Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Lyme Regis Branch held on 27th November 2008

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Lyme Regis Branch held on 27th November 2008 at The Woodmead Hall, Lyme Regis, commencing 19:30 hrs.

Present: Mr C Quick, President; Mr K Whetlor, Chairman; Lt Col R Bennett , Vice Chairman; Mr M Kirkby, Secretary; Mr M Jones, Treasurer; Mr W Reed, Welfare Secretary; Mr D Humphrey, Membership Secretary; Mrs A Manners, Poppy Organiser; Mr D Manners, Events Organiser; Mr K Austin; Mrs A Driver; Mr N Hampton-Rumbold; Mr M Lloyd.Branch Members: Mr P Evans, Mr R McLennan, Mr S Moore, Mr T Norman, Wing Cdr Orr, Lt Col Taggart.

(1) Exhortation: The President

(2) Apologies: Mr E Bignall, Rev J Harrisson

(3) Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting held on 10th January 2008
Agreed by all present and signed by the President.

(4) Branch Reports

President’s Address
This is the Presidents 63rd AGM. He thanked all the Committee and those who have worked behind the scenes for their hard work last year. New blood on the Committee has given the Branch new life. A lot of money has been made for the Poppy Appeal but not so much for the Branch Fund which in the past had been boosted by the Bingo. A Harvest home had been successful in the past and the President asked the Branch to consider reviving this.
The meeting was asked to remember those suffering ill health, including Pip Evans and The Rev Harrisson, as well as our servicemen and women who were serving overseas.

Vice President’ Report
Nil

Chairman’s Report
Where we have been and are going
We are now hopefully on the up and up.
The past years have been very difficult for lack of working membership. In fact at one time we were down to a committee of four which to say the least was not workable for the benefit of our members. But the determination of the small group to survive has led us to were we are today with a growing membership and all officer posts filled.
Much praise for officers at this time and my sincere gratitude to those past and present officers for all there commitment to the RBL We would not have been able to carry on with out there loyalty to the Legion We are very proud of our record in welfare in this branch and I am pleased to say this was not affected due to the hard work of Bill Reed our Welfare secretary. During this time our Bingo night was handed over to a group of people in Lyme and is still doing well for the people of Lyme But it greatly reduced our financial income for the branch.
During this period we also became aware of many changes that were on the way within the Legion due to many problems such as the fall in legion membership accountability of money from branches and rising costs.
The Future
All members I believe are in the legion to help those less fortunate than ourselves and especially now with our forces still in battle zones .The well being of our members is always a priority and I for one am proud to be able to my bit for those members now and the new ones we will acquire. Most of us are traditionalists and the poppy collection is very much part of that. We have to protect our poppy collection. There had been a change in that we now do not go door to door but concentrate on the shops and the high street with collectors. This has been very successful and a tribute to the organiser Angela Manners
Part of the success now is due to the regular quarterly committee meetings and sub meetings that are called for the various events. One of these is the regulation of the AGM in future to be held each year in November
You will have had our first new edition of the Newsletter from the branch, which we hope to keep our members up to date.
I am also looking forward to the newly elected Welfare committee being very active again a necessary part of Legion work.
Our Membership has increased this year due to our new energetic membership secretary in attracting new members. This needs to continue with an emphasis on attracting younger members and getting them actively involved. Personally I'd like to see more Service personnel and Veterans recruited as these are the people that the Legion exists for.
Branch Funds - Although we raise quite a lot for the Poppy Appeal we do not generate funds for the Branch. Our only income seems to be from bequests. What we need is some form of regular income. I have said before it was the Bingo that gave us our money I am not sure what we could replace that with but we need something or our Branch Funds will dry up and we will be unable to provide local welfare help.
Thanks to Vice Chairman and Secretary and Treasurer. With new members participating we can look forward to the future success of the Branch.
Progress on Rev John Harrisson. Reports being received from his son. Despite the serious nature of his illness he is now making good progress.


Secretary’s Report
Nil

Treasurer’s Report
The Branch Accounts were agreed by all present and signed by the Branch Officers.
A Summary Balance sheet and Monthly Treasurers Report were shown to the meeting. The main increase in money held at present is due to the members’ affiliation fee which will be deducted by Head Office on 1st March 2009.
£10690.11 has been transferred into the Branch Funds Initiative as recommended by the Board of Trustees.£413.58 remains in the current account for immediate access.
There is a remainder of £0.86 in the deposit account which will remain there until the interest on that account has been received. That will be transferred to the current account and the deposit account will then be closed.
The Treasurer requested a letter of thanks to be sent to the Auditors. Action: Secretary.
The Treasurer also suggested that another member of the Committee be trained to deputise for him in his absence.

