AGM by year:
22 members attended the AGM held at the Hyndman Centre Bury St. Edmunds which commenced at 2.00 pm.
Apologies for Absence were received from Tom and Judy Anderson, Arthur Reed, Jonathan Toye, Mike Percival and Ronnie Richardson.
Minutes of the 2007 AGM (as circulated) were accepted as a true record of that meeting, and as there were no matters arising, passed with acclaim.
The Chairman (P. Allnutt) reported that this had been his first year in the post and he had visited several of the Federation's events to present the prizes. It had been his first introduction to Golf Croquet and he found it a fascinating experience. He had attended Bury St. Edmunds annual dinner, which he had been well received. Overall the year had been a pleasant experience being the figurehead.
The Treasurer (G. Collin) presented the accounts for the year ending 31st December 2007 which showed an income surplus of £624.23, leaving an overall balance of £4,171.82. As the winter indoors events at Soham changed their accounting date to the year ending 31st March he understands that this might slightly distort the overall figure as currently a loss is occurring on these activities. He estimates this to be in the region of £343. However, this will be reflected in the next year accounts when the situation will correct itself. Overall expenditure was well covered by income and he saw no reason to change the subscription level at this time.
Following a proposal from John Robinette and seconded by Pat Hethrington the accounts were accepted as a true record of the Federations Finances by the meeting.
The Secretary (T. Sparks) reported that it had been a busy year and things had gone well. He had received full co-operation from the clubs in the region and all events had been staged successfully. The introduction of the website had been an outstanding success thanks to the webmaster Simon Hathrell. There was still reluctance for the clubs to submit articles but overall he hoped things would improve. He had introduced the use of electronic mailing, which had reduced the level of his expenses. However, there had been some introductory problems, which he hoped to overcome next year. One thing that was a worry is that there appear to be a lack of volunteers coming forward to run the Federations events. If things don't improve then certain tournament could face cancellation particularly the Golf Croquet Doubles at Ickworth. Finally, Club Registrations were slow in coming in for the year and he would appreciate if this could be remedied.
The Coaching/Development Officer (J. Toye) was unable to attend the meeting due to work commitments. However, he had submitted a report, which was read to the meeting. He had had a busy year and been in contact with Age Concern. The Peterborough Club was progressing well with good facilities. He had written letters in support of several clubs who had made applications for various grants and loans.
The Equipment Officer (Neil Chalmers) reported that Lea Valley had requested to purchase equipment that had been on loan for some years and a price of £200 had been agreed which, had now been paid. Dunstable, a new club, had borrowed equipment free for their first year and the normal terms of 50% fee will apply for next year. Following a request for junior mallets from Leighton Linslade, 4 Jacques lightwood mallets had been cut down and used successfully. A demand for junior mallets was developing and he remarked that bearing in mind the youth implications this provided the ideal position for applying for grants. He presented a schedule listing the Federation's stock of equipment. He also mentioned that as Peterborough was expected shortly to be returning some equipment he was deferring the acquisition of further equipment until the position was clarified.
Indoors (M. Percival): being hospitalised, Mike was unable to attend the meeting. A report that he had submitted was read out to the meeting. 2006 had been the first year that indoor golf had been introduced and proved to be a great success. He had been assisted by Chris Howell and is confident that in the future she will be able to take over the running of this event indoors. 2007 had not been as successful as previous years with one day of the first weekend having to be cancelled incurring a cancellation fee. However, things did pick up later in the year. He feels that as golf has been successfully introduced the subsidy should be removed and the full cost of the hall met from entry fees. The carpet continues to show wear particularly around the steel plates of the hoops. However, this damage is repairable. The guttering is also showing its age and needs replacing. The vacuum cleaner belonging to the centre is also deteriorating and needs replacing and we might have to bear the cost in the future. He also mentioned that over the last 20 years the indoor events had contributed over a £800 net surplus to funds with minimal outlay.
As indicated earlier in the year, he felt that after several years running the indoor tournaments, now was the time for a change and he would not be standing for re-election. Mike was thanked for the immense contribution he had made over the years by the meeting and he would be greatly missed.
A comprehensive discussion of the Indoors Organiser report ensued and it was decided that the new Organiser should convene a Sub Committee of 2/3 members to investigate the best way to proceed next winter.
Golf Croquet (Chris Howell): following the resignation of Tony Marks at the end of the last outdoors season, Chris Howell had agreed to be co-opted and since then had been involved with the Indoors Organiser in running the indoor golf events which she hopes to take over. In addition she is in the advanced planning stage for the 2008 outdoors season, which is going well. Chris was thanked by the meeting for standing in at the last moment.
C.A. Rep. (Arthur Reed) sent his apologies, having to attend a Council Meeting scheduled for the same day. In his absence a report was circulated outlining the details discussed at Council Meetings for 2007. This included comments on the 2007 management accounts, 2008 budget and projections for 2009, staff restructuring and changes to the association croquet laws. The WCF Rules have been approved by Council for Golf Croquet and now take effect. In addition a further sub-report was presented to the meeting, which mainly dealt with internal changes at the C.A.
Website (Simon Hathrell): reported that over the year there had been no operating problems. Installation of past publications to the archive had now been successfully completed. A new search facility had been installed and a further facility to reduce site-reading spam had also been introduced.
Election of Officers: the following had been duly nominated and seconded as follows: Peter Allnutt (Chairman); George Collin (Treasurer); Terrey Sparks (Secretary); Jonathan Toye (Coaching/Development); Neil Chalmers (Equipment); Chris Howell (Golf Croquet); Simon Hathrell (Website). There was no nomination for Indoors Organiser.
Election of Committee Members: the following had been duly nominated and seconded as follows: John Hall, David Kitson and Mike Percival.
It was proposed by Edmé Robinette and seconded by Harry Bruford that all the nominations be accepted in block, which was agreed by the membership.
Election of Auditor: it was proposed by John Hall and seconded by John Robinette that Betty Carter be re-appointed for the next year, which was agreed by the meeting.
The 2008 Programme was outlined to the meeting and a brief discussion took place regarding the lack of volunteers and the viability of some of the events.
Any Other Business: a discussion took place on the vacant position of an Indoors Organiser. It was decided that a small sub-committee be set up under Neil Chalmers to review the position and to come up with suggestions as to the future of the indoors carpet. Also the Committee was to look into co-opting a suitable volunteer to the post.
There being no further business, the meeting closed for business at 3.35 pm.
A copy of the AGM
report suitable for printing can be viewed/downloaded
here
(
32KB).
See also:
The EACF Constitution
( 19KB).
