Arun Adur Ramblers
Annual General Meeting 2020
Held via Zoom platform on Saturday November 14th at 14.30
Committee members present
Mike Charman Chair
Nigel Paris Treasurer and Webmaster
Kate Melville-Brown Walks Organiser
Lesley Johnson Membership Secretary
Neil Clark Secretary and Publicity
The post of Social Secretary was vacant at the time of the AGM.
Members attending
Martin McKay, Martin Oborne, Rosemary and Michael Prior, Erica Biggs, Christine Cummins, Claire Phillips
Agenda
Apologies for Absence
Jocelyn Clasby, Antonia Shepherd, Margaret Lawrence
- Confirmation of the minutes of the last Annual General Meeting held on 23 November 2019
These were agreed as a true record of proceedings.
- Matters arising
There were no Matters Arising from the minutes.
- Chair’s Annual Report
The full text of the Chair’s report had been published on the website prior to the AGM. It is reproduced at Appendix 1 for the convenience of readers.
Mike spoke briefly about the upheavals caused by Covid 19 and paid tribute to Kate and to walk leaders who had organised a very full programme of walks between the two lockdowns. All our social activities have had to be cancelled, including the Christmas lunch. He hopes that walks might be permitted to resume in December, and the new committee will meet early in the month to review the situation in the light of further government announcements.
He reminded us that the 40th anniversary of the group’s formation should have been celebrated this year at the AGM. Tea and cake are not easy via Zoom!
- Treasurer’s Report and adoption of the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2020
Nigel published his Report and a breakdown of income and expenditure on the website on October 19th. The report can be found at Appendix B. The group’s finances mirror the circumstances described by the Chair; reduced expenditure, a curtailment of activity on the Social account and a healthy bank balance.The accounts have been independently verified by Mrs D Fearey.
The motion to approve the accounts was proposed by Erica Biggs, seconded by Christine Cummins and unanimously carried.
- Resolution to amend Section 6 (iii) of the constitution (see below after AOB.
Mike reminded us that there is no quorum for the AGM identified in the constitution so there is no problem arising from the necessarily reduced attendance at this meeting.
The existing quorum restrictions on committee members were drawn up when there were as many as nine serving members. With just five officers presently serving, it is considered to be pragmatic to amend the constitution as described below.
The proposal to amend was passed unanimously.
- Election of Committee
Four members of the committee are willing to serve again in their present capacities. All have been proposed and seconded and their nominations were passed unanimously en bloc. ( See below for details) Nigel gave an early indication of his intention to stand down as Treasurer and Webmaster, leaving these two positions to be filled.
Matin Oborne was proposed for the post of Treasurer by Erica Biggs and seconded by Chris Cummins. He was elected nem con.
A proposal to make him a signatory to our account and remove Nigel’s name was also passed. See resolution at Appendix B for full wording.
Erica Biggs had expressed her willingness to join the committee and serve as Webmaster; she was proposed by Chris Cummins and seconded by Jean Wooding. She too was elected nem con.
Mike wished formally to recognise the huge contribution made by Nigel to the efficient running of Arun-Adur, drawing particular attention to his development of the website. A token of our appreciation will arrive shortly in his mailbox!
All nominations for committee membership had been received by the Secretary prior to this meeting.
Chair: Mike Charman, proposed by Hazel Charman and seconded by Chris Cummins
Secretary: Neil Clark, proposed by Martin McKay and seconded by Erica Biggs.
Membership Secretary: Lesley Johnson, proposed by Chris Cummins and seconded by Sue Buchanan.
Walks organiser: Kate Melville-Brown, proposed by Chris Cummins and seconded by Claire Phillips.
- Any Other Business
There were no further comments or queries from those attending. Mike informed everyone that the newly elected committee would convene, via Zoom, on December 2nd.
The Meeting closed at 14.55.
Date of AGM 2021 November 13th at Ferring Village Hall.
Resolution to amend the constitution
Clause 6 (iii) of the Constitution states that 5 (committee) members shall form a quorum
and Clause 6 (viii) states that at any meeting of the Committee, each member present shall have a single vote and a simple majority shall decide any issue on which a vote is necessary. In the event of an equality of votes, the chairman of the meeting shall have a casting vote.
With the difficulty of finding members who are willing to serve on the committee it is becoming difficult to hold quorate committee meetings. The committee proposes that in order to manage the affairs of the Group that Clause 6 (iii) of the constitution be amended to read '3 members shall form a quorum, of which two must hold the office of Chair, Treasurer or Secretary.'
