pgc520 wrote:If you read CCW it he attended on Sunday! His article is a good read!
I no longer subscribe to CCW, so cannot comment. However if in support of the event, and please don't misunderstand as this post is based on what I have read and heard, not from personal experience, it does seem to be outweighed by the complaints unfortunately.
pgc520 wrote:
On membership i was relaying the positive feedback from the office about membership enquires, I don't know what the exact numbers are at the moment, but we are printing the same number of Minor Matters as this time last year which is a good indicator of the membership numbers.
I would still like to know the current figure, as would, I believe, other messageboard users.
Bill Hewlett
Oxon & Berks Branch Chairman - MOT-UK Organiser (see http://www.blurb.com/books/1518384 and http://www.blurb.com/books/2422813)
Oxon & Berks Website: http://www.bucksinfo.net/mogbox/
It seems rather unfair to me that you talk of complaints about the National Rally on the Messageboard as if it were representative of the entire membership! The Messageboard has around 4,400 posters - not all of them members, whereas the club membership exceeds 12,000!
It does appear odd to me that someone can be so critical of an event they did not even go to! I have heard nothing but positive feed back from both members ringing the office and people I know who attended.
OK I'll put it this way, which would you prefer, continued insular Minor events, or as you appeared to enjoy the Southern, combined shows?
The question is irrelevant (and loaded). Yes, I enjoyed the Southern regional last year, and would probably have attended this year if it had not been cancelled. This does not mean you can make assumptions about my preferences, which are none of your business
Having spoken to a great number of people regarding the MMOC Nationals this year the only positive comments I have heard are along the lines of, 'we had a great time meeting old and new friends' Nothing actually positive about the many aspects of the show, in fact many have picked out various items to complain about, food at the do, proximity of the camping area, general layout of the show, cost of food on offer, the list goes on and sadly many were very similar, if not the same to the issues raised after last years National so it seems that non of the critisism was taken on board which I find very sad. Obviously I can't speak for all those that attended but this seems to be the general feeling amoungst the people I have spoken to.
Re money: I guess it shouldnt be too difficult to estimate the income from the show assomeone I beleive has already said how many cars attendedtimes that by 12-quid and add the traders money, which we could again estimate if any of the traders browsing this site would like to tell us what they paid to exhibit ;-)) Sadly the costs will not be known until next years AGM tho!
I thought the subject under discussion was the National Rally, not the AGM! The only negative comments I had were about the weather - but as each of these were made with a smile - we all know that is something no one can do anything about!
Having re-read Andrews post, I feel that I must respond to two further points.
pgc520 wrote: The White Horse show was cancelled this year at quite short notice,
Not as short as the Northern Regional, and with the Southern at least I made a formal notification both here on the messageboard and via the websites Diary of Events.
[quote"pgc520"]
most Nationals take upto 18months to plan so the venue has to be an estabilshed site with a firm contract.[/quote]
Not this time though Andrew.
Bill Hewlett
Oxon & Berks Branch Chairman - MOT-UK Organiser (see http://www.blurb.com/books/1518384 and http://www.blurb.com/books/2422813)
Oxon & Berks Website: http://www.bucksinfo.net/mogbox/
Judge wrote:
Not as short as the Northern Regional, and with the Southern at least I made a formal notification both here on the messageboard and via the websites Diary of Events.
Actually, you just posted it in the MMOC Branch Forum. I found it there by chance and added to the Diary of Events
at the 06 AGM I asked what % of the income the club receives goes directly to the 'savings' pot. The answer was 8-10%, assuming an income of around £250,000 per annum plus extras, ie insurance sweeteners, regailia advertising etc etc then we can assume that a minimum of £20 K goes directly to 'savings', this would, on the assumption that a 'normal' National Rally costs between £8-12K, easily pay for a free rally.
I think that the £1 levy was only to replace the 'lost potential income/ running costs ' of the free rally and was an unnecessary 'knee jerk 'reaction to the uninspired opponents to a free rally.
My view is that the MMOC is in 'business' for its members and should consider using some of its subscription fees to run a free National , if not every year then at least on the major shows such as the 50th and 60th anniversary.
Regarding venues for the staging of the National, many car clubs now favor, the one venue approach, the Mini and Beetle clubs always meet at Stanford Hall and regulary get between 5-10,000 attendees. I would suggest that the MMOC follow this route, and plan for a more diverse base of attractions, with proper levels of entertainment, food outlets, etc, etc. Inviting other 'marques' to share our event in a much grander scale could be looked into.
As for the views on this message board not being representative of the 12,000 or so members, this is a ridiculous statement as 11,900 of the 12,000, choose not to attend the AGM. The actual attendees at the AGM are either club officials, or largely members of this message board, which is why I say if you have a point to raise then it has a good chance of being heard and passed if it has had a favorable hearing on here first.
Jon, the cost of the weekend in terms of pitch hire was £75 per pitch, the true cost to each trader would have been many ten times more than this, which is why I feel and Know that next year will see very few traders except for the second hand parts pushers. This is not good for the 'marque in my view but just reflects the true cost of making a presence at such a venue.
As for this years National, it was better than last year, just. If I had come from abroad then it would certainly be the last event I would attend, as despite the meeting of friends old and new, the show was desperately lacking in most areas, and their seemed very little celebration of the car having achieved its 60th anniversary.
very well put jonathon,i felt dissapointed for the people that drove up from south africa,the fact that minors through the ages was rushed through,which from my point of view is what the event was all about
