BOARDMEETING 28 NOVEMBER 2016

The International Club for Rolls-Royce and Bentley Enthusiasts

MINUTES OF A RREC BOARD MEETING HELD AT THE HUNT HOUSE, PAULERSPURY ON 28.11.2016

Attendees

(*) Excluding 4a, 9c and 11.

1/ Apologies

Gerwald Anderlé. See 9a/ for Steve Lovatt.

2/ Declaration of Interest for agenda items

JVB explained that this will be a new recurring agenda item, following RF’s request for a Register and IH’s suggestion to include it in the Board Meeting minutes on a recurring basis.

• –  GA declared by email prior to the meeting that Laura Arnold, the initial website contractor, is his daughter .

• –  AR declared that his daughter previously has employed GA’s daughter.

• –  AF declared his position as a member of, and Valuation Officer, for the B.D.C

• –  LR declared that he is married to Jackie Robotham, Publications Development Manager, a full-time paid

  contractor.

  3/ Minutes of the last Board meeting held on 19 Sept 2016.

  The Minutes of the meeting held on 19 September were approved and signed by the Chairman.

  4/ Matters Arising from the Board meeting held on 19 Sept 2016 not otherwise referred to elsewhere on the Agenda

  The Hunt House, Paulerspury, Towcester, Northants, NN12 7NA
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IH referred to members having recurring DVLA problems. ACTION: BG to invite a senior DVLA representative to explain all about The Hunt House motor car records.

4a/ Recruitment of GM

IH informed the Board that the Job Specification had been defined and that a first announcement inviting possible candidates to apply had been published in Bulletin B339. IH then explained the modus operandi, remuneration and advantages of appointing a recruitment agency and obtained Board Approval to proceed with appointing a suitable agency. Finally it was decided that the recruitment panel would consist of RREC members Keith Dewhurst, Ted Meachem, IH and JVB with RF being optional. ACTION: IH.

4b/ Recruitment of bookkeeper
BG updated the Board on the status of the recruitment which is being headed by AC.

4c/ RREC Diamond Jubilee proposals

The Board approved the Events Manager’s Diamond Jubilee proposal for implementation. ACTIONS: AR to take this up with the Events Manager; JVB to prompt RRMC for the Club’s 60th Anniversary logo approval; LR to discuss with SJH re. a future Book Launch at the Annual Rally.

4d/ Register Support

It was decided to refer the question of Register Support to the Registrars’ Meeting over the Club Conference weekend in April 2017.

4e/ Technical team declaration and contingency
Not discussed. To be dealt with by the new Technical Director (see 9a).

5/ Identified discussion topics

5a/ Validation of 2016/2017 plans by team
The 2016/2017 plans were approved for distribution. ACTION: JVB

5b/ Validation of 3Y budget

Thanks are due to Ted Meachem of the Finance Team for keeping the 3Y budget up-to-date. The budget was updated based on information available but will need adjusting once the year end closing has been finalised.

In the absence of a permanent General Manager, but taking into account the Business Development Manager’s reports, the Board assessed and adjusted employee salaries to keep up with the revised Job Specifications and decided on a fixed increase for the other employees.

AC apologised for his temporary unavailability for approx. one month because of personal circumstances, but assured that he was back on the ball. AC said that he would propose a reclassification of income and

The Hunt House, Paulerspury, Towcester, Northants, NN12 7NA
Tel: +44 (0)1327 811788 – Fax: +44 (0)1327 811797 – E-mail: admin@rrec.org.uk Proprietor: R.R.E.C Limited. A company registered in England and Wales. No 1154113

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expenditure, and invite feedback of stakeholders, before adopting the new format for use by the RREC in 2017 in the interest of more transparency. At that point also the “previous year“(2016) would be revised in accordance with the new format. For now, in view of the timing, the 2016 accounts would be closed using the existing format.

IH requested that the RREC support the digitisation, costing a maximum of £8K; the Board approved the funding on condition of the material to be of sufficient value to become an asset.

RF suggested putting free material on the RREC website. 5c/ RREC Jubilee RBT support

The Board is grateful to the Silver Ghost Register for having accepted to lay on an additional Diamond Jubilee layer to the 2017 Round of Britain Tour. Mission achieved, as nearly 75% of participants do in fact own other Rolls-Royce and/or Bentley motor cars, including even a new Ghost so that the Silver Ghost legacy is well represented, taking the brand into the modern era. The RBT will be run as a Register event, whereas the Board will separately fund any costs relating to the Diamond Jubilee layer up to a level of £20k. ACTIONS: JVB to inform the Silver Ghost Registrar and AC to monitor appropriate accounting of both budgets.

