Annual General Meeting & Awards Presentation
31 October 2013 / Report by Bryan Shedden, Photos by Fiona Shedden
Annual General Meeting
The AGM of the MX-5 Club of NSW was held on Wednesday 23 October 2013 at Garage Cafe, Sydney Motorsport Park. The new venue proved to be a great success, although we could certainly make use of a PA system next time, as my voice was hoarse by the end of it. 50 members were present for the meeting, which was excellent considering that the terrible bushfires at Springwood, Minmi and Pheasants Nest kept many away. We had Foundation Member #41 through to New Member #2634 and plenty in between. Special thanks to Bob Judd (Canberra), Ian Leyton-Grant (Canberra), Ed Cory (Canberra), Peter Battisson (Canberra), Rachel Crawford (Hunter), Bob & Robyn Collins (Illawarra), Peter Feutrill (Illawarra), Trevor Griffiths (Illawarra), and Fiona Shedden (Illawarra) for making the long trip to Eastern Creek.
In my President's report, I did my best to summarise the Club's long list of achievements during the last twelve months, and you can read about them in the attached report. Michael Soulos was unable to attend and I presented his Captain's report on his behalf. Mike Hicks gave a brief overview of his Competition report, which was his swansong after almost thirteen years of dedicated service on the Committee. The final report from the Treasurer was also left to me, as Marie Smart was holidaying in South Australia.
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With the reports accepted, we then elected our new Committee. Welcome to Pam Estreich as Vice President, David Lawler as Competition Secretary, Lesa Bunn as Regalia Officer, and Greg Perry as Website Coordinator (he volunteered for this vacant role at the end of the proceedings). Thank you also to Mark Garven, Keith Monaghan and Ken Liston who were reelected into their respective Committee roles. Other Committee members not up for reelection and who continue into 2014 include Marie Smart, Michael Soulos, Timothy Heppell, Adam Walker and myself. Click here to see the full Committee list with contact details.
Some minor changes to the Club Constitution were explained, and then members voted to accept them. An updated Constitution and Draft Minutes are available on this website.
Awards Presentation
With the AGM officially closed, we then moved on to our Awards Presentation. This commenced with our inaugural Tenure Award badges which were presented to those members who had recently achieved 5 Years, 10 Years, 15 Years and 20 Years of continuous membership in the Club. The tenure badges look fantastic - thanks Keith Monaghan for arranging them. By the end of 2013, all members who have at least 5 years of continuous membership (all 200 of you!) can expect to receive a tenure badge in recognition of your commitment to the Club. Wherever possible, a Committee member will present the badges in person - many will be presented at our Wakefield Park track day this Sunday. Please wear the tenure badges with pride at future Club events. Thank you to our Major Sponsor, Peter Battisson at ACDC, who made these awards possible through his generous support.
I also announced the Committee's decision that our three remaining Foundation Members - those who were at Vicary's Winery on Sunday 24 June 1990 when our Club was founded - will have all membership renewal fees waived in future. Thank you Colin Caldwell, Jim Hull and Ross Hutcherson for sticking with us for so long - now there's no escape from us!
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| 5 Year Awards | 10 Year Awards |
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| 15 Year Awards | 20 Year Awards |
The final announcement was for the recipient of the President's Award in recognition of Extraordinary Service to the Mazda MX-5 Club of NSW. The highly deserving winner was Lesa Bunn. Lesa made an outstanding contribution to the Club through her role as Social Secretary and as the inaugural RPM Chapter Convenor. Lesa also helped out Pam Estreich with Regalia, so she had a hand in three Committee jobs! Our Club's journey into social media came a long way once Lesa discovered Facebook, and the RPM Chapter Group and Club Page have thrived thanks to her efforts. Social interactions across the entire Club have come along wonderfully thanks to Lesa's organisation of two weekends away (Orange in April and Xmas in July at Wallerawang), in addition to the superb arrangements at Ebenezer for the President's Picnic. Lesa has made a massive contribution this year and is a very worthy recipient of the President's Award. It is also a perfectly appropriate coincidence that Lesa's name should appear on the trophy beside her best mate Pam Estreich, who was the last female recipient of the award. Congratulations Lesa!
