Submitted by wwhopper on 01-10-2012
Location: Washington DC - Maryland
Contact: wwhopper
GWS Members Celebrate at the Annual Holiday Dinner
On Saturday evening January 7th more than fifty members of the Greater Washington Section gathered at Maggianos Chevy Chase to celebrate the season with a fine family style Italian dinner, good friends, awards and plenty of great door prizes.
This is an event that attracts all the different interest groups within the section to attend. The vintage car owners, the Concours aficionados, the wrench wielding mechanics, the racers and autocross drivers, as well as those members who revel in the social aspects of our club.
MBCA | GWS Sponsors were very generous again this year with more than enough goodies that everyone went home with a really nice door prize. EuroMotorcars; Mercedes-Benz of Germantown and Mercedes-Benz of Bethesda, Radial Tire Company in Silver Spring, Mercedes-Benz of Tyson’s Corner, Curry’s Auto Service, Mercedes-Benz of Alexandria and Mercedes-Benz of Arlington all contributed valuable gifts. The big ones being two $250 gift certificates for service from Curry’s Auto Service and a certificate for Toyo Tires from Radial Tire Company, for sure the most sought after door prizes of the evening.
Great items from section sponsors are not the only reason for celebration! The MBCA|GWS Member of the year Paul Vandenberg was awarded the Hank Sloan Member of the Year plaque, a large 3’ x 4’ wooden plaque with an M-B grill mounted on it and the names of all the GWS members who have ever won this coveted award. The Member of the Year goes to the GWS member who has given the most to their fellow GWS members over the past year. And to honor them for their service, they also get to attend all section events the following year for free as a thank you for what they have done for our club.
Awards are not just limited to Member of the Year; the Autocross Season winners are announced, as are those members who have reached membership milestones. This year a number of them were awarded five, ten and fifteen year pins. The Joe Wozney Volunteer Award was given to the Blase Family, Father, Brad; Mother Beth; Daughters, Abby and Emily, all work very hard to make sure the GWS autocross season runs safely, smoothly and efficiently, and that everyone who attends has fun!
Master of Ceremony this year was GWS President Jim Glenn, ably assisted by the section’s most colorful commentator (come out to an autocross and you will agree) Mr. Ben Weber! Each offered a little something extra as they called each member up to claim their door prize.
For those members who missed this year’s Annual Holiday Dinner Party, don’t miss anything else! Events are always being scheduled, check the gws-mbca.org website for the latest updates and event listings, as well as the sections classified ads, you never know you may meet a new friend or find an old one on our local section website.
