Report on Conference 2022

Following elections at Conference on Saturday to following officers have been appointed: –

• President – Neil Shand, North Cheshire
• Chair – Edward Ireland, Clitheroe
• National Secretary – Edward Gilder, Broadland
• Membership Secretary – Paul Whitehead, Blackpool
• Admin. Secretary – Charles Harvey, Broadland
• Competition and Events ecretary – Steve Clarke, Fenland
• Treasurer – Jonathan Leigh, Dronfield
• Webmaster/IT Manager – Michael Stainer, Dronfield
• Boots & Spurs Editor – Edward Gilder, Broadland

I remain open to offers from anybody interested in taking over the Secretary’s role so that I can concentrate on editing the club magazine.
We welcome two new officers from Dronfield, the most recently formed Clarion section and say goodbye and many thanks to Andrew Martin, from Tuxford who has been our treasurer and Neil Matheson, from West Lothian, who has been our IT manager. Both have worked hard for the club in recent years and have earned a break. Thanks guys.

There were three motions to conference, previously circulated to all sections.

The first by Tuxford sought to promote interaction with refugees who might welcome cycling opportunities. No vote was ultimately taken on this, but in a discussion on the topic, the feeling of conference was that this was indeed a worthy aim to promote, best done in many cases at section level, perhaps in partnership with existing organisations that work to support refugees. National committee will consider whether there is a role for the national club in this work, and we would encourage sections to look at whether they can take action in this area.

The second by London sought to change the way subscriptions are collected. Moving from an annual subscription payable on the 1st January to a rolling subscription running for twelve months from the date of joining. This proposal was rejected by 825 votes to 307.

The third motion by Brighton sought to replace the block vote system used at conference and based on section numbers, with a one member one vote system. This was rejected by 766 votes to 294, with 4 sections abstaining.

Many thanks to the 13 sections and 1 private member that took the trouble to attend, to the rest of you I say “where were you”? We have over 30 sections so more than half of you were absent. This is your club AGM – turn up and have a say in how it is run.

Next year conference is likely to return to the Easter Meet, which is being held at Lytham St Annes.

Those at the meet will be able to attend in person, whilst those unable to attend the Easter Meet should be able to log in to what we hope will be a hybrid event. We all look forward to seeing more of you next year one way or the other.

Boots
Edward Gilder
National Secretary