RALLY CLUB SEEKS MORE MEMBERSHIP PARTICIPATION

Chairman Noel reports to 65th Anniversary AGM

As the Barbados Rally Club (BRC) marks its 65th Anniversary, the membership can look back on a decade of steady progress during which goals have been successfully achieved, says Chairman Geoff Noel, but greater member participation in the running of the Club is a priority for the future. He was addressing the Annual General Meeting last evening (Thursday) at the Barbados Clay Target Shooting Association (BCTSA) Clubhouse at Searles, Christ Church.
  Noel, who last spoke at an AGM as Chairman nearly a decade ago, said: “Looking back, I reviewed the goals for 2011: sponsorship, timing systems, Motorsport Services, running successful Rally Barbados events and refocussing on MudDogs and Autocross. Almost all the boxes were ticked! The only goal not achieved was the improvement of our gravel events and interest has faded, so we no longer have those events.
  “This is what I would think is a successful Club. When you look back after 10 years and see that almost all the goals have been accomplished in a non-profit and fully volunteer organization. One area that we are very pleased about is the recent popularity of Autocross. Geoff Goddard and his team are having record entries, more sometimes than our speed events. This is the grass roots of our Club and we can firmly say that we are doing our bit for the development of motor sport in Barbados. This is a job well done.
  “At the 65th Anniversary Shelbury June Safari, we had Don Hunte start the cars and Bill Mallalieu on hand with a Rover 75 that competed in the very first event in 1957. The competitors enjoyed the event immensely. Motorsport Services also continues to be a successful and important tool in our Club. Michelle assists us in many tasks that were previously handled by CoM members, which removes some of the burden from the CoM.”
  Despite that success, however, speaking of the Club’s plans for 2023 and beyond, he cautioned: “We desperately need more member participation in the running and organization of the Club. A perfect example of this is Rhett Watson, who managed the road repairs this year and even assisted with a resident who had concerns prior to an event. This is your Club and it needs your assistance.”
  After Noel became Chairman again in June last year and while the coronavirus pandemic restricted motor sport activity, the Committee of Management (CoM) carried out a detailed review, part of a long-term goal to ensure the sustainability of the Club. Noel explained: “We spent the first six months redeveloping and redefining the roles of the CoM members. We went through and extensively overhauled each person’s duties and documented them to ensure that all CoM members knew their roles and could plan to execute their tasks without too much outside assistance. The time spent on this exercise should be beneficial in the future, as we will continue the streamlining of the CoM to ensure that no one person is burdened with the running of our Club.”
  Despite two difficult years as a result of the pandemic, Treasurer Jeanne Crawford had positive news: “The club was able to enter 2022 with a positive balance sheet as it looked towards the relaunch of motor sport. As you all know, costs have gone up across the board, so we will need to be diligent in reviewing our expenditures.” Noel echoed this, saying: “We have had declining revenue because of Covid, but the expenses are still there; we have trucks that require maintenance, fuel, insurance, radios that need repairing etc. All of the costs add up and we will be having a small subcommittee discussion on this topic starting next week.”
  There is only one key change to the Committee of Management: Kreigg Yearwood, who served as Assistant Competition Secretary for five years before becoming CompSec in 2019, has resigned, replaced by Jamal Brathwaite, who moves up from Asst CompSec; the CoM will now remain at 11 members. Noel said: “Kreigg Yearwood has decided to step away from the organizational role to focus on his career. Kreigg joined the Club as my navigator when he was 16 and its great to see him progress though the Club as a successful competitor, moving on to become a critical organizer; this is the ultimate role of members that we need to see happen in the Club to assure its continuity. We would all like to thank Kreigg for his work both on and off the CoM and hopefully we will see him again in the future on the CoM.”
  This was the second year that the AGM had been delayed because of the pandemic after last year’s was held in June. The Annual Prizegiving in 2021 was also a casualty of Covid, Noel reporting that: “the CoM is trying to figure a way to address this in an efficient and financially effective manner.”

BRC CoM: Chairman, Geoffrey Noel; Vice-Chairman, Neil Corbin; Treasurer, Jeanne Crawford; Competition Secretary, Jamal Brathwaite; Assistant Competition Secretary, Ricky Holder; Vehicle Classification Officer, Adrian Linton; Secretary, Jason Downey; Marshal Liaison Officer, Geoffrey Goddard; Equipment Officer, Ben Norris; Public Relations Officer, Neil Barnard; Entertainment Officer, Robert Simmons

For media information only. No regulatory value.

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Web sites: www.barbadosrallyclub.com, www.muddogsbarbados.com, www.rallybarbados.net