MINUTES of the twelfth Annual General Meeting held at Whiteley Village Hall, Walton-on-Thames TK12 4EH at 10.00 am on Wednesday 14th September 2011

Present: 159 members and Peter Lawrence (lecturer).

1.         Apologies for absence and welcome to members
In welcoming members to the eleventh Annual General Meeting of Weybridge Group DFAS, Hugh Walker, Chairman of the Society, recorded that apologies for absence had been received from 12 members. He went on to explain why the committee had circulated the papers by electronic means where possible, pointing out the saving of money and committee members’ time, whilst ensuring that every member could have access to hard copy if they preferred.

2.         Minutes of the eleventh Annual General Meeting
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 8th September 2010 having been made available to all members, Yvonne Walker proposed, and Lyane Gandy seconded, and the members present voted unanimously by a show of hands that they be approved.

3.         Committee Report
Hugh Walker presented the Committee Report which had been made available to all members.
He said that the last year had been successful and enjoyable. He said that most lecturers used digital material, and he thanked Stephen Gillam-Smith for operating and setting this up.
He expressed thanks to the Warden of Whiteley Village and his staff for use of the hall and their co-operation generally. He thanked all members who helped with the car parking and with all the other duties without which the Society would not be successful.
Approval of the Committee Report was requested; John Mitchelmore proposed, and Raymond Spary seconded, and the members present unanimously voted by a show of hands that the Committee Report be approved.

4.         Accounts for the year to 30th June 2011

Margaret Waghorn, Treasurer, presented the accounts which had been made available to all members. She said that the Society was in a good financial state.  The Gift Aid Administration Fee appeared to have doubled but this was because two years fees had been received in the year. The equipment reserve had been exhausted and it would be necessary to start rebuilding this out of future registration fees. She made reference to the surplus on visits. The intention was to break even on these, but it was not always easy to ensure that this happened. Approval of the accounts was requested; Clare Mitchelmore proposed, Sue Reay-Smith seconded, and the members present by show of hands unanimously voted that the accounts be approved.

5.         Replacement of Constitution
Stephen Hayes introduced this item by saying that the Society’s constitution had been unchanged for many years. Although it was relatively brief, and this was to be applauded, NADFAS had nationally made improvements from time to time and it was proposed to update the WDFAS constitution to one based on the latest NADFAS model. A copy of the proposed constitution had been made available to members.
There were two changes from the model: firstly, the committee believed that the maximum number of consecutive years anyone could serve on the committee should be limited to six; secondly, the committee wished to have the flexibility to circulate papers by email (as had been done for this meeting) with suitable provision for those who required paper copies.
Gillian Williams said that she did not agree with two elements, the first of which had been present in the original constitution: firstly, members of WDFAS should not be permitted to be or become members of another NADFAS Society; secondly, visitors should not be allowed at lectures.
Stephen Hayes explained the reasons behind these not being included in the proposals, and said that it was difficult to respond definitively as the committee had not had an opportunity to discuss these points as they had had little notice.

He said that the committee would further consider these points, and, if appropriate bring amendments to a future AGM. Approval of the proposal was requested. Trevor Tarring proposed and Mike Moore seconded and members present by show of hands approved the revised constitution, with three members voting against.

6.         Election of officers and committee members
Four members submitted nomination papers to serve as officers on the committee for the ensuing year. Following his retirement as chairman, Hugh Walker thanked the committee for their support and said that it had been an honour and pleasure to serve, and wished the Society and the committee all the best for the future. He had pleasure in proposing Stephen Hayes, who had submitted his nomination paper, to serve as Chairman and Ruth Heywood seconded. Stephen Hayes was unanimously elected by a show of hands of the members present.
Stephen Hayes then took the chair of the meeting and thanked Hugh Walker for his work for the Society over the last 7 years, first as Treasurer and then as Chairman. He presented Hugh with a small gift as a token of the committee’s thanks. He also paid tribute to Marjorie Tarring who had retired, having been programme secretary and vice- chairman for the last four years. He then introduced himself to the meeting, and then introduced in turn the officers and committee members standing for election, asking each of them to stand and be identified.

Three other members had submitted nomination papers to serve as officers on the committee for the ensuing year, and these were individually proposed, seconded and unanimously elected by a show of hands of the members present.
Officers:

           
Stephen Hayes continued with the election of committee members. Four members submitted nomination papers to serve on the committee for the coming year and were proposed, seconded and unanimously elected en bloc by a show of hands of the members present.
Committee Members:                 

                       
7.         Financial examiner
Stephen Hayes said that Michael Rothera had kindly undertaken the role of financial examiner. Rick Gardner proposed, and Richard Manthorpe seconded and the members present voted unanimously by a show of hands that he be appointed financial examiner of the annual accounts for the ensuing year.
8.         Next AGM
Before closing the meeting, Stephen Hayes told members the next annual general meeting would be held on 12th September 2012.