Clause 14 (i) of the constitution requires that this amendment is approved by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting at the General Meeting, and is then subject to approval by the Area governing body.
Appendix A
Chair's Annual Report 2019 / 2020
Chairman’s Annual Report
We kicked off the current year thinking it would be a normal programme of walks and social events. We had not found a Social Secretary so at our first meeting we agreed that each committee member would take responsibility for an individual event and draft in help from other Group members where possible. We were lucky that Christine Cummins, the retiring Social Secretary, agreed to continue managing the Festive Lunch at the Arun View and a successful and enjoyable day was had by those who attended – thank you, Chris. More social functions were considered and allocated to volunteers including skittles, coach trips and the walking week/weekend.
Kate Melville-Brown had taken on the Walks Organiser role and early in the New Year had put together a varied and interesting programme from end of March until the end of September with help of course from her merry band of walk leaders – thank you all. However, we never were able to start this programme as in early March we were hit by Covid-19 lockdown. Instantly all activities, both walking and social, were banned overnight and it was left for members to decide for themselves how and where they took their exercise.
Gradually, and thankfully after a period of excellent weather which I am convinced helped many get through lockdown, the situation eased and individual footpath activities were able to start again and Group led walks with up to 6 people were allowed. We took the decision at that stage that we would not re-start the original programme as the low numbers allowed would put too much pressure on leaders to manage. We were then allowed group walks with up to 30 walkers at which stage we asked leaders to put walks into a rolling programme and allowed them to decide the numbers limit between 10 and 30 walkers. We are currently still allowed to operate under these rules and plan to continue with the booking system etc. until either we are stopped from walking again or the restrictions are lifted completely. My thanks to those making the system operate and to all of you for your continued acceptance of the situation.
Regrettably we currently still cannot run any social events but rest assured we will re-instate them as soon as we are allowed.
It certainly has not been the year I had expected but I am just glad to report that to date and to the best of my knowledge no members have succumbed to the virus and I hope and pray that this will continue to be the case.
With due notice Nigel Paris informed us that he had decided to stand down as treasurer and webmaster after 3 years in post and I would take this chance to thank him for all his efforts. At time of writing we have hopes that replacements will be found for both roles but if you feel you can find the time to help the Group by joining the committee please let me know. I would also take this chance to thank the rest of the committee for all their hard work during this difficult year. Those of you who attended the 2019 AGM may remember that I put myself forward for the post of Chairman with some reluctance and with the caveat that I would serve for a maximum of 2 years - that is still my intention and I shall be renewing my search for a successor as soon as this year’s AGM is over.
Mike Charman
Appendix B
Treasurer's Report 2019 to 2020
Arun-Adur Group – Treasurer’s Report - Financial Summary 2019 – 2020
The impact of Covid-19 and the cancellation of much of the summer walks programme resulted in reduced expenditure on the main account, and curtailed activities on the social account.
Main Account
Expenditure in the year related to the following areas:
- Cost of holding the 2019 AGM and audit of the 2019 accounts - £90.90
- Admin expenses, postage, stationery and meeting costs - £67.07
- Cost of the walker registration programme for the website - £26.25
- Recce expense reimbursement for walks leaders, including the mince pie walk - £330.00
Total £514.22
Income from Ramblers Area £800.00
Thus, the main account cash balance increased by £285.78 during the year, which added to the funds brought forward from last year resulted in a closing balance of £1,189.95, on 30 September 2020.
Social Fund
The main cash movements in the year were as follows:
- Christmas lunch 2019 – the social fund received £857.00 from members and paid out £698.80 to the Arun View Inn, (having paid an advance deposit of £175.00 in the last financial year). So although there was a small loss on the meal of £16.80, the social fund cash balance increased by £158.20.
- The skittles evening was cancelled in advance of the covid-19 lockdown, all members were reimbursed, and we forfeited our £30 deposit.
- The cost of gifts presented to retiring committee members at the AGM in November 2019 amounted to £79.99.
- Commission income from Ramblers Worldwide Holidays in respect of holidays booked by Arun-Adur members was £190.00.
- Donation from a member £10.00.
As a result of these events the social fund account grew by £248.21 during the year, which added to the funds brought forward from last year resulted in a closing balance of £511.49, on 30 September 2020.
Audit
As required by the Ramblers Association the accounts have been subject to an independent review and have been signed off as giving a fair representation of the Group’s activities for the year to 30 September 2019.
Change of signatories: Nigel’s resolution
Nigel Paris
Arun-Adur Group Treasurer
19 October 2020