Membership Secretary’s Report
Well first I am glad to report that overall this year the membership has increased from 120 in January to 147 at the moment an increase of over 20%
59 People pay by Direct Debit
82 people pay by Cash
4 people are excused payment
2 people are life members
35 people have joined the branch this year, the oldest being 93, and the youngest being 20. So as you can see we are attracting support from all age's here in Lyme.
5 people have died since the last AGM and 3 people refused payment moved abroad or live out of town, Their cards have been returned and the Branch has been re - credited.
The first batch of 20 membership badges has been sold and money passed on to the Treasurer. I now have another batch of badges and deeply encourage all members to purchase one at a cost of £5:00 and wear it with pride.
The Skittles Team is doing better this year and beat the Top Dogs last week

Welfare Secretary’s Report
The Welfare Secretary announced that due to failing eyesight he was no longer in a position to continue in his post. He still wished to remain active with the Committee and would assist the new Welfare secretary where he could.£367 had been spent on the Taxi service in the last year and the Welfare Secretary hoped that the Branch would continue to provide this service in the future.A new Welfare Committee would be formed this year and the Welfare Secretary suggested that Welfare Committee meetings be held 30 minutes before the main Committee meetings as they had in previous years.

Poppy Appeal Organiser’s Report
The 2007/2008 Poppy Appeal figures were presented to the meeting. The last Poppy Appeal had raised a total of £5906.10 compared to the 2006/2007 total of £4415.76.The Poppy Appeal Organiser thanked all those who had helped in the collection either personally or by allowing a collection on their premises.The Poppy Appeal Organiser announced her resignation to the meeting but confirmed that she would continue to assist the new Poppy Appeal Organiser until the books closed on 31st May 2009.

Events Organiser’s Report
No major fundraising events had taken place in 2008 although plans for a joint venture in 2009 have begun. The events that have taken place this year such as the barbeque, and quiz night as well as the monthly get togethers in the Nag’s Head all help to raise the profile of the Branch in the town which it is hoped in turn will generate more funds.
It was a great disappointment that the town’s Remembrance Festival had to be abandoned but as many of the key figures were unavailable this year a decision had to be made at the last minute to cancel the event. With this in mind the Event’s Organiser had drawn up a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) to assist in organising the Remembrance events in the future.
The Events Organiser was sincerely grateful to the tremendous efforts of Reverends Rosemary Bragg and Keith Vivien in deputising for Reverend Harrisson at the last moment.

(5) Election of The Branch Officers and Committee

President
Cecil Quick.
Proposed: Ken Whetlor. Seconded: Wing Cdr Orr. Duly elected

Vice President
Bill Reed
Proposed: Ken Whetlor. Seconded: Angela Manners. Duly elected

Chairman
Ken Whetlor
Proposed: Bill Reed. Seconded: Martin Jones. Duly elected

Vice Chairman
David Manners
Proposed: David Humphrey. Seconded: Lt Col Bennett. Duly elected

Honorary Secretary
Murray Kirkby
Proposed: Angela Manners. Seconded: Neil Hampton- Rumbold. Duly elected

Honorary Treasurer
Martin Jones
Proposed: David Manners. Seconded: Michael Lloyd. Duly elected

Membership Secretary
David Humphrey
Proposed: David Manners. Seconded: Murray Kirkby. Duly elected

Welfare Secretary
Ania Driver
Proposed: David Humphrey. Seconded: Lt Col Bennett. Duly elected

Poppy Appeal Organiser
Vacancy arising

Events Organiser
David Manners
Proposed: David Humphrey. Seconded: Michael Lloyd. Duly elected

Committee Members
Keith Austin, Edward Bignall, Lt Col Ross Bennett, Michael Lloyd, Angela Manners, Neil Hampton-Rumbold (Deputy Treasurer)
No objections from all present.

(6) Appointment of Standard Bearer and Deputy Standard Bearer
James Rice
David Humphrey (Deputy)

(7)
Appointment of the Auditors for 2009
K Jenkin & J Volkman
No objections from all present.

(8) Adoption of The Branch Model By-Laws- November 2007
To update the Branch By Laws in line with the latest Royal Charter.
Proposed by The SecretaryAgreed by all present

(9) To add an additional Annex to the Branch Model By-Laws
Annex B lists the Acts of Remembrance performed by the Branch.
Proposed by The Secretary.Agreed by all present.