5d/ Appointment of RREC liaison with the FBHVC

Both IH and AF informed the meeting that the SHRMF managed to convince David Whale, Chairman of the FBHVC, to stand for election, resulting in him being elected to the Board of the SHRMF. It must be said that this is absolutely brilliant in view of the sterling and vital work of the FBHVC to make sure that we can continue enjoying our classic cars without too many restrictions on today’s roads. The RREC Board wishes to congratulate its “counterpart” at the SHRMF Board for this excellent addition. Additionally, AF was also duly elected and together with IH will make sure that both bodies remain aligned and aware of each other’s strategy.

It was proposed and approved that the RREC would support the creation of a SHRMF prize for the RRBSA for an amount of approx. £600. This prize would be an addition to the current SHRMF awards for the P&A Wood apprentice scheme, the MOD award scheme, and the FBHVC award scheme; and if possible, specifically for coachbuilding candidates.

6/ Chairman’s Report

[WRITTEN REPORT]

i. The 2016/2017 year plans resulting from the June strategy meeting have now all been drafted and reflected in the 3 Year budget that remains positive even when ignoring the Yearbook income.

ii. On 17.10.2017 a dedicated Trademark meeting was held, resulting in 2 decisions for validation by the Board: (1) creation of a Trademark Committee (“TMC”) with the purpose to discuss and negotiate with RRMC the best possible way forward based on their submitted draft License agreement between RRMC and the RREC. The TMC will be composed of David Evans (Advisor to the Board), Suzanne Finch (past Chairman), Malcolm Tucker (past Chairman) and myself. (2) Spending of £ 10k for taking steps as far as possible to secure adequate protection for the Club in respect of the trademark “RREC” in both

The Hunt House, Paulerspury, Towcester, Northants, NN12 7NA
Tel: +44 (0)1327 811788 – Fax: +44 (0)1327 811797 – E-mail: admin@rrec.org.uk Proprietor: R.R.E.C Limited. A company registered in England and Wales. No 1154113

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the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Subsequently a forensic analysis of the RRMC draft License agreement was produced as a basis for negotiation. RRMC has been requested for a meeting on the subject.

iii. A new St James’s House (SJH) agreement for the period of 2018-2020 has been concluded resulting in a guaranteed yearly income for the Club of £86k, plus extra’s as may be negotiated, such as SJH’s presence at the Annual Rally. The latter was successfully agreed upon by LR for 2016, 2017 and 2018. LR is now formally in charge of managing the relationship with SJH.

4. An exclusivity agreement with Hiscox with respect to RH Specialist Insurance has also been finalised resulting in an estimated income of £56k p.a.

5. I was able to see both the Section Romande in action at Epoq’Auto in Lyon (in France, near Switzerland) and a most successful RREC team at the Classic Show at the NEC in Birmingham, reported on elsewhere.

6. In terms of communication with the marques and third party stakeholders:

a. RRMC sent us a one of the last Phantoms to brighten up the Club’s stand at the NEC and it proved to be a major crowd puller. Andrew Ball of RRMC has also indicated that he wants to visit us shortly with a party of interested key people at RRMC.

b. BML traditionally keep their distance because politically it is perceived as difficult to be associated with the Rolls-Royce Enthusiasts’ Club, but they continue to support us with AX 201 at the Annual Rally and also at the Club’s Jubilee Round Britain Tour in 2017.

c. At both the Epoqu’Auto and NEC events I was able to make useful contacts, amongst others with the Alvis and Jensen Owners Clubs, with a view to inviting them as a Guest Club at a future Annual; short term possibly to swap a presence in each other’s Club magazines, a good idea and practice started by Gérard Leclerc, the RREC’s International Correspondent and also Chairman of the Romande Section.

7/ Deputy Chairman’s Report

[WRITTEN REPORT]

There is an urgent need for a General Manager to stabilise the organisation of the Club and I have initiated the search with a small advertisement in The Bulletin. Depending on the reaction to this the next step will probably be to utilise the services of a recruitment agency to broaden the search. As Christmas is approaching this is possibly not really the right time and early January looks like being more practicable. However, a small panel of interviewers is ready to see if someone “right for the job” can be found and I will keep everyone posted with progress.

To my mind this next meeting is extremely important and it needs to set out the budget for next year, decide where investment is required to generate an increase in the membership, and ensure that the current membership is getting what it is looking for.

