Once
every month the Club meets at Overstone Manor Pub on the outskirts of Overstone
(map). This, for those of you who
are not already familiar with the venue, is situated about half way down Ecton
Lane which is between Ecton & Sywell. Club Night is always the Second Wednesday of every month.
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.
Caravanning
and Camping weekends are normally arranged to coincide with the main Bank
Holidays, but on request may be organised at other times if there is sufficient
demand. The Club normally travels
to another Club's venue for these weekends and it gives us all a chance to
socialise, whilst experiencing other venues that we would not normally visit and
make new friends into the bargain.
Annually
a group of members always visit the A.R.C. International rally, which is usually
hosted by one of the larger Clubs within the A.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, anyone interested please contact me.
The
Club will also usually sponsor teams in another two annual inter club events.
Firstly the Peak and Dukeries Club
inter club challenge at Eckington and secondly the Majors
Memorial Trophy at Eastnor castle. Once
again these are two very good events both for competitors and spectators alike
and we always have a good social gathering to compliment these events to which
all Club members are welcome.
At
least once a year we try to arrange a family fun day or
weekend. Fun is the main
objective. As a family Club, we try
wherever possible to encourage family participation in the Club's activities.
Other annual events include a bonfire and fireworks display in November
and every December Club night, we hold our annual Christmas Dinner and prize
giving ceremony.
Another
popular annual event is the visit to Billing for the Land Rover show. Without
doubt there is something here for everyone, arena demonstrations, static
displays, club stands, beer tents and probably the largest auto jumble since Old
Sodbury. Every year the Club
organises it's own camping area within the Aquadrome and it has always proved to
be a very enjoyable weekend. Anyone
who wants to attend will also benefit from the discount that our club can offer
visitors to this event.
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.