ASCC AGM December 13, 2016 Meeting called to order at 7:39 pm.
VP Alan Gray confirmed 27 in attendance and 10 proxies so we had a quorum. Year end member numbers were 197.
Official membership count for ARMS accounting year for 2016 was 179.
President Debbie Miller gave her Presidents report:
What a great summer, good weather and lots of events, good number of entries and fun competition. Perfect!! And our club grew to over 180 members this year!! We are the largest club in the region and make up almost 45% of the total membership, we compete and help organize in all the major disciplines so many members are active all year long.
The club executive makes all this run like clockwork, I want to thank Brian Jarvis for keeping our finances up to date and all our bills paid, Alan Gray for keeping our membership updated and for helping out at so many of our events, I want to thank Evan Williams our club secretary for all our social media updates, and thank you to Ian Pearce for being (along with his many other duties) our rally director and to Joel Nelson and wife Krista for running a very busy and very successful solo season. Race director Brian Gay also put in a full season with running our high-performance Driving School and instructing as well as competing in race. And of course, thanks to George Sheppard for making sure we play by the rules.
We are lucky to have so many dedicated volunteers and to be able, in a small way, to thank someone each year by presenting them with the Ron Johnson Memorial Presidents Award. Ron and his family were active in the marshaling group for many years and exemplified the spirit of volunteering. In reading the many names of past recipients it is nice to see that many are still here, helping out and competing. It is also a good sign that there are many new names who will qualify for this presentation. Last year we also initiated a new annual award, The Lifetime Achievement trophy, which was presented to George Sheppard.
We also have another club member in the Maritime Motorsport Hall of Fame. Joining recent inductees Frank McCarthy and George Sheppard, ASCC nominated me for this year and the ceremony was held Nov 19. I want to thank the club for considering me worthy of their support.
So on we go into 2017, we have many events to look forward to and good friends to share them with. I want to wish one and all the best of the season…
Club Secretary Evan Williams was unable to attend so VP Alan Gray read the minutes of the December 2015 AGM. Motion by George Sheppard to accept the minutes as read, seconded by Chris Ward, all were in favour.
Treasurer Brian Jarvis gave our year-end figures. We have a total of $28,443.90 in the bank. No outstanding accounts.
Directors Joel Nelson and Ian Pearce gave a year-end solo and rally report.
Debbie Miller read out the race report as provided by race director Brian Gay, who could not attend the meeting:
The 2016 race season has come to a close and while we wait to see what the upcoming
season looks like for us, let’s hope everyone gets race cars under their tree this year as the car count was down and we could use a good boost in numbers. I will echo what I said last year and that is ASCC continues to support road racing with over 50% of the field on any given starting grid and the support continued for 2016, great showing by ASCC members!
This is the spot where I usually talk about change and how it is good for us…well…I wouldn’t talk about change but rather what didn’t change. You show up to AMP on the morning of a race weekend, you meet up with good friends, you chat and laugh and then go have fun on the track together. The race is over, you get out of your car and you chat and laugh some more. You have fun with old friends, you make new friends, you go to have fun and hopefully that will never change. A few people over the years have forgotten how this is supposed to work and unfortunately they have moved on forgetting what good times they are missing. Mabe Leigh’s proposal for ARMS ProStock class will bring a bunch of old timers back out and new people as well to have fun!
On the more exciting side we had 8 students between the two Race schools we held this year on back to back race weekends. These students continued to race for the season and earn their full regional race license before the season ended in October. I look forward to seeing them return in 2017!
On the less exciting side, last year I mentioned that the SM field was almost extinct…well…
this past season with only around 1 car regularly making the starting grid the class was for the most part, was extinct. While I am very disappointed to see the class gone I do know someone is working in the background on trying to revive the SM class. Is it too late, I don’t know, only time will tell. The year ended off with the JCM on Thanksgiving weekend and while that race had the most “interesting” start of the season it all sorted itself out after a few corners as everyone settled in for the 3 hours ahead. We also had a decent car count which made for great racing and a lot of lapped cars but that is all part of what makes the JCM fun, everyone out for the same reason!
I would like to wish all ASCC members and their families a wonderful holiday season and look forward to seeing everyone in 2017!
OLD BUSINESS. Under old business the ASCC Presidents Award was given to (drum roll) Chris Ward. Chris has been a member for many years and his parents, Dale and Diane Ward were some of the original rally competitors in the club. Chris has been a very active and successful competitor in solo and rally events, still attends meetings and is instrumental in arranging O’Regan’s sponsorship every year. Thank you Chris for being a valuable club supporter and a real gentleman!! Gord Sleigh reported on the club website, everything is working well, our thanks to Gord. We also advised that the Lifetime Achievement award will be presented at the January 10 meeting at Kartbahn.
NEW BUSINESS. Under new business we have 3 members who qualify for honorary membership. The three are: Ian Pearce (moved by Brian Jarvis and seconded by Chris Ward); James Partridge (moved by Alan Gray and seconded by Ian Pearce) and Charlotte Partridge (moved by Debbie Miller and seconded by George Sheppard). These names will be confirmed at our March meeting. Joel Nelson advised that Steve Philips wants to introduce a new solo award, a RAW prize plus novice, fastest time, no PAX. To be sponsored by his auto repair shop, more details to follow. James Partridge made a motion that for 2017 we amend our quorum requirements to be 20% or 20 members, whichever is the lesser. Seconded by Gord Sleigh, all were in favour. In Region news we now have a new ARMS treasurer, Kathy Partridge. Congratulations Kathy, we all wish you the very best and hope for a smooth and successful transition. Also on the region front, ARRCA has offered to host the 2017 AGM in Truro, same location as 2016.
Motion: Moved by Chris Ward, seconded by Ralph Rosere to ratify the actions of the executive and board of directors for 2016. All were in favour. Thank you all for your support. Elections committee chairman George Sheppard carried out the election of President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. All the current officers re-offered and, since there were no nominations from the floor, all three were acclaimed. Directors for race, rally and solo will be confirmed at the January meeting. Swap shop was followed by a motion by Bruce Buntain, seconded by Gord Sleigh to adjourn. Then Bruce Buntain regaled us with a rousing game of auto-trivia. The winning table was Team Ralph Rosere and Ralph was awarded the trophy.Thank you Bruce. See everyone in January.