(10) Discuss the venue for the 2009 Remembrance Festival
The Membership Secretary raised the question of the best venue for the Festival of Remembrance. The Events Organiser mentioned that the main argument for the Woodmead Hall was the availability of parking although it was emphasised that this didn’t seem to detract from numbers attending the Marine Theatre. The Marine Theatre had more flexible lighting arrangements for the stage and the cost had in the past been borne by the generosity of an anonymous donor. The Membership Secretary was worried that the Marine Theatre might not always remain “free” and reminded the meeting that the cost of staging an event like this should be less than the amount raised. The Chairman stated that the 2008 event had been organised at zero cost in a written contract.
Lt Col Ross Bennett proposed that the Events Organiser investigate the actual cost involved with each venue and report his findings back to the Committee. This was seconded by the Secretary and agreed by all present. Action: Events Organiser

(11) Award of the “Jack Loveridge” Trophy
This year the trophy was chosen by secret ballot of those present at the AGM. The winner of the trophy was David Humphrey.

(12) AOB
The Secretary reminded those present that the newsletter was due to be published and anyone wishing to submit articles for publication should do so as soon as possible.

On completion of the meeting the following members were chosen to serve on the Welfare Committee:
Lt Col Ross Bennett, Mrs Ania Driver, Mr David Manners, Mr Bill Reed, Mr Ken Whetlor.

Meeting Closed: 20:15 hrs.

Please note. The next Committee meeting will be held on 5th February 2009 at 19:30 hrs.
A meeting for the Welfare Committee only will take place at 19:00 hrs.

Minutes of the General Meeting of the Lyme Regis Branch held on 9th October 2008

Minutes of the General Meeting of the Lyme Regis Branch held on 9th October at The Woodmead Hall, Lyme Regis, commencing 19:00 hrs.

(These minutes have been edited to protect the privacy of members and beneficiaries. A full copy is available to members on request from the Secretary)

Present: Mr C Quick, President; Mr K Whetlor, Chairman; Lt Col R Bennett , Vice Chairman; Mr M Kirkby, Secretary; Mr M Jones, Treasurer; Mr D Humphrey, Membership Secretary; Mrs A Manners, Poppy Organiser; Mr D Manners, Events Organiser; Mr K Austin; Mr E Bignall; Mr M Lloyd

1) Apologies: Mr W Reed, Rev J Harrisson, Mr N Hampton-Rumbold

2) Exhortation: The President.
We were asked to remember Graham Marler who died at the age of 73 on 20th September.

3) Minutes of the Last Meeting held on 4th September 2008. The Minutes were presented on the night agreed as a true record and signed by The President.

4) Matters Arising: None.

5) Chairman’s Report: None.

6) Secretary’s Report: Dave Humphrey and his partner, Tracy visited Belgium recently and took the opportunity to visit some of the battlefields. They were able to lay crosses at the graves and memorials of several of Lyme’s war dead. I have put 2 pictures on the blog and there are more which I hope to include in the next newsletter.
A Welfare Committee meeting took place on 24th September 2008 at 11:00 hrs. The Chairman, Welfare Secretary and Secretary were present.The meeting took place to review the status of the excused payment members. Two members were removed from the excused payment members list and two more were added. The number of excused payment members remains at five. The Committee raised no objections to this recommendation. The welfare committee also recommended future meetings be held 30 minutes before the start of the main Committee meeting. The Membership Secretary questioned whether 30 minutes would allow enough time to conduct the Welfare Committees but was assured that this was only a guideline and the meeting could be rescheduled to start earlier if necessary.

7) Membership Report: One member has passed away. There are 4 new members.
81 Members pay cash.
50 pay by Direct Debit.
There are 4 “Excused Payment” members contrary to the Secretary’s report. This is because one of the “Excused Payment” members offered to pay when their membership card was delivered. Payment was accepted by the Membership Secretary and the Welfare Secretary was informed.
There are 2 Life Members.
Most of the 2009 membership cards have been delivered. One member has not been able to be contacted yet and there are 4 members who have not yet replied to the Membership Secretary.
Twenty Membership badges were recently ordered and there are now only 4 left.

