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Held On 4 April 2006 In Deal Town Hall
1 Apologies For Absence
Apologies were
received from Mrs Joan Andrews, Mrs Marjorie Baker, Mrs Norma
Featherstone, Mr Alan Fordham, Mr and Mrs Vic Genin, Mr and Mrs Martin
Hicks, Mr and Mrs John Housego, Air Vice-Marshal and Mrs Tim Lloyd,
Cllr Deryck Murray, Miss Jean Olerenshaw, Mrs Kay Paterson, Mr and Mrs
John Simms, Mrs Joan Westall and Mrs Prue Wollaston
2 Chairman's Welcome
The
Chairman, Mrs Una Stanley, opened the meeting and welcomed those
members present. She read a letter from the President, Tim Lloyd, who
sent his apologies that he and his wife Pam could not attend the
meeting - the first they had missed in 15 years.
3 Minutes Of The Annual General Meeting Held On 5 April 2005
The
Chairman called for a proposal that the minutes of the 2005 AGM be
approved. It was proposed by Mr Paterson, seconded by Mrs Waite and
agreed unanimously that the minutes of the Meeting, previously
circulated, were a true record.
4 Chairman's Annual Report
Mrs Una Stanley spoke as follows:
It
is a well-known saying that "everything comes to those who wait".
Well, it has come. This is the last time that you will have to sit and
listen to me holding forth as your Chairman. For me, these have been
an exhilarating two years. There have been changes: some good, some
not so good. We have made new friends and, sadly, lost one or two old
ones. And the abiding role of the Society has remained as necessary
and as cogent to the needs of our community as ever it has been.
To
have been a part of all this has been a great privilege and a pleasure
- by no means least because of the wonderful group of people with whom
I have had the honour of working. I refer, of course, to your
Committee. No organisation could wish for a more dedicated, caring and
hard-working group of people to serve its needs. I know that I would
have been completely at sea without Wendy Madgwick, our Secretary, to
guide me. Wendy is the epitome of the adage that if you want something
done, ask the busiest person in sight. Then there is Brian Groser, who
hides his light beneath the bushel marked Planning (Deal). In reality
that means he monitors planning issues in Deal and provides us with
reports illuminated by his encyclopaedic knowledge of the place. And
if he doesn't know the answer then we have our archivist Jo Dempster -
and if she doesn't know, she asks her mother! As for Anthony Hodson
Mackenzie - well, what does one say? Membership Secretary, trip
organiser - he does both with his usual meticulous attention to
detail. As Editor of the News Update, he keeps us fully informed and
entertained with an immaculately produced journal. And last, but not
least, he is our excellent wine waiter - and he never spills a drop!
Sadly,
as you have heard, our President Tim Lloyd is not able to be with us
tonight which is a pity for me as I would have liked this last
opportunity to thank him publicly for all the kindness and wisdom that
he has bestowed on me over these past two years. I have not mentioned
every member of the committee for reasons of brevity, but I want to
thank every one of them for the warmth, support and generosity they
have shown me during my time in the Chair. It has been a wonderful,
heart-warming experience.
As for the Society itself, I think it
is fair to say that it remains in good heart and good health. If the
number of occasions over the past two years on which I have been
required to step out to represent the Deal Society at various civic and
community functions is anything to go by, then we are most certainly
well entrenched as a core element in the management of our town. I
have spoken in the past of the respect the Deal Society has earned in
local government circles for the sensate way in which it seeks to
protect and enhance the quality of life here in Deal, and it is vital
that that tradition - that reputation - be preserved in the future.
5 Treasurer's Report
Mrs
Ann Huntley had finalised the accounts for the year ending 31 December
2005. She went through the accounts in detail, explaining that she had
presented the accounts in the same format as her predecessor. She
pointed out that the income for the year 2005 was less than that in
2004 because of a reduction in membership and some income from 2003 had
been shown in the 2004 accounts. The funding shown under Special
Projects was for sponsorship of a crystal vase for the winner of Walmer
in Bloom. The costs for printing had decreased greatly since we
changed our print supplier to the DDC print unit. £500 had been
transferred into the current account to prevent any likelihood of the
account going into deficit over the Christmas period. She asked if
there were any questions from the floor. There were none.
