The story of AWAL MAFIA

   AWAL MAFIA is a car club that came out of the ashes of a tragedy. We lost our brother, our son, our friend, our husband, Aaron WALston all too soon. Aaron was killed while doing a Memorial Day motorcycle ride with his friends. It's an event that rocked us to our core. To help deal with the pain of such a loss, AWAL MAFIA was created. It was to be a way to harness our grief, anger and sadness into something good. Something Aaron would be proud of and to carry on his legacy. 

   Aaron loved his country and everything about it. He loved it so much he wanted to show it. He was unfortunately unable to serve. So he dedicated his love and energy to supporting our veterans. It is in this manner that we continue what he started. We host a yearly car show on Memorial Day weekend (the weekend he was killed) to raise money to help our veterans.  We donate all proceeds from the show to a non-profit, GallantFew. An organization that helps veterans who struggle reentering civilian life. It's a charity that Aaron loved and worked with. 

  You may be asking "why a car club?" The idea all started coming together after I hunted down and brought home a '65 Mustang, Aaron's dream car (which is a whole other story in itself). Aaron helped me a few years back get me my first car home, my '58 TR3. After that I would tease him that we needed to find him his Mustang so we could work on them together,  do car shows, and all the fun things you do with your car buddies. Because of that TR3, a bond for cars was born. 

   The Mustang was the seed being planted for the car club. The care to get that seed to grow was my want to help my wife with the grief of losing her little brother. For anyone who's ever lost someone dear, you know the pain, the anger, the sadness that comes with it. While it was a loss for me too, it was a much harder and more difficult loss for my wife. When the person who is your everything, the center of your world  is suffering so much pain, you kind of feel helpless because there is nothing you can do or say to make things better. So my brain went to thinking (dangerous, I know) 

   I've had my fair share of shit happen in my life. I've always been one to try and take bad energy and turn it to good. I thrive off of good. With this in mind, my brain went to the Mustang that just came home because I wanted something to keep Aaron near. Over the years my wife and I had "accidentally" become classic car collectors. Owning a TR3, Chevy 3/4 ton, El camino, and now the Mustang. Cars have always been a part of my family history. It has always been a way to bond and a happy place. I started putting 2 and 2 together and landed on the idea of a car club, named after Aaron (Aaron WALston aka AWAL). 

   Once I presented the idea to my wife and family we quickly decided we wanted to be more than just a car club.  We wanted it to be a family who came together to help others. We had seen so much tragedy over the past few years that we decided we wanted to be the good that we wanted to see in the world.  We wanted to do Aaron proud. What better way than to pick up his torch and continue what he had started. We will become a car club that helps and honors our veterans. Aaron's legacy will live one and everything we do will be in his name and honor.

   I've learned over the years that you don't force things. You let them become what the world around them needs them to be. Since launching the club in April 2023 we have morphed a bit. Not only have we started the AARON WALSTON MEMORIAL DAY CAR SHOW, that raises money for our veterans,  we have started our monthly meets, "Caffeine & Gasoline." On the last Sunday of each month we gather at a local coffee shop, but we don't just meet to show off and talk cars. We have decided that each month we will spotlight a local charity to help. We do so by taking in donations (monetary, or goods) to help the people in our community who need it most (Anyone, member or no member, car or no car is welcome at ALL of our events).

   With all of that, if you love cars and want to be around good people who want to leave the world better than we found it, come see what we're about. We celebrate life because we know how precious it is, and we aim to help anyone who may be struggling through it.  You need help with a car, we're there for you.  You need a shoulder to cry on, we've got one of those for you too. 

   I hope to see you at one of our meets or show. Until then remember to always be kind and much love to all!

tutto amore-Justin