V8 Annual General Meeting 2020
With the the Covid-19 social movement restrictions resulting in MGLive! not being held as planned at Silverstone over the weekend of Friday 12th to Sunday 14th June 2020, our holding the V8 AGM 2020 there at noon on the Sunday has not been possible. An alternative online V8 AGM will be held instead, although not a live Zoom type of meeting, with the agenda released in the formal notice on the V8 Website together with various reports, including the V8 Register's accounts for 2019 with the V8 Treasurer's report, and the nominations of Members wishing to stand for election to the V8 Committee.

Formal notice of the V8 AGM 2020
Notice

An online response form is available to Members of the V8 Register so they can raise any matters arising or other issues ahead of the meeting. The form will be available until Saturday 11th July 2020. Online form

An online voting form will be released on the V8 Website on Sunday 12th July 2020 so Members of the V8 Register will have 3 weeks during which they can vote on the nominations and other items on the agenda (for example the approval of the annual accounts for the V8 Register to 31st December 2019). Online form TBR

The online V8 AGM will be at noon on Sunday 2nd August 2020 following which the minutes will be prepared a released.

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Report for the online V8 AGM 2020 from V8 Secretary

Report on 2019
With the cancellation of the Club’s principal annual event at MGLive! 2019 (because the circuit was not available and as no satisfactory alternative could be found), the V8 Register was unable to hold its Annual General Meeting in the V8 Marquee over that weekend. This broke a long tradition, as so many Members are normally able to attend.

The V8 AGM was then rescheduled and held just over a month later at the Club’s race meeting on Sunday 21st July 2019 at Donington Park. The Members elected there for the V8 Committee were Ken Clayton (V8 Tours/Event Coordinator), John Cumming (V8 Treasurer) Ian Quarrington (V8 Tour 2020 organiser), Steve Newton (Technical support), Victor Smith (V8 Chairman) and Clive Wheatley (Spares & Technical Support). There was no volunteer for the role of V8 Secretary and following the meeting the committee members made efforts to find a volunteer.

New V8 Secretary
Early in 2020, I was co-opted to join the V8 Committee, with a view to eventually taking over as V8 Secretary.

V8 Committee Meeting and V8 Curry
In February 2020, the first V8 Committee Meeting of the year was held at Hockley Heath on the day before the MG & Triumph Spares Show at Stoneleigh Park. Unfortunately our V8 Chairman was unwell and could not attend, but Ian Quarrington acted as chair in his place. Also present were our V8 Treasurer, John Cumming, Steve Newton and myself.
Detailed plans were discussed and agreed for the MGLive! 2020 weekend, together with the events that would take place during the week leading up to it. Plans for other events throughout 2020 were developed and the tasks of preparing and managing the events allocated to committee members.
In the evening, the Committee members were joined by other V8 Members for an excellent V8 Curry at Lloyds Indian Restaurant in Knowle and, the following day, many of us attended the MG & Triumph Spares Show at Stoneleigh Park.

Disruption from Covid-19
As with so many other aspects of life in the UK with the arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020 and then the UK Government’s firm directives regarding mass gatherings and social distancing, our programme of V8 Events, along with Main Club events, seemed very unlikely to go ahead. That has been the pattern but, with the recent announcements regarding the gradual unwinding of the Covid-19 constraints, some events may still possible later in the year.

V8 Kent Tour 2020
The main event for many of our Members is of course the V8 Kent Tour 2020, planned for September 2020. Ian Quarrington announced in March that the situation would be assessed and a decision made by 1st August 2020 as to whether the tour could continue as planned, or whether it would be postponed and carried over to 2021.

Membership of the V8 Register
The V8 Register has continued to grow over the past year with membership now standing at around 3,900 with a significant number overseas, not least in Australia and New Zealand. During the past 12 months, we have recruited around 34 new members to the V8 Register, of whom 30 were not previously members of the MG Car Club, but have decided to join in order to participate in the V8 Register and have access to the V8 Bulletin Board, the V8 Register Facebook Group and also the V8NOTES and RV8NOTES that we publish and offer for sale.

The V8 Register website has proved particularly popular during lockdown, perhaps a sign that members have been frustrated at not being able to drive their V8s.

Chris Bound
Co-opted V8 Secretary
18th June 2020
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