The Hunt House, Paulerspury, Towcester, Northants, NN12 7NA
Tel: +44 (0)1327 811788 – Fax: +44 (0)1327 811797 – E-mail: admin@rrec.org.uk Proprietor: R.R.E.C Limited. A company registered in England and Wales. No 1154113

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Looking at other car clubs I feel that RREC is lagging behind in lots of areas and would like the Board to look carefully at where the Club could be improved. If yet another surplus has been generated how is it going to be utilised to benefit the members?
Some examples taken from other Clubs:

Provision of display items to be utilised at multi-club events – flags, pop up gazebos, banners showing the name of the Club and the Section,display boards telling “stories”, supplies of membership application forms and useful items (pens, notepads, coasters) from the Club Shop (discounted). We can no longer rely on people coming to us we have to go to them and encourage them (of all ages) to join by showing how enjoyable membership can be and what benefits it can bring.

On another subject, which has been mentioned, can we sponsor at least one apprentice award in 2017?

8. Business Developement Manager’s Report

[WRITTEN REPORT]

Year-end accounts are not yet available from Haines Watts due to time constraints but our representative is working on this remotely and finalisation is imminent.

Club Shop stock take has been completed by Vicky and all items are now accurate and on the EPOS system. New products have been sourced, some from new suppliers, and have been incorporated into the new Club Shop catalogue.

Ailsa managed another successful NEC Classic Car show, reducing expenditure whilst delivering a presentation that most consider to be the Clubs best effort so far. 39 new members were gained at the event making it the most successful recruitment at the show in recent years. Sharron has been particularly busy with both member and trade enquiries of late and is working in tandem with Amii, the Foundation’s new Archivist; both are defining their roles and territory, working together where appropriate.

Lisa has just closed the membership year and has mailed out, with the help of other HH staff, membership renewals. Age old anomalies in the members database cause Lisa considerable manual sifting and checking. Membership administration is in need of automation and it is hoped that any new systems the Club chooses incorporates such a facility so that Lisa’s skills and abilities can be used to promote the Club and its benefits to a wider audience and to help retain members.

In order to facilitate a more professional and friendly greeting and arrival at THH, a reception desk has been installed in the atrium and is manned by Linda. Currently, it is proving to be well received.

9. Status report per Team

9a/ Finance
[NO WRITTEN REPORT]

9b/ G&A

Auction houses are continuing to be investigated and finalised; an announcement will be made in a future Bulletin.

9c/ Sales & Marketing

The Hunt House, Paulerspury, Towcester, Northants, NN12 7NA
Tel: +44 (0)1327 811788 – Fax: +44 (0)1327 811797 – E-mail: admin@rrec.org.uk Proprietor: R.R.E.C Limited. A company registered in England and Wales. No 1154113

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[NO WRITTEN REPORT] [COMMENTS]

JVB updated the Board on his assessment of the current status of the website project. As sometimes happens with IT projects, it got stalled for a number of reasons. GA has, on reasons of not functioning relations with, and lacking support by THH, decided to hand it over. It was therefore decided that the website project be entrusted to RREC member Steve Hubbard. In order to give it every chance of success and to be able to reflect the many offers of feedback and advice received to date, it has been agreed with Steve that he will start from a blank sheet of paper. A clear Project Description will be produced, all stakeholders will be invited to comment, resulting in an agreed Requirements Specification for quotations so that there can be no discussion about what the chosen supplier has quoted for and will be set to deliver.

9d/ Membership [WRITTEN REPORT]

TTT – TARGET TEN THOUSAND

My aim for membership is to increase it to at least 10,000 members by January 2018. Thanks to promotion via the Bulletin and offers at the Annual Rally, both Junior and Joint membership are higher now than they have ever been. I intend to continue these promotions in 2017.

Lisa Alderson has been working on a questionnaire to be sent out to all members in the New Year, which asks our members what attracted them to the Club and what improvements would they like to see. Discussions are underway as to the best way to deliver this questionnaire and incentives are being decided for getting a high percentage of these forms returned. The results from these questionnaires will aid in the formation and direction of further promotions. I have formed a team for this Target Ten Thousand project, consisting of the following: Jim Myson, David Towers, Lisa Alderson and Jackie Robotham.

I will be calling on all Directors to assist with this triple T campaign when it encroaches on their area of responsibility and I will be encouraging all members to recruit a member, and for all of us to carry a spare membership form at all times. I will also share our questionnaire findings with the rest of the Board so that we are able to channel our funds and efforts, to make the Club even more inviting to members in the areas that members feel we are lacking.

