Rennline Invades Boston- Holiday Party Extraordinaire

The holidays are a great time to bring people together, and here at Rennline we try not to miss the opportunity to bring us together as a company. A cohesive environment is a productive one, so it is a perfect time to get together, have some fun and get to know everyone a bit better outside the bounds of the workplace. But this year was different than most. Instead of a nice dinner in nearby Burlington, Vermont, Rennline shop manager Joe DeSimone and owner Paul Jacques engineered what might go down as the ultimate holiday party.

 

 

For those not from the North East, Boston is a four hour bus ride from Burlington, so arrangements were made for a coach bus to transport the team to our destination and around the city of Boston after the main event. We rendezvoused at the Rennline shop at about 9AM Friday morning, some more prepared than others. Unfortunately there were several of our staff unable to make the two-day trip. Unfortunately, CNC Machinist (little) Jake, Manufacturing Engineer (big) Jake, and Master Fabricator Gene were unable to make the trek due to scheduling constraints.

 

The welcome we received at F1 Boston was warm and accomidating, we would highly recommend them for your next company outing, birthday party, or just as a way to get a little track time!

The plan was to head to F1 Boston (www.F1Boston.com) for some serious go-karting! In total we had 19 people with us, the invitation was extended to significant others and several girlfriends and wives were brave enough to make the trip. Our karting session consisted of six qualifying sessions, each session was a different, randomly selected group, and each driver ran three different qualifying races. At the end of the qualifiers, the top 10 drivers in points from the qualifiers started the final with their starting position determined by their standing in points.

 

The final was a much longer race than the qualifiers and provided several surprises. The first of which was veteran PCA instructor, experienced track driver and Rennline owner Paul’s absence. Due to a rash of penalties resulting from aggressive passing, Paul found himself sidelined for the final race, having missed qualifying for the final by a few points.

 

The real-time position display provided the spectators with the ability to watch the exchanging of positions on track, despite most racers being unrecognizable in their race suits and helmets. By the midpoint in the race, Engineering Consultant Jamie was holding off the rest of the field, but it was not to be. Sales and Marketing representative Shawn Christianson capitalized on a mid-track pile-up, pulling a quick maneuver to avoid the pile up and gain two positions, taking first place. With a clear track ahead, he went on to set the fastest lap of the day along with the highest top speed of the day, and clinched the overall win.

 

 

As the karting came to a close, we retired to the bar for a post-race drink and to exchange stories and glories from the time on the track. The anonomity provided by the suits and helmets made for some awesome post-race banter, with some coming clean regarding questionable passes, “gentle nudges” and penalties that should have been.

 

 

From F1 it was time to hit the hotel for much needed showers, more banter, and for some a couple more drinks before dinner. Paul and Joe pulled out all the stops and booked the entire crew at W Boston, a beautiful hotel in the heart of downtown Boston. Although it was a task in and of itself to find a restaurant able to accomidate the entire group, Joe again knocked it out of the park securing a table for everyone only minutes walk from our hotel.

 

 

 

Unfortunately, the details of the rest of the evening belong to our crew, but know that nobody was wanting for more fun: we won Boston. No one was harmed in the making of these memories, and no damage of any kind resulted, so we can at least assure you the night was an unequivocal success. One last time, from myself and the rest of the Rennline crew, we would like to thank Paul Jacques, Rennline owner for making what will go down for many of us as the most epic holiday party to date. A huge thanks to Joe DeSimone for not only having the idea, but for taking his time to ensure that everything ran flawlessly. It would be hard to imagine a better group of people to enjoy this kind of an event with!