4 minute read
Chairman’s Report
Chairman’s Report - May 2022
by David Tomlinson
Our AGM at the May club night went smoothly, with the exception that we did not manage to fill the important role of Treasurer. Thankfully, Sandra Fitzpatrick will continue to keep an electronic record of our accounts, and Ronald Mayes has been added as a signatory to our bank accounts. We will continue to look for a new Treasurer with a hope that the committee can co-opt a member to the role during the year. The AGM saw the retirement from the committee of Terry Fitzpatrick, Lois Thompson, Dennis Brown and Jenny Cole. Lois has been on the committee for many years, certainly pre-dating my time on the committee, and was our branch secretary for many years. Terry has served as our Treasurer for many years. I wish to thank them both on behalf of the branch for their many valued years of service. Dennis and Jenny were only able to sit on the committee due to the pandemic curtailing their international adventures, which they have managed to restart as things improved, and last week I received a picture of Dennis tucking into lunch during their cycling tour of France. They will be back in October and will retake the reins of the midweek activities. In the meantime the committee will make sure midweek activities continue as they enjoy their time in the USA, Europe and the UK. We welcomed three new committee members, Alan Judd, Ken Thomas and John Newson.
Other than the committee changes, the AGM reported a small operating surplus for the year thanks largely to the Swap Meet, following an almost $5000 operating deficit in the previous year due to the Swap Meet being cancelled (twice!) in 2020. The annual branch levy was endorsed to remain at the current $30 level.
Although we had our AGM, we still had car in the room for May, with Ralph Bennett’s beautifully presented 1938 Buick making its third appearance in the room, with the previous two appearances both being many years ago. Also in May we had our first Club Captain’s Run for about 6 years, which concluded with afternoon tea at the club rooms. The weather was a little better than forecast, which was lucky as there was a scavenger hunt as part
of the run, which did involve a bit of time out of the cars as we travelled around.
We also had a club working bee to remove leaves around the property and in the gutter above the entrance to the clubrooms, and we moved all the furniture so our new carpet could be laid. This was all done in a couple of days and the midweekers made first use of the club rooms with the new carpet in place. I hope they were careful not to spill their cups of tea! As well as taking my youngest two children as my navigator/scavengers on the Club Captain’s Run, I have had a busy time embarking on fitting a new fuel pump to my 1975 Toledo, a carb rebuild for my 1929 Essex, and continuing an awkward fuel rail overhaul for my 1993 Bentley. I also managed to fit in a Track Day that Fleur had bought me as a Christmas present at Taupo Motorsport Park. I drove our modern Mustang V8, and although I kept the car on the track, and in unmarked condition, I was overtaken a couple of times by a Toyota Yaris. I did overtake a Mazda MX5! The following day Fleur, Alex and I attended the Tauriko “Oil Down” as we had other things to do in Tauranga, and despite a frosty start to the day there was another great turnout, yet again many vehicles I had not seen before. In June we will have a full roster of events, including a 1990 Ford Capri in the room at our June club night. The Chairman’s Run will be held a week later than originally planned, and will be followed by an afternoon tea and our annual branch prize giving. Don’t forget we need all the help we can get for our July Swap Meet, which will be our main event for July. Our club night will be a week earlier than usual in July so we can finalise things before the big day. In August I will attend the VCC AGM in southern Auckland, and we will hold our annual Sulphur City Rally for the first time in 3 years. The rally prize giving will be held in conjunction with our branch’s 50th Anniversary celebration dinner at the Millenium hotel, and any branch members past and present will be encouraged to come along to enjoy the celebrations. Dianne Quarrie, the VCC President, and her husband will also be in attendance at our special night. Lastly, don’t forget our 10th Anniversary Lakefront Car Show will be held on 30 October at the Village Green. Plenty to look forward to over the middle months of this year as we continue to emerge from the pandemic that has wreaked some much havoc with our program over the last two years. Let’s hope our March cancellations will be our last ever.
