And we’re off! A jovial group of Alfisti gathered at Vinny T’s in Natick, MA on March 19th to mark the official start of Alfa season with the annual AONE Spring Kick-Off meeting. After waiting in the cold March air for the doors to open at noon, we finally gained entrance and were shown to our private room, where Vinny’s had set up a big, squarish table around which we could conduct our business.

But first we mingled around for a while, sipping an eclectic variety of vino, acqua, birra e caffè while getting reacquainted, and in some cases acquainted for the first time. It’s always great to see some new faces show up! The attendees comprised Jim Miga, Mel and Marion Dunn, Tom Lesko, Stacy Edinburg, Kevin Murphy, Dan and Linda Nicholes, Brian Shorey, Andy Kress, Myron Barnett, Tom Ducibella, Mikel Tsipis, Tom Freiberger, Joe Fenstermaker, and Dave Pratt.

We then drifted to our seats and ordered off the extensive Italian menu. Vinny’s always warns you about their portion sizes and, despite how delicious the food was, almost everyone was seen carting off sizable amounts of leftovers on their way out afterward.

Between courses and light-hearted conversation, we also got a little business done. President Tom Lesko handed out a tentative schedule of events for the year, and we went down the list discussing each entry. Before this exercise was over, we even added a few more! Take a look at the Next Events Page to get a feel for what a full season we have ahead of us. Make sure to mark your calendars with the events that interest you, and resolve to come out and have some fun with your Alfa (and your Alfa club) this year!

No one was desirous of dessert, but some coffees and espressos were ordered, and we sipped on these whilst winding down our banter. The meeting gradually broke up and we donned our coats and headed out. Everybody left with something—AONE baseball caps and coffee mugs, Giulietta Giubilee posters and T-shirts, 2006 club event schedules … and leftover pasta.

What about the Alfas, you ask? Well, the 38-degree temperature pretty much assured that nobody arrived (or departed) with his or her top down. But a number of Alfas were to be seen in the parking lot, as depicted in the photos on below by Joe Fenstermaker (whose Washington State Giulia Sprint GT graced last month’s cover). We’re on the road again!

(Click on the thumbnails below for a larger view,
and then use your browser's Back button)

Home ∙ About AONE ∙ Current Issue ∙ Past Issues ∙ Next Events ∙ Photo Gallery ∙ Our Sponsors
Info Center ∙ Tools For Loan ∙ Classified Ads ∙ Club Store ∙ Search ∙ Forum ∙ Links