Monson Collects at Motorcycle Dinner

monson flag

 

MONSON COLLECTS AT MOTOR CYCLR DINNER

Mildura’s best performed Sidecar rider, Warren Monson, has collected the Club’s major award and the Sidecar aggregate Trophy at the recent Mildura Motor Cycle Club’s 68th Annual Dinner and Presentation night held at the Coomealla Golf Club, where a splendid meal was enjoyed by members, guests and sponsors.

Monson and passenger, Matt Morgan, from Adelaide, won the Club’s Teague Trophy for Sidecar competition within the Club and then were judged to be, not only the best performed Sidecar team, but were awarded the prestigious Winton Shield for Competition excellence for taking second place in both the Victorian Championship at Mildura and then taking second place in the 2015 Australian Sidecar Title held at Alice Springs over the Easter weekend. Sadly for Monson the Australian Title was the last meeting together for he and Morgan, as Morgan intends to shift to Queensland prior to the start of the new season. Monson was not able to be present to collect his awards as he was on duty with the Phil Tainton Racing, Australian Superbike team at Eastern Creek, Sydney on that weekend.

Other trophy winners were regular Sidecar rider, Byron Gates, who won the Competition Clubman, Rigby Trophy, which this years was presents by the late Ben Rigby’s two granddaughters, Hannah and Rebecca Holmes.

The Speedway Solo aggregate was won by Justin Sedgmen, who was on duty in Italy on the night as a reserve rider for the 2016 Grand Prix challenge meeting at Lonigo. Sedgmen’s award was collected by previous winner, Cam Woodward, who is still recovering from a broken femur, sustained in Poland about a year ago. Woodward’s leg is repairing very slowly it is only due to his injury that he was able to be present at his very first MMCC Annual Dinner. He was delighted to accept the Nemstas Trophy on behalf of Justin, on the night.

 All of the Mildura riders who have ridden speedway professionally in Europe over the last forty years have never been able to attend the Annual Dinner unless they were out of action due to a long term injury.

Bob Latta took the Dirt Karters aggregate after another consistent season at oval racing both at Olympic Park and Interstate.

The “Best Clubman”, Gaulke Trophy, was won by youngster Nathan Cock, who has made a constant and valuable contribution to many aspects of the Club’s activities. Cock has only been a member for a few seasons and his work has been important to the Club, especially with Nathan contributing, along with hundreds of others in the recent and now ongoing Track refurbishment at Olympic Park. The Gaulke Trophy was presented by Life and Foundation member, Max Robinson, who is now in his nineties.

The presentation of the Winton Shield, for Competition excellence was presented by Life and Foundation member, Jerry Cornell, who also announced to the membership his pleasure that the Foundation Club President, the late George Winton has been permanently honoured by the small road which connects Eleventh Street West to the Motorcycle Clubrooms has now been officially named, “Winton Drive”. This is a great accolade for George’s remaining family members, who attended the official naming ceremony.

Club President, Gavin Sedgmen also made special mention and presented Club momentos to Hannah Goldsmith and Tyler Milner for their special efforts in organizing the Arena Motorcross, King of the Murray, Easter event, as well as organizing all of the Arenacross practice sessions which are held every fortnight for club members at the Olympic Park Arenacross facility.

Further presentations were made to John “Spud” Wrate and Peter Blaby, who have been stalwart contributors to the speedway upgrade and in recent times have been making special

preparation for the recent “sealing” of the new Pit area and making ready the sites for more grandstands to be brought into the Club’s speedway track in readiness for the FIM Team Speedway Under 21 World Championship – Final, which will be held in Mildura on 31st October this year.

Further accolades remained for three special members of the Club when Bernice Macleod, Jenny Gledhill and Jack McCarthy were all inducted as Life Members of the Mildura Motor Cycle Club.

All three have contributed to the good of the Club in different ways, with each of them being popular choices for their Life Memberships.

Bernice has had a long period of time in administration and Pit security as well as being involved in many Club activities while Jenny has been a long serving speedway Timekeeper as well as undertaking Race Secretary duties over many years. Jenny has often being complimented by visiting Officials for the thorough and excellent presentation of the Official paperwork associated with every meeting.

Jack McCarthy, since the early 1980’s, when Incorporation law required every Incorporated Club to have a listed “Public Officer” who’s role it was to ensure that all legal and official requirements of the law were attended to be each Club by someone who could be a member, but who could not be involved as a member of the Club executive. Recently, the legislation requiring a Public Officer has been revoked, leaving Jack as the only ever, Public Officer for the Club. Tribute was paid to Jack for his great diligence, study and operations as a required representative of the Club, making him a worthy Life member along with the two women.

The addition of Bernice and Jenny to the Life members list now sees some unique corollaries amongst the Life members, with there now being five husband and wife combinations as Life Members with the Gates’, John and Sue, The Hawsons, Rolly and Glynis along with the Byrons, Ron and Ruth and now Bernice and Ken Macleod and Jenny and Brendon Gledhill.

The addition of the three new Life members takes the number to fifty-four Life Members, who have been elected in the sixty-eight years of the Club’s history.

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