Honorary Life Members

The Club’s committee has the pleasurable power of awarding Honorary Life Membership to Club members who have made an outstanding, on-going contribution to the progress of the Club.

According to our Constitution, this highly-esteemed level of membership is offered only for exceptional service to the Club.

Up to 2014, eligibility was “available only where offered to a person for exceptional service to the Club spanning at least three years or having an effect that will (or has) benefited the Club for three years by, and at the absolute discretion of, the Committee voting unanimously in favour of doing so”.

In 2014, this was changed to be “available only where offered to a member, having at least 10 years of Club membership, during some of which they have performed a Club role and provided exceptional service by, and at the absolute discretion of, the Committee voting unanimously in favour of doing so”.

In 2020, this was further amended to be awarded for long-term service to the Club. A nominee must have:

previously received the Service Star
completed a minimum period of 10 years of membership
given Exceptional Service to the Club for a period in excess of seven years, by the application of extraordinary expertise, dedication and positive influence

During our history, life membership has been awarded to just 20 individuals:

Margaret Cemm
1990
Co-founder (MX-5 Club of Victoria Inc.)

Michael Cemm
1996
Co-founder (MX-5 Club of Victoria Inc.)

Foundation President 1990-1993 (MX-5 Club of Victoria Inc.)

David Henry
1996
Foundation member (1990)

President 1991-1995 (Mazda MX-5 Club of Victoria)

Murray Finlay
1997 Foundation member (1990)
Committee member 1991-1995, 1997-2016, 2018-2020, 2022->

President 2006-2012
Vice President 1997-2001, 2002-2006, 2012-2016
Secretary 1991-1995 (Mazda MX-5 Club of Victoria) / 2005-2006 (Mazda MX-5 Club of Victoria Inc.)
Club Champion 1993-1994, 2009-2010
Jinba Ittai award 2005-2006, 2013-2014, 2019-2020 (joint)

Ian Morris
2001
Committee member 1994-1999

President 1996-1999
Club Captain – Motorsport 1994-1996
NatMeet 2000 Chairman

David James
2002
Committee member 1996-2001, 2002-2003

President 1999-2001
Club Captain – Motorsport 1996-1998

Sue Ransom
2003
Responsible for the public launch of the Mazda MX-5 into Australia
Early driving force in setting up the Victorian and all other State Mazda MX-5 clubs, and the start of NatMeet

Coral Campbell
2003
Committee member 2000-2006, 2007-2022

Secretary 2000-2001
Merchandise Officer 2002-2004
Points Officer 2007-2018
President 2018-2021
Jinba Ittai award 1998-1999 (joint)

Will Campbell
2003
Committee member 2000-2022

President 2001-2004
Membership Officer Officer 2000-2001, 2004-2022
Points Officer 2018-2019
Jinba Ittai award 1998-1999 (joint)

Grant Butler
2008
Committee member 2003-2009

Secretary 2002-2005, 2009
Club Captain – Social 2005-2006
Assistant Club Captain – Social 2008
NatMeet 2008 Chairman
Eastern Victoria Chapter Captain 2011-2012

Sam Gumina
2008
Committee member 2006-2008

Club Captain – Motor Sport 2006-2008
Assistant Club Captain – Motor Sport 2008-2009, 2010-2011
Club Motor Sport Champion 2003-2004, 2004-2005, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009

Mike Quist
2010
As National Public Relations Manager for Mazda Australia from 1979 to 2001, Mike was in charge of the national public launch of the Mazda MX-5 in 1989. Right from his first sighting of the exciting new roadster in Japan earlier that year, he promised the legendary Toshihiko Harai that he would have an MX-5 club in every Australian state, and set this as a central goal of his launch program. It is fitting, in marking the 20th anniversary of our Club, that we honour Mike Quist with Life Membership.

[Deceased 2 June 2011]

Ken Beaton
2014
15-year member
Inaugural Chapter Captain for Northern Tasmania Chapter 2008-2013

[Deceased 9 January 2024]

Peter Dannock
2021
13-year member
Club Committee 2009-2023 (part)

Club President 2015 (part)-2018, 2021-2022
Club Secretary 2010-2015
Club Permit Scheme Officer 2014->
Assistant Club Captain – Social 2019-2020
Club Captain – Social 2020-2021
Club Treasurer 2019-2021
Club Motorsport Champion 2015
Jinba Ittai award 2019-2020 (joint)

Alyssa Finlay
2021
27-year member
Club Committee 2009-2010
Driving force behind Club’s branding and image for more than 25 years
Designer of:

the Club’s “country road” logo (unofficial 5-year pin and Club/Chapter banners);
the 15-, 20- 25- and 30-year Club logos;
FanFest pin (2017);
Victorian NatMeet logos for 2000, 2008 and 2016;
numerous incarnations of the Club’s website and the design of the Club’s magazine, mxtra, as well as many other Club design projects.

