President’s Report – May 2006

This year is a very special one for our club as we celebrate 50 years of existence, although the excitement of this achievement has been tempered somewhat by the tragic death of one of our members on a club ride. Though this tragic event will have some effect on us all, life must go on, and so must the club. We will continue to operate and offer motorcyclists our proven formula of interesting and challenging outings. This year will also bring the added bonus of a special social event to allow members to celebrate our anniversary.

One aspect of increased club activity has seen the need for the club to formalize all our documents and also to introduce a ‘Risk Management Strategy’. These documents are now found on our website in the Policies and Procedures section. The ideas behind these documents are not just unnecessary red-tape but are useful tools to help make our rides safer and ultimately more enjoyable. All members are urged to read them.

Membership Numbers There has been a marginal decline in membership, down from 71 to 68. Given the rapidly escalating price of petrol and the many and varied competing demands for our recreational time, this is a fair outcome. Nevertheless, we must be vigilant in attracting new members.

Our website and to a lesser degree the ads in Just Bikes and Motorcycle Trader continue to bring in many inquiries from riders. With the website drawing the most attention, it was seen as prudent for the club to register www.mstcv.net.au for our own present and future use. Another change we can blame on the internet is the decreasing use of our paper itineraries! Therefore we have decided to slowly phase them out with the first step being to replace the costly professional printed type with our own DIY version!

Our popular social sip venue, ‘Marks Place’ has proved to be ideal with its informal atmosphere, good food, easy parking and cheap prices. Although initially only a short term prospect, we now see no reason to change!

Membership Fees Again, there is no need to increase membership fees for the coming year! What a great result but not wholly unexpected as the committee always strive to minimise our spending. This is not always easy and is only achieved by the many ‘unpaid’ hours spent by the committee ensuring our club is run in an efficient and business-like manner.

Club Magazine Our magazine continues to impress with its informative and topical content and the excellent photo cover gives the overall magazine an individuality that shows who we are. Of course, the production of our magazine doesn’t ‘just happen’. Many hours are spent in typing, layout and collating, so we are most fortunate to have an Editorial team that can pull together a variety of articles to produce this excellent magazine.

Committee The current committee has had an excellent working relationship which saw many new and innovative ideas introduced, so it is a little sad that not all of them are standing for re-election.

But I thank them for their dedication and decisions that have allowed the club to prosper.

President - Ian Payne Vice President - Paul Southwell

Treasurer/ Public Officer - Peter Feistl Secretary/Editor - Ben Warden

Captain - Nigel Hellyer Vice Captain - Trevor Harris

Assistant Secretary - Ern Reeders Social Secretary - Martin Hastie

Assistant Editor - Lyn Duncan

To all members I thank you for your participation and friendship over the previous 12 months and look forward to another exciting year in the MSTCV.

Ian Payne

President. 2005/2006