Just like last year, we ended this year's club activities with a lunch at “Caravela D'Ouro”, in Lisbon, which facilitated the mobility of Members who live outside the capital.
We admitted that the presence of the 20 Members eligible for the awards would be hampered by the geographical dispersion of their residences, which ranged from Avintes to São Brás de Alportel and from Setúbal to Elvas, and on to Madrid. Therefore, it was very gratifying to have 8 of these Members present for José Inácio Júnior, 1st Member of the Fiscal Council, to begin by distinguishing the youngest of all in the Club with 10 years of membership:
- No. 769 - Hélder Cardoso Unas
Next, João Baguinho, President of the Fiscal Council, paid tribute to the 25 years of:
- No. 390 - José Silva Carvalho
Always progressing in seniority, José Gil, 1st Vice-President of the Board, presented the 30-year Octogons to:
- No. 270 – Francisco de Sá Nogueira
- No. 258 – Joaquim Pedro Cardoso
To honour her former colleague on the Club's Board, President Isabel Tinoco awarded the 35-year trophy to:
- No. 344 / 128 – João Mousinho Pimentel
Finally, José Gouveia Fonseca, Founding Member No. 8 and President of the GMT, handed over the octagons to the 3 Members who had been with the Club for 40 years this year, namely:
- Nº 189 / 62 – Luís Branco Santiago
- Nº 183 / 59 – Jorge de Brito Jacob
- Nº 181 / 58 – Luís Cabido Machado
Having done these highlights, it was time to thank Marina Couto and Mª Dália Vale Rêgo who, occasionally or systematically, always provide us with photographs to ‘feed’ the Club's website and to compose books commemorating events. This time, the Vale Rêgo couple produced a book about the 183rd Concentração in which we celebrated the 43rd Anniversary of the MGCP.
We then presented gifts to Members Salvador Soares and Domingos Faria for having covered the longest distance and, with the help of Afonso Unas, we started raffling off various souvenirs to finish with the MG Jacques Lemans Centenary Watch. Luckily, this limited edition watch, purchased from the MGOC Austria, was awarded to Isabel Tinoco and, as she had already said that if this happened she would put it up for auction to benefit the MGCP, so it was. The highest bidder was Member Eduardo Silvestre.
Throughout the meal and in four different moments, the couple of actors Carolina Santorino and Miguel Linares, supported by two other young actors, gave us a radio journey from the 30s to the 60s.
After the expression of the Best Wishes for the Holidays and a Prosperous 2025, each person who had brought a gift received another in exchange.