DATE: 05 April 2025 at 10h00
VENUE: Base 4
I am honoured to be standing up here today to welcome you all to the 2025 AGM! We have a lot to cover so I won’t drag this out. It makes me think of my father when he gave a talk at school or at scouts where he went on and on, and we said he did not need a watch, he needed a calendar!
The biggest event of last year, or in fact the biggest event in the history of the Club, was the devastating fire that swept through Base 4. It occurred on a very windy day when a veldfire swept through the area burning everything in its path including I believe 6 homesteads. At Base 4 the Clubhouse and all the contents burned to the ground. If you look at the hulk over there you can only imagine the heat and destruction! The lapa down in the camping area suffered the same loss, leaving smouldering thatch which took days to cool.
The only things left standing were the vehicle service structure and the container, the wooden ablution block down in the camping area, and the brick and mortar ablution block on the Northern side of Base 4. Whereto from there? We are not an outdoor adventure club for nothing! Everyone got stuck in and assisted in clearing the rubble, reconnecting the water and restoring electricity to the pool. A huge thank you to all those that put their backs to the wheel!
Luckily, the vehicle service structure was still standing, so with a few adjustments and additions, we held the next open day there, a great success! I believe the turnout exceeded the standard turnout in the old Clubhouse.
Following the fire we had to negotiate the insurance claim. With good planning all the requirements as stipulated by the insurers were up to date and current, including the thatch upgrade earlier in the year and the recent issue of the Electrical Certificate of Compliance amongst other things ensured that there were no serious issues with the insurance value, and with the help of Geoff Joubert, the valuation of the insurance payout was submitted to the Club in record breaking time.
This valuation gave us an option: either get the Clubhouse rebuilt to its former glory or take the cash which amounted to about 70% of the rebuild tender (the Indemnity Value). Choosing one or the other was not a decision that could be made by the Committee, hence the calling of a Special General Meeting so that the decision could be made by the Membership.
There were really 2 decisions that needed to be made at that SGM: keep Base 4 or sell it, and when the decision was made to keep Base 4, whether to get the Clubhouse rebuilt or to take the money. The decision was to take the money and to reinvent the Club more in line with the current membership numbers and needs.
All Members were then invited to submit proposals for the future of the Club to be considered and voted for at this Annual General Meeting. I will deal with these proposals later as dictated by the Agenda.
Base 4 is a big piece of ground and needs continuous and on-going maintenance. As mentioned earlier, the fire destroyed much of the infrastructure especially water pipes and electrical cabling. Thank you to the generous members that donated time, money and product ensuring that the basic services were in place to allow Base 4 to operate.
The grass still needs cutting, the tracks maintained for driver training and for members to hone their skills. The ablution blocks require on-going upkeep and cleaning, fences repaired, water pumped and the myriad of jobs that need to be done but no one thinks about.
Karl Hoffman’s name is synonymous with Base 4 and the Four Wheel Drive Club. He has been the go-to person for the Club for many years! This last year Karl stepped down from the position as Club Secretary due to ill-health: more about that later.
The Committee has appointed Jacqui Boshoff to the position of Secretary, and we welcome her with open arms; I ask you all support her going forward.
Please make a note regarding the Club contact details:
I want to thank all those that have put in time and effort this past year
The Committee
The Breakfast brigade
Event organisation
Base 4 maintenance
If I have left anyone out, please forgive me!
This has been a bumper year for outings, 11 in total.
Another great perk of Club Membership is free driver training, make use of it!
A little later this morning we are going to make some decisions about the future of Base 4. What I want to talk about is the future of The Four Wheel Club of Southern Africa, Gauteng region.
The burning down of our Clubhouse and Lapa can be seen as a blessing. This gives us the opportunity of starting afresh: new ideas, fresh thoughts. Historically we have spent our years worrying about money and funds and costs. For now, we do not have that hanging over our heads and I want to promote fun, and outings, and camping, and all the good things we associate with being a member of an Outdoor Adventure Club.
