ALBURY WODONGA MOTORCYCLE ENTHUSIASTS CLUB INC.
Incorporated 2015 (Vic) Cert No. A0091002P ABN 36 359 421 929
PO Box 1400, Albury NSW 2640 www.AWMEC.com.au
COMMITTEE MEETING – Albury Wodonga Motorcycle
Enthusiasts Club (Inc)
Minutes of Meeting
Date: 2024-01-09 Time: 5.30 pm
Venue : Quantum Printing 49 Catherine Cres, Lavington NSW 2641
1. Welcome & Attendees: Michael Sarroff, Sandy and Clinton Van De Stadt, Kelly Coutts-Smith,
Mike Yebury, Chris Brosolo, Phil Stuckey-Guest
Michael opened the meeting and gave a special thank you to Phil Stuckey for attending.
2. Apologies: David Lutton, Paul Bullock, Neil Hillas.
3. Previous Minutes:
As attached. Minutes of Committee Meeting 2023-08-08 – as circulated via website and email.
Moved by – Kelly Coutts-Smith Second by – Clinton Van De Stadt All in favour – CARRIED
4. Business Arising from Previous Minutes:
A. New member packs update – Kelly. Work in Progress. Suggestion: put out a simple sheet and
we can build on it.
B. Second Annual Event – 23rd March – Michael has now postponed for revision. Due to Butterball
low attendance and Stewie's Lakes Entrance date conflict in March. This event is needed, but we
must work on the Butterball foremost, with an anticipation to attempt again @ March AGM 2025.
5. Reports/feedback from Office Bearers
A. Secretary Reports/Feedback:
Clinton and Sandy Van de Stadt, Secretary
Certificates to be awarded for bike categories at Butterball.
Members to clearly announce themselves when addressing the floor at meetings. This would be
good for all members. Establish a name with a face for new and old members.
Clint and Sandy to assist Kelly with Raffle – Purchasing more stock for the year. Keep a book of
the inventory – Kelly to store them at the venue per Lee. Kelly cannot bring it in every time for the
meetings, so by keeping the stock at The Venue, we can ensure the raffle continues.
B. Treasurer’s Reports/Feedback:
David Lutton, Treasurer – Absent. David had submitted in writing a few points on the key issues as
his proxy.
C. Membership Officer’s Reports/Feedback:
Chris Brosolo, Membership Officer – At present we have 194 members paid. Further check at the
next meeting and chase up if need be. Chris is confident in a good membership retention and with
minimal chase-up. This year's approach has worked well for his role as membership officer.
D. Bike Register & Vic Roads/RMS liaison’s Reports/Feedback:
Paul Bullock, Bike Register Officer – Absent. Paul received an email from the NSW Historic
Association, regarding club liabilities of bike inspectors. – Paul to discuss further with David.
E. Editor/Web Manager’s Reports/Feedback:
Michael Sarroff, Web Manager/Editor
A refocus this year on presentations. A New Year with a new approach. Shorter without the Web
Statistics, more about how members can utilise the website with a small item of interest.
Telephone – Mobile phone is working well. This tool has been well received and very positive as a
great asset to members within the club.
F. Welfare Officer’s Reports/Feedback:
Michael Yerbury, Welfare Officer – Recently visited Dave Sinclair.
Graeme male has assisted Michael Y. with reports at the meetings when Michael Y. has been
absent. A thank you to Graeme.
G. Meeting Activites Co-ordinator Reports/Feedback:
Kelly Coutts-Smith, Meeting Activities Co-ordinator – We need to consider audio options at “The
Venue'' for meetings to eliminate the loud feedback we are experiencing. Ambient noise etc.
Kelly and the Committee will follow up via research.
H. Constitution & Rules Officer Reports/Feedback:
David Lutton, Constitution & Rules Officer – Absent
6. General Business:
A. Current Club Participation Rule – Is it a benefit to the club and members?
1. AWMEC CLUB PARTICIPATION RULE – Rule 1 in the Clubs rules
The AWMEC Club Participation Rule currently requires members with club plated bike/s
through the club, to participate in a minimum of two club events per year (meetings, rides &
events) to have their club permit renewals endorsed in the following year.