We have funds in reserve that we need to use to make our Club more attractive to members and by filling in the questionnaire members will be able to inform us what it is they want, to keep our Club the best in the world, and I suggest that we do our best to comply with their wishes, as this can only help our Club to grow.

RF said the Club should consider if the move towards increased direct debit payments for membership will have any effect on donations to the Foundation.

9e/ PR & Events [WRITTEN REPORT]

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The Hunt House, Paulerspury, Towcester, Northants, NN12 7NA
Tel: +44 (0)1327 811788 – Fax: +44 (0)1327 811797 – E-mail: admin@rrec.org.uk Proprietor: R.R.E.C Limited. A company registered in England and Wales. No 1154113

The activity since my last report has been focus on plan and budget which will be submitted separately to the Board in due time.

Events
RREC German Section had organised an Autumn Rally October 7 – 9th in Schleswig with basecamp in Flensburg in connection with their AGM which I had planned to attend. As the German Section regularly have participants going to other Section`s Rallies particularly in Denmark they had asked me to recruit some Danish teams to come to this rally so close to the Danish border. We came 4 cars in total from Denmark adding up to 36 cars in total. The Rally was extremely well organised with a punctuality bordering to the extreme. There were lots of cultural events built into the program to mention but a few visits to the Yacht Wharf of Robbe & Berking where they restore/rebuild classic wooden yachts as well as a tour (garden and house) of the Manor Schierensee the former summer residence of the well-known publisher Axel Springer.

The AGM went without surprises and there were no questions to me as representative of the HH.

Press Releases
Although not tried before a general press release in advance of the large events could be tried to see if it would result in articles even outside the car magazine world. Ailsa Plain and I will produce a template.

9f/ Publications [NO WRITTEN REPORT]

[COMMENTS]

LR repeated that notice has been given to the RREC’s current publishers of The Bulletin with a view to renegotiating the contract with either the current or new suppliers. IH requested LR to update the Board as a matter of urgency with the various proposals. RF asked for a number of companies to be considered and expressed concern that we gave notice before requesting tenders.

9g/ Sections

[WRITTEN REPORT]

RF awaits a response from the Section Romande Secretary regarding their stand at Epoqu’Auto and our contribution to their costs.

RF responded cautiously to a request to form a new Section and start a website/shop, explaining the need for minimum members and the IP rights of the two marques.

NEC stand: RF suggested increasing the car and Club information available to visitors and a transparent policy on expenses.

Archive Scanning project: RF reported a productive conversation with Clive Green at the Historic Seminar. The project will shortly gain a new website, and we’ll receive an update on the scale of the project so far.

Annual Rally seminars: RF proposed the introduction of a non-car-related seminar each year, providing interest for family/guests.

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Tel: +44 (0)1327 811788 – Fax: +44 (0)1327 811797 – E-mail: admin@rrec.org.uk Proprietor: R.R.E.C Limited. A company registered in England and Wales. No 1154113

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Hunt House seminars: RF would welcome the introduction of basic, hands-on introductory seminars for the less mechanically-minded.

RF proposed revisiting MC’s proposal for a free annual rally for the Club’s 60th Anniversary, as this topic had not been decided on. The topic was discussed, and it was decided that advance booking to the 2017 Annual Rally would be free. Additionally, it was decided to extend similar support to the North of England Rally and the South of England Rally, subject to their preferred form of support.

Windsor Castle Concours of Elegance: RF reported on this event, which was one of the premier classic car events in the world, with great Rolls-Royce and Bentley presence, and widely reported in international magazines. Without us committing to support it, he recommended we ask a member to investigate the practicalities of us supporting the event. Supported.

Searchable Bulletin database proposal: RF asked for a decision on his proposal to set up a DVD and online resource to allow complete searching of the Bulletin, utilising both search terms and integrating the excellent indices members have created. He presented extracts of a similar exercise carried out by another car club, demonstrating the output such a database can generate. Including the website development work necessary, the total cost was estimated at around £5000-6000. The proposal was supported, with RF to raise with Steve Hubbard the best ways of proceed with scanning and then creation of the proposal specification so it can be included in the new website specification tender.

9h/International Liaison

[NO WRITTEN REPORT] 9i/ Registers

[NO WRITTEN REPORT]
9j/ SHRMF & Archives

[WRITTEN REPORT]

Further to my interim report, the 5th Annual General Meeting of the SHRMF was convened at 4.30 p.m. at the Hunt House on Saturday, November 19th 2016 – during the very interesting Royce Historic Weekend.

