AGM Minutes
These Minutes will remain unconfirmed until the 2017 AGM
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE THIRD AGE – KNUTSFORD AND DISTRICT BRANCH
Minutes of the Tenth Annual General Meeting: Thursday 12th May 2016, 14.15 – 14.45pm
1. Introduction
The Chair, Lynda Harris, welcomed the members to the Meeting and extended a warm welcome to visitors and the members of the Sandbach U3A Band.
Apologies for absence had been received from: Margaret Hinde, Adrian Dean, Evelyn Flett, Dianne Nott, Doreen Evans, Elizabeth Hosking, Margaret Ellis, Robert Watson & Margaret Joscelyne.
2. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 14th May 2015
Acceptance that these minutes are a true record of this meeting
Proposed by Christine Jones, Seconded by John Funnell and approved by the membership.
3. Matters Arising
Two committee members, Pauline Constantine and Ruth Funnell resigned from the Committee during the year due to personal circumstances.
4. Treasurer’s Report
John Funnell presented the accounts for the year ending 31st March 2016, for approval and proposed the election of Jeff Weltman as auditor.
The figures for 2016 were skewed by the income and expenditure for the 10th Anniversary Celebrations and increased training £1,155.00 (£1041.00 in 2014/2015)).
Increased expenditure totalled: £10,754.52 (£7224.56 in 2014/2015).
Overall income has increased because of increased membership and thanks were given to Veronica Gordon for her work as Membership Secretary: £11,680.17 (£9357.46 in 2014/2015). Increases in U3A HQ publication charges and Capitation Fees, again due to increased membership and is in line with 2015 figures.
The accumulated surplus: £12,087.36 (£11,407.71 in 2014/2015) was due to increased membership. Monies held in the Group Account were not subject to audit.
Thanks were given to David Denne for his work as Deputy Treasurer and condolences were extended to his widow Eileen Denne.
Approval of the accounts was proposed by Carole English and Seconded by Tim Donelly and agreed unanimously by the membership.
Election of Auditor: Jeff Weltman was proposed by Kevin Willett, Seconded by Jean Ellis and approved unanimously. Thanks were extended to Jeff Weltman for auditing the accounts and Robert Watson for preparing the slides for the presentation.
5. Election of Committee Members
The following members of the Committee are not due for re-election and are willing to continue to serve:
John Funnell, Veronica Gordon, and Patricia Pepper
Lynda Harris, Mavis Norden and Ann Taylor have resigned from the Committee
Christine Jones to be elected as a full committee member, having been seconded for the past year.
Election of Christine Jones
Proposer Tricia Pepper Seconder Lynda Harris
Election of New Committee Members:
Election of Barbara Brady
Proposer Margaret Cole Seconder Lynda Harris
Election of Margaret Wilford
Proposer Tessa Gurney Seconder Veronica Gordon
Election of Sue Allen
Proposer Irene Hardy Seconder Christine Jones
Election of Barbara Arnell
Proposer Carole English Seconder Lynda Harris
Election of Colette Ashworth
Proposer Barbara Brady Seconder Tricia Pepper
Election of Barry Ross
Proposer Barbara Brady Seconder Tricia Pepper
Election of Adrian Dean
Proposer Barbara Brady Seconder John Funnell
All were approved unanimously by the membership
6. Chair’s Report
The beginning of this year’s report is the same beginning as last year – namely the 10 year celebration of our U3A. At this point at the last AGM we were looking forward to the second half of our celebrations; the talk by Ernie Rae, which was brilliant, and the Tea which was enjoyed by all who attended. It is hard to believe that that was a year ago.
During the year we have increased our membership by 50 to 658 and the number of activity groups has increased by six; Canasta, Chinese, French to Get By, Spanish Beginners, Table Tennis, Walking Group 6 with a Sing for Pleasure group due to be launch officially in September bringing the total 55. All the new groups were instigated by members and they all received the usual support from the committee to get going. So if you have an idea please do not hesitate to suggest it!
As you all know, this meeting is my last official duty in our U3A. My aim as Chair was to maintain all the good things that already existed in our U3A and ensure I was leaving a flourishing organisation for my successor. At the turn of the year I was having severe doubts that I would achieve this because of the difficulty of finding new committee members. I would like you to think of the image of a skeleton – the Head is the committee with the Chair as the hair, the backbone is made up of all the coordinators and the activity groups are the limbs. At the beginning of the year the head was shrinking, the hair was falling out but the backbone stayed strong and came to the rescue. At the Coordinators’ Lunch and Training in March I set them the task of identifying new committee members from within their groups to prevent the real threat of our U3A having to close. They did just that and, with the election of seven new members today, there will be a full complement of 12. I cannot tell you just how relieved I am!
So the coordinators have earned an extra special vote of thanks from me this year for their dedication and hard work and, from amongst their number, I have to single out Margaret Hinde for Theatres and Carole English for Outings because they work so hard for the whole membership. The variety of the visits, theatre and music on offer is always impressive and so popular with our members.
My thanks also go to Robert Watson, David English, Geoff Dalton and Tony Roberts, for all things technical, including the website, but my particular thanks go to the Committee members, past and present, for their support and hard work over the last three years. I could not have done this job without all of you.
Lynda also thanked and made presentations to the departing Committee members.
The Committee members who are leaving are:
Ann Taylor – Ann joined in April 2013 and has been a constant source of support and ideas throughout and for ensuring that we have the provision of teas at these meetings. We thank Ann wish her and her husband all the best for the future.
Mavis Norden – Mavis joined the committee this time last year and her year in office certainly has been a busy one. She took on the role of Speakers’ Coordinator for these meeting and has certainly provided us with a variety. This is a time consuming job and we thank Mavis for her commitment.
Mavis and Ann were presented with tokens of our appreciation by Lynda
Lynda Harris – John Funnell presented Lynda with a bouquet of flowers and a gift token on behalf of the membership, in thanks and appreciation of her hard work as Chair and Editor of Kanuta.
David Denne – We also lost another member of the Committee as David Denne, our Deputy Treasurer, died in March. David joined the Committee as a co-opted member in July 2011 and was an active and valued member throughout that time. In October 2012 David became Deputy Treasurer with the responsibility for managing the considerable funds held for the activity groups, a role requiring meticulous organisation and record-keeping. David did this with great efficiency and patience, especially at the end of the financial year when his records had to be reconciled with those of the coordinators. He will be sorely missed. As a token our thanks we are giving Eileen Denne a cheque from the Knutsford U3A, for her to use in David’s memory.
When I took over this role in 2013 I did so with a lot of concerns because, as I said somewhere else, I was way outside my comfort zone but, with the help and support of so many people, including my ever supportive husband John, I have survived and am ready to retire again! It has been a privilege to serve as your Chair and I am confident that there is a team in place to take this U3A forward under the competent leadership of the new Chair Elect, Christine Jones.
7. Any Other Business
There being no other business, the meeting closed and Lynda Harris welcomed Christine Jones as Chair Elect to say a few words.
Christine thanked Lynda for her hard work as Chair. She advised the membership she had lived in Knutsford for many years and had joined Knutsford U3A six years ago. As a Committee Member she provided Activity Group support and is also the Coordinator of the Family History Group. Christine is looking forward to the challenges ahead and to meeting the various members of Knutsford U3A.
8. Date of next Annual General Meeting
Thursday 11th May 2017
Lynda then introduced the Sandbach U3A Band.