Welcome to ACHAFR

President’s Newsletter Vol 14, Nr 3, October 2018

Antique Classic & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians

                           30 years old and energetic !!

Dear Members

Now that the leaves are falling- at least in the Northern Hemisphere- it may be opportune to reflect on the year so far.

It is the year of our 30^th Anniversary of our Fellowship and we have attached much interest to this great occasion … and for good reason ! We are among the oldest international Fellowships of Rotary and we really are “international”.

Starting in Waku Waku in Australia in 1988 our Fellowship gradually spread its wings over continents and now counts national chapters in Europe and North America and representatives in many countries all over the world- this year we welcomed the Philippines.

Over the years we, petrol heads (Australian expression for ‘car nuts’), have grown to become a magnificent group of friends meeting each other on various occasions. Rallies in Italy, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and in particular our Europe Tours have become ‘family festivals’. At those joint events and adjacent social gatherings the close knit car-family attitudes prevail over nationalities and languages and that adds to Rotary’s philosophy of close cooperation and communication at home and across borders, which is extremely important and valuable in nowadays’ changing environments and tendencies.

In addition to the social aspects we should not forget the financial/granting aspects of these gatherings. Jointly, ACHAFR and its national chapters have supported activities like End Polio Now and specific projects in member countries with funds of well above € 100.000,- In Italy we have contributed to the construction of the multifunctional center in the heavily earth quake shaken area of Amatrice. In this area housing facilities need to be built and in order to motivate young professionals to remain in the region, the center will be at their disposal with work rooms, studio’s etc. The President  of ARACI mr. Giuseppe Giaconia di Migaido and myself  have been present at the laying of the first stone of the center, which will open its doors by year-end.

By supporting these various activities and projects we jointly demonstrate, that vintage car owners do not only enjoy the events (and their cars) ,but in particular live up to the ‘Leitmotiv’  of Rotary  “Service above Self”.

As mentioned in my former letter we celebrated  ACHAFR’s 30^th Anniversary in June in the Netherlands. Participants from Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and the Netherlands enjoyed the fantastic scenery, drove to historical places and royal palaces and took some rest on antique sailing vessels while sailing on the IJsselmeer. At the jubilee dinner we attached some thoughts and reflections on the history of our Fellowship and toasted on the success and future well- being of ACHAFR and its national chapters.

In September  32 teams from Britain, the Netherlands and Germany joined the RRAF-UK Normandy tour . Peter Griffith and his team brought us to hidden treasures of the region and of course did not forget to show us the ins and outs of the largest Calvados brewery, where at top harvest time some 150 000 tons of apples are waiting on the parking spot to be transferred to this fine delicacy.

Also in September I rushed from the Normandy to Roseto, where Rotary Clubs of the Province of Teramo organized their first Raduno Abruzzo Teramano Tour. Under the splendid guidance of  Sandro Pelillo we learned about the attractivities of culture, history, arts and landscape of the Teramo area. We admired the ceiling of the church of Castelli with its ceramic artwork and have been impressed by the work of students of the high-school of ceramic art.  A very specific memory will remain: a  concert at 2400 m height on the rocks of the Gran Sasso. It were not only we driving in vintage cars but also the police, which brought in a Alfa Romeo Giulia 1960 police car directly from the Museo di Policia. Of course, the gentlemen police officers have been at the focus of all spectators during those magnificent 4 days.

Next year ACHAFR and its National Chapters will provide their members with a variety of tours:

be it in the last week of April the fabulous Coast-to-Coast tour from Orbetello to Ascoli-Piceno in Italy,  which with the support of various local RCs will touch wellness resorts, magnificent wine yards and provide specifics of Italian history,culture, art and cuisine

the Muensterland Tour in Germany on May 11

and in particular the ROFD/Europe Tour on the occasion of the Rotary International World Convention in Hamburg.

This special Europe Tour will be organized by ROFD, our National Chapter in Germany from May 30 to June 2 and will bring us from the Lueneburger Heide to Hamburg where we will visit the booth of ACHAFR in the House of Friends of the Convention and of course we will throw eyes on other attractive sites of the city. For members from Britain and the Netherlands there will be a two days pre-tour from May 28-30 from the Netherlands to Reinstorf in the Lueneburger Heide area- the starting point of the Tour.

For details of these tours and all  other tours organized by ACHAFR and its National Chapters you are kindly invited to  look at our website www.achafr.eu

The National Chapters and ACHAFR can reflect on a very active and successful year and will continue to do so in 2019  – jointly   WE KEEP ROTARY ROLLING.