Bruce Gray
2021
13-year member
Club Committee 2013->

Merchandise Officer 2013-2017
Club Secretary 2016-2022
Website Administrator 2018-
Jinba Ittai award 2018-2019, 2020-2021
Member of NatMeet 2016 (Launceston) organising committee
Awarded Service Star 2021

Cary Warren
2022
10-year member
Club Committee 2012->

Club Captain – Social 2013-2016
Merchandise Officer 2016->
Social Media Officer 2017->
Vice President 2021
President 2022->
Awarded Service Star 2021

Russell Garner
2022
13-year member
Club Motorsport Champion 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2014-2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
Motorsport Rookie of the Year 2009-2010
Motorsport Captain’s Award 2013-2014
Sportsmanship Award 2016
Class championships: Modified 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013; Super Modified 2013-2014, 2014-2015, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018; NA/NB Modified 2019
Club Compliance Officer 2013->
Awarded Service Star 2022

Randy Stagno Navarra
2022
Joined Club 1999, then re-joined 2003 (after time overseas)
Club Committee 2014->

Assistant Club Captain – Motorsport 2014-2016
Club Captain – Motorsport 2016-2018
Vice President 2018-2021
Club Motorsport Champion 2013-2014
Class Championships: Restricted Open Champion 2009-2010, 2010-2011; ND/NC Modified Champion 2018; Standard NC Champion 2008-2009, 2011-2012, 2013-2014; Standard ND Champion 2017
Motorsport Rookie of the Year 2005-2006
Awarded Service Star 2022

David Collins
2022
Joined Club in October 2010
Club Committee 2011-2022

Club Captain – Social 2012-2013
Club Treasurer 2013-2019
2019-2022 Points Officer
NatMeet XII (2016) Committee Chairman
Club Champion 2012-2013
Jinba Ittai award 2015-2016
Awarded Service Star 2021

Peter Ferguson
2023
Joined Club in July 2011 (member for 13 years).

Chapter Captain (Eastern Victoria Chapter) 2015-2021 (six years)
Established and managed of the Club Khanacross Championship at Gippsland Car Club 2021-2023 (three years to-date)
Exceptional ongoing support for the Eastern Victoria Chapter, and for the Club as a whole, before, during and after his official role as Chapter Captain
Jinba Ittai Award 2017-2018
3 x “Mike Quist Award” for Club Champion 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021
2 x Eastern Victoria Chapter Champion 2014-2015, 2021-2022 (either side of his Captaincy)
Service Star 2021
a record 6 x mxtra Awards 2015-2016, then five consecutively: 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021, 2021-2022

John Gleeson
2023
Joined Club in April 2008 (member for 15 years).

inaugural Chapter Captain (Western Victoria Chapter) 2009-2014 (five years)
In Appreciation award 2009-1010
Chapter Co-Captain from 2022
Committee Member 2023-2024
Exceptional ongoing support for the Western Victoria Chapter, and for the Club as a whole throughout his membership
While never seeking personal recognition, John and Noellene’s personal warmth and humour have developed the Western Victoria Chapter into the close-knit group it is today

Noellene Gleeson
2023
Joined Club in April 2008 (member for 15 years).

inaugural Assistant Chapter Captain (Western Victoria Chapter) 2009-2014 (five years)
In Appreciation award 2009-1010
Western Victoria Chapter Champion 2011-2013, 2013-2014
Chapter Co-Captain from 2022
Committee Member 2023-2024
Wonderful ongoing support for mxtra over many years
Exceptional ongoing support for the Western Victoria Chapter, and for the Club as a whole throughout her membership
While never seeking personal recognition, John and Noellene’s personal warmth and humour have developed the Western Victoria Chapter into the close-knit group it is today

John Waldock
2023
Joined Club in July 2008 (member for 15 years).

Chapter Co-Captain (Southern Tasmania Chapter) 2009-2012 (three years)
Chapter Captain (Southern Tasmania Chapter) 2012 to present (11 years)
Southern Tasmania Chapter Champion 2010-2011, 2011-2012
•mxtra Award 2010-2011
Exceptional ongoing support for the Southern Tasmania Chapter throughout his membership