This rule was suspended for 2020 & 2021 due to Covid but re commenced from 2022.
Since commencing in 2015, the Club had implemented this rule using the Clubs in-house
database/spreadsheet, however in 2019 the club (for various reasons) moved to an off-the-
shelf database to manage the clubs memberships (Called OurCarClub – OCC).
Since re-implementing the participation rule after Covid in 2022 using the new database, it has
become evident that the OCC reporting limitations makes it very difficult to manage &
implement the Clubs participation rule as it currently stands.
As a result of this situation, the Committee is proposing that the Clubs Participation RULE 1 be
removed and replaced with a new POLICY which encourages (but does mandate) all members
to actively participate in our Clubs activities with acknowledgment or incentives to encourage
participation.
At the January general meeting the Committee expects to raise the following motion for
discussion and then voting at the February general meeting;
That – ‘The current AWMEC Club Participation Rule (Rule 1) be removed and replaced by a
new Policy which encourages (but doesn’t enforce) participation in Club events by members.’
BACKGROUND TO OUR CURRENT PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENT
1. The current Club Participation requirements (see full Participation Rules below) only apply
to members who have club permits through our club & the reason for the participation
requirement being introduced when we formed the new club in 2015 was that the
Committee (& majority of members at the time) felt is was reasonable to ask members who
benefited from accessing the club permit system (both NSW RMS & VicRoads) through our
club to meet minimum participation requirements (initially this was six activities year which
was subsequently reduced to two – the Clubs year is January to December). There was no
intention to require members without permitted vehicles to participate as they were
members by choice who weren’t getting direct benefit from the being in the club & joined
presumably because they enjoyed motorcycles & the activities or were friends or partners
of members or were hoping to get a bike/s on plates in future; under our constitution we are
a club for motorcycle enthusiasts & anyone interested in motorcycles or motorcycling is
welcome to join weather they have a bike nor not.
2. As participation as outlined above was the requirement from the outset, the Clubs database
(developed by Sue Haberfield & Phil Stuckey, on a complex spreadsheet) was set up to
give a report matching those members with current club plated bikes to the number of
events that they had participated in for the year; so it was relatively easy to identify those
with plated bikes who had not met participation requirements for the year provided the
Clubs bike register was being kept up to date and that attendees (members) at all rides,
meetings & events had been entered onto the database soon after each event. This report
was used by our Machine Examiners (for RMS) & Executive (for VicRoads) to know which
members had not met participation requirements. As per the rules below, the sanction for
members not meeting participation requirement in one year was that they could not get their
renewals signed (or new permits) the following year until they had met their participation
requirements for the previous year plus pro rata for the current year (i.e. if a member with
club plates hasn’t attended any event this year 2023, they can’t get renewals signed next
year 2024 until they have participated in two events to make up for 2023 plus one event for
first half of 2024 or two events if second half of 2024).
It should be noted that participation requirement has no effect on membership status of
members, and it cannot under our current constitution.
3. Our participation requirement system as above was working pretty well until the end of
2019 when two significant events occurred. Firstly, it became obvious that as good as the
Club's database was in terms of doing exactly what we needed it to do, because it was built
on a spreadsheet trying to perform a database function, it was going to run out of capacity
fairly quickly. Also it wasn’t cloud based which meant it had to reside on the club computer
which was problematic as at least three office bearers (Membership Officer, Bike Register
Officer & Secretary) needed access to the system which became too difficult. For these
reasons it was decided to find & readily available cloud based database system that could
do what we needed at reasonable cost. As with any off the shelf system, none of the ones
we looked at did everything that we wanted but the Our Car Club (OCC) system which we
now use was the closest to doing most of what we needed. Unfortunately one thing it
doesn’t do is provide the plated bike owners vs participation report that the old system
produced & although it is possible to cross reference the information on OCC, it is time
consuming, tedious & not totally reliable. This problem wasn’t really highlighted initially
when we moved to OCC as in 2020 Covid hit & without many rides or meetings for two
years (2020 & 2021) the Committee suspended participation requirements for those two
years so they haven’t applied again until 2022 which means this year (2023) is the first year
that we have had to administer & enforce the participation requirements for permit renewals
using the OCC system & it is proving to be very difficult.
