Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms MSCC Strategic Review

This all makes interesting reading.I cant sensibly comment on the re-organisation proposals because I am not familiar with the present set up. But there are other issues here of regulation as in child protection / safety clothing and of involvement with the MSA.

If you think about it, increasing regulation / reducing freedom is an issue in all aspects of our daily lives. Everything from the work that you re allowed to do on your home electrical system, to waste disposal, to the care of children, to dog mess,to financial regulation, etc etc. And it doesnt just occurr at national level - we do it to ourselves locally. Times many I have seen new rules proposed at club annual meetings, often the result of someone with a bee in his bonnet , often carried and then usually ignored. So we can hardly blame the politicians at national level for doing exactly what we do when left to ourselves at local level. Or can we?

Membership of the MSA is a separate issue. I would be very surprised if the MSCC wasnt able to run a club only event on private land without being an MSA member. But it isnt as easy as that for two reasons. The first is that if you want to take advantage of MSA services like the insurance, you need to be a member. The second is the legal issue where if something goes t*ts up in a private event, the courts will look for expert advice on how you should have done it and they will turn to the MSA for that advice. I have seen that many times in an entirely parallel situation with yachting and the RYA.

We mostly are "mature" not to say old people here. Inevitably we will have a rose tinted view of what things used to be like, back in the days of our youth when the survival rate of unprotected F1 drivers was 30% and we used to snigger about "vicars and choirboys" rather than do anything about it. Not to mention my own personal bugbear of the disappearance of de-restricted roads under a blanket NSL. But if someone came along and offered to cancel all these safety nets and return to the bad old days, most of us wouldnt want it to happen.

What instead we need is participation. If you dont support the MSA and I dont support the RYA, then the field is open for pressure groups like the Ramblers or the RSPB or the NT to influence government into actions that harm us. Most of the UK circuits are under threat from nimbies and noise limits for example.The land used is more valuable for building houses than for motorsport. Walking away and ignoring the national body isnt a good idea.

I applaud those who give up their time to run the club. It must be a thankless task.
I wouldn't do it and I'm sure the vast majority wouldn't do it either.

The one think I'm certain of is that it's impossible to please all of the people, even for some of the time, never mind all of it.

The spread of ages and interests is huge, the degree of expectation from each individual member is different.
The availability of forums like this allow armchair experts to proffer their opinion on how it 'should be done', and never have to 'do' it.

I think I've come to the opinion that the club isn't my thing. I've been a member for 10 years, I don't go to noggins, I did pop along, briefly, to the Mog 16 because it wasn't far from me. I'll probably continue to be a member but I can't think why!

The club needs to exist, I just hope the right team at the top steer it in the right direction for the future.
Ironically there are probably similar problems to overcome at MMC!!!

Ok, I've resisted commenting but felt I could give you some sensible input, as I personally have been heavily onvolved with the MSCC NC for the past year.

Some of you may recall that I proposed last year a new MSCC WEB portal trying to modernise and bring all things Morgan together and easier for all members to see what's available and on across all Area centres and Areas of interest. This was supported by the NC and I have developed the new web site it has been reviewed and is currently with the Area Secretaries to update their pages (hopefully), so I hope it will be released in the near future to all. The development took over 60 days of my time and is my gift to the club, however I am standing down from future support and further development due to health reasons.

With respect to the review I think you need to consider the following points

1. The club is none profit making, that does not mean there are not services and facilities it needs to pay for some way, and needs to have funds to cover this of for a reasonable period.

2. Many people I believe have in the past accused those running the club of wasting money. From what I have seen this is not the case. All efforts IMO are made to find the most cost effective way for what the club does.

3. There are certain skills that the club does not necessarily posses internally or could/should not expect people to offer voluntarily, mainly because the time required would be too onerous and invasive on the person undertaking it, also in certain requirements long term continuity is needed.

4. Like all clubs there are many varied views and many different types of people involved with different interests. This diversity is great but if uncontrolled can stagnat change and improvement. I know from my invovlement how difficult it can be, sometimes someone has to lead.

5. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for those on the NC who give up a lot of their time to run the club, and IMO put up with a great deal of flack from members who don't necessarily do much. If you want to help them make positive suggestions rather than critisise.

That's it I'm off my Soap box

I really can't see what all the fuss is about

£40 a year for membership

A fairly decent magazine every month
Regular emails from my centre with invites to go on some great runs out with other Morgan owners - the few I've been to I've thoroughly enjoyed
Opportunity to socialise regularly with other Morgan owners if you want or don't want - it's completely your choice
Opportunity to organise something yourself through the centre
Planned organised national meet ups every year if you want to

If MSCC was the ONLY route to socialise with fellow Morganeers and someone belonged or lived near a centre that didn't do anything, or lived too remote, I can understand that there might be a bit of concern that it isn't worth the money but come on chaps - £40 a year !!!

10p a day !!

Sorry rounding up, that should be 11p a day

I think I've just drunk through 11p's worth of tea bags in the time it's taken me to read the last couple of posts

And Miss-sell-ell-nan-nan-ny has colour pictures of Morgans in !!!

You're right. There's really little to complain about for the money. That's probably why I'll remain a member. The club needs to exist, I hope it does long in to the future.
Perhaps the new breed of retired professional/directors have the skills to give to the club to make it viable for a long time.

Totally agree Eric Stewart.

All I consider is whether the amount I pay for the membership is reasonable for the benefits I receive. I think it is, if not I'd stop paying. I'll happily leave strategy reviews for those on the NC.

~iw

Any resemblance of my previous reply to the one before it is purely coincidental ... Julian just hit enter first!!

~iw

Very well done Adrian!

I am quite excited at the prospect of a new MSCC web site going live.

What a lot of effort you've put into it - I do so hope that you are credited for all your work - beyond these posts!!

Running a club as large and as diverse as MSCC is no easy feat; effecting the changes necessary to ensure it's survival (and hopefully growth) is perhaps even more of a challenge, especially if one is relying heavily on willing volunteers to do the 'donkey work'. As Stewart mentioned earlier I do wonder what people expect for a £40 per year subscription.

The fact that it has been recognised that change is required at all is a huge step in the right direction - and I think that the ongoing development of a functioning website is an example of change happening already; I for one am looking forward to seeing all the hard work come on stream as I think (or am rather hoping) that it will make a huge difference to how members and centres inter-act. As ever, change will please some and annoy others.....a bit like BREXIT!

In more contemplative moments I also wonder what the outcome would be if Morgan owners on here took the same hard line with MMC as they do with MSCC.....ater all they are both less than perfect organisations with communication issues (IMHO of course!).

So I would say that if you believe in MSCC then do your best to get involved or at least get your voice heard; if you don't believe in it then you vote with your feet.

Finally, I leave you with something far more worthy of reading than my own drivel:

THE MAN IN THE ARENA

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.


Excerpt from Theodore Roosevelt’s speech "Citizenship In A Republic" delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910