On the evening after the Birkett, we held the annual Get-Together at The Butchers Arms, Greens Norton. This year, the AGM was held separately via Zoom, but it was great to see a good turn-out.

During the evening, we marked the retirement of Chris Whitlock as the Regional Chair for South Midlands.

Finally, we also made a presentation to Andrew French as the Leslie Harris trophy winner for Best New Marshal of the Year.

We are holding our Regional AGM on line this year to allow more members to attend, but we would like to invite you to our annual End of Season Get-Together on

Saturday October 26th from 6:00pm

The Barn at The Butchers Arms, Greens Norton (10 High Street, Greens Norton, Towcester NN12 8BA)

The pub is community owned and prides itself on the selection of reals ales, craft beers, heritage ciders and a comprehensive wine list. This will be a very informal evening, Probans are welcome, so those of you marshalling at the Birkett Relay Race will be able to pop in on your way home! Why not drop by for a drink and meet your fellow marshals and Regional BMMC Committee. All BMMC members are welcome, we shall have a selection of hot snacks for you to enjoy from 6:30pm and our regalia will be on sale for those early Christmas presents.

As we need to pre-order the food we need an idea of numbers for the catering. If you are interested in coming along please email Marion by Monday 21st at the latest to let her know.

South Midlands Region BMMC have been looking to recruit some new members to our Regional Committee. The Regional Committee is responsible for planning and delivering all the BMMC events in our region, including Training days, Recruitment events and Taster Days. Committee members also manage the regional entries in the volunteering database, advise on and co-ordinate upgrade applications, support members who have questions and queries, manage club regalia sales, edit the bi-monthly newsletter, manage both the region’s pages in the national website and the regional social media, and co-ordinate the region’s activity in environmental and sustainability matters as it affects our sport, so there is role to suit everyone. After a first nomination period, during which four committee members were elected, there remained two unfilled vacancies, plus a further vacancy from the required resignation from the committee from our newly elected Regional Chair. A second nomination period was therefore opened for these three vacancies.

Nominations for the Regional Committee closed on October 5th at 5pm. At that time one nomination had been received, and it fully complied with all the requirements of the Club Rules. In accordance with Rule K.3.11, as the number of candidates does not exceed the number of vacancies, I can confirm that the following member has been elected to the South Midlands Committee without the need for an electronic vote:

Andrew French

I am sure you will join me in congratulating him on his success and look forward to his work on the committee.
Marion Quarrington
South Midlands Regional Secretary
sm.secretary@marshals.co.uk
October 14th 2024

Notice is hereby given that the 57th Annual General Meeting of the South Midlands Region of the British Motorsport Marshal’s Club Ltd will be held on Monday October 28th 2024 at 20:00 as a virtual meeting using ZOOM.

AGENDA

1. Apologies for absence
2. Minutes of the 2023 AGM
   Draft minutes are available to view
3. Chair’s Report
4. Secretary’s Report
5. Treasurer’s Report
   The Regional Annual Report will be available to view on the Regional Webpage from October 14th
6. Confirmation of Regional Chair election
7. Confirmation of Committee Members

Signed: Marion Quarrington
Issued: September 27th 2024.

Please advise the Regional Secretary of your intention to attend by October 25th so that the Zoom meeting links can be sent out.

Contact details for the Regional Secretary are sm.secretary@marshals.co.uk
Other contact details are on the regional section of the website.

The 2023 winner of the Leslie Harris Trophy for South Midlands New Marshal of the Year was Catherine Smart. Before she returned the trophy to be  passed to the new recipient, she took the opportunity to show the trophy the whole Harris family, all of whom are now marshals at Hunts Kart Racing Club at Kimbolton. In the photo are Catherine and Paul Harris (centre), with (L to R) Annija, Dominic, Matt and Summer Harris.

(Photo by Jon Smart)

South Midlands Region BMMC have been looking to recruit some new members to our Regional Committee. The Regional Committee is responsible for planning and delivering all the BMMC events in our region, including Training days, Recruitment events and Taster Days. Committee members also manage the regional entries in the volunteering database, advise on and co-ordinate upgrade applications, support members who have questions and queries, manage club regalia sales, edit the bi-monthly newsletter and manage both the region?s pages in the national website and the regional social media. We would be particularly interested to include anyone who has an interest in environmental and sustainability matters as it affects our sport. As you can see, we have a lot of jobs to do so there is role to suit everyone. This time there were Committee vacancies from earlier in the year and, as each Committee member can only serve for a 3-year term before standing aside and seeking re-election, we had a total of 6 vacancies at the beginning of August when nominations opened.
Nominations for the Regional Committee closed on September 14th at 5pm. At that time 4 nominations had been received, and all nominations fully complied with all the requirements of the Club Rules. In accordance with Rule K.3.11, as the number of candidates does not exceed the number of vacancies, I can confirm that the following have been elected to the South Midlands Committee without the need for an electronic vote:

• Nina Fountain
• Emile Naus
• Kaz Topping
• Chris Whitlock

I am sure you will join me in congratulating them on their success and look forward to their work on the Committee.

