Minutes of the PCVC AGM 23^rd May 2025

The Chairman, Steve Wilkinson, opened the meeting at 10 30. He advised the Members that the meeting was not presently quorate and that the start would therefore be delayed for 30 minutes , in accordance with the Articles of Association( AoA).

1. Chairman`s Welcome 

The Chairman welcomed the Members to the AGM and made the usual formal housekeeping announcements.                                                                            

2. Apologies for Absence. 

The Chairman announced that formal apologies have only been received from the Secretary, David Fleming, and that, in accordance with the AoA, the Treasurer, Paul Gannon, would be acting as the Secretary.

3. Minutes of 2024 AGM.

The Minutes had been previously published on the Members Area of the PCVC Website. These were approved with only one exception. Pip Brown raised the point that not all members were able to access items electronically. This was duly noted.                                                                                 

4. Chairman`s Report and Presentations.                                                        

The Chairman gave his report (copy attached).

He then presented the Chairman`s  Shield to Paul and Diane Chadwick, and  Awards to Tony and Janet Singleton, Morag Carrington Porter, and, Terry Spiby and Sandra Pope, for their support and efforts throughout 2024.

5. Treasurer`s Report.

The Treasurer presented the Audited Accounts (which had been previously published on the Member`s Area of the Website) and his report to the Meeting.
 The Audited Accounts were approved by the Members. Pip Brown raised a query regarding the retention of the redundant stop-watches. It was agreed that these should be auctioned off at our next Social Meeting.

6. Committee Election.   

The Acting Secretary (AS) announced that the Election was non-contested and therefore it is deemed unnecessary to appoint an “Electoral Committee. He advised that there had been 3 formal nominations received for the 3 vacated positions on the Management Committee, these being from Andy Carrington-Porter, Marilyn Wilkinson and Steve Wilkinson. These individuals were therefore elected unopposed. The AS congratulated these individuals and thanked them on behalf of the Club for volunteering to serve the Club.

7. Disciplinary Committee Election. 

Only 3 volunteers had come forward for the 3 positions on the Disciplinary Committee, Peter Jarvis, Christopher Koutsakos, and Sandra Pope. Their appointment for the next 2 years was confirmed by the Meeting without dissent.

8. Audit Committee Election.

Only 3 volunteers had come forward for the 3 positions on the Audit Committee, Morag Carrington-Porter, Annabel Czajka, and Terry Spiby. Their appointment for the next 2 years was confirmed by the Meeting without dissent.

9. Matters formally raised by Members.  

The AS advised the Meeting that 16 questions had been raised and 2 motions proposed by 3 of our Members for consideration by this AGM. As these would take some time to get through, it was suggested that a 2 minute rule should be invoked. This would limit any individual from speaking on an item for more than that period of time. This suggestion found overwhelming approval with only Richard and Sue Griffiths disapproving. The AS stated that in order to maintain clarity he would deal with the matters raised one at a time and in the order they were received.

The first questions came from Alan Holmes, but as he was not in attendance the AS read his questions out for him.

1.”Why have we not received a copy of last year`s AGM (minutes)?”.  The AS responded that these had been published on the PCVC Website.

2.”Why have we not received a copy of the audited accounts?”.   The AS responded that these were published on the PCVC Website, as reported to the Members at the last 2 Social Meetings.

Richard Griffiths complained that, as he chooses not to attend any PCVC meetings nor look at the Website, that he did not know where to find the Minutes or Accounts. It was agreed that notification would be sent to all Members in the future.                                                                                                   

