Owner//Driver sits down with National Road Transport Hall of Fame chief executive Liz Martin to set the record straight, after a lengthy social media post filled with rumours continues to circulate
Owner//Driver ran a story in November last year, after managers at the Hall of Fame threatened to relocate to Broken Hill following a soft approach to crime from the Northern Territory Government.
It was estimated by Liz at the time that $100,000 worth of damage was inflicted over a two year period, and she claimed the government was doing little to nothing to curb the crime.
The latest rumours are found in a post on Facebook that has been popping up in one form or another for quite some time, as can be seen below.
Liz says it’s “just totally out of line and misinformed,” discrediting the many claims made throughout the post.
“There are a lot of outright lies and it’s a small group of people being negative,” she says.
“There are some personal issues there, and out of about 2,000 members Australia wide, it’s about 20 that are causing all the grief.
“These rumours hurt the Hall of Fame.”
Talk of trucks being taken from the Hall of Fame and relocated is false according to Liz, outlining to Owner//Driver that two trucks have recently left but they had finished their temporary loan tenure which happens routinely as the museum rotates vehicles.
The rumours come at a time when Liz is ready to retire, wanting to take a step back and hand off the day-to-day operations to a new chief executive.
She explains that gossip about her moving the Hall of Fame to another state would defeat the purpose of her retiring.
“I no longer want to do the work that I’ve been doing for twenty years there, so obviously I wont be taking it anywhere else,” Liz says.
“The hall of fame will only be done for if Alice Springs doesn’t stand up – I think someone will come forward for the role.”
Difficulties finding a replacement, Liz believes, are in part due to the constant misinformation surrounding the future of the organisation.
“I actually resigned about 18 months ago but we haven’t found someone to replace me.
“While these rumours are circulating, they wont find someone because of what’s being said.”
As for the Hall of Fame Reunion, it’s a go-ahead for 2019 and the bumper 2020 event is also set to rock Alice Springs.
“The Hall of Fame Reunion is going to happen and we have about 400 people booked in for 2019, and about 5,000 booked for 2020. But, 2020 is the big reunion and we expect those numbers to triple.
“That 2020 reunion will technically my last, but if i’m still fit and able i might give it a couple more years!”
Liz urges anyone suitable to take over the role to come forward and contact her, but says she’s still willing to put the reunion events together.
“If anyone is interested, contact me – we already have a job description and I have a good friend of mine who’s willing to go in for twelve months while we get a new crew in place.
“Im happy to go back and do the reunions in Alice Springs because I really enjoy doing it and enjoy the people.
“Whoever takes it on, my team is happy to do that, but the day-to-day operations need to be taken over – I am ready to retire,” Liz says.