Shropshire VMCC

Due to Wilma Hayes being ill we didn’t have our talk on a Soldier in World War One Instead our talk  was Nothing like a good  Conspiracy Theory By Mike Watkins. this was a very interesting talk, taking in various theories such as the Flat Earth, Death of Princess Dianne and did America Land on the Moon or was it made up in Hollywood ? We hope to have our scheduled talk later on, my thanks to Mike Watkins andWima Hayes of www.inthestickstalks .co.uk and Landlord and staff at The  Inn-on-the-Green for use of the room and refreshments

My Apologies for nothing being on the site for a few weeks i have had a problem getting on the admin hopefully now sorted

Derek

Club afternoon is on the 30th January at 2pm at The Inn-on-the-Green Wentnor Nr Bishops Castle SY9 5 EF and will be a talk  and slide show  on War Diary -story of a WW1 soldier by Mike Watkins and Wilma Hayes . This is the story of a Canadian soldier who began the war as a private, and ended it as Lieutenant with the Military Cross and a German wife. The talk will be followed by refreshments all are welcome you do not have to be a member. Look forward to seeing everyone again seems a long time since the last meeting

The July club night started with a apoligies from the scretary for very little being on the clubs website. This was followed by a disscussion on motorcycle road racing, due to a number of fatalities during this season  when some well known riders lost their lives following their sport and dreams.   After much discussion it was concluded the only way it would be stopped was perhaps insurers would no longer cover events . We all know riders will still try to race what ever happens, we would all be sorry if it ended. We tryed to think of ways to make the sport safer what ever you try people still find ways to make it faster. If any readers of this post would like to make comments on this post please do so. Several ways off doing this either in comments underneath the blog or email derek.trow@talk21.com All comments will be welcome

Hi Derek

The Montford Motorcycle Afternoon organised by Roy Jones in aid of the Severn Hospice was a great success well done Roy and his helpers for a great afternoon. The weather was cold but it stayed dry during the event motorcycles were displayed in the car park as was the Autojumble with a book stall was in the hall. The afternoon was free to go in refreshments were available for a donation there was a draw with a lot of prizes. Roy made a total of £650.00. He would like to thank those who gave prizes his helpers the bikers who displayed their machines and the public who came to have a look. I hope this becomes an annual event

On the 29th of April Roy Jones has  organised a Motor Cycle afternoon at the Montford Parish Hall, Montford, Nr Shrewsbury Sy4 1AD from 2pm till 4pm All proceeds to The Severn Hospice. bring your vintage or Classic motorcycle, If you have auto jumble, motorcycle books for sale you can contact Roy on telephone number 01743

The Relay Rally takes place on 6th of May Shropshire check point is at the Old Wheelwrights tea rooms Little Brampton Craven Arms SY7 0HH from 9am until 3pm. contact Derek on 07904701022 on the day . Steve Jones suggest our members have a run from there to Shobdon check point any interest contact Derek

13th of May The Spring Run 10.30 am from Leebotwood Nr Shrewsbury organised by Godfrey Cookson and Cyril Watson

There was a poor turnout for the Long Mountain Run on Sunday the 15^th of April, which started from The Inn-on-the-Green Wentnor. The riders went over the Long Mountain, Stiperstones calling at the Bog Visitor Center for coffee tea and home made cakes, From the Bog they went over the Stiperstones to the Long Mynd through the countryside taking in  Clunton to Clun then returning to The Inn-on-the-Green for a carvery. Sadly only the Morgans and the organisers stopped for the carvery. My thanks to Dave Anscombe for advertising our event in the Morgan club magazine and the drivers and passengers eight in total in 3 three wheelers and one four wheeler. Thanks also to the Volunteers who run the Bog Visitor Center for their hospitality.thaks also go to Adrian and his staff at The Inn-on-the-Green for the signing on room the free tea and coffee thanks also go to the riders who turned up on a cold day. My final thanks goes to my long suffering wife who does all the paper work and to my daughter Nikki for her in put

