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Clubnight
- Thread starter loc944
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See you there about 7.30.
So I drove 80 miles in the p***ing rain to have a cup of tea nowhere near home yet West contingent decide to do otherwise. Notable that one of the most vocal Westies for having a joint venue hasn’t pitched up at Bridge of Allan yet
Deep shame as the Club is one of the best things going, but some feel determined to ruin it. Or so it would seem
The decision to hold Business Meetings at OPC’s Glasgow, Perth and Edinburgh on a rotational basis was taken by club members at the West Club Night on 7th August 2018. This was reinforced by club members at the Glasgow Business Meeting on 3rd November 2018 and the Perth Business Meeting on 19th March.
The decision to hold a joint West and East Club Night was taken by club members at the Perth Business Meeting on 19th March after some discussion. This followed previous requests and discussions for a joint night at the Glasgow Business Meeting on 3rd November.
In addition, members that do not attend meetings always have the opportunity to comment or raise points for discussion or feedback their views before and after these meetings as agendas are sent out well in advance and minutes are circulated shortly after meetings. Emails and articles in PP also inform members of decisions made/proposed change.
I make no apology for members that took decisions at these meetings when others failed to attend what is one Business Meeting every four months.
In a region geographically this big, we are never going to find the perfect venue for Club Nights/Business Meetings that will suit everyone, but I am a great believer in trying out different options in an effort to eventually come up with the best solutions possible.
While Nights/Meetings have their place in the region, their dates and venues are not set in stone and point members to where they might want to gather to socialise or discuss regional matters. If these dates and venues are not suitable then some members might want to meet at alternative venues on alternative dates. R2 have the ‘Inbetweeners’ for example.
The Regional Team of which you are part and I, as you know are working very hard to get things such as Nights/Meetings right and to provide varied and interesting events for our 600 plus members. We don’t always get it right and are not always able to please everyone but we do try and are willing to listen. So far this year we have held 19 events with over 500 members attending.
If it is felt that previous decisions made by club members were not representative of the active membership then I would simply urge the active membership to attend meetings or contact me or a member of the Regional Team and pass on their ideas and views.
In addition, if you feel we need to look at the way we make decisions and communicate, the Regional Team and I are keen to hear from members any suggestions of what alternative decision making and communicative processes we could adopt.
Regards,
Donald. R1, RO.
r1@porscheclubgb.com
07968 724441
craigtominey
New member
sorry I will not be coming to Bridge Of Alan.
regards
craig.....
Personally I think that the way in which you communicate within the Region and the opportunity by which members are able to become involved in 'decision-making', ie by attending Regional and/or Business Meetings (and the prior/post circulation of the agenda and minutes respectively) is as democratic a process as one could hope for, given that we are a large, diverse and geographically well-spread group of enthusiasts. If we were all in business (and some still are) we would be expected to adhere to any decisions made when such meetings are notified and take place - but we are a Club - and it will always be the case 'that one can't please all of the customers (members) all of the time'. That said, it is a shame that there hasn't been more obvious support for the agreed approach to such meetings and also for the 'centrally located' monthly club nights scheduled for the summer months.
I feel there will no perfect answer to the ongoing question (dare I say thorn in the side) of Regional harmony in relation to where and when to meet - but it is not for the want of trying by you and a few others. For those who have ideas as to potential alternatives, having first researched their suitability, it would be good to have them proposed, discussed and agreed at the next Business Meeting at OPC Edinburgh on Saturday 6 July.
John
There is no harm in trying out new ideas & venues as it can encourage members who may have not been to a regional meeting before to come along as the location is more centra to the region as a whole (not everyone is East or West biased)
Bottom line if you don’t try new ideas you don’t know if they work or not. If they do great, if they don’t the worlds not going to end and you can either try something new or revert back.
Being Porsche fans brings us all together as fellow Petrolheads, personally I prefer to leave the politics back in the office.
Steve
craigtominey
New member
There was another meeting attended by a lesser amount of people and a new meeting place was decided.
Sorry but that does not wash with myself and many other club members going forward.
