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2005 Awards Ceremony Speech by 2006 President Keith Billouin
Good evening to my fellow Offroaders and to all present here this evening.
Let me start by congratulating Paul, the 2005 TTORC President for marshalling all his resources during the last year which, as we have heard was very successful. I will also like to extend my congratulations to all the members who participated in a number of different ways in the various club activities during the past year.
As we start on our own program for 2006, I along with the new executive, do so with the knowledge that TTORC as a group has had many successes over the years under the guidance of our very experienced and seasoned past Presidents.
As many of you know, being in a leadership position is often, to borrow an agricultural phrase, “A hard row to hoe”. But these are challenges we all must accept, once we accept any leadership position.
The new TTORC executive has set itself some very ambitious targets for the current year. Some of these targets follow on the excellent work done during the last year and previous years, but also have taken certain initiatives that are not so much “Revolutionary” as “Evolutionary”
During the current term, we have identified Training and Safety as critical aspects of off-roading and to this end, have undertaken theoretical and practical training sessions under the guidance of the Training and Safety officer, Mr. David Landreth-Smith. We have already covered “Winching and Recovery Techniques” and over the coming months, will be covering :
- “Off-Road Driving Finesse” (Water crossings / mud /rocks / steep down hills / hill climbs etc.) - 4x4 Vehicle modifications: Traction aids / suspension lifts / gearing etc.
David, along with the Asst. Training and Safety Officer, Mr.Raffick Mohammed, will also be completing the “Emergency Response Plan”, a project started in 2005.
The Events Manager, Gaufh Nandoo and the Asst. Events Manager, Sham Mahabir, have developed a program designed to encourage members new to off-roading and to challenge the more seasoned members who get that “Adrenaline Rush” from tackling the difficult and seemingly impossible.
TTORC is all about its members participating in activities that only people with questionable mental health can enjoy and my hope is that the club will be as successful in 2006 as it was in 2005.
I am confident that with the support and active participation of our members, we will achieve all that we have set out for ourselves during this current term.
I will also take this opportunity to extend thanks to Gary, Gaufh, Sham, Shivanand, David, Raffick, Sherlon, Deonarine, Sheldon, Lincoln, Sunita, Sally, Geoffrey, Vishal and Paul who were elected to the 2006 executive and to Peter and all the other members for their support so far.
This evening however is about recognizing the valiant for 2005, so I thank you as I surrender the podium to our esteemed “MC”
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