Members News

If you know you will not attending the AGM meeting taking place this year on Saturday May 18th and you would like your name added to the apologies list, please contact me via: secretary@swift-owners-club.com where your name will be duly noted and presented to the meeting.
Thank you.
Elaine Baker
Hon Secretary.

Don’t forget to come along to Yew Tree Farm Caravan Park, Far Forest, Nr Bewdley, Worcs for a great weekend. Yew Tree Farm Caravan Park is a family-owned caravan park, beautifully situated in the heart of the country, with rolling open countryside on the edge of the Wyre Forest, offering a perfect base to explore or just sit back and admire the view.

The site has excellent rally fields, with electric hookups, together with fishing pools, woodland walks and magnificent views. See https://www.yewtreefarmcaravanpark.com

Attractions in close proximity to the site include: West Midlands Safari Park, Severn Valley Railway, Hartlebury Castle, Wyre Forest and many more…

This rally is a perfect time to meet up with friends old and new, enjoy fabulous professional entertainment Saturday evening in a nice hall and support your club by having your say at the Open Forum. For further information see pages 16 – 18 of the current issue of Going Places.

The latest booking date is officially 22^nd April. You may book in after that date but be aware that a rally plaque may not be available.

To book the rally online see the ‘AGM Rally 2024 – Online Booking’ section on this webpage. There you can complete an online online form and choose your method of payment from: Debit Card, Credit Card, PayPal, Direct Bank Transfer, or Cheque. Alternatively you can complete the booking form on page on page 74 of the current issue of Going Places and follow the posting and payment instructions.

News Flash *   If you enjoy Fishing there is Free fishing with your own Rod licence at two beautiful lakes for the duration of the Rally.

Today I received a lovely hand-made card to all members from Alan Druce’s family. Please click on the title to see the card.

John Brailsford, President

The Rally Secretary has just published the initial version of the 2025 Provisional Rally Programme. You can access this via the RALLY INO menu at the top of any Members’ Area webpage.

You will see that currently there are many gaps to fill and I’m sure Sarah would welcome input from marshals or potential marshals as soon as possible. If you are thinking of running a rally or know of any possible rally sites that could be used, please speak to your Area Committee Member (ACM). Up to date details of all Committee Members and Officers can be found in the ‘Who’s Who Index’ on the General Information webpage.

New rally marshals are always welcome and your ACM can advise and support you. Why not give it a try?

Webmaster

By mutual agreement with the Cricket Club it was agreed not to hold the Rally because of possible damage to the outfield prior to the start of the season.

The Rally has been re-scheduled for 9^th to 13^th October 2024.

All details are on page 38 of the Rally Book.

Mike Pitchford, Marshal

Any further notices will be posted in the Latest Rally News using the same rally number (11).

Webmaster

I have just been advised by the marshal that unfortunately, due to ground conditions on the Caravan Park, this rally has been postponed until September.

The rally will now take place from Thursday 26th September 2024 to Tuesday 1st October 2024, 5 nights. The rally fees will remain as in the rally book page 36.

Any further notices will be posted using the same rally number (12).

Webmaster

The nomination closing date for Executive and ACM committee nominations and forms to be received by the club secretary is SATURDAY  6^TH APRIL 2024. Likewise, this is also the closing date for any propositions being put forward to the AGM meeting.

Please note: It is my intension to step down from the post of Club Secretary at the forthcoming AGM and as of yet a candidate has not come forward. Would you consider taking up the position? The club does need a Secretary to sit on the Executive and take care of the day-to-day admin of the club. A job description is available, and I am happy to answer any questions regarding the post, so if you are interested, please do get in touch.

Elaine Baker – Hon Secretary

Tel: 07870 779878

We have received the sad news that Honorary Life Member Alan Druce passed away after a long illness at home last night 30^th March with his family at his bedside.

Alan was a loyal member of the Club, giving his time and expertise generously  for the benefit of the members.

He  has been an officer for some twenty or more years and latterly showed his determination to complete the current 2024 Rally Venues Book throughout the latter stages of his illness.

He will be sadly missed and our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.

Ron Ward, Chairman

The minutes of the February Committee Meeting held at the Heart of England School, Balsall Common, West Midlands are now online. See General Information page.

