash, turn off the lights, and head for home. (For Mark Ziburis, this meant driving his Spider back to South Windsor, CT—now there’s a dedicated Alfista!) The crowd had seemed particularly jovial that night—if you were there, you know what we mean; if not, find out for yourself next year!