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The AONE 2009 Election of Officers |
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For this election
cycle, we’ve witnessed a heartening turn of events! In addition to the
eight current Board members who’ve worked hard to make our club the
dynamic one that it is, two other experienced and capable club members
(Frank Maldari and Lou Shames) have stepped up and thrown their hats
into the ring. This, though, unfortunately meant that there’d be two
enthusiastic members not able to take a seat on the AONE Board of
Directors. Or would it? A search through our
club’s bylaws (scrawled back in the 1970s using a quill dipped in spent
motor oil on wine-stained parchment) revealed nothing pertaining to the
number of Board members that our club must have. Our Board has been set
at eight members for the past dozen years or so mainly out of habit. So
the current President and Directors conferred and contemplated, and then
voted to expand the size of the Board to ten. Problem solved! And since
all Board members are expected to be responsible for organizing at least
one club event per year, this also has the effect of making our club
even more active! Therefore, a little of the
pressure has been taken off you, our voters, since exactly one
nomination for President and one for Treasurer have been received, and
the number of nominations for the Board of Directors (ten) now equals
the size of the Board. So it’s not going to be a hotly-contested
election, but by casting your vote you’re confirming your support for
those officers who donate their time and energy to make our club the
active, vital one that it is. Last month, a Call for Nominations
solicited submissions from all members interested in taking on a
leadership role in AONE. You can submit your ballot online by
clicking right here. The ballot contains
the names of the nominees for each office. Select one name for
President, one for Treasurer, and up to ten names for Directors. For
each office, there is a space for a write-in candidate if you choose. Ballots must be received by April
25th. Results will be tabulated and reported in the May issue of
Velocissima, and the
newly-elected officers will assume their duties immediately. Following, you will find a list of
the nominees (in Alfabetical order) along with their phone numbers
and/or email addresses in case you’d like to contact any of them to get
to know them better, and short biographies that they have taken the time
to submit along with their nominations. The mix of incumbents and new
nominees should make for a great combination of experience and fresh
ideas as we go forward. This election determines how our club is led for
the next two years, so send in your ballot now! For President
As club President over the past number of years, I have tried to get new members involved and build and maintain a new “core” of interested Alfa owners. In that time, our membership has grown from under 200 to approximately 250 members. Our events over the past years have been interesting, varied, and well-attended. I run or contribute substantially to many of our events each year. We have many interesting events already planned for this year. Our recent annual holiday and winter parties had great turnouts — a good indication that things are going well (or maybe it’s just the “door prizes”?). In an effort to continue the work that has been successful in rebuilding and maintaining the club, I am running for the office of President for another term and hereby solicit your support. I will listen to suggestions from all club members and try to improve the involvement of all associated with Alfa Owners of New England. For the record, I have been an Alfa owner since 1970 when I bought my first ’65 Giulia Spider Veloce. And nine years ago, I acquired a second ’65 Spider Veloce, and two years ago ... a third! (Certifiably Alfa Car Crazy!) I have been an AONE member since the 1980s and a member of other Alfa clubs since the 1970s. I have been a Director of AONE for many of my membership years. I have organized many club events, dealt with National AROC issues & legalities, and as President I will continue to do the things that have made our club one of the best in the country. For Treasurer
I’ve owned Alfas since 1977, and they’ve included a ’72 Montreal, two ’74 Spiders, three ’74 GTVs, an ’84 GTV6, two 164Ls, and my current ’61 Giulietta Spider 2000. I’m the current AONE Treasurer (not a big job) and also serve as the editor of Velocissima, the New England chapter newsletter, and as webmaster for our AONE web site (bigger jobs). My wife Vi comes on lots of our events, with the exception of ones like the Rust Restoration Tech Session (and who can blame her?). She and I had active roles in pulling off Giulietta Giubilee, AONE’s hosting of the AROC National Convention in 2004. We participate in most club events, and even plan a few. Basically, of course, we’re in it for the food. For Director
My interest in Alfas was sparked when I was a child and spent a summer with my grandparents. I was picked up at the train station in a brand new 2600 Spider that my grandfather had just purchased. It was one of the most beautiful cars that I had seen at the time. As we pulled into the driveway, I saw more eye candy — a beautiful, white Sprint GT — my grandmother’s. It was a tough summer, being shuttled around in not one but two Alfa Romeos. I remember the 2600 having head gasket problems and I remember my grandfather happily paying the bill just to bring it back home. Needless to say, I was hooked for life after riding in these gems. My favorite story is: We were waiting for my grandmother’s arrival. She was visiting us from Westchester, NY, and we were in Concord, MA. She eventually arrived about four hours late. When she was asked why she took so long, she said, "I was having so much fun driving my Alfa that I decided to take the long way and go up through Maine before coming to Massachusetts." My first Alfa was a 1969 GTV 1750. Oh, I wish I still had that car! Hindsight... My second was an Alfetta GT, and then it just grew from there — Milanos, 164s (2- and 4-cam), and so forth. I got the bug and started buying and restoring, then adding performance mods, then collecting. I guess I have been a car guy most of my life. Alfas just seemed to top the list. I seem to have the most driving pleasure when I am behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo. I served the Larz Anderson Auto Museum as a Trustee for several years and now as a Corporator. I have been associated with the annual "Tutto Italiano" concorso event for years; I inherited this role from Jim Miga. I have been to several annual AROC conventions and many racing events throughout my car life. I have also served as a director for AONE for several years and have been an active member of AROC/AONE. I’m also anxiously awaiting Alfa’s arrival back in the States.
