Message by the President, in Highway (July/Aug 2008)

Dear AA members,

The recently ended AA mega event for 2008, Wheels-n-Reels treasure hunt-on wheels and Drive-in movie was a resounding success. For this, I wish to thank all our sponsors and partners for making our mega event possible, and our participants for the enthusiasm and the adventurous spirit to partake in our motoring challenge.

As part of AA’s efforts to be more involved in our community and help the underprivileged children and families, we are working with Club Rainbow, AA’s adopted charity for 2008 and 2009 for a Food Donation Drive. We welcome all members who wish to contribute essential food items like milk powder, rice and canned food to email to aasmail@aas.com.sg before 17 September 2008. At the end of September, AA staff volunteers will get together to deliver the collected food items to the Club Rainbow beneficiaries. Read more about the chronic illnesses suffered by the children of Club Rainbow. Your contributions, no matter how big or small, will go a long way to helping these needy families.

It gives me great pleasure to welcome Mr Chia Ho Choon as a newly co-opted member to the AA General Committee. A lawyer by profession, I’m sure Ho Choon will provide the Committee with invaluable insights and guidance. The Association is working with educational institutes to launch a new membership category to cater to the growing number of younger drivers who are tertiary students. This youth membership scheme will be launched in the fourth quarter of 2008, and aims to offer our new generation of drivers AA’s motoring services at an affordable rate, and a host of vibrant membership benefits. Stay tuned to Highway magazine for more information.

The Association led a total of 28 cars in a landmark Auto-VentureTM driving holiday to Thailand and back. All 65 participants travelled a total of 4,800km – a sizeable accomplishment for many Singaporeans! According to the feedback received from our participants, some of the reasons they choose to join AA’s driving holidays are: AA’s reputation for organising well-planned and fun-filled holidays, the pre-trip car inspection, pre-trip briefing and insurance coverage, as well as the assurance that they are well-taken care of by AA officials and mechanics throughout the journey. As more and more Singapore drivers look to more adventurous driving holidays and further destinations, we are widening our itineraries to cater to this rising demand. Our fly-drive holiday to New Zealand is now open for booking. If you have yet to plan your year-end holiday, turn to page 22 and book soon!

As we step forth into September, which is also the month when the first night race in Formula 1 history will be held in Singapore, we hope you enjoy reading the special Formula 1 feature and survival guide in this issue of Highway.

Enjoy the F1 fever, but remember to keep within the speed limits and drive safely.

Bernard Tay
President