The
accounts had been examined by Mr Keith Andrews, who certified that they
showed a true picture of the Society's financial position as at that
date. The Chairman thanked Mr Andrews for his work as auditor and
called for a proposal that the accounts be agreed. It was proposed by
Mr Groser, seconded by Mr Jeffreys and agreed unanimously that the
accounts as presented be approved.
6 Amendement Of Paragraph 5 Of The Constitution Concerning The Office Of Vice-President
The proposal for the amended text was as follows:
With
the approval of the President and the Committee, the outgoing Chairman,
having completed two years in office, shall be invited to serve as
Vice-President, normally for a period of two years. In the event of the
outgoing Chairman being unable to accept the Vice-Presidency, then,
with the approval of the President and the Committee, a past Chairman,
a past serving member of the Committee or a distinguished member of the
Society shall be approached for nomination to the office, again
normally for a period of two years.
The Chairman Una Stanley took
the Chair and explained that the Committee felt that it would be
sensible to have a second Vice-President for occasions such as tonight
when neither the President nor the Vice-President could be present.
She then asked for comments from the floor. The general consensus was
that the amendment was a sensible idea. The amendment was proposed by
Mr Jeffreys, seconded by Mr Hunt and agreed unanimously.
7 Election Of Officers And Executive Committee
Mrs
Una Stanley took the chair as the newly elected Vice-President. She
announced that she and Wendy Madgwick were not seeking re-election but
she recommended that the rest of the Committee including Pat Russell
and John Featherstone, who had been co-opted during the year, be
elected en bloc: Pat Russell was to organise the trips and John
Featherstone was standing as Chairman. The following nominations for
the Officers and Committee members, as commended by the Vice-President,
were proposed by Mr Hall, seconded by Mr Cox and carried unanimously:
Mr John Featherstone (Chairman), Marianne Haslegrave (Secretary), Mrs
Ann Huntley (Treasurer), Mr Anthony Hodson Mackenzie (Membership
Secretary), Mrs Josephine Dempster, Mr Brian Groser, Mr Jim Jeffreys
and Mrs Pat Russell. Mr John Goodban had also put his name forward for
nomination as a committee member: acceptance of his nomination was
proposed by Mr Cox, seconded by Mrs Barwick and carried unanimously.
No other nominations had been forthcoming but the Committee could
co-opt another member during the year to organise the lectures.
8 Any Other Business
Mr
Anthony Hodson Mackenzie gave an update on the membership and trips.
The membership had increased to 333 with 63 new members after a recent
doorstep drop of application forms by the Committee . All the trips
were viable, with many having a waiting list; however, some places were
still available for Margate and Finchcocks. He reminded the meeting
that the last lecture of the season was on Tuesday 7th May.
The
Vice-President, Mrs Una Stanley, said that Mrs Judith Doré had asked
that the members be reminded that the Maritime Museum still needed
support and that any volunteers would be welcomed. Mrs Stanley also
commented that in her role as Vice- President she would be representing
the Deal Society as a member of the working party considering the Deal
Pier, the refurbishment of which she was sure would be a credit to the
town. She then commended the new Chairman, Mr John Featherstone, to
the Meeting.
As incoming Chairman, Mr John Featherstone, took
the chair. Thanking everyone for their support, he said that he was
honoured to be elected Chairman. He congratulated the outgoing
Chairman on her enormous achievements during her tenure. When she
first accepted the position she said that she would "do it her way",
and she had done so by her inspirational and sensitive leadership. The
Society was fortunate to retain her invaluable input as a
Vice-President on whom the Committee could call for advice.
There
being no other business, the Chairman brought the meeting to a close at
8.30pm, thanking the members for their continued support and promising
that he would try to be as effective as his predecessors.
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