1. CLUB PARTICIPATION -Rule as it stands
It is a requirement of AWMEC that members accessing the conditional Club Permit Scheme in
Victoria (CPS) or N.S.W. (HCRS) or in any other jurisdiction through the Club, actively participate
in Club activities. To meet this requirement, Club members with CPS/HCRS plated vehicles are
required to;
1. From January 1 st 2016, participate in a minimum of two (2) official club events per
calendar year. This participation can be any combination of; scheduled Club general
meetings, scheduled Club rides, Club rallies or other Club events which the Committee
deems to meet participation requirements. For new members the participation
requirement is pro rata e.g. minimum of one (1) event for each six (6) months of
membership.
2. Scheduled Club events and meetings will have an attendance register and it is the
member’s responsibility to ensure that they correctly and accurately complete the
appropriate register for all endorsed events they attend.
3. It is the member’s responsibility to establish to the Committees satisfaction that they
have met minimum participation requirements in each calendar year.
4. Club members not meeting these minimum participation requirements in a calendar year
and who are not exempt under subrule 5), will not be eligible to have their CPS/HCRS
permit renewal forms or any new permit applications endorsed by the Club in the
following year until the minimum participation requirement is met for the previous year
and pro rata of the current year.
5. Members exempt from the above participation requirements are;
a. Members who do not currently have club plated (CPS/HCRS) vehicle permits
issued through the Club,
b. Life members of the Club,
c. Members granted special leave of absence by the Committee for reasons such
as long-term illness, living or travelling away from the Club area for an extended
period (without having moved away from the area), or other acceptable reasons.
Requests made to the Committee for special leave of absence under this rule
must be supported by evidence if requested by the Committee. If the Committee
grants a request for special leave of absence it will confirm such approval in
writing & state the period for which the leave applies.
d. Members 75 years of age and over.
ALL IN FAVOUR of this proposal – Yes – Passed.
B. At the last club meeting Stewie spoke in general business. He was concerned about the level
of participation, specifically with rides, and requested the M/C to look into this.
The M/C have discussed Stewie's concerns and agree there is certainly a need for members to
participate more within the club. Not only on rides but also, meetings, overnighters, annual events
and volunteering efforts. For a club with close to 240 members, the attendance level is concerning.
What has been done previously is not the answer. The M/C would like to encourage more
participation in the Club's activities with a greater, more positive and encouraging approach. The
M/C has discussed a range of new ideas as possible approaches, with one of the following;-
One area to help with these concerns, the M/C has drafted up a proposal to talk to Stewie and the
Ride Committee for their consideration. If willing to carry out, this would be an exciting opportunity
to increase competitive comradery amongst our members. As follows;-
Encourage Participation on Rides as a concept – Stewie's Trophy Room (a leader-board list).
A page on the website that is updated monthly. This is a ‘Carrot’ rather than a ‘Stick’ approach to
increase Club Participation on rides. A fun and easy way for the Ride Captains to record keep
during the year and then have displayed on the website as a running leader-board record. At the
end of the year, the Christmas Party, then have a presentation of awards for those on the
leaderboard list. etc.. The goal is to foster a sense of competition among members, encouraging
increased participation as they strive not to be surpassed by their peers.
Draft examples for the ride committee to contemplate and then come up with their own;-
Formal Categories:
1. Top Mileage Maverick: Recognizing the rider with the most miles ridden in a year.
2. Top Historic Plated Rider: Recognizing the rider with the most Historic Plated Bike Rides
ridden in a year
3. Road Warrior: Acknowledging the members with the highest number of group rides
attended.
