What a great Club Night we had last month, around 90 members & visitors enjoyed the evening and Garth our new club chef was put under a lot of pressure as he  prepared about 70 meals, there has been a marked improvement in the standard of the meals with more options and variety coming as he gets settled in. 
As a follow on from the Ronnie Run we had 13 new membership applications with 11 of them using club night as their second event and joining. Our branch is going from strength to strength at present we have 208 members and everybody is enjoying our easy going social atmosphere, the weather is improving so check your bike over and make sure your tyre pressures are correct then join in on our rides.
At last count we had 95 members who need to renew their membership for 2016 onwards, I have sent out reminder emails to all those I had an address for and some bounced back “wrong address”. If you didn’t get a reminder please make sure NatCom has your right email address. You can have a combined membership discount if you both live at the same address and renew at the same time. We have renewal forms available at club night.
The Omapere weekend away was a great success with 33 members coming along and it was nice to have a broad range of old to new members, we purchased 3 bottles of Port and made a toast to Stoney when we arrived and told a few stories of our experiences with him, a hard case with a Heart of Gold.
The wind was quite strong on Saturday as we travelled up through Dargaville and the Waipoua Forest but the ride home on Sunday via Kaikohe & the Twin Bridges road was perfect. Thanks Niki & Paul Morrison for arranging this weekend.
Our next weekend away is to Coromandel 12^th/13^th December, contact Nigel Scott (021 244 7724) for accommodation details, this will be another good ride and a fun weekend. Open to everyone, the more the merrier.
Due to changed circumstances Niki Morrison wishes to stand down as Branch Secretary, Donna Scott has offered to stand in as Branch Secretary until the next Branch AGM and the committee has agreed to this. Niki will stay on as a committee member and give Donna any assistance required for a smooth hand over. We thank Niki for all the work she did helping get the branch established and in her job as Secretary her help to me has been invaluable especially when I was trying to learn Mail Chimp.
Dale & I travelled down to Lower Hutt for the NatCom Meeting, a lovely ride until we got to Sanson where the wind was horrendous all the way to the Hutt, riding on a constant lean is not fun. Coming home on Sunday was no better and it rained as well until we got to Turangi. When we got home our new neighbour said ‘what a lovely day for a ride’ yeah right!! we were knackered.
Many important items were discussed at the NatCom/Coordinators meeting. Some members are worried about the new Health & Safety laws coming soon, we will not be affected as we are volunteers and a not for profit group. As long as we are not employing someone or doing anything for profit we are exempt, everyone on a Branch Ride should sign the ride sheet which specifies that you are responsible for your own safety, you will comply with all rules of the road and your bike is registered with a current WOF.
There was a complaint made by a club member to NatCom after a photo of a member wearing our logo and branch rocker at a MC gang gathering was posted on Facebook, after much discussion it was decided that the large logo and rockers could still be worn on jackets etc but discretion should be used where it could bring the Club and our members into disrepute.
It was also decided that each branch could choose between the title of Branch President or Branch Coordinator, whatever the title the word Branch should precede the title.
 
During the workshop the attendees were split up into small groups to discuss ways to attract and keeps members and what we should be offering them, all the ideas and decisions will put together to formulate a plan to carry us through the next five years.
Some branches wanted the Remembrance Weekend shifted to a later date when the weather would be better, most people didn’t know the history of the weekend and the reason we held the Remembrance in August until I explained the history and Mel Curran’s accident/death, it was decided to keep it in August however NatCom will only give a small subsidy towards both North & South Island services as they are not a National event.
The new National website will be up & running by March 2016, it will give personalised access to members and allow them to update their membership details. There will also be a better online shopping option.
The motorcycle raffle tickets which fund our rider training and subsidise the cost of the Hi Vis jackets will go on sale December 19^th  there are only 2300 tickets so if you missed out this year get in quick by booking your ticket with me at club night. The raffle will be drawn at the National Rally & AGM in Westport.
There will be a second rider training group in Auckland soon as well as ProRider, there is a $20.00 subsidy from NatCom on all rider training/improvement courses, you must notify NatCom BEFORE you do the course to be available for the subsidy.  Email Jim Furneaux with course details.
The BRM magazine can no longer afford to subsidise our National Ulyssian Magazine as advertising is not covering the costs. At the moment National funds are being used to cover the shortfall and the postage, there was a lot of discussion on the way forward with strong support for cutting costs by offering a digital version available on our website.
 
Tickets for our Christmas Dinner & Dance are available at $25.00, financial Branch members will get a $10.00 subsidy and everyone who buys a ticket will get their 1^st drink on the house. Music is by the North Harbour Rockers so get in quick, book a taxi or sort out who will be the sober driver as this will be a fun way to end the year and start the holiday season.
Rini, Dale & I will be away to the Burt Munro Rally 20^th November until 4^th or 5^th Dec. Xmas Dinner tickets will be available at November & December Club Nights or Email Joy Zaloum at or Email Donna Scott.  Invitation forms are available at club night, dinner night and on our website.
Many of our members have joined the Cossie Club it is not expensive and it is our way of repaying the hospitality and free use of their clubrooms, it also means you don’t have to sign in when you come to clubnight or functions. You can use your membership in any Chartered Club in New Zealand when you are travelling and you can also use the clubrooms for private functions at no cost. Get a membership form from the bar and if you join before Xmas it will only cost $13.50 plus $10.00 admin fee,  join and be there to win the Friday night members draw which increases by $50.00 per week up to a maximum of $1000.00, you have to be there with your membership card to win .

Dates to Remember

Wayne Painter #1756 L/M
Coordinator, North Harbour Branch

 

 

 

                              
 

Hyosung Motorcycles are located at 73 Barrys Point Rd, Takapuna. We are New Zealand’s biggest Hyosung dealership and also New Zealand’s distributors for these excellent Korean made bikes carrying a full range of demonstrators from 50cc scooters to the four 650cc LAMS models. Our spare parts inventory incorporates 25,000 items and we regularly achieve a 98% supply rate. Our extremely talented technician has all the factory diagnostic equipment on hand and even better he really knows how to use it!
       

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