There is an open invitation to any club member to come along to the Westerwood on club night..
regards
Craig
In 2018 it was decided after a large group meeting at Boness including GM PCGB that we would have east and west meetings on the same night. That was following various complaints to head office of the way the region was being run. It was noted in the Club magazine and on email so that everyone had an opportunity to air their view point about what/where/when meetings should be held. I think the end result was acceptable to most and the West Regional meetings have been attracting 15 to 20 members each month. No idea what has happened in the East as its not reported and I dont attend the east meetings anymore.
At the business meeting in March, a group (circa 14 i believe) of some 600 members decided that they would cancel the West meetings. This was without prior notice on the Agenda that this was even being discussed and without any prior notice on email or club magazine.
Considering the bad blood that exists in Region 1 presently. I am not surprised that so many have decided to boycot the joint meetings and continue to have their west meetings. The plan to continue to run West Meetings was also notified to PCGB. (not by myself just to be clear) I am simply stating the facts.
Its such a shame that the region has degenerated to this level.
There seems very little presence in the West of any PCGB committee ? who is representing the west side of Region 1 ? maybe this has been posted, but something I am not aware off ?? and who is dealing with events at OPC Glasgow. I was surprised there was no invite from PCGB Glasgow to the large event last Saturday. I certainly was not invited either by the centre or through R1. Not a great performance from Region 1 when we dont get asked to such a large event at our local OPC. I did note that there was a number of members attend the East one perhaps those were personal invites of customers ?
The regional organisers and committee need to take a long hard look at themselves. If you have a situation where almost all the active west members dont attend the joint club meeting and host their own meeting then there is something fundamentally wrong somewhere. You have a situation where the regular members in the west have just given up on the region and are doing their own thing even to the extent that hardly any have even bothered to comment on this.
THE COMMITTEE - should take note and try and resolve the situation in the West !
For what it is worth I was not in favour, and I said so but was willing to give it a go. I agree with Craig! I'd far rather meet locally. I can walk to the location for the East meeting but I drove 90 miles (not 80) in the hope / expectation of meeting up with Members whose company I've enjoyed in the past. So I reacted badly when I found out afterwards that the West had had a separate meeting. I do apologise if I've stirred things up
The only good thing coming out of this is at least feelings are being aired and something needs to change for the better. Let's hope we can fix it
As we know, after the meeting in March minutes were sent out detailing the decision made by members at that meeting to trial a central venue for Club Nights for East and West to attend on the same night.
These minutes received no feedback from any quarter and that’s a pity because had I received any negative comments we would have had almost two months to revisit the decision and hopefully come to a more acceptable solution for all.
As I’m sure most will understand, it can be very difficult for me as RO and the team to resolve situations when information is not being passed on to us by club members.
Moving forward, in an effort to resolve the situation in the West I propose we look towards the upcoming meeting on Saturday 6th July. I will send out an agenda with the item of Club Nights/Business Meetings firmly on this agenda and invite members to make suggestions or comments on this or any other topics for discussion.
I would hope for a good attendance on the day.
Donald. R1, RO.
r1@porscheclubgb.com
07968 724441
dhossack said:Many thanks to all that have contributed to the post.
As we know, after the meeting in March minutes were sent out detailing the decision made by members at that meeting to trial a central venue for Club Nights for East and West to attend on the same night.
These minutes received no feedback from any quarter and that’s a pity because had I received any negative comments we would have had almost two months to revisit the decision and hopefully come to a more acceptable solution for all.
As I’m sure most will understand, it can be very difficult for me as RO and the team to resolve situations when information is not being passed on to us by club members.
Moving forward, in an effort to resolve the situation in the West I propose we look towards the upcoming meeting on Saturday 6th July. I will send out an agenda with the item of Club Nights/Business Meetings firmly on this agenda and invite members to make suggestions or comments on this or any other topics for discussion.
I would hope for a good attendance on the day.
Donald. R1, RO.
r1@porscheclubgb.com
07968 724441
Donald I am in Mexico on the 6th, Missed the last one also as was in France skiing, But so that my thoughts are known as I cannot attend the official business meeting.
1. My thoughts are that East and West dont tend to like to travel too far for their monthly meetings, It was tried in the past by Alan Seadon to have a joint meeting Stirling area that resulted in the same situation that we have now where people boycoted the official planned meeting and attended the normal meeting they wanted to go to. I would stick to East and West having their own club nights. We have quarterly club joint meets that allows everyone to meet up so in my mind I would officially leave East and West alone.
