Jeremy, thank you very much for your report on the workings of the MSCC.
I've been a member of the MSCC for over 20 years, give or take, having a low
membership number of 1388. Years ago, when Chris Rowe was Editor, I felt as
though the published letters to the editor provided a good dialogue of
administrative issues. However, except for the abrupt absence of various
officers on the Miscellany masthead recently, I was totally unaware of the
issues you've described.
I greatly enjoyed meeting Christine Healey when I was over for the 75th
anniversary, 1984 or 1985. Each year, when I received her cheerful "thank
you" note with my renewed subscription, I was reminded of my warm feelings
for the enthusiasts in the U.K., and encouraged to visit and renew the
friendships I made when I was over there. Christine has been one of my
favorites, and I'm sorry to learn that, apparently, a few people didn't
appreciate her work.
I greatly appreciate your efforts to explain what has happened. Chris,
perhaps you could give me your view in a private reply.
Cheers,
John Bigler
Jeremy Edwards wrote:
> toad <toad@storm.ca> writes
> >May I respectfully ask why this unpleasantness to both parties is being
> >openly aired?
>
> Firstly, I must apologise to all those who have no interest here and for
> whom I am taking up unnecessary bandwidth.
>
> My problem here in the UK is that the decisions of apparently a few club
> officers have a much wider impact than they fondly imagined 18 months to
> a year ago. The club is supposed to be democratic, driven by the NCM,
> but in practise, most decisions are made by a smaller cabal, who
> apparently are keeping all information to themselves, without consulting
> the membership or keeping members informed of their actions.
>
> Under normal circumstances I would not get too worked up about this, as
> I don't have the time to act as a club official myself, so I would act
> as the majority of the membership "sheep" and leave it to others. This
> is different:
>
> (i) The Club, as operated by Mrs Healey and Richard Lovatt,
> guided by the Directors functioned prudently and
> economically. Both have now gone at considerable direct
> cost to the MSCC.
> (ii) The MSCC enjoyed an excellent reputation for back office
> administration, support for the classic car movement as
> a whole, participation with decision making within the
> RAC framework and as an active participant within the
> FBHVC. This was reflected in the high opinion of the
> Club's submissions to the DVLA, where people were
> trying to get the original plate for a car or an age
> related plate.
> (iii) I have known some of the key players since 1991, when I
> joined the club.
> (iv) I am active in a number of other cars clubs, not-for-
> profit organisations and charities, so I know how hard
> it is to build such a reputation and how easy it is for
> a few, normally well meaning, individuals to ruin
> something for a long time.
>
> I have tried to open a general dialogue on the legal issues within my
> local group and Miscellany, but there has been no response, indeed, the
> previous chairperson and editor have, so far as I can see, actively
> damped down any discussion. The costs are now too great to ignore,
> (GBP17000+GBP4000 already in the public domain), so I intend to be part
> of a fuss at the AGM, but I will need others to understand what has been
> done in their name, the consequences, both financial and otherwise and
> conjure up from somewhere a NCM not tainted by a considerable "cock-up".
>
> This is the only mass-media I have access to, as the other conventional
> channels have been blocked. If anyone has a better idea, please let me
> know.
>
> --
> Jeremy Edwards
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