President ’ s Report
May 2021
The month of May , the last month before winter arrives , has delivered a rush of trips , a few of which fall on the Queen ’ s Birthday long weekend , and training courses to keep our Members out & about and learning from our top-notch Driver Training Unit . I ’ ve seen plenty of snow around on Facebook posts so if you ’ re going out , have chains & be prepared with warm clothing . I would also like to thank Ian Fieldhouse , our Treasurer , for the trip he ran during the Muster – I left Ian off the recognition list in my April report - sorry Ian !
At the May Monthly Members meeting , the Committee announced the introduction of fuel vouchers as Rookie Trip Leader incentives . To recap , this award is designed to encourage new trip leaders by helping with the fuel bills . At each monthly meeting , Rookie Trip Leaders are automatically entered in the draw for a $ 100 or a $ 50 fuel voucher . To be eligible for this award , you must complete the following :
1 . Complete the Driver Training Unit Trip Planning course then lead three trips and submit a Trip Report for each trip .
Or 2 . If you don ’ t attend the Trip Planning course , you need to lead five trips and submit a Trip Report for each trip .
There was a Trip Planning course run on May 11 th . – of those people , who will be the first award winner ? If you missed the training , you can always contact Ed Reddick , our Trip and Social Committee Member for help . Ed will put you in touch with one of the many , many Members that have runs dozens of Trips . If you ’ re thinking of going to your own secret camping spot Ed might even join you !
The National 4x4 Show will run in August . The Club will be attending this significant event at our own stand . I ’ m calling for Members that would like to help with this event . Our Member that has led this event is on a trip so is unable to run it this year . The show runs from Friday 20 th August to Sunday 22 nd August . I ’ ll be there for one of the days and would love to see volunteers . Stay tuned for an email from me asking for help soon .
I ’ ll close this report with a reminder the seasonal track closures period is about to start , generally from the beginning of the Queen ’ s Birthday weekend . For more information , go to the Parks Victoria or 4WD Victoria websites for the links . If you ’ re keen on driving in the snow , the Mt Skene Track Driving Permit system is operating again this year . My thanks to the team at 4WD Victoria for running this system and adding another aspect to off-road driving pastime .
Stay warm and I hope to see you on a trip soon .