President’s Report

Welcome one and all. I cannot believe it is time to be writing this Christmas report, what happened to the year? I hope that this year has treated everyone well and that more good times are coming for you all in the New Year.

Take care on the road 

As we head into the busy silly season please take care on the roads. Remember all the other drivers are not as good as you, so you need to make allowances for them. A lot of our members do not have the restraints of having to attend work every day and I would suggest that these members take advantage of this by travelling mid-week and where possible, avoiding holiday weekends. Please, all remember that most car drivers don’t want to travel behind you or at speeds less than 100kph so please, whenever possible, let them pass.

Parking spot pressures

Over the next month the pressure will be on all parking spots, be it at NZMCA Parks or public camping areas. This means that there is minimum space for everyone and we all have to park with consideration for others and in some cases, especially in NZMCA Parks, you may have to move, making sure the gap is only three metres, not five or six metres between vans, to allow maximum occupancy. Our Parks now allow you to reserve your site, if you need to leave, after arrival. You cannot have a friend book for you and you must return the same day and use the site. Please read the rules on the notice boards at our parks and sign into both the site booking book, as well as the normal sign in book, if you use this privilege. Through the Travel App you can now pay Park fees electronically. This reduces the amount of cash and therefore the workload for the custodians while giving you the satisfaction of having your individual payment recorded. Please record the payment in the sign in book.

Book for National Rally

National Rally is now only three months away. Please help the organisers and book early, they need to have a good idea of numbers to enable them to order and set up everything for the rally. The 2019 National Rally will be a different format than in the past, with some great new ideas and methods to entertain and thrill you. I look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible, there.

Board nominations

Nominations for positions on the Board opened on October 15 and can be made until 12 noon on Friday, December 14. The details of how you go about doing that are spelt out in the ‘2019 Notice of Election, AGM Remits and further call for Board Nominations’ in the Up Front section of this issue of The Motor Caravanner. This same notice also provides details on how and when you will be able to access this year’s remits. Please take the time to read them and if possible, discuss with other members and then vote. If you don’t bother to vote then you can hardly express your opinion about the outcome.

Member behaviour

We have had quite a lot of bad behaviour and careless attitude from a small percentage of members this year. This has cost all members rights, such as limiting access to parking sites, more rules being put on you all because of a few and, in some cases, a total loss of the use of sites. Yes, your dog needs to be on a lead at NZMCA Parks or anywhere else that requires it, even if it is special and loved by everyone. It is not OK to abuse other members because your views are different to theirs. Any of this type of behaviour if reported will not be tolerated and the guilty members will be suspended or expelled from the club if necessary.

Thanks to all our staff and volunteers 

Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff at National Office, the Board, the members that run the Areas and SIGs, Self-Containment Officers, Park Custodians and all the other volunteers that give so much to make this club what it is. We are a club that has a culture of helping others and this is what has made it so great. On behalf of myself and Heather, we wish you all a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.