My passion for Alfa Romeo started way back in the late ‘60s while I was growing up in Brazil. I was reading racing magazines in Italian (of which I have limited knowledge) just because of the Alfas. In 1974, I moved to Canada to study in Montreal. It was there that I purchased my first Alfa (in the ‘80s). I became a member of the Canadian Alfa Romeo Club and owned two more Alfas (all GTV models). When I moved to New Hampshire, I purchased my current 1973 GTV in 1999. I became a member of AROC/AONE in 2000 as well as a member of COMSCC and began doing time-trial racing. I am currently a racing instructor for COMSCC. For the year 2007, from over 60 instructors I was given the prestigious "Instructor of the Year Award". With the little ‘ol Alfa I have managed to clench 3 Class Championships (2004, 2007 and 2008). I was part of the AROC Convention in New England as Chief Instructor and part of the team that organized the Time Trial event in 2004. I also helped organize the High Hopes Italian Car Show, and I sometimes write racing articles (plus one book review) in Velocissima. In 2008, one of the articles I wrote entitled "An Alfista in Paris" made it to our beloved AONE Velocissima as well as the AROC monthly magazine, Alfa Owner. In 2008, I hosted AONE’s Vintage SSCA event and wrote the article. I have been asked to actually participate (as a racer) for this year’s event. My interest in becoming a Board member is so that I can offer additional input and organize events, especially in the area of racing. After all, Alfas are meant to be driven!
I’ve been a club member since the 1970s, written AONE articles on Duetto restoration, compiled a club booklet, hosted numerous events on the North Shore over the years, judged at Italian Car Day (now “Tutto Italiano”), helped other owners with upholstery questions, and my GTV is in the MOT this winter. I hope to host more North Shore events for the club, like the one to southern New Hampshire last year.
I have owned several Alfas since the early 1980s and have been a member of AONE for most of those years. I try to attend as many of our club events as possible and would like to have the opportunity to represent the interests of our members, many of whom I have known for a number of years. I have more recently been involved with organizing what has become the annual Wachusett Hill Climb and Brewery tour. I would like to continue to represent the members of the club as a Director.
I wish to be on the Board of Directors for AONE. With three kids out of the house and the youngest showing interest in Alfas, it’s time to get back involved with the club. I am on my third Alfa, currently a ‘72 GTV; previously I had an ‘86 GTV6 and a ‘79 Sprint Veloce. In the 90s, I was a club Director and helped to organize our winter party/meetings and a tech session. I am a very poor shade tree mechanic, but I am happy to share my knowledge with fellow enthusiasts. I would like to organize a few tech sessions. Thank you for your consideration. Shift high!
I would be very happy to serve for another term as Director. I have been a member of AONE and AROC since 1973 and have owned a 1966 Duetto since 1971. I was the Treasurer for 7 years, designed and sent out the newsletter for 6 years, and have been a Director for many more. Up until 3 years ago, I was involved in organizing and judging Italian Car Day. I am actually the founder of that event in 1982—it was an AONE annual event held at the Middlesex School in Concord. My new current job allows me to have my weekends free, allowing more "Club Time".
I’d love to serve another term as an AONE Director. I’d like to continue to revitalize the driving events side of our club. I worked with Brian Shorey to get our autocross sessions going again and would like to work closely with some other clubs to get better venues without the associated increase in cost. We also ran a Milano in the first East Coast running of the 24 Hours of LeMons this past August with a podium finish. I’ve also been running the Alfa Milano Registry for the past 3-4 years (www.alfamilano.com) and am just about to drop my first full engine rebuild into my Verde!
I have had the Alfa bug for over 35 years now, having driven and raced a number of Alfas. In the 80s, I spent approximately four years as the club’s Competition Chairman, where I helped increase the number of events from a couple to approximately six to eight per season. I also spent four years as a Director of the NE Region of SCCA and a couple as Chief of Tech for the COM Sports Car Club. Having been a “silent member” in recent years, I would like to make up for it by contributing to the club as a member of the AONE Board of Directors.
I have been involved with Alfas and AONE practically forever. I own a number of Alfas that range from daily summer drivers to time trialers to restoration projects. I try to help all members as I can, and helped bring together the great team that hosted the AROC National Convention in Manchester, NH a few years ago. If elected, and even if not, I hope to help organize at least one autocross this year.
I have been a member of AROC and the
owner of a California 1977 Spider since 1991, a member of AONE since
1997, and an AONE director since 2001. Before moving back to the east
coast and joining AONE, I was a member of the Minnesota, Western
Michigan, and Detroit chapters of AROC. My return to Massachusetts in
1997 coincided with the rejuvenation of AONE under the administration of
the current president and treasurer, and the success of AONE since then
has been one of the great benefits of living again in New England. In my
early years as a director I helped organize tech sessions / swap meets
at Glynn Motorsports and was the “point man” for the Italian car show we
held for a few years in conjunction with the High Hopes Balloon Festival
in New Hampshire. More recently, I have been organizing annual autumn
AONE driving tours in the Berkshires, where I used to live (and enjoy
some wonderful sports car roads). I also helped to organize last July’s
AONE “Just-North-of-the-Border” Tour. If re-elected (and even if not), I
would continue to help organize these and other events and generally do
all I can to help our club continue to thrive. |
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