I’m writing my piece this month having just returned from Wokingham where I have been moving our stored items from one storage facility to another. Ably assisted by Adrian Ellison, Nick Edgley and Ed Butterfield, the four of us managed to move everything across in just under two hours and managed to avoid the brunt of Storm Babet. I have to say a huge thank you to these three and particularly to Ed for the use of his van to move everything across.
In September we were advised by St Crispin’s that we would no longer be able to store anything at the school. This includes everything that we need to actually run a St Crispin’s meeting and we will now have to transport all of these items for each meeting. The reason we had to move our storage facility, was because we could not actually access our previous store on a Sunday. Going forward we’re going to need a few volunteers that, on a rotation basis, would be happy to collect all of the St Crispin’s items from the store in a large car or small van and deliver them for the meeting. Afterwards, they will then return the items to the store and ensure they’re put back into storage neatly. If you feel that you would be happy to volunteer to do this on a rotation, please let Nick Edgley know and he can let you know more about what’s required.
For those at St Crispin’s in October, you will have seen that we had a visit from Santa Clause himself. We of course know him as Steve Harris, who is the Chief Marshal of the Reading Toy Run. Steve and his team do an outstanding job of organising the official road closure and all of the marshals to enable the Toy Run to go ahead. As he said, TVAM provide the vast majority of the huge number of marshals that are needed and he’s once again looking for our assistance. The event this year is on Sunday 3rd December and, regardless of your membership status in TVAM, you can sign up to be a marshal for the day. Please email toyrun@tvam.org if you can offer your time on that day to ensure that the Toy Run can go ahead and get the toys to those children.
Adrian mentioned last month that the end of October marks the end of the TVAM financial year. The Committee, Social Team Leaders and various other volunteers are currently collating facts and figures and writing reports ready for the Annual Report to the Club membership. This is the start of probably the busiest period for the Committee in the Clubs calendar, as the Annual Report has to be prepared in November and sent out in December, ready for the AGM in January. The Club has had another really good year and you’ll be able to read and hear about that in the next couple of months.
The AGM is an opportunity for change on the Committee. As part of the Clubs rules, an individual can only stay in the same ‘Officer’ post for a
maximum of five consecutive years. After this, they are obliged to step down although they can stand for another Committee position if they wish. Adrian mentioned in his ‘From the Saddle’ piece last month that he has decided to step down from the Chief Observer role at the AGM in January. In fact, each of the Officers of the Club stand down at each AGM and have to be re-elected into post by the membership if they wish to stand for another year. Adrian has decided not to stand for re-election which leaves an opening for that role.
At the AGM I will have served as Club Chair for three years and I have decided that I would like to throw my hat in the ring to stand for the Chief Observer position. I see the position as a great opportunity to uphold the excellent standards of training within TVAM and IAM RoadSmart.
This clearly means that there will be an opportunity for the Club to have a new Chair. All Officer positions have to be filled at the AGM, so if you would like to stand for any position then please do make a member of the Committee aware and they can let you know what each position entails. Formal paperwork will be issued for nominations prior to the AGM by Ian Gaitley our Club Secretary.
So this is effectively my last ‘From the Chair’ piece for Slipstream, as we don’t have a Slipstream in December and Adrian will write his final piece in January. I feel that holding the position of Chair of TVAM for the last three years has been a great honour. To stand each year and to be elected by the membership is humbling. I hope that I have served you, the membership, well and helped to move this great Club forward.
All that is left for me to do in this piece is to wish you all a Merry Christmas in December. Have fun, stay safe and I look forward to seeing you all in 2024.
Barrie Smith
TVAM Chair