Annual General Meeting 2022
Minutes of 9th Annual General Meeting of Edenbridge u3a held at Crockham Hill Village Hall on Wednesday 27 July 2022 at 14.00 hours
The Chairman welcomed members – the first one for two years that was held in the hall where members could attend and take part - 47 members were counted in attendance. Apologies were received from Colin Fairman, Brian and Lynn Swift.
1. Approval of the 5th Annual General Meeting Minutes
The minutes of the previous AGM in 2021 had been circulated and a vote was taken to acknowledge and accept those minutes – unanimous.
2. Chairman’s Report
As we all know covid has dramatically changed all of our lives over the last two years. This last year was dramatically affected by the new covid variants that came on the scene in the Autumn of 2021. Just when we were all looking forward to getting our meetings and group activities back to into a regular pattern infections rose dramatically. Out of 11 possible meetings this year we have only managed 8 with a guest speaker. We sincerely hope that the next year will really see a return to normal with both our monthly speakers and our group activities. I do understand that many of you have been reluctant to get fully involved but, with the prospect of another booster jab in the Autumn we, the committee, will be keen to get a full programme in place for the next year.
Building back our membership will be a key target for next year. You can all play your part in this by paying your subs promptly this year. We have managed to keep our subs at the same rate and aim to have 11 guest speaker meetings, from September through to July 2023.
This year we are losing two of our committee members. Lynne Joyner who has been minuting secretary has been hampered with a serious injury and wishes to stand down. Lynn Swift who has been our new members secretary since the creation of Edenbridge u3a is standing down. Also our IT expert, Sue Farrell, has indicated that this will be her last year on committee. So an appeal to you once again – we always need new blood on our committee. We have vacancies for the following – minuting secretary, vice chairman and a person to work alongside Sue to take on the role of managing the website and sending out newsletters etc.
So that is where we are in July 2022 – your committee needs you!
3. Treasurer’s Report and Approval of Accounts for 2021/2022
The Treasurer’s Report had been posted on the website and the Treasurer had paper copies with him in the hall. Overall the finances were in a very healthy situation. There were no questions raised from the floor. Approval was sought to approve the accounts – proposed by Mike Collins, seconded by Anne Bellamy. Vote in favour unanimous.
Financial Adviser – It was proposed that Joanna Unsworth continue as our official financial adviser. Proposed by Peter Welch seconded by Estelle Barling. Those in favour - unanimous.
4. Appointment of Chairman for 2022/23
The Treasurer took control of the meeting and announced that Mike Collins had been proposed to continue as Chairman. This was proposed by Bob Hart and seconded by Jenny Chettle. Vote was unanimous.
4. Nominations for Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Minutes Secretary
The Chairman took control of the meeting again. There were no nominations for the post of Vice Chairman.
Treasurer and Membership Secretary- it was proposed that these two appointments could be dealt with as one. Chairman proposed that Peter Welch be proposed for the post of Treasurer and Estelle Barling for the post of membership secretary. Seconded by Anne Bellamy. Vote was unanimous It was put forward that the following proposals received for the remaining committee members be dealt with by one group vote:
Colin Fairman – Business Secretary
Susan Farrell – Website manager
Maggie Buckingham – New Members Secretary
Maureen Young – Guest Speaker organiser.
Brian Swift – Group Organiser
Proposed by Peter Welch seconded by Mike Collins. Voted by a show of hands - unanimous.
5. Annual Subscription Rates for 2022/2023
The committee have recommended that the annual subscriptions remain the same for 2022/2023 – that is £20 per single member, £35 for a couple plus £16.50 for anyone who is a member of another local u3a. Proposed by Mike Collins, seconded by Peter Welch. Vote to accept was unanimous
6. Any other business
There was no further business and the Chairman brought the meeting to a close and ended by wishing all those present a good Summer break and looked forward to a full year starting with the speaker meeting on the last Wednesday in September.