[Ian Pullen]

In answer to numerous queries I have had of late about what is actually happening next year at Corowa, I have decided to post this on this forum to:

a/. get the message out, and
b/. to ease the phone congestion at home. It has been getting a fair amount of usage some nights.

Although I originally declined the committee position John Hedges kindly offered, I have sent him an e-mail stating that I have reconsidered and would accept the position if re-offered. This is due to the fact that as I am getting involved anyway, I may as well go the whole hog.

For those who did not know, on 14 Oct Keith Adam, Alex McPherson, Jim Benny, Dave Mottram, Tim Scriven, Maureen Bell, Ben Hemmings, Hugh Thompson, myself and most of the members of the standing committee met to try and work out things for next year. Although the numbers were there to form a quorum, an actual committee meeting was deemed not necessary.

Two really positive results from this get-together were:

a/. a large increase in numbers of KVE members, and
b/. another meeting, including a committee meeting, was scheduled for Corowa again on 25 Nov. (If any interested parties are considering attending, it would be worth it.)

Before I go too far I need to clarify the question about tracked vehicles at the Van Park. After discussions with the committee at Corowa , I can say that LP Carriers ARE allowed in the Van Park. As many have said to me about the earlier carrier theme year being successful, I agree and I think that LP carriers should be no problem in that location.

The point that will upset some is that turreted AFV's, Semi Trailers and half tracks WILL NOT be allowed in there. I have discussed this with the owners of the park and they are in agreement. Gentlemen (and Ladies) this is a SAFETY issue, plus we have to be realistic about the damage that these vehicles will do to the grounds. The Van Park owners are not interested in their grounds being ploughed through and rightly so. If we wish to enjoy their hospitality for years to come, we need to be accepting of this.

The larger vehicles will be based at the Airfield and organised as per Keith Adam's original ideas, albeit I think that it will be under the KVE banner. With Keith's standing in the MV community, I am sure that attendance will be up to what we are hoping for; I asked Jan about attendance and she informed me that historically very few entries are received this early anyway. Anyway, when I had to leave that meeting the other Sunday, John and Keith were sitting at a table and planning to visit the Airfield and council the following morning.

Another point brought up was the swap meet and queries about liability insurance, start times and location. It was decided that the swap meet is to be held at the Airfield. I know that this will probably upset a few people, but it is a logical choice. John mentioned that KVE had insurance concerns ref the swap meet and wouldn't take it on, but after just a couple of phone calls, the local Rotary club have agreed to take it on; Jan was telling me that entry will be free but store holders will be charged a minimal fee of just $5.

After thinking about it, we agreed that it was a great idea as no one has to rush off after the photo shoot and Rotary will not open it until we nominate a start time. This should make some happy at least.

Another thing that will be very different from other years is that the vehicles at the Airfield will be required to make an organised, disciplined move from there to the Street Parade start point.

The actual street parade itself has also been broken into three distinct groups. Group 1 will be the big stuff, Group 2 the LP Carriers and Group 3 will be the remainder. There will be a few minutes break between groups to allow for traffic to flow again. This is something that we as enthusiasts will need to accept. There will be some big stuff on the road and again, we really don't want to piss off the locals. It is their town after all and we want to be welcomed back the next year. Alex McPherson has come up with some fantastic points in the organising of the street parade.

I hope that this eases the questions of some that have been ringing or contemplating ringing me. One thing I would like to point out to everyone who is about to ring (or reply) that have their knickers in a knot: all this is for NEXT YEAR ONLY - the year after, everything should be all back to normal.