With finest personal regards                              

Matthijs van den Adel

Touring with Rotary

Antique, Classic, & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians

Minutes of AGM 9^th June 2018 held at Oud London Hotel,

Zeist . Netherlands

Calling the meeting to order, President Matthijs in welcoming those present to our Fellowship  AGM and whilst there were 25 members in attendance it was hoped that more would have been available to attend our 30^th anniversary.

In his report he paid particular attention to the developments in ARACI and thus welcomed the New Board of ARACI  headed by the new President Giuseppe Giaconia de Migaido, VP Rodolfo Torri and Secr.Vincent Mazzone. Since the new board appointment membership had increased to 198 members.

Since our last AGM there has been an influx of new lifetime members from Germany, Switzerland and Philippines and our webmaster provided encouraging figures where number of clicks show advancing trends of membership interest on the increase from various countries outside of Chapter’s countries….and the strengthening of our Fellowship.

During his visit to Australia he took the opportunity of meeting with David Webster of the Australian Chapter which gives rise to hope of a bright future for our Fellowship within Australia.

He directed our attention to our new Chairman in North America- Bob Reynolds- and thanked him for his ongoing support at the RI World Conventions in Atlanta and now in Toronto where his unstinted efforts is raising greater awareness of ACHAFR to visiting Rotarians is creating an expansion of members.

He paid particular attention to the charity contributions of chapters in 2017 it was in the region of € 100 000 and already now € 120 000 in 2018 with more to come. All this money is put back into communities through responsive programming. Thus our fellowship is very successful within Rotary- which may not the case with other fellowships.

The President brought to members attention our current difficult financial position, which does not allow us to be as creative with  PR and produce PR material – like ties, banners etc.

With the GDPR now in being since May 28^th 2018 there was now in place an ACHAFR authorized written version for all Chapters to follow, and the Secretary had forwarded these to the Chairmen of Chapters to put into use. Also copies were available to be collected from the Secretary. This also applies to Board members. Thanks were expressed to Michael Sullivan of RRAF who digently put the document together.

Treasurers report.

Johannes Zilkens went through the current balance sheet highlighting issues of concern but these would be eradicated once the new Board recommendations are put into place. Major outlay for our Fellowship have been booths at Rotary International convention in Atlanta and Toronto but this was a budgeted cost as we need a presence to attract new members and inform current members of our advancing trends in Chapter activities.

‘The Board agreed to a no increase in National Chapters fees/contributions but stated that from 2019 participants for ACHAFR tours will have a 25Euro or £20.00 per car included in the overall participating fee. The organising national chapter would then be able to determine use of surplus funds as they so decide after payment to ACHAFR.’

The Board also agreed to levy a donation of  € 25,- per commercial message/advertisement on the website of ACHAFR….this is for commercial advertising only….and reflecting Colin’s remarks  NOT for members wishing to advertise their cars, they of course will not be charged !

Secretary’s report.

The Secretary stated that he had received no apologies

The Secretary pointed out the need for Chapters to keep their members up to date with Board initiatives and would they please refer to our website which we now keep up to date with added information. He pointed out that copies of GDPR were available for collection as were details of initiatives to celebrate 30 years of our Fellowship. It is also important to remember that in a number of instances we are using the old Rotary International branding ….it is now two years since the new was introduced, and we should be looking to revising letterheads and other Fellowship material to conform .

Future tours:

2019 Hamburg.   To coincide with Rotary International convention. Johannes gave a presentation which after discussions was uplifted from two days to possibly four with RRAF-NL combining with Germany. It has to be appreciated that the proposed dates of 30^th May – June 2 2019does create a logistic problem due to holidays.  However Both Johannes and rraf-nl will meet to discuss how best to proceed and make it a two centre tour.  Further information will be posted on the website as and when available.

2020 Coast to Coast Italy. Luigi Olivieri (ARACI) travelled from San Benedetto to be with us and gave a comprehensive presentation, including proposed route from Ascoli Piceno  travelling through, Trevi, Assisi, Umbria  and Tuscany.  Luigi stated that there will be a maximum of 50 vehicles and that whilst ARACI are aware of distances to be travelled prior to the start, they are making every effort to cost out cars for multi transportation on vehicle loaders from UK and areas within Europe.

It was agreed that we would arrange for a bi-monthly update to be posted on our website thereby alerting all members to application forms, travel arrangements etc.

A.O.B. David Spenser rraf-uk brought to attendees present that the balance remaining from the Flat cat and whippet tour in Yorkshire June 2017 was 600 pound sterling and this was put to buying a Rotary Shelter box.

In closing the President again congratulated rraf-nl for their commendable results in this our 30^th anniversary tour and that he would be referring to it in his address to members at the evening gala dinner.

Date of next AGM meeting: Friday May 31^st 2019 venue to be advised.

