January 2026

Hello Everyone.

It is a great honour for me to be elected as your new Chairman, and thanks to all of you who have offered your congratulations to me personally. I am very much looking forward to working with the club’s National Executive Committee over the next 5 years, and to meeting as many of you as I can during that time.

So, who am I? I have been a Club member for many years, and I was, until recently, the Director for the Southwest Centre, a post I have held for the last 17 years, so I know a bit about the Club and how it’s run. In my professional life, I was a Senior Manager for BT, retiring in 2007. I ran a team of 11 Managers and 120 staff, so have plenty of experience of managing people, a skill which I also think will be valuable in my new role. I stood down from the Centre Director’s role when I was asked by my fellow Directors if I would take over from John Keener, once his 5-year term ran out at the 2025 AGM. Was it a case of ‘willing volunteer’ or did I just fail to take the one step backwards with everyone else??

I had considered the position last time around when Tony Curran was elected, so perhaps that’s why the Directors suggested that this time, I should stand and that, as the longest serving Director on the Board, my nomination was obvious! Further lobbying by various Directors finally convinced me that I could add some value and do a good job for the Club as Chairman, and having the Board’s support going forward, was a key consideration in my accepting the nomination. Hopefully I can live up to their expectations and I will of course, try my best to do so.

Taking over from John is a huge task – these are very big shoes to fill as apart from a short time when Tony Curran was in the role, John has been the Chairman as long as I have been in the Club. Not only has he been a huge part of the Club, he’s also been a massive influence on me over my 17 years as a Director, and I hope I can live up to his standards during my own time as your Chairman. John’s expertise and experience isn’t being lost however, as one of my final acts as a Director was, together with my fellow Directors, to appoint John as one of the Club’s vice Presidents, alongside Peter Healey and Joe Cox… a decision that was my pleasure to make.

I come to the Chairmanship role at a time when the management of the Club is the most professional it’s ever been. We are lucky enough to have some of the best people in the non-executive positions that we’ve ever had, with Finance, Membership, Website, IT and Editorship all in a great place. This makes my new job fairly easy going forward, just keeping the ship on an even keel!

Am I different to John? We’ll see, but my personal vision of the Club is as a Social Club, with cars on the side. Let me explain… in my opinion, we are called the Austin Healey Club, and not The Austin Healey Owner’s Club for a reason. We have members who don’t own a Healey of any description, and yet they are active members of our Club. Why is that? I know several such members personally, and the answer is simple – they enjoy the company of their fellow members, and we all share an interest in Classic Cars that is not necessarily confined to Healeys. This friendly approach is very important for me, and I am keen to promote the social aspects of the Club going forward. In my opinion, this starts with the Noggin & Natter meetings which nowadays are usually supported by an associated WhatsApp group… communication being key. I think that a vibrant and active future for our Club depends on these meetings.

According to Revcounter, we currently have 33 Noggin & Natters across the country, and I think these reinforce the feeling of community within the Club, and lead to the organisation of local events outside of the regular pub night get togethers. However, we can, and we must do better than that, as there are many members who are not currently covered by these local meetings, and not just those in remote areas.

There’s no doubt that the best club experience is enjoyed by those who get involved, so I would encourage everyone to ask themselves if they could do something for the Club, like organising a Noggin & Natter in your part of the Country. We have lots of active members who currently run local meetings or organise events, and my thanks go out to you all. I look forward to continuing to work with, and support you, wherever I can in the future.

I find that where these active members exist, the Club experience among the wider membership is much more enjoyable and, to a degree, self-perpetuating. I have experience of this personally, whilst I was still the Director of the Southwest Centre. I had, for many years, tried to get some interest in starting a noggin in South Wales, but to no avail. That was until a new member, faced with the lack of any interaction with his fellow local members, decided to act. We now have a thriving noggin in that area, and it’s all down to him. He knows who he is, so thanks Ray.

It only takes one person to kick things off. It’s simple to do, and most importantly, we have the people and the technology to help and support you in setting one up, should you be motivated to take up my challenge. Look in Revcounter, or on the website to find your nearest Noggin & Natter… contact the organiser, and please attend. You will receive a warm welcome, I’m sure. If you have nothing within a reasonable distance, contact your Centre Director and ask for help – they will be pleased to hear from you, and they don’t bite!

Another question for you… Have you registered on the member’s area of the Club website? No! Why not? There are lots of great member benefits within, including the Member Map, which, if you enter your location, will allow you to see those members who are close to you. If there’s no Noggin nearby, why not contact your local members and set one up? Remember, it only takes one person to start the ball rolling, so please be that one person.

So, in conclusion, that’s my number one message, and challenge to you all, as I embark on my Chairmanship – Please ‘Get Involved!!’

I’m sure that I will have many other things to share with you over the forthcoming months and years about how the Club is doing, and my take on how you can help me to move it forward, but I firmly believe that if there is nothing to say, keep quiet, so with that in mind, I won’t be writing a piece for Revcounter every month as John has been good enough to do in the past. In my opinion, the Introduction in Revcounter is for the Editor to pen, and as such, I will only write a piece when there is something that I particularly want to share with you all.

Keep Overtaking nevertheless!

Regards and best wishes to you all.

Rob Hudson