Message From: Michael Chambers, Chairman, Renault Owners Club

Over the past few weeks we have had to make many changes to the way we live our lives – these changes have impacted on our family life, our work and our social life.

The impact of the Coronavirus has also had a fundamental impact on the operation of government, businesses and clubs / societies.

It will come as no surprise to you that, as a committee, we have had to consider our ability to operate the Renault Owners Club during the pandemic period. I am sure that you will agree with me that in the great scheme of things the operation of a car club is of secondary importance when compared to continued employment, the ability of shops to provide us with the food we require or the operation of the NHS but, nevertheless, as a subscription based club we have considered the challenges presented by the Coronavirus pandemic and the current restrictions placed on life in the UK.

The purpose of this email is to provide Members of the Renault Owners Club with an update on how the club is responding to the COVID19 pandemic.

You may have noticed that the March 2020 edition of “Renotes” has not dropped on your doormat, the magazine has been printed but the printer closed their operations before the mailing took place. The March magazine is full of interesting articles so we plan to ask the printer to send the magazine to all members (as at 1 March 2020) as soon as they are able to recommence operations.

As a committee we have reviewed the various aspects of the club and made the following decisions:

The following aspects of the club will be paused until the current restrictions placed on the UK are removed or sufficiently relaxed by the Government:

  • club attendance and participation at events
  • production of the club magazine (Renotes)

As a committee we will do our best to continue with the following aspects of the club – on a best endeavours basis these will include:

  • supply of parts (by post only)
  • club website (www.renaultownersclub.com)
  • social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram)
  • (remote) technical support
  • dating letters
  • access to manuals
  • club shop.

Given the above temporary changes to the clubs offering the committee has decided to pause membership renewals as at 21 March 2020 and plan to keep this in place until the current restrictions placed on the UK are removed or sufficiently relaxed by the Government.

At a point where the committee are of the view that the current restrictions placed on the UK are removed or sufficiently relaxed by the Government we plan to ‘unpause’ membership renewals and extend the renewal date for each member accordingly (this applies to both direct members and members who have joined via an insurance scheme arrangement). We will also make an appropriate adjustment to the renewal date for members that pay by a bankers Standing Order (although please note that your bank account will be still be debited on the agreed date under the STO instruction).

As you would expect we have had to cancel the AGM planned for Sunday 26 April 2020 and it is our intention to find a practical way of fulfilling the need for an AGM in these difficult times. Having to cancel the AGM is a a real shame as we had planned to hold our AGM in conjunction with a Peter Best Insurance ‘Drive It Day’ event on a country estate in Essex where we’d have had opportunity to show our cars, view other cars as well as hold the AGM!

Over the coming weeks we do plan to prepare the clubs 2019/20 financial statements and produce an ‘AGM’ information pack and are considering the best way to communicate this information with members as well as fulfil our obligations to hold an AGM.

During this period of temporary suspension the committee plan to provide any relevant information both on our web site (www.renaultownersclub.com) and via our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram social media channels.

Given that we have had to cancel the AGM I will be asking each committee member if they would be prepared to continue to fulfil their respective roles on the committee for an extended period. Also, as chairman, I also plan to use this ‘pause’ period to work with the committee and review the clubs offering, the operation of the club and consider how we might emerge from the pandemic period as a stronger club. As a volunteer based club we are always looking for members who are prepared to give a bit of time to the club, over the last few days I am pleased to report that we already have had a couple of volunteers, please let me know (chairman@renaultownersclub.com) if you’d like to contribute to the operation of the club.

As this pandemic passes through the UK I trust that you will stay both healthy and safe – do keep in touch via the website, social media channels or contact me direct via Twitter (@mike_chambers) or email (chairman@renaultownersclub.com).

Thanks

Michael Chambers
Chairman
Renault Owners Club

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