About Us - Socially Speaking Once every month the Club meets at Billing Mill Public House near Billing Aquadrome, Northampton (map). Club Night is always the Second Wednesday of every month and we can be found in the function room located to the rear of the building away from the bar . On certain Club Nights we will organize some sort of event i.e. a visit from a supplier, a photo competition, An Auto Jumble, or a video. Other Club Nights we just get together and socialise. The club has an active show section and many members enjoy attending the local steam rallies and country shows to exhibit their vehicles both old and new. It is usually possible to accommodate caravanning and camping at these venues and they become social occasions in their own right. The club also attends other land rover shows during the course of the year and may have a stand or camping area at these dependent on members wishes, typically we have a stand at Peterborough LRO Show. Annually a group of members generally visit the A.L.R.C. International rally, which is usually hosted by one of the larger Clubs within the A.L.R.C. The venue is different every year as is the host club. There is something here for everyone, competitions for those of you who like to compete, concourse awards for those of you who prefer to show your vehicles, children's events, even a dog show, so don't be put off attending just because you don't like competition. There is always a good social side to this event with a beer tent, usually some form of live entertainment and even a church service on the Sunday. Camping and caravanning can be pre booked so please plan ahead. At least once a year we try to arrange a family fun day or social weekend. Fun is the main objective. As a family Club, we try wherever possible to encourage family participation in the Club's activities. For non-competitive club members we arrange off road promotional events or 'play days' at which members can explore the capabilities of their vehicle and develop their driving skills in a non-competitive environment. Responsible 'green laning' is also encouraged within the club and whilst regular trips are not currently organised members are encouraged to get together and explore the lanes in the local area with support available from our 'Rights of Way' officer as necessary. To round off each year we hold our annual Christmas Dinner and prize giving ceremony on the December Club night. As well as celebrating the achievements of our competitive members we also have trophies to reward our supporters and a few comedy prizes too.
About the Clubs Organisation
On
the 25th of September 2000, E.N.L.R.O.C. became a
Company Limited by Guarantee but not having Share Capital.
Many of our existing members will be well aware of the reasons behind
this, but for any newcomers I will briefly explain the
reasons why. As a Limited
Company we now have much better protection, both as individual member's and as a
group against any liabilities we may face in the future.
As a motor Club our risks fall into two distinct categories: Firstly
those risks arising from normal trading with other Club members and secondly
others which fall outside our control, usually involving some catastrophic
happening. However, whatever
happens from now on, in the event of a claim the maximum liability is £5.00 per
member, which on balance is a good idea I think you'll agree.
A
full copy of the Company's Memorandum and Articles of
Association are printed elsewhere in this publication as are the Club
Rules and by-laws regulate. Please
read them, as these are the published Aims, methods of operation and other rules
by which our club now operates. Should
anyone have any queries or points
that require clarification please contact me and I will endeavour to satisfy
your enquiry promptly.
Please
note: Any changes to the published Memorandum and Articles of Association must
be proposed by and seconded by two full
members of the Club and voted on at the A.G.M.
Any changes to the Memorandum and Articles of Association
cannot conflict with current statute law. Any such changes must be
registered with Companies House that involves special forms and of course, a fee
of £15.00. So think about any
changes carefully before proposing them.
Similarly
any changes to the Club's Rules and by-laws regulate must be similarly proposed
and voted on at the A.G.M. However
these changes do not need to be notified to Companies house.
It
is now a legal requirement that all adult members of the Club of whatever
category, applies for membership in their own right and signed in their own
handwriting. This forms the
membership register, which we are obliged to keep under the rules of the
Companies Act. We must also be able
to show when people joined the Club and when, if they so choose, they leave.
With this in mind the renewal forms and the new membership forms now make
provision for the second adult family member to register in their own right on
the reverse side of the forms. Please
note that no applications will be processed if the forms are incorrect or
incomplete as this would be breaking the law!
Should anyone require any assistance please do not hesitate to ask.
Now
that second adult family members are enrolling in their own right and using
their own name, a second membership card will automatically be issued to them.
This will also help to alleviate problems that have been experienced by
some family members whilst signing on at other A.R.C. Club events. Any cards,
which are lost, stolen or defaced, will be replaced at a cost to be determined
by the Club Committee annually.
Any
queries please ask, it's no trouble….Honest.
Secondly,
I would like to take this opportunity to dispel the
theory that this Club is only
a competitive club. It is true that
we have an active number of members whose interests lie in the competitive
events that we and others jointly run every year.
It is equally true to say that these people have tended to
dominate our magazine "Enyroadup" over recent years. But, and
these are undisputed facts, there are actually more members with an interest in
driving public rights of way on a regular basis and even more whose interests
lie in other non-competitive
areas.
It
is easy to see why the misconception has arisen, furthermore, it is not the
fault of those active competitive members that it has. They have
enthusiastically pursued their interests, but more importantly, they have
reported their activities regularly in our Magazine to help ensure their
continued success. It is my belief
that if other elements within our club were to do the same, their interests
would be as well served and as enthusiastically followed as those of the
competitive membership. So I am
appealing to all those Club member's out there who do not want to compete in any
way to come forward and push your interests,
but above all tell the rest of us via the Club magazine what it is that you're
doing, have already done and are planning to do.
There
are probably people out there right now who are doing a restoration of some
kind, or building a hybrid perhaps? Others
may be planning expeditions. Perhaps
you have a problem with your vehicle, which you are struggling to cure. Whatever
it is that interests you as an individual will undoubtedly interest several
other Club members. If you genuinely feel that your area of interest is
currently under publicised, under-utilised or even worse not served at all, then
please do something about it, tell
us.
It
is our job as a Committee to serve the interests of all our members.
But it is not a job that we can do alone!.
Help us to help you by helping yourselves.
Every year the Committee stands down at the A.G.M. and is re-elected by
the membership. This is an ideal
time to get more involved with how your Club is run.
Don't be frightened to stand up and make your views known, get involved
and change your Club for the better.
Every
Club or organisation needs a regular influx of new blood in order to survive and
ours is no exception. New people
bring fresh ideas and stop us from literally stagnating.
Actions speak louder than words, is it not better to put your ideas
into action rather than do nothing and change nothing and be left out?
One apt definition of action from the Concise Oxford dictionary is
"A process of action, exertion of energy or influence"
So
what is a Club exactly? The same
dictionary defines a club as " Coming together for joint action",
after what I've already said it's rather apt don't you think.
So next time you are sitting with a group of fellow members in a corner
of the pub discussing new ideas, or criticising some of the old ones, stop and
consider this. Don' ask, "what can
my Club do for me?". Ask,
"what can I do for my
Club?" Then do it! And don't
forget to tell the rest of us.