Saturday 19th October was the day of the Veteran Vespa Club’s AGM and brought the curtain, so to speak, down on this year’s season; being the last of the club’s official gatherings. I had to work in the day time so unfortunately missed the meeting but did get along to the following evening meal. The minutes of the meeting, for those wishing to examine them, will shortly be added to the members section of the website and Chairman Roger Smith, will allude to the main points in his report in the upcoming JOURNAL (No.81), due out at the end of this month.
The Angel Hotel in beautiful Leamington Spa has in recent years hosted the AGM as well as accommodating members staying for the weekend. The conference room was unavailable to us this year and instead the meeting was held in the very grand environs of the Town Hall. Very appropriate as it happens, as the club has quite a history with Leamigton’s Town Hall - more to come on that in a separate article in the near future.
The Angel Hotel once again was our venue for dinner and accommodation as before. Following an aperitivo in the bar, members took their seats for dinner and what I thought was a very nice meal; good food, well cooked and served warm - can’t ask for much more than that! Conversation filled the room, for me in the very pleasant company of Roger & Veronica Smith and C.Spavento; I was also able to catch up on the day’s events and the meeting’s main points.
Following the meal, Roger got up to undertake his Chairmanly duties and give out some awards. Ingrid Knott received the annual Margaret Farquhar award, given to female members in recognition of their contribution to the club throughout the year - Ingrid was instrumental in organising the Porthmadog event in Snowdonia, Wales, along with husband Roger Knott and Alan Springall.
Well done Ingrid..!!
Next up was, erm.. me! I took home the President’s award for work on the JOURNAL and the News Page on the VVC website. Being a members magazine, I have to thank all those who have sent in contributions - I can’t do this without your help and input, so thanks very much everyone, it is a collective effort! A little more from me to follow on this in the next JOURNAL.
A little sheepish perhaps but most definitely appreciated - thank you!
The last ‘bauble’ went to Peter Rose, the VVC’s long standing Treasurer who just recently put away his abacus and stepped down, after many years overseeing and doing an excellent job of controlling the club’s finances. A former bank manager, you might say Peter was the perfect man for this role - that he was, but all of this is voluntary and Peter was extremely dedicated, putting in a serious amount of his own time for a sustained, long period of time over many years. So it was very apt that he was 2019’s ‘Hall of Fame’ award winner - given to those members who have made a very valuable contribution to the Veteran Vespa Club - very well done Peter! He is also now in good company; other recipients including Frank Brookes, Margaret Farquhar, Brian Freehold, Mike Clark, Bill Drake, Chuck Swonnell and Spike & Vi Edwards to name a few.
Peter Rose - 2019 ‘Hall of Fame’ award recipient.
Following the gong ceremony, members were able to mingle and for me was an opportunity to catch up with some faces I’d not seen in a while and meet new ones. Additionally I was given a few ideas for content which was great, so watch this space! I also met Richard Vickery, who has taken over looking after the club shop. Richard lives not that far from Leamington and came on his French racing blue Primavera - excellent effort, well done Richard!
Newly in charge of the VVC Club shop - Richard Vickery.
I have asked Richard to write me a few words about himself so we can properly introduce him to members - more to come on that.
Finally, a big thank you to organiser Les Smith, who once again put on another excellent weekend for club members - thanks Les!
Words - Paul Hart. Photos - Alan Springall, Roger Smith, Paul Hart.