4. Mechanic's Choice: For the member who helped others the most with bike repairs or
maintenance.
5. Safety Ambassador: Recognizing the member who consistently demonstrated safe riding
practices.
6. Biker of the Year: Honoring the member who showed outstanding contributions and
dedication to the club.
7. Rookie Rider of the Year: Awarded to the new member who integrated best into the club
and contributed significantly.
8. Most Improved Rider: Acknowledging the member who showed the most progress in riding
skills and participation.
9. Long-Distance Legend: Recognizing the member who completed the longest single ride or
journey.
10. Community Champion: For the member who actively contributed to charitable events or
community service through the club.
11. Best Bike Build: Awarded to the member who performed the most impressive or creative
bike modification or build.
Fun/Funny Categories:
1. The Tarmac Tumbler: Acknowledging the member with the most "graceful" dismounts (falls)
throughout the year.
2. Early Bird Rider: Recognizing the member who was consistently the first to arrive at every
meet or event.
3. Tech-Phobic Rider: For the member who always manages to forget their phone or GPS and
still finds their way.
4. Best Dressed for the Destination: Honoring the rider with the most creative outfits or gear
on themed rides.
5. The Backseat Boss: Awarded to the most enthusiastic passenger during group rides.
6. Worst Sense of Direction: Recognizing the member who constantly gets lost or takes the
longest routes during rides.
7. Best Roadside Chef: For the member who made the most delicious or creative roadside
meals during trips.
8. Weatherproof Rider: Awarded to the member who never missed a ride regardless of
weather conditions.
9. Best Bike Nickname: Recognizing the member with the most unique or humorous name for
their motorcycle.
10. Moto-Meme Master: Awarded to the member who generates the most hilarious memes or
jokes related to motorcycles or club events.
C. Butterball Survey Results. – Neil was an apology – Have rolled over to the next meeting. –
Michael has asked Neil to come up with a date and venue as soon as possible to help with a ‘Save
the Date’ for this year's event. We hope to announce this at the January Meeting.
D. AGM – A proactive approach will be adopted this year for new committee members. All
positions are open. All committee members are available for re-election. Anyone willing to help on
the committee are most welcome. David Lutton has now completed a 4-year term as Treasurer.
We will need to fill this position, anyone willing to help, would be much appreciated.
We would like members to announce their candidacy for the role and/or any of the clubs roles.
E. Mentorship Program. – This is for members to learn and be involved with the committee.
To explore the invaluable opportunity of participating in a mentorship initiative. This program
enables individuals to learn various roles within the Club directly from experienced members. It
aims to provide insights into the responsibilities, methodologies, and critical considerations
essential to fulfilling these roles effectively. Our goal is to educate and empower more members,
ensuring the Club's sustainability and growth. Also work hand in hand with existing committee
members to get a feel for the role.
F. Annual Donation – 1 request received to date for Albury Wodonga Animal Rescue. Committee
proposed $ 2000.00 donation. Members to vote at next January 2024 meeting.
AWMEC annual donation program: announced to members at the last meeting November 2023
ONE request – was received: Proposal that the request be accepted.
ALL IN FAVOUR. Yes . – CARRIED
G. Legacy Program. Commemorating Former Members.
Mike Yerbury will be researching a new Legacy Program for passed members. Obituary list /
Memorial Tribute (Work in progress). Possible : Transfer of membership to next of Kin for the
remainder of the year's membership and extending an invitation to join our club. Also a tribute
page on the website (with the permission of the family)
H. Bike Calendar:
There were approx. 50 calendars sold at the Christmas party, it is selling well and looks like the
calendar is a huge success. Credit due to all those involved but it was very short on time to
produce. We want to do justice to the calendars by starting this program well in advance. Kelly will
discuss with Stewie with the insight to commence the program at the AGM.
Other :
7. Meeting Close and Next Meeting:
Closed 8.40pm.