Annual General Meeting & Awards Presentation
30 October 2015 / Words by Bryan Shedden, Photos by Mel Keller
Annual General Meeting
The AGM of the MX-5 Club of NSW was held on Wednesday 21 October 2015 at Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club. Our last two AGMs were held at Garage Cafe, Sydney Motorsport Park, but we have returned to our old stomping grounds where we continue to hold our monthly Committee meetings. Thank you to the Ryde-Eastwood Leagues Club for their ongoing support. And wasn't it a great decision with a very tasty meal selection of sushi rolls, gourmet wraps, rice paper prawn rolls, sushi rolls, fresh fruit and cheese platter. Yum!
44 members and two guests were present for the meeting, which was an excellent turn-out. I'm sure that the temptation of a free Club 25th Anniversary keyring had nothing to do with it! We had Member #41 through to New Member #3117 and plenty in between, ensuring a broad cross section of attendees. Special thanks to Peter Battisson (Canberra), Ed Cory (Canberra), Peter Browning (Canberra), and Jan Gibson (Illawarra) for making the long trip to West Ryde.
In my President's report, I highlighted the massive growth in membership over the last year and in particular since the ND launch in August - and yes, there was a chart or two on display. I took the opportunity to give thanks once again to the Committee for granting me Life Membership - or at least I tried - a lump in my throat forced a somewhat broken speech. Michael Soulos in his Captain's report praised the efforts of all our volunteers who assisted at the Club's 25th Anniversary celebrations the month before. He paid tribute to the incredible role that all of our Chapters have played in the success of the Club, judged via the 263 events held in the previous year, and the high levels of participation. David Lawler gave a brief overview of his Competition report, and highlighted the way in which our Club provides an excellent platform for participation in motorsport via motorkhanas, driver training days, club track days, state supersprints and door-to-door racing. The final report was given by our Treasurer, Julie Sando. After two years of reported losses due to the substantial investment in our new Club website, Julie was pleased to report a return to healthy profits. Much of this profit has already been returned straight back to members via heavy subsidy of the 25th Anniversary celebrations.
With the reports accepted, we then elected our new Committee. First there was a fond farewell and presentation of flowers to Pam Estreich who retired from the Committee after nine years of dedicated service. Adam Walker also leaves the Committee after a sterling job with the BreakFast Club over the last two years. Welcome to Alan Townsley (Regalia Officer) and Peter Battisson (BreakFast Club Coordinator) who have joined the Committee. Thanks to Mel Keller (Publications Officer) who was appointed to a casual Committee vacancy during the year. Thank you to Julie Sando, Wesley Hill, David Lawler and Ken Liston who were reelected to their positions. Other Committee members not up for reelection and who continue into 2016 include Glenn Thomas, Michael Soulos, Keith Monaghan, Greg Perry and myself. Click here to see the full Committee list for 2016 with contact details.
The final formality was the approval of some minor changes to the Constitution, which were accepted with a minimum of fuss.
Awards Presentation
With the AGM officially closed, we then moved on to our Awards Presentation. This commenced with the presentation of Certificates of Appreciation to our sponsors. Peter Battisson (ACDC) was present to receive his certificate from Vice President Glenn Thomas. The certificates for Mazda Australia, Deckspeed Racing, Blue Mountains Mazda, MX5 Solutions, and an anonymous sponsor will be presented elsewhere.
Next up, Membership Tenure Award badges were presented by Keith Monaghan and Ken & Maggie Liston to those members who had achieved milestones of continuous membership in the Club during 2015. It was wonderful to have Foundation Member Jim Hull attend to receive his 25 Year badge, and listen to his recollections of the Club's formation and admiration of how it has grown. Although the vast majority were unable to attend, there will be 56 recipients of 5 Year badges, 19 for 10 Year badges, 5 for 15 Year badges, 4 for 20 Year badges and 4 for 25 Year badges. Click here for a full list of badge recipients. Thank you to our Major Sponsor, Peter Battisson at ACDC, who made these awards possible through his continued generous support.
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 Keith Monaghan. Keith joined the Committee in May 2011 and has been our Membership Database Officer since then. This is a demanding role that requires daily confirmation of membership records and problem solving for the non-internet savvy. On top of these duties, Keith has assumed the role of Team Manager for the Nulon Nationals which is a great opportunity to promote our Club to the broader car enthusiast community. Keith has built an excellent relationship with Nulon, and organised the Nulon Tech Night that is a strongly supported event. Then there are the membership tenure badges and the Club 25th Anniversary keyrings - both of which Keith has looked after their production. And finally, who could forget the enormous contribution Keith made as a committee member for NatMeet 2012 in Canberra. Truly he has contributed an extraordinary service to the MX-5 Club of NSW. Thank you and congratulations Keith!
