Garn attacks RHA 'jolly club'
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• A leading delegate at the Road Haulage Association's annual conference, held in Portugal this year, has slammed the event as a "jolly transport manager's club" with little opportunity for real debate.
Charles Garn of Spaldingbased Machins Transport, who described himself as a 32-yearold "young generation" operator with his sights on becoming RHA chairman, said the 92 hauliers who attended the Estoril conference last week was a "pretty damn poor" reflection of the 9,000-strong membership.
Grassroots enthusiasm was lacking, he claimed. The conference, to be held next year in Orlando, Florida, should not be a subsidised holiday. "The RHA shouldn't be about this. It won't take us to 1992. There should be a session where we can debate and approve a fiveyear plan," he said.
Garn, who is managing director of his father's firm, sits on Eastern and Ipswich RHA committees. He said he did not blame the national ex ecutive, but the membership, for its apathy.
He vowed that, although his views might be unpopular with RHA leaders, he would "not go away" and would eventually become RHA chairman.
He said speakers Peter Bottomley and CBI director John Banharn had belittled delegates by accusing them of being "rascals" and of "falling asleep" during presentations.
Although several delegates congratulated Garn on speaking out in the open forum session on the last day of the conference, his views were not universally popular.
Former RHA chairman John Wells said attendance was up, content more interesting and attention of delegates "hundreds of per cent better" than when conferences were held in the UK.
Retiring director-general Freddie Plaskett said it was up to members to get together and put their views to subdistricts and executive board. "Maybe the format should be changed," he said. Since the days of the UK conferences the age profile of delegates had lowered considerably. "The association should not be run by greybeards like me, but by active managers in their thirties and forties," he said.
Geoff Pygall of BRS said discussions with other hauliers round the pool or in the bar were just as important as talks in the conference room. RHA vice-chairman Barry Hempsall said that though the conference was a "shop window" for the RHA, he wanted it to be fun.
Past chairman Glyn Sainuels blamed members for poor communication. When he was in office few came to local meetings. "If you don't support these, how can you complain when it is one-sided from above?" he asked.
Trevor Ellis of Ellis Haulage said the RHA had to "pull itself out of apathy".
D See page 10 for full report.