There being no other business the chairman closed the meeting at 19.20

President’s Newsletter Vol 14, No.  2  July 2018

Antique Classic & Historic Automobile world Fellowship of Rotarians

                           30 years old and energetic !!

Dear Members

As I write we are celebrating the 30^th Anniversary of our Fellowship and we attach much interest to this great occasion … and for a very good reason ! We are among the oldest international Fellowships of Rotary and we really are “international”.

Starting in Wagga Wagga in Australia in 1988 our Fellowship gradually spread its wings over continents and now counts national chapters in Europe and North America and representatives in many countries all over the world- this year we welcomed the Philippines.

Whether we are reaching out to those in our own clubs, or reaching halfway across the world, personal involvement has always been fundamental to our Fellowship. Over the years we, petrol heads (Australian expression for ‘car nuts’), have grown to become a magnificent group of friends meeting each other on various occasions. Rallies/tours in Italy, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and in particular our Europe Tours have become ‘family festivals’. At those joint events and adjacent social gatherings the close knit car-family attitudes prevail over nationalities and languages and that adds to Rotary’s philosophy of close cooperation and communication at home and across borders, which is extremely important and valuable in today’s’ changing environments and tendencies.

This year some 50 vintage cars from various countries lined up on April 21 in Ascoli Piceno and crossed the regions of Tuscany, Marche, Umbria, Abruzzo and Lazio on their Coast-to-Coast tour to arrive in Orbetello on April 25. On our ways we highly appreciated ‘hidden’ roads and the magnificent hospitality of many a local Rotary Club.

On May 5 even 80 vintage cars from Germany and the Netherlands took course along six impressive (water)castles in Muensterland. This was the first oldtimer tour organized by RC Luedinghausen and its overwhelming result may induce a follow up next year.

From June 8-10 RRAF-Netherlands called us to join them and celebrate  ACHAFR 30^th Anniversary Tour. Participants from Germany, Italy, United Kingdom and the Netherlands enjoyed the fantastic scenery, drove to historical places and royal palaces and took some rest on antique sailing vessels while sailing in the IJsselmeer. At the jubilee dinner and in presence of the  District Governor we attached some thoughts and reflections on the history of our Fellowship and toasted on the success and future well- being of ACHAFR and its national chapters.

On June 9 we also had our Annual General Meeting (AGM), during which we took a criticall eye on the financial position of our Fellowship. Although the financial accounts show a negative result for the year 2017/18, it was decided not to increase the fees/contributions of the national chapters to our Fellowship, but  henceforth have a   levy € 25 per car on the annual ACHAFR Tour. Moreover, it has been decided to levy a donation  of € 25 per commercial message/advertisement on the website of ACHAFR.  Private messages/advertisements of members continue not to be charged.

In view of the costs involved attendants at the AGM asked the Board to evaluate the presence of ACHAFR at  Rotary International World Conventions and report correspondingly at next year’s AGM.

On June 10, the 30^th Anniversary Tour brought us to the Louwman Museum, home of one of the world’s largest collection of automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, carriages and other unique vehicles.

By offering us such a perfectly attuned program the organization team of RRAF Netherlands deserves our most sincere thanks- they kept us on challenging roads but also put us in the same boat !

Seph, Ronald, Peter, Dick and Kees  many, many thanks for an unforgettable 30^thAnniversary Tour !!

At this year’s RI World Convention in Toronto we have again been present with an own booth manned by the new Chairman in North America-Bob Reynolds- and his team. By doing so, his unstinted efforts has raised greater awareness of our Fellowship to visiting Rotarians and may create an expansion of members. Bob many thanks for your great unselfish support.

At midterm of the year the charity contributions of chapters ( some € 120 000,-)have already topped the entire 2017 result. This money is put back into communities through responsive programming. Thus, our Fellowship is very successful within Rotary- which may not be the case with other fellowships.

And some more tours are still to come, like the 2018 RRAF Tour de Normandie in September and ARACI Tour of Sicily and Malta in October as well as RRAF Netherlands Tour in October.

Members are invited to all tours of ACHAFR and national chapters by consulting our website www.achafr.eu.

Finally, can I now draw your attention to the ROFD/ Europe Tour 2019, organized by our German Chapter. This Tour will coincide with Rotary International World Convention in Hamburg, where our Fellowship will again be present with an own booth. It is planned to have the Tour taking place from May 30 – June 2, 2019 and to jointly visit the booth on June 1. Further information will be posted on our website as and when available.

The National Chapters and ACHAFR have yet been very active and successful and will continue to do so in 2018  – jointly we KEEP ROTARY ROLLING.

With finest personal regards                              

Matthijs van den Adel