Hello, everyone –

It was nice to see so many of you at our events this year! It was especially nice to see the faces of so many new members—because of our large geographical area, we try to spread the events around the region, and that in turn attracts people from different particular areas—hence some of the new faces. At our most recent event, the Rust Restoration Tech Session in Cranston, Rhode Island, we had local members from the surrounding areas in RI, CT, and southern MA. In addition to the many members from MA, we had our "die-hard" event-goers from Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and Long Island, NY. For example, Fred Frey drives one of his Alfas to the ferry on LI, floats over to CT, and then drives to attend our events! This time, he drove his Giulia Super. Now that’s a dedicated member! After all, this is a car club, so driving, having fun, and camaraderie is the name of the game.

We’ve had a good variety of events this year, and in December (normally a slow month for events) we are having a holiday party for the first time at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum, a classic automobile venue. This is not to be confused with our Winter Banquet, which we normally hold around the first week in February. Hope to see many of you there!

As a reminder, all of us officers and directors of AONE are members who dedicate a substantial amount of time so that we have a club, and in fact one of the best clubs in the country. We are, of course, not paid in any way for this, but our enjoyment comes from hosting a variety of great events, driving our cars, and rubbing elbows with others sharing like interests.

Keep watching Velocissima and the web site for events in the 2007 season, and let us know if you have ideas for new ones. You do not have to be a director to help out or put on an event, although directors are "required" to host one event per year. As an example, Tom Letourneau arranged the recent Rust Restoration Tech Session. Tom is a long-time, dedicated member who saw an opportunity for a club event and ran with it. Great job, Tom, and the food was great too!

So, again, I hope to see you at our holiday party (remember your "Yankee Swap" gift) and then at the Winter Banquet. Thanks for supporting the club, and best wishes for a happy and safe holiday season! And remember—keep those RPMs up!

Ciao,