Since this nomination period was opened we have had a further vacancy on the Committee, as Ian Whiting has been elected as South Midlands Regional Chair and so has to resign as a Committee Member. As there are now 3 vacancies on the Committee, under Rule K.3.6 the nomination period is being re-opened so that more people can apply. Candidates for the South Midlands Regional Committee must be Full or Life BMMC members, affiliated to the South Midlands Region and be active marshals. Each candidate must be proposed and seconded by two other Full or Life BMMC members who are also affiliated to the South Midlands Region. Completed application forms must be submitted by email to sm.secretary@marshals.co.uk by Saturday October 5th at 5pm. All emails will be acknowledged. The new committee will take effect from the Regional AGM in October, with the first committee meeting taking place at the beginning of November.

The nomination form can be found here.

Marion Quarrington
South Midlands Regional Secretary
sm.secretary@marshals.co.uk
September 22nd 2024

As you will have read, our Regional Chair, Chris Whitlock, has decided to retire from
his Chair role at the AGM in October 2024. I am sure that you will join with me in
thanking Chris for all his hard work as South Midlands Regional Chair since he took
on the role in 2019, and wish him all good wishes for the future.

Nominations for the next South Midlands Regional Chair role closed on 17th August
at 5 pm. At that time one nomination had been received for the role. That
nomination fully complied with all the requirements of the Club Rules, and
specifically Rule J.3.3, and the candidate had had the relevant discussions with Club
Directors about the nature of the role. In accordance with Rule J.3.6, which states
that in the event there is only one candidate for the vacancy then that person is
deemed to be elected if they are eligible, I can confirm that Ian Whiting is duly
elected as the next South Midlands Regional Chair without the need for an
electronic vote.

Ian has been on the South Midlands Regional Committee since December 2021,
when he took over the role of Grading Co-Ordinator recently vacated by the
retirement of Malcom Flippance. Those of you who have upgraded through BMMC
South Midlands since that time would have benefited from Ian’s now
comprehensive knowledge of the New Marshals Pathway, and his quick and efficient
processing of your upgrade paperwork.

Ian will continue in the Grading Co-Ordinator role in the short-term and will shadow
Chris until he takes up the full role at the AGM in October 2024. I am sure you will all
join me in wishing Ian every success in his new role.

Marion Quarrington
South Midlands Regional Secretary
21 August 2024

UPDATE: NOMINATIONS CLOSE ON SATURDAY

South Midlands Region BMMC are looking to recruit some new members to our Regional Committee. The Regional Committee is responsible for planning and delivering all the BMMC events in our region, including Training days, Recruitment events and Taster Days. Committee members also manage the regional entries in the volunteering database, advise on and co-ordinate upgrade applications, support members who have questions and queries, manage club regalia sales, edit the bi-monthly newsletter and manage both the region’s pages in the national website and the regional social media. We would be particularly interested to include anyone who has an interest in environmental and sustainability matters as it affects our sport. As you can see, we have a lot of jobs to do so there is role to suit everyone.

The Committee meets six times a year, mostly virtually by Zoom, and only occasionally in person.  Each committee member is elected for a 3-year term after which they must stand aside and seek re-election if they wish to continue. Each member can stand for three consecutive terms, after which they must stand aside from the committee for at least a year. People are elected to the committee as a whole, not to a role, and the various jobs and roles are agreed at the first committee meeting of the new session. This year we have a vacancy carried over from last year, some committee members who are standing aside plus we have some committee members reaching the end of their 3-year term, so in all we have six vacancies to fill. If you would like some more information on what the committee does, or to discuss how you could use your skills to benefit your fellow marshals, please contact either Chris Whitlock (Regional Chair) on sm.chair@marshals.co.uk, or myself as the Regional Secretary (details below) and we would be delighted to have a chat with you.

Candidates for the South Midlands Regional Committee must be Full or Life BMMC members, affiliated to the South Midlands Region and be active marshals. Each candidate must be proposed and seconded by two other Full or Life BMMC members who are also affiliated to the South Midlands Region. Completed application forms must be submitted by email to sm.secretary@marshals.co.uk by 14^th September at 5pm. All emails will be acknowledged. The new committee will take effect from the Regional AGM in October, with the first committee meeting taking place at the beginning of November.

The nomination form can be found here: South Midlands Committee Nomination Form August 2024

If the number of candidates does not exceed the number of vacancies then all candidates will be deemed to be elected to the committee. If there are more candidates than vacancies then, in accordance with Rule K.3.12, an electronic ballot will be held by a simple majority, with the candidates with the most votes being declared elected. Each candidate will have the opportunity to prepare a statement of not more than 200 words to be circulated to the members at the time of the election. If any regional member does not have an email registered on the database postal voting forms will be issued to these members only. Polling will be open for a 2-week period.

Marion Quarrington
South Midlands Regional Secretary
sm.secretary@marshals.co.uk
August 14th 2024