With no controversy or scandal to report on over the last 12 months the Club has been functioning pretty much the same as in previous years, although the Committee have agonized over a couple of issues that need to be resolved.

1/ Membership Fees. It has been obvious that with the introduction of GST our fees are inadequate for the needs of running our Club.

2/ Low Attendance. Monthly meetings and weekends away have been greatly effected.

Although our fees were increased in a response to the GST, this last year has shown that the additional cost on paper, postage, envelopes, covers, itineraries, hall hire, free BBQ, PO Box, etc, etc have increased the cost of membership to far more than what our fees recover. Even though we have instigated some cost cutting measures and also limited our meetings to just three a year to save on hall hire it has not been enough to enable our fees to remain the same. I will let the Treasurer spell it out more accurately. But it is strange that in a Club where members spend hundreds of dollars on a set of tyres without batting an eyelid, the thought of a fee increase of a few dollars is met with much teeth gnashing and hand wringing!

During the last 12 months it has become even more apparent that "Weekends Away" have lost their appeal to the members. Whatever the reasons the Committee will structure our itineraries to replace these "away rides" with a standard "day ride" which should still cater for our members needs. Note: the two popular weekend rides in November and January will remain for the time being.

The "Short Ride" format that we introduced late last year has proved a resounding success and therefore they will remain. Also with the Laverton servo being closed for renovations the West Gate servo pickup has proved to be an ideal replacement so it will also be used in future.

The change to three meetings a year has yet to prove itself with the February meeting yielding a ‘normal’ low attendance of 13 members. I guess the May AGM will show whether this format will work. But on the contrary Social Sips have proved quite popular now that we have changed the venue but with the Elgin Hotel undergoing upgrading and renovations future meetings there could be in jeopardy depending on what type of clientele they wish to attract!

Club membership has increased from 70 last year to 76 this year and is a positive sign in these tough Club times.

Our ads in Just Bikes and Motorcycle Trader are still producing many requests for information about the Club but more and more "first time riders" are finding out about the Club via our Internet site. This is proving to be an excellent advertisement for the Club and with lots of discussion and comment in the Visitors Book section shows we are on the right track.

One sad aspect of this year was the loss of "life member" Len Shearer. Although not many current members would know him, Len had a long association with the Club and helped it progress from its humble beginnings as a Scooter Club to its current status as one of the premier Clubs in the state. Also due to Len being the editor for some time, he has passed on a large collection of early Club newsletters, which make fascinating reading.

On a more pleasing note I had the pleasure of presenting "Life Membership" to Ben Warden, a most deserving member. Ben has been in the Club for just over 18 years and for most of that time he has been on the committee, in recent years juggling the ‘two’ positions of Editor and Secretary. As I’ve already said "a most deserving member!"

Due to work and personal commitments, the current committee has been working below strength for much of the last 12 months, but it is a credit to the individuals that this situation has not noticeably effected the resolve or the decision making process.

So it’s thanks to: -

Vice President Tim Walker Treasurer Wayne Grant

Secretary/Editor Ben Warden Captain Ray Walker

Vice Captain Darren Hosking Assistant Secretary/Public Officer Danny Vits

Social Secretary Kirsten Anderson

I thank them all for their support and look forward to their continued association with the Club.

I must make special mention to thank our two newer members of the committee Ray Walker and Kirsten Anderson. Ray has a genuine enthusiasm for the Club and is always offering new ideas and supporting all the Club's endeavours. Kirsten is also very enthusiastic and, as well as promoting the Club, has taken over the difficult task of providing for the Clubs ‘social’ needs!

To all members I thank you for your participation and friendship over the previous 12 months and look forward to another exciting year in the MTCV.