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Committee
First of all, apologies to every club member reading this post - you should have been reading the following text in the Quin, but the email did not send, so here we are.
REGION 17: 2023 in review
In 2023, Region 17's newly formed committee focused on four priorities.
1. Bring stability to the region following the EGM in March 2023.
2. Create greater engagement with members from every part of the region, to better understand what active club members expect of their region.
3. The committee to deliver “business as usual” activities and meet existing commitments whilst maintaining relationships with organisations relevant and important to Region 17.
4. Seek to make Region 17 easily accessible for existing and potential members by selecting locations suited to where the majority of our members live, and sharing these details in easy to find locations, well in advance.
These priorities have guided the activities of the new committee since March 2023 with good results.
Meetings
Region 17 now meets "officially" 3 times per month from 10am. The Detling Diner (A249) on the second Sunday, The Ship Inn at Upnor on the third Tuesday and the Klondyke Cafe (Sheppey) on the last Sunday of the month. Attendance is generally good, but is understandably weather dependent. Other meeting spots include the bike night at "La Salle Verte" in Dover on a Tuesday night - well worth a visit.
To raise our profile to potential members, calling cards, stickers and rally flyers (with club joining instructions on the reverse) were printed and shared to local businesses, and at events and region meets to anyone claiming an interest in the club or Region 17.
Region 17 Facebook group
A Facebook group, "H-DRCGB Region 17 South East", was created following the EGM, this is managed by committee members and is used in parallel with the forum to keep members up to date with activities, no "club business" is posted on the Facebook page.
Instagram
We have an instagram channel "hdrcgb_region17" with around 97 followers. We hope to get more region related content from members, so that we can post this on here.
Membership and events
Membership of the region this year has seen a fluctuation of up to 8%. Between April and November 2023 membership increased from 122 to 128 members, with a spike of 133 in August.
Some of the highlights include the Margate Meltdown on the May Bank Holiday; the Triple Rally (where Region 17 won "Best Attendance"; the Heritage Sprint, a local event with 3500 attendees and of course our Pitch & Party rally on the August Bank Holiday weekend which saw 120 attendees in total.
AGM
November was our AGM, in which the existing comittee members were voted back in and two new volunteers joined to specialise in merchandise and trip planning respectively. We find a larger number of reps, with specialist areas, is working well. It keeps the workload manageable as many of us work full time and this provide areas of expertise as and when we need them.
2024
For 2024 we will be organising more activities that we hope more region members will choose to participate in. There will be at least one european trip organised by the committee and more regular rideouts and inter-region meets to be planned.
Speaking personally, I would love to be present when the majority of region 17 agree to meet up, ride together and arrive en masse at a club rally. As rep, that is one of my personal goals as I think it captures the essence of what the club means to me.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has supported Region 17 in 2023, there are lot of you and the region would not work without your help. Many thanks to you all.
REGION 17: 2023 in review
In 2023, Region 17's newly formed committee focused on four priorities.
1. Bring stability to the region following the EGM in March 2023.
2. Create greater engagement with members from every part of the region, to better understand what active club members expect of their region.
3. The committee to deliver “business as usual” activities and meet existing commitments whilst maintaining relationships with organisations relevant and important to Region 17.
4. Seek to make Region 17 easily accessible for existing and potential members by selecting locations suited to where the majority of our members live, and sharing these details in easy to find locations, well in advance.
These priorities have guided the activities of the new committee since March 2023 with good results.
Meetings
Region 17 now meets "officially" 3 times per month from 10am. The Detling Diner (A249) on the second Sunday, The Ship Inn at Upnor on the third Tuesday and the Klondyke Cafe (Sheppey) on the last Sunday of the month. Attendance is generally good, but is understandably weather dependent. Other meeting spots include the bike night at "La Salle Verte" in Dover on a Tuesday night - well worth a visit.
To raise our profile to potential members, calling cards, stickers and rally flyers (with club joining instructions on the reverse) were printed and shared to local businesses, and at events and region meets to anyone claiming an interest in the club or Region 17.
Region 17 Facebook group
A Facebook group, "H-DRCGB Region 17 South East", was created following the EGM, this is managed by committee members and is used in parallel with the forum to keep members up to date with activities, no "club business" is posted on the Facebook page.
We have an instagram channel "hdrcgb_region17" with around 97 followers. We hope to get more region related content from members, so that we can post this on here.
Membership and events
Membership of the region this year has seen a fluctuation of up to 8%. Between April and November 2023 membership increased from 122 to 128 members, with a spike of 133 in August.
Some of the highlights include the Margate Meltdown on the May Bank Holiday; the Triple Rally (where Region 17 won "Best Attendance"; the Heritage Sprint, a local event with 3500 attendees and of course our Pitch & Party rally on the August Bank Holiday weekend which saw 120 attendees in total.
AGM
November was our AGM, in which the existing comittee members were voted back in and two new volunteers joined to specialise in merchandise and trip planning respectively. We find a larger number of reps, with specialist areas, is working well. It keeps the workload manageable as many of us work full time and this provide areas of expertise as and when we need them.
2024
For 2024 we will be organising more activities that we hope more region members will choose to participate in. There will be at least one european trip organised by the committee and more regular rideouts and inter-region meets to be planned.
Speaking personally, I would love to be present when the majority of region 17 agree to meet up, ride together and arrive en masse at a club rally. As rep, that is one of my personal goals as I think it captures the essence of what the club means to me.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who has supported Region 17 in 2023, there are lot of you and the region would not work without your help. Many thanks to you all.