I am delighted to report that I was elected to the Board of the SHRMF (having previously been a cooptee, filling the vacancy which arose when Charles Tabor was appointed President).

The Historic Weekend was frankly outstanding with an excellent series of speakers.

The relationship between the Foundation and the RREC is of paramount importance to the conservation of engineering history and now the archivist, Amii Errington, is in post, there is every ground for optimism. Early indications are that the Foundation have selected an excellent officer.

The first Board Meeting (19 November 2016 after the AGM) saw the appointment of an Independent Board Member, David Whale, who is Chairman of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs.
Sponsorship will continue for the MoD apprentice and Specialist apprentice (currently P&A Wood alternate years with proposed RRBSA being introduced also on alternate years). The prize for the winning apprentice will be a Snap-on Toolkit.

The Hunt House, Paulerspury, Towcester, Northants, NN12 7NA
Tel: +44 (0)1327 811788 – Fax: +44 (0)1327 811797 – E-mail: admin@rrec.org.uk Proprietor: R.R.E.C Limited. A company registered in England and Wales. No 1154113

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May I record personal thanks to fellow RREC director Richard Fenner who undertook a challenging journey to be in attendance at the AGM. I believe Clive Green will be providing some document copy statistics and has offered to show directors around the archive.

9k/ Technical Support & Tool Hire [NO WRITTEN REPORT]

[COMMENTS]

Steve Lovatt has resigned from the Board on 17.11.2017. Both on behalf of the Board and personally, JVB thanked SL for the valuable work that he has been doing over the years for the RREC and the members, particularly with respect to the Seminars. For now the Club Seminar programme remains as announced. Martin Carnell was appointed as the new Technical Director.

Eric Healey is doing an exceptional job sorting and categorising the tools at THH. All tools will eventually be stamped and recorded within a register.

10/ List of intermediate Board decisions

1. 17.10.2016. To take steps as far as possible to secure adequate protection for the Club in respect of the trademark “RREC” in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. Approved expenditure: £10k.

2. 17.10.2016. Creation of a Trademark Committee (“TMC”) chaired by DE and further composed of SF, MT and AC.

3. Email 1.11.2016, permission granted to Valerie Smallwood to remain as GWS Chairman following the AGM on 22.1.2017 and Margaret Ball as GWS Secretary.

4. Email 15.11.2016, decision to give notice to the Publisher and to renegotiate the Bulletin/Advertiser contract.

5. Email 24.11.2016, RREC approval, recognition and support of the small hp workshops via publication in the Bulletin and eBulletin.

11/ Miscellaneous

• –  The granting of Anniversary badges was clarified as follows: an Anniversary badge will be issued on request if the membership anniversary concerned is reached during the actual year for which the full membership fee has been paid by the member concerned. In case of queries, the Membership Secretary is to contact the Board Member for Membership. ACTION: LR to look into a suitable Junior badge as well as a 60 Year Badge.

• –  In view of the fact that GA is in run-out mode because of personal reasons prior to his leaving the Board by virtue of years served at the 2017 AGM, JVB proposed that Jim Myson be co-opted to the Board as the new Marketing Director so as not to lose another 5 months to get things moving in the marketing area. The proposal was approved.

• –  The dates for the 2017 Board Meetings will be fixed once the new schedule for the quarterly closing will be known. ACTION: JVB

  The Hunt House, Paulerspury, Towcester, Northants, NN12 7NA
  Tel: +44 (0)1327 811788 – Fax: +44 (0)1327 811797 – E-mail: admin@rrec.org.uk Proprietor: R.R.E.C Limited. A company registered in England and Wales. No 1154113

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Barry GALLAFENT
Business Development Manager

Note: These Minutes remain draft only until approved by the Board at their next meeting. When approved, these Minutes will be authenticated by the Chairman’s signature below.

Authenticated as true record of proceedings:

Johan VANDEN BERGH Chairman

Distribution:

Board of Directors
General Manager / Business Development Manager Section and Register Secretaries
The Hunt House Staff

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The Hunt House, Paulerspury, Towcester, Northants, NN12 7NA
Tel: +44 (0)1327 811788 – Fax: +44 (0)1327 811797 – E-mail: admin@rrec.org.uk Proprietor: R.R.E.C Limited. A company registered in England and Wales. No 1154113