The West meets are very well attended and it appears thats what everyone wants based on the current situation. I cannot comment on the East meets I have heard they arent well attended ? reasons why you would be best to comment on.
2. Another point I would like raised or discussed is the ongoing situation where the west feels that they are the poor relations in the region with very little visibility of the RO, If there is a formal committee ? then who is representing the West ? and who is attending the West meetings ? It should be RO so that he is visible to members or his deputy at the very least. Without the RO attending the West meetings it looks like he is only interested in the East of the country. This has been the situation for a long time now and part of the reason for the unrest in the west and a number of members making official complaints to PCGB. It doesnt appear to be getting any better where we now have a break away group holding their own meetings and PCGB accepting this as ok ?
3. OPC Glasgow - There seems to be no formal contact with OPC Glasgow. I know Colin and Robin have both spoke to the centre recently saying that they can speak to them with regard to hosting events or attending launches. But this is informal and not what should be done, The RO should have a good relationship with Robbie or Ian Easdale and plan one or two events per year at the centre which also keeps the club in mind for invitations to events. Was kind of shocked the club wasnt invited to the Sports Car Together Day at Glasgow. In the past I would normally have popped in to see Paul Farrell and or Iain Easdale three or four times a year. Just for a 30min chat and cuppa about how things were doing. I did the same with Edinburgh. This was good for hearing about what was coming up at the centres and keeping the club visible to the centres. It shouldnt always be a meeting just asking what they can do for us.
In my mind the RO should have a good relationship with the OPC centres and it appears this is not the case certainly in Glasgow.
Sorry if this is sounding critical Donald but its where we are.
regards
Scott.
Madelvic said:I think you raise some fair points Scott. But I don't have the same recollection as you of the March meeting. It wasn't that the West meeting was cancelled (nor the East for that matter). What did happen as I recall, was a small and vocal number of members were pushing hard for a joint meeting over the summer months somewhere in between. This was done to try to bring the Club together. The irony for me, and with genuine good intent, the most vocal of the proponents for a joint meeting was a member from the West. I recall the same member pushing for the same at Bo'ness previously
For what it is worth I was not in favour, and I said so but was willing to give it a go. I agree with Craig! I'd far rather meet locally. I can walk to the location for the East meeting but I drove 90 miles (not 80) in the hope / expectation of meeting up with Members whose company I've enjoyed in the past. So I reacted badly when I found out afterwards that the West had had a separate meeting. I do apologise if I've stirred things up
The only good thing coming out of this is at least feelings are being aired and something needs to change for the better. Let's hope we can fix it
Richard, dont disagree with anything you say, My only thing I would ask is how many of the regular 15 to 20 west members pushed for a joint meeting ? Or indeed how many attended Perth ? Perth for some is a bit of a trek ? I would have been there had I not been skiing and will miss the next one due to holidays, but I have made my thoughts known. The whole subject of east west meetings was discussed to death back in 2018 when new venues were found. I think changing the west meeting with prior consulting was at best unwise, It was only ever going to upset people. My other comment would be that even at the Boness meeting there were members their very vocal in what they want in meetings that I had never seen in ten years and have never seen since. Some consideration to those that actually attend meetings regularly should be taken into consideration. Anyway, I hope the meeting goes well, I will also miss the next 'Secret' West meeting due to holidays. [
GreigM
New member
Interested to know who that was, and were they a regular attendee of the west meetings?Madelvic said:the most vocal of the proponents for a joint meeting was a member from the West.
From my point of view as an inattentive member I was surprised to hear when I turned up at the westerwood as normal that I wasn't at the "official" club night, especially since we had only moved to the Westerwood a handful of months earlier.
My experience as an ex-RO.....the club nights need stability. Don't move em, don't introduce "special" nights, all of it doesn't work. The regulars are pre-programmed to go to their normal club night and don't read emails or the PP (I'll put my hand up to admit this) and they form the "core" of these nights and will turn up on a semi-regular basis for decades. In fact if you go to the sherbrooke on the first tuesday of the month I hear that the ghosts of Hamish and Dougie can still be see waiting patiently at a table.
I'm also in the "Bridge of Allan is a bit far and can't be arsed with that" camp - sorry, but I'm lazy.
I agree with Scott's point - you can't make a decision like this in Perth when the largest core of people if impacts are based in the West and not present.
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