“Why has Richard Griffiths had his voluntary job removed suddenly, after years of doing a satisfactory job and putting a lot of money into the club`s account?” The AS responded that the appointment of Club Inspectors should be reviewed every 2 years according to the guidelines of the Cyprus Federation of Classic Vehicle Clubs ( OKAK) . The Management Committee considered that Richard Griffiths was no longer acting in the best interests of the Club and had recommended that another member should fulfil this roll. He further advised that this decision was not sudden and only taken after protracted discussions. With regard to the funds he put into the Club account, these were freely given. However, Richard Griffiths now wants these returned to him, but we will come to this matter later in the Agenda. The AS further advised the meeting that Richard Griffiths had earned and retained over 2300 euros from this, voluntary, non-paid, position as Club Inspector from June to December 2024, but had issued receipts containing the Club Stamp on money that he had personally retained. Sarah Marrows commented that this was not bad for a voluntary job which was echoed by several other Members. Richard Griffiths responded that he interpreted OKAK rules differently and that he had only discovered the change in OKAK policy last May but had always stamped the receipts with the PCVC Stamp and continued to do so for monies which belonged to him because nobody told him not to do so. Chris Petrides offered to provide some clarification by explaining what other Club do, but confirmed that it was up to each Club to manage their Inspector as they saw fit. He also confirmed, when questioned, that he was unaware that OKAK had issued repeated instructions to Inspectors that they should only be charging expenses and that the position of Inspector is unpaid. Sue Griffiths strongly objected to the accusation that the monies earned by her husband had gone into his back pocket and further stated that he had spent a considerable amount of time, as well as petrol and paper. The AS reiterated that the Inspector position was supposed to be voluntary and unpaid. Ken Hughes asked what the present Inspector charged and was informed that he only recovers his expenses.                                                                                      

”Why have we been granted 5 days to submit nominations for the committee, also the same short notice for questions to be answered?”                                                            The AS responded that this timescale is in accordance with the Articles of Association, and was obviously sufficient, as nominations had been submitted and questions had been raised.

The next items were raised by Kate Brown, but Pip Brown said that his wife had submitted most of them on his behalf. He agreed to allow the AS to read out his submitted statements which the AS had phased into questions.

1. “Why are all Committee Meetings (minutes) not sent to the members covering all relevant matters discussed by individual committee members?” The AS responded that this was deemed unnecessary as the Management Committee reports to the members at 2 regular meetings per month, through the monthly Newsletter, and, the minutes are published on our Website each month.        

2. “How is it possible that a Non-compliant organisation like OKAK can determine the rules governing PCVC with regards to the hiring and firing of vehicle inspectors?” The AS responded that not only is OKAK fully compliant but that this is the only body approved by FIVA in Cyprus. OKAK is also the Authorised National Federation for Cyprus being authorised to issue classic car passports on behalf of FIVA. Inspectors are appointed by OKAK, not individual Clubs and are therefore governed by OKAK`s rules, but managed by their Club. Chris Petrides interrupted the meeting with a lengthy speech about the history of OKAK and his personal involvement. This was brought to a close by Andy Carrington Porter, the Vice Chairman, as his speech was not relevant to the subject under discussion and had extended beyond 2 minutes. Richard Griffiths asked why he could not obtain a copy of the OKAK  Articles of Association. Steve Wilkinson, Chairman, responded, that, as he had previously advised him, it is the Clubs that are members of OKAK not individual club members. The Articles are therefore available to the Management Committee of each of the Affiliated Clubs but not individual club members. Richard Griffiths would not, when asked, state the reason why he wanted this document.

3.”Who chooses the technical committee for OKAK, and what are their technical qualifications or are they self-appointed?”
The AS responded that the board of OKAK chooses the Technical Committee and vets each candidate before they are appointed. 

4. Kate Brown proposes a change to the PCVC Articles of  Association so that married couples or couples within a relationship cannot both serve on the committee. The AS asked why she did not raise this as an issue when Richard and Sue Griffiths served together on the PCVC Committee on 2 separate occasions over the past 6 years? Her answer was that she had only just thought of it. The AS pointed out that married couples had been the backbone of PCVC since its inception, that no problems had ever occurred, and that, in light of the lack of volunteers willing to serve on the Committee we would be foolish to turn away anyone solely on these grounds. A general discussion took place which was interrupted by Chris Petrides who advised the Meeting that our Articles did not comply with Cypriot Law which listed 33 relationships that were excluded from committees due to conflicts of interest and financial dealings.

A vote was called, and Kate Brown`s proposal was rejected by the Meeting, (of the 48 Members present only 4 voted in favour). 

 5. “Why was the vote of no confidence side stepped at the last AGM?”  The AS responded that an explanation was provided at that meeting, which he now offered to repeat. Pip Brown requested that he do so. The AS advised that the proposal put forward by Richard Griffiths was undemocratic, unconstitutional and not in accordance with the Articles of Association as the correct notification of this proposal had not been given. Had it been allowed to proceed it would have deprived the Members of their right to attend, to consider such, to participate in any discussions, and, to vote.