8) Welfare Secretary’s Report: None

9) Poppy Organiser’s Report: The Poppy Organiser asked the Committee if some enamel poppy badges could be ordered to sell at the Festival of Remembrance. The Secretary and Membership Secretary admitted they had already ordered some and had been selling them for several weeks now. The profit from the sale would be donated to the poppy appeal but would not now be the surprise they had hoped for.
The new self adhesive poppy was displayed to the committee. They are meant to be an addition not a replacement for the current design. 1000 have been received so there will be limited numbers in each box.The Poppy Collectors have been given complementary tickets to attend the Festival of Remembrance.Remembrance wreaths have been distributed to the local organisations with one exception (edited for privacy reasons )who have been reminded that payment has not yet been received for the last one. The Committee were asked by the Poppy Appeal Organiser whether they should be given a wreath. It was agreed that they should.
The St Georges Square Memorial has had the old poppies and wreaths removed in preparation for Remembrance Day.
Prizes for the Festival of Remembrance Draw were requested. The Poppy Appeal Organiser asked for the prizes to be either given to her in advance or brought down on the night.
The Poppy Appeal Organiser wished to see a return to the old way of choosing the recipient of the Jack Loveridge Award whereby every member attending the AGM was given a ballot paper to record who they felt should receive the award. The Poppy Collectors should not be eligible as they have their own award scheme however non members would be eligible if they have provided outstanding service to the Legion.
10) Events Organiser’s Report: There is an amendment to the timing of the wreath laying ceremony at the cemetery on the 8th November. The start time will now be 10:15 hrs and not 10:30 as previously stated. This will allow more time between the cemetery and Polish Memorial engagements.The Polish memorial ceremony will take place at 11:00 hrs.The Festival of Remembrance will take place at 19:30 hrs on 26th October. The events Organiser was disappointed that no replies had been received to the invitations sent to the county’s standard bearers and despite invitations being sent out to the County Committee and others only the County Chairman had bothered to reply. If standard bearers do not attend then the Committee could consider changing the date of the Festival as one of the reasons for holding it so far in advance of Remembrance Sunday was to accommodate the standard bearers own timetables.
Pip Evans will return as compere this year and Cpl John Hunt will carry the Bible in the Drumhead ceremony. The Lifeboat Crew have been invited to take part in the Drumhead ceremony but no reply has yet been received. Lyme Regis’ Standard Bearer has also been informed but has yet to confirm his availabilty.
The Pilot Boat has been contacted to supply sandwiches for the standard bearers. Publicity for the event has been organised as has any necessary equipment.
The Events Organiser reported that due to a lack of available performers this year’s event would involve more audience participation set against a rolling slide presentation.
Help from Committee members was requested for 11:00 hours on 26th to assist in setting up the Marine Theatre for the festival.
The question of whether medals should be worn was raised. Some members thought it should be compulsory as it is a formal occasion while others thought it should be optional. The Secretary thought that the Committee should wear medals to set an example but leave it optional for others. The Committee decided that medals should be optional.
Trafalgar Night, whilst not strictly a Legion Event, will be held on Saturday October 18th at the Nag’s Head. The event is usually open to Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel and veterans only but the Events Organiser decided to open it to all members this year. A Legion collection box will be passed around.The first Social evening was held at the Nag’s Head on 7th October. A small group of members attended. It is hoped this informal event will continue and that more members will attend over time.The President Proposed a vote of thanks for the Events Organiser for his work in organising the Festival of Remembrance.

11) Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer’s report was moved from item 7 as he’d arrived at the time stated on the Agenda, which was incorrect.
The 6 monthly Halifax bond, currently earning interest at 6.4%, matures on 17th November. The Treasurer asked for the Committees advice on whether he should reinvest it in another bond or follow the Branch Fund Initiative. The President was unhappy that by following the Branch Fund Initiative the branch would probably lose £125 in interest next year but felt that change was inevitable. The Secretary reminded the Committee of the current financial position of the Halifax. He explained that in the event of a banking failure, the Branch would probably not receive the protection that an individual investor is entitled to and the funds are not safe where they are at the moment. If the funds were lost and the Committee had not followed the instructions given by the Board of Trustees then the Committee could be held personally liable for any losses incurred. The Poppy Appeal Organiser felt that the Treasurers advice had always been sound in the past and that the Committee follow whatever decision he thought best. The Events Organiser agreed with the Secretary’s comments. The Vice Chairman stated that the debate could go on for ever with no decision being reached. He therefore proposed that the Committee accept the Branch Funds Initiative. This was Seconded by the Secretary and agreed by all present. Branch Funds will therefore be transferred to the Central Account when the Bond matures with the exception of the amount held for subscriptions and the maximum sum allowed under the Branch Fund Initiative.
The Poppy Appeal Organiser requested a donation from the branch to the Poppy Appeal. The Treasurer will arrange for £300 to be transferred to the Poppy Appeal account on 1st May 2009.

12) Standard Bearer’s Report: None

13) Correspondence: Timetable to Annual ConferenceOctober’s Legion LetterInstructions and forms relating to Annual Conference 2009Branches DVD Autumn 2008 (A copy will be placed in the library)

14) AOB: None

Meeting Closed: 19:48 hrs.

Please note. The next meeting will be held on 27th November 2008 at 19:30. This will be the Annual General Meeting for 2008.