Diesel and business car journalist John Kendall has been elected chairman of the Western Group of Motoring Writers.
John lives near Bath and briefly held the group chairmanship 2004 to 2005, and he has also been chairman of the Guild of Motoring Writers 2006 & 2007.
He succeeds acting chairman Reg Burnard and John will be supported by another former group chairman, Robin Roberts, who again takes up the position of vice-chairman.
Secretary Glen Smale and treasurer Ross Durkin volunteered to continue their duties for a further 12 months.
The WGMW AGM was hosted by their “home” car company, Mitsubishi Motors, at their Cirencester HQ, where MD Lance Bradley gave the members details of new models due in the next 12 months or so and their increasing hybrid range.
Accepting the chairmanship, John, thanked Lance Bradley as well as PR manager Vanessa Nalder and press officer Shona Smith. He also said he appreciated the work done since the summer by Reg Burnard, who was formerly vice-chairman.
John continued the technology theme and said he hoped the group would be able to build on its development of social media over the next few years.
The meeting was told that there have been six resignations this year: former chairman Ian Adcock; Charlotte Blight; Julian Mackie; Zog Ziegler; Simon Hacker and Steve Belasco.
The ordinary meeting of the group immediately before the AGM approved the membership application from website editor Melanie Carter, who lives near Exeter, and there are now 22 members in the group.
Further membership applications are expected from motoring journalists who have moved into the group’s South Wales and West Country region.
nce again, the Western Group has decided to make sizeable donations to Womac, the Guild of Motoring Writers’ benevolent fund and for the first time it will also support a local charity, the National Star College at Ullenwood, Cheltenham which assists disabled young people. It’s giving £500 to the college and £1,000 to each of the others, taking its rolling total charity gifts to £17,500.