The upswing in outings and events this last year show that we are moving in that direction!
For members to get the full benefit of membership requires participation.
Camping. We offer free camping; come and enjoy parking off under the trees and listen to the gurgling of the stream that is flowing so strongly at the moment. Anyone wanting to camp is not restricted to open weekends, Base 4 is open to you any day or days of the month; it just needs a bit of notice to organise the water and opening the gate etc.
Driver training. Free to members. We run three different training subjects: basic driver training, rescue and recovery, and bush mechanics courses. We recently ran a very successful Ladies Driver Training and will be offering follow-up days.
Open Days and Open Weekends. Committee members try very hard to get interesting guest speakers and events to make those days and weekends fun and exciting. Come and join in. Bring the family and friends for a picnic on the Sunday and relax under the trees or around the pool.
Outings. As members you get preferential rates: day trips, weekend trips and extended trips. The Club does not make a vast profit on these outings, just enough to cover costs. Get out there and experience other places, other trails, other like-minded people.
These benefits only start there! Getting or giving advice from knowledgeable people. Sharing adventures, enjoying new travel companions. As I said, getting the benefit of your membership requires your participation.
We have 5 Members on the Committee at this AGM, and those 5 are suffering overload because they are shouldering all the work. We are a voluntary organisation, and the Committee Members are starting to resent the fact that they are expected to carry on regardless and rewardless. These Committee Members are there for the same reason you are there for, fun, education and excitement. If no assistance and change of attitude comes to the fore, there will be no Committee next year and the Club will drown!
Historically Committee Members had portfolios that they managed, Outings, Events, Estate management, Driver training and so on. The idea was that these portfolios would be managed by those Members but what happened in reality is that the Member ended up having to do all the work themselves. For example, Noelene found and organised 6 of the speakers at open days last year. I organised 7 and led 5 of the outings last year, and I ran 5 of the 7 Driver Training courses. As I said, we cannot go on like this!
Going forward, the Committee (or the Management Team) is mandated to run the Club along acceptable company practices, including the financial administration, record keeping, advertising and marketing. Further, the Team will assist in coordinating and organising outings, events etc. but the responsibility for organising and running of these portfolios will now lie with the Membership.
Amongst yourselves volunteer or delegate Members to lead trips, find speakers, organise events. Organise workdays at Base 4. Out of the membership of 80 (current paid up) people this load can be shared by having one person doing only one task a year. Only one! Come on! We need to share the load.
I will stick to my side of the bargain. I will organise and lead at least 1 extended outing this year, and I will conduct driver training for the rest of the year.
Please get involved!
I have pleasure in announcing that the Committee after due consideration has decided to bestow Honorary Life Membership on Gerald O’Brien.
Gerald has been a loyal member of our Club for 43 years (joining in 1981) and has made a significant contribution to driver training and offroad travel, all the while flying the flag for the Four Wheel Drive Club.
I ask Geoff Joubert to give a brief run down on his life and times.
Short presentation by Geoff Joubert
FWDCSA February 2025 Financials
I sound like a stuck record, but all the committee members are volunteers that put aside any number of hours a month to ensure that the club runs smoothly, that there are interesting speakers, that trips are organised, that the grounds are maintained, and so on. This is more work than the 5 remaining members of the committee can effectively do. We need help!
No one proposed.
Karl stood down from the position of Club Secretary which he has held for many years. I hand the microphone over the Geoff Joubert for more on this. Short presentation by Geoff Joubert
As I said earlier, Members were given the opportunity to submit proposals for due consideration and have those proposals presented at the AGM. I have asked all the proposers to give a short motivation of their ideas and to answer any questions.
Before they take to the floor, I need to make one point very clear. Whichever proposal or mixture of proposal is adopted, the Membership needs to take on the responsibility to bring it to completion. The Committee will continue to run the Club but will not take on the responsibility of seeing that proposal through.
Each proposal was presented by the proposer.
Proposals 2 and 3 presented together. Proposal 3 seen as a basis for future development.
Nothing raised
Time: 12h10