The Foundation
In last month’s Wheel Spin, President Doug Morrissey announced the unanimous decision of the
Board to join with a Steering Committee of Members in launching a Foundation to assist the Club
in the achievement of its long term objectives.
The aims of the Foundation are:
1. To help ensure that the Club is always in a position to withstand downturns in its finances
or membership.
2. To give the Club greater ability to consider major projects which may not be within the
scope of the annual cash flow of the Club.
The members of the Steering Committee are David Hutchings, Bill Atherton, Kevin Daly, Doug
Hastie, Mike Herlihy, Wayne Hunter and Walter Magilton. This group totals over 250 years of Club
membership – four are Life Members, three are past Presidents, one a past Vice President and one
a past Treasurer. These Committee members will become the first Trustees of the Foundation.
The Trustees have been working on this project for nearly two years and are dedicated to the
success of the Foundation. We hope that the Foundation becomes part of the Club’s DNA, and
provides the focus for philanthropy within the Club in years to come.
The Foundation will be an outlet for those who wish to help. Like all other activities at the MGCC
Victoria, this will be entirely voluntary, so it will suit some but not others. However, in the MG way,
enthusiasm and participation are sure to carry it forward.
The Trustees will call a special meeting in due course and will invite all members who wish to
learn more, to further explain our aims and objectives, as well as to answer questions about the
Foundation. As any Member of the Club will be able to apply to fill a Trustee vacancy, we hope that
Members who are seriously interested in becoming a Trustee or being part of a supporter group
will attend.
Financial contributions to the Foundation will be gratefully received, regardless of size. There will
be many ways to contribute and these will be outlined on the Club website, in Wheel Spin, at Club
meetings and at special meetings and functions.
Last year the Club was advised that it was to receive a very significant bequest from our past
member, Bill Fleming. This was a thrilling and wonderful event for the Club and a seriously generous
gift from Bill. The Club wants to make sure that in future, such gifts can be received by the
Foundation as part of our overall management of gifts to the Club. It goes without saying that the
size of bequests or gifts are not as important as the gesture of generosity by the donor – all gifts
will be recognised appropriately by the Foundation for the spirit in which they are given.
It should be remembered that not all Club members are physically able to be deeply involved in
the many and varied working bees that regularly take place at Rob Roy or the Clubrooms. However,
they are just as passionate about the Club and just as willing to make a contribution in return for all
that the Club provides. The Foundation will be an alternative they will be able to choose.
The MGCC Victoria has become one of the pre-eminent car clubs in Australia. The Board believes
that the establishment of the Foundation is a prudent move and an appropriate strategy in preparing
for the future.
The Trustees feel sure that over time,
the Foundation will be a resounding success.
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David C. Hutchings
Chairman of Trustees
The MG Car Club Victoria Foundation
M.G. Car Club Victoria
MGCC member on his
way to media celebrity?
One of the MG Car Club’s younger
members, Trent Price, is carving is niche
in the difficult world of international media
in launching his own on-line motorsport
magazine, E-Racing. This publication
concentrates on the growing popularity
of endurance racing, such as the World
Endurance Championship (WEC), where
our own Mark Webber has joined Porsche
for 2014, fresh from the world of F1 where
he drove for Red Bull.
The magazine also covers the lesser known
European Le Mans Series and the American
Le Mans Series, as well as the myriad of 6,
12 and 24 hour races around the world,
including Australia’s own Bathurst 12 Hour
race.
It also covers the exciting new world of
electric racing and the FIA backed Formula
E Series, which will have its first race in
Bejing on September 13th, followed by
races at Putrajaya, Rio de Janeiro, Punta
del Este, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles,
Miami, Monte Carlo, Berlin and London.
This is no small-time effort, with 10 teams
already signed up, including such well
known names as Andretti Motorsport,
Super Aguri, Audi Sport Abt, Virgin Racing
and a team backed by actor Leonardo di
Caprio. Drivers include many well known
ex-FI drivers as well as young up and
comers including Ben Collins (the old
‘Stig’). All of the teams will use a special
open wheel car built by Dallara, with the
power unit supplied by McLaren, and all
are being based at a purpose built facility
at Donnington Park, where test days are
being scheduled for July.
Trent has written for a number of well
known magazines, and was the co-founder
of MG Racing’s on line magazine a few
years ago. He went on to write for the well
JUNE 2014
known F1 news site Richland F1, as well as
being racing editor for GP Week last year.
His love for F1 led to him gaining FIA
accreditation as a journalist for F1 races,
and he travelled to Malaysia, Korea, China
and Japan to cover those F1 races, as well
as covering the Melbourne ‘home’ event
of course. Being on the ground allowed
him to forge valuable friendships with FIA
officials as well as race teams and other
journalists, which were to become valuable
to the formation of E-Racing magazine.
Seeing an opportunity to specialize in,
and cover the then little covered FIA
Championships such as the WEC and
Formula E, Trent rallied support from other
journalists around the world, which enabled
him to pull together an editorial team upon
which to launch the magazine on line, the
first edition of which hit the airways in April
this year, and so far 4 issues have been
produced, with the fifth likely to be on line
as you read this.
Not a bad effort for such a young guy who
also holds down a full time job. With most
of the races and action happening overseas
this often means sleeple ss nights over F1
and WEC weekends in order to co-ordinate
reports coming in from overseas to enable
them to be available for readers the next
morning. And he somehow finds time to
race his MGF in the MG Racing series !
If you want to read E racing magazine,
go to www.e-racingmag.com.au to catch
up with some of his other work, www.
richlandf1.com. It’s all free !
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