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.