There is a video of it on Youtube which was taken by one of the threewheelers

,

Message from the President
Update Following the AGM – 8 March 2018
Dear Members
The purpose of this circular is to give you a considered view of events at the AGM and some insight into the next moves under consideration.
I am honoured to be your new President and believe that I can use the experience gained during my career and in a variety of roles within the VMCC to make a real difference. My agenda is simple and it is to improve the benefits for the members of this great Club and for all of us to have as much fun and enjoyment along the way. I joined the Club when I was thirty three years of age. It was the thing to do back then if you had an old motorcycle. I cannot begin to describe how much pleasure being part of this Club has given me and how many great friendships I have made over the years.
The recent membership survey gives us a glimpse of what we might want to become. Please read the report given on pages 18-20 of the March 2018 Journal. The findings indicated that you had substantially different future priorities to those of the Directors. Over the last weeks of February I tried to put information into your hands about the choices you faced so that you could make informed decisions at the AGM. I want to record to my appreciation to the Area Reps. the Section Secretaries and Chairmen, individual members and the staff at Allen House for getting the information out to the members.
Instead of dividing the membership, the resultant discussion has invigorated the members and many who were dis-engaged have re-entered the debate. I have been closely involved with your Area Reps. and they have been excellent in working for the benefit of the Club. In all of this, their role has just increased in importance by a significant margin. In advance of the AGM, we had agreed that there was a need to form ourselves into a Group to support the Directors so expect more of this new development later.
The AGM and the voting process changed the scene dramatically. The Directors leading the current strategy were not successful in being re-appointed and the only other candidate Justin Harvey-James was elected with a healthy majority. Justin has been very clear in his support of the new direction. We thank Rob Reaney and Brian Southam for their significant contributions to the Club. Anyone who volunteers for a position in the VMCC deserves our respect. Brian has been a Director for fifteen years and that is over half a generation of service. Rob has served for two years and been the Chairman for one of them. Rob was very clear in the direction he felt the Club should go and I admired his resolve and determination. I just want to pay tribute, on your behalf, to both Rob and Brian and wish them well for the future.
The Post-AGM Directors meeting’s sole purpose was to appoint a Chairman as is standard practice. I invited Peter Miller to attend to provide advice on the Articles and Bye-laws. We needed three Directors in post following the AGM. Any less number and we would have been inquorate. The net result of the meeting is that Justin Harvey-James is the Chairman, and the other Directors are Jim Lee, David Sellars and John Donaldson. John offered to stay on for a period to provide continuity and I am indebted to him. I was pleased to see the Directors working for the benefit of the Club so that we could continue to operate without becoming inquorate and having to go through the process of another AGM.
There now appears to be a sense of unity of purpose among the membership which we need to build on going forward. We now have an opportunity to create an environment where the Club can flourish and I am confident that those members who have the skills we seek will now feel comfortable in coming forward to help us.
Our new Board of Directors is somewhat diminished in number but can continue to operate as per normal. I am consulting with the Directors and the Area Representatives about how we can support the Directors at this time. My ingoing negotiating position is that the Directors could benefit from a respected senior member of the Club who has the necessary skills, experience and gravitas to be co-opted as a Director to strengthen the Board. As per usual, I have been taking advice from key members and have a candidate in mind. Once we get through that consultative process my belief is that between the Directors and the Area Reps. we will have the skills we need to keep going with normal activity and the capability to plan for the future.
There is no doubt that we need to bring in new Directors as that is what the members voted for at the AGM. However, there is no immediate imperative to fill vacancies. A number of members have already volunteered to get involved or have expressed interest in helping the Club and in the new environment more will surely follow. The Club needs members with a successful track record and bringing with them skills in subjects like business planning, strategic development, finance, marketing , legislation, human resources and other skills. We want to afford the membership and the Sections the chance to consider the issues and encourage volunteers to put their names forward. Then the Management Committee will be able, in consultation with the members, to identify those individuals who are best suited to help us as Directors and in many other ways as we seek to reinvigorate the Club.
The planning for all these developments started well in advance of the AGM. You can rest assured that the Directors and your Area Representatives are working together to make the transition to the new team as smoothly and quickly as possible.
Dr. Alastair Alexander, President, 8 March 2018.