The remaining 9 items had been raised by Richard Griffiths himself. The AS had again phrased the submitted statements into questions for consideration by the Members and stated his intention to read these out and provide responses before opening each item for discussion. Nobody objected to this procedure.

1. “Who appoints PCVC representatives at OKAK meetings and why are they not elected democratically by the membership?”  The AS responded that most of the representatives are democratically elected by the Club members as they comprise members of the Management Committee.  However in the past some committee members have been unable or unwilling to attend. The AS asked Mr Griffiths how many of these meetings did he attend whilst he was the Club Secretary? Richard Griffiths said he could not remember but that the AS would probably know. The AS confirmed that there had been 17 OKAK Meetings during this period and that Richard Griffiths had attended only ONE! 

2. “Can the Management Committee keep the Members up to date? “  The AS repeated his previous statement that the Committee informs the Members at 2 regular meetings per month, via the Monthly Newsletter, and the PCVC Website.                

3. “Why are inspectors no longer permitted to be Club Committee members?”   The AS responded that all the Clubs that form the OKAK Federation considered  there were  potential conflicts of interest which had created problems for some clubs. After much debate the Clubs unanimously came to that decision”                                                                                     

4. “Why did the PCVC representative not vote against this decision?” The AS responded that he was informed that after considering all the arguments the PCVC representative agreed with the representatives of all the other clubs, and voted accordingly. This was her democratic right to do so. 

5.” Why are the Inspector`s details no longer on the Website?” 
The AS responded that the Management Committee considers that the first point of contact for a potential new member should be a committee member who has the best interests of the Club in mind. No delays have occurred and all recent inspections had been carried out in a timely manner. The current system must be working as no complaints had been received.

6. “Richard Griffiths requests that PCVC pay to him circa 2500 euros for acting as our Club Inspector from September 2020 to June 2024.” 
 The AS responded that these monies were willingly paid by him and were not requested or demanded by the Club. He further advised that the only money that he has presented to me, as your Treasurer in May 24, was an amount net of his expenses. As a consequence, this was received as a donation to club funds and is recorded in the Audited Accounts as such. The AS reiterated that the post of Inspector has been repeatedly stated to be a non paid, voluntary position and that Inspectors should only charge their bona fide expenses.  The Meeting did not show any enthusiasm to comply with Richard Griffiths request for the repayment of any funds. 

 7. “How can PCVC ensure that OKAK is run in accordance with OKAK`s Articles of Association, when these are not in the public domain?”           
 The AS repeated the Chairman`s previous statement that these are not available to individual members of the Affiliated Clubs as individuals are not members of OKAK. However, as OKAK is a Federation of the Clubs their Articles are available to the Management Committees of those Clubs.

8. “Why are the previous Club T-Shirts being offered at a loss?”                                                                                                    
The AS responded that this was the simple economics of supply and demand. Most of the popular sizes had been sold and what remained was of little interest, hence the reduced price to encourage further sales. The AS suggested that Richard Griffiths might like to volunteer to sell the remaining T-shirts.He did not take up this offer.  

9. Richard Griffiths proposes a change to the Articles of Association, so that all the members of the Management Committee are re- elected at the same time.                    
The AS responded that the PCVC Articles do not state that the whole Committee has to be elected at the same time. If it did then the resignation/loss of a single member mid-term would mean the whole committee would have to stand down and be re-elected (if there was no “runner-up” member), and this could happen multiple times through the course of a year. The present system is much superior to that suggested by Richard Griffiths as it provides some continuity and avoids the chaos that would ensue if we had to constantly change all the the members of the Management Committee. (The reason why total re-election works in the UK and most other democratic counties is that they have a massive civil service behind any new government to provide that continuity. PCVC does not have that luxury).

The Meeting voted overwhelmingly to maintain the status quo with only 3 negative votes, from Richard and Sue Griffiths, and Pip Brown.

The Chairman attempted to close the AGM but was interrupted by Chris Petrides who tried to introduce a further item to the Agenda and to read out a personal statement. When he was prevented from doing so he handed copies of his statement to the Chairman and several other Members.

The Chairman read out part of this statement, then thanked the Members for attending and closed the 2025 AGM at 12 23 pm.

PCVC Management Committee