Bank Accounts The committee agreed that we should start to use the three new Lloyds Bank accounts for all transactions with immediate effect. The Treasurer will notify the ACM’S of the new account details. The Santander accounts will remain open for the time being to ensure we are no longer making payments into them.

Appointment of new officers.  Gareth Roberts has been appointed as our Marketing Officer taking over from Alan Druce.  Ray Williams has been appointed to take over the Rally Venues Book taking over from Alan Druce. Our thanks go to Alan and Carol for their dedicated work for many years in covering these roles.

Annual General Meeting Rallies.  2024 final arrangements are in hand with entries coming in from our members, entry forms are available on line or in the Rally Venues Book and in the Spring Edition of Going Places. Please ensure you use the corrected prices for the Rally as stated in Going Places.  2025 we are looking for a venue for the AGM Rally and also 2026 which will be a special year as we celebrate 55 years of the SOC.

Response to the members survey.

The committee would like to thank everyone who responded to this survey.  A total of 76 replies were recorded, for which we are extremely grateful.

The aim of the survey was to identify and address possible areas of concern that may encourage members to marshal future rallies.  It is obviously not possible to cover all issues raised immediately, but there were recurring themes that it would be prudent to address now.

Rally paperwork.   Many members raised the issue of rally paperwork not being as straightforward as it could be.  This has been raised before, and as a result there was an agenda item at the last committee meeting identifying the need for the rally guidance to be updated.  Any changes that are deemed beneficial will therefore be incorporated into theguidelines.
These guidelines will also clarify the issue of equipment needed for rallies (further information below).

The guidelines have not been updated recently, and we are aiming to provide increased clarity to assist marshals. 

Additionally, in previous years, time has been set aside at an AGM to provide support on completing paperwork.  There was a level of response that indicated this may be beneficial once again.  There are plans to design and incorporate an awareness session for the 2025 AGM, which will hopefully return to the May bank holiday and allow the extra time that this will require.

Gazebos.  The committee accepts that the size and weight of the gazebos is a concern for many.  Some find them too heavy to move around, others too heavy to transport to remain within legal towing and their limits.   Our previous gazebos were less weighty, but sadly not suitable for the   type of use for the Club hence the need to replace them also they had become damaged beyond economic repair.

In addition to the issue of weight, comments were also received regarding the need to use gazebos for rallies.

Linking these items together, and once again referring to the revision of rally guidelines, the decision as to using a gazebo or not is down to the rally marshal. 
We do accept that the problem occurs when a marshal wants to use a gazebo, and is precluded from carrying one because of weight etc.  This is not an easy problem to resolve, and while it is discussed further we would ask that if – as a marshal – you find yourself in this position please contact the relevant ACM (ie for the area in which the rally is being held) as soon as possible after the booking is confirmed to ask if a solution can found.

Equipment.  Linked to the above is the detail about the volume of equipment being carried by marshals for rallies.  Many comments were made about the room taken up by such equipment (urns, tea pots etc) and questioned the need for them. 

This is again the marshals choice.  While gazebos and urns provide a focus for social gatherings, marshals have the flexibility to explore alternative arrangements.  If teas / coffees etc are not provided on a rally the equipment required for the rally should be agreed with respective ACM.

Rally Venues    This was the fourth item discussed at the committee meeting, and had also been on the recent ACCEO meeting agenda.   We are fortunate to have an extensive database of previous rally venues – and are extremely grateful to Dave Coller for collating and providing such a valuable resource.  The database is historic, and some sites listed may no longer be hosting rallies.  In the meantime other sites for rallies have been developed for clubs such as ours.

Other ACCEO member clubs raised the same concerns about suitable venues, and suitable levels of facilities.  To this end, ACCEO members were asked to consider sharing a small number of venues with each other.  Once this has been completed details should arrive with our rally secretary.

These “new” sites may not be on our own database, so details of the possible venues will be circulated to all members in the hope that a member will step forward and offer to act as a marshal.  This will hopefully be a positive step, as all the sites listed will be known to be “rally friendly” and could expand our rally programme.

If you commented on a matter that is not mentioned above please do not feel that it has been ignored.  All comments made in response to the survey were circulated to all committee members, all comments have been read, and our initial response was to focus on the items above as they generated the biggest response from the membership. Our hopes are to encourage you to organise and Marshal a Rally for the Club and to ask for help and advice where needed from any of the respective officers of the Club

Once again, a big thank you to everyone who responded.

Ron

 RW/March24