Minutes of the General Meeting of the Lyme Regis Branch held on 5th February 2009

Minutes of the General Meeting of the Lyme Regis Branch held on 5th February 2009 at the Woodmead Hall, Lyme Regis, commencing 19:30hrs.

Present: Mr C Quick, President; Mr K Whetlor, Chairman; Mr D Manners, Vice Chairman; Mr M Kirkby, Secretary; Mr M Jones, Treasurer; Mrs A Driver, Welfare Secretary; Mr D Humphrey, Membership Secretary; Mr K Austin; Lt Col R Bennett; Ms T Hodder; Mr M Lloyd; Mrs A Manners.

1) Exhortation: The President.
The President asked the Committee to remember a former Poppy Organiser from the Branch, Mr Bill Amor, who died this week. A wreath has been sent to his daughter.

2) Apologies: Rev Harrisson, Mr W Reed, Mr N Hampton-Rumbold.

3) Minutes of the Last Meeting held on 9th October 2008. The Minutes were presented on the night, agreed as a true record and signed by The President.

4) Election of Poppy Appeal Organiser: Ms Tracy Hodder. Proposed by Mr M Lloyd, Seconded by Mr D Manners. Duly elected by those present.

5) Deferred until the arrival of the County Secretary.

6) Matters Arising: Nil

7) Chairman’s Report: Nil

8) Secretary’s Report: Letters of appreciation have been sent to the Auditors, Messrs Jenkins and Volkman.
The County Secretary has been asked for details of parade marshal training for Mr M Jones.

9) Treasurer’s Report: The Deposit Account has been closed and the remainder of the money that was held there has been transferred into the Current Account. The bulk of the Deposit Account has already been paid into the Branch Fund Initiative (BFI).
The Branch now has just two accounts. A Current Account for routine expenditure and the BFI Account at Head Office.
The Interest Rate for the BFI Account is not as good as that received on the old Deposit Account but is reasonable given the state of the economy at present.
The amount held in the BFI Account is £10782.43 and there is £337.75 in the Current Account.
The President asked about the state of the Welfare Account. The Treasurer replied that the transfer of signatories between the old and new Welfare Personnel was taking place. The Welfare Secretary confirmed that the books had been audited and Mr D Manners would be acting as Welfare Treasurer.
Mrs Manners asked if there would be a donation from the branch to the Poppy Appeal. This had previously been confirmed and minuted at October’s Committee meeting.

10) Membership Report: Sadly, two members have died since the last meeting. Mr J Thompson on the 6th December and Mrs Molly Hodder on Christmas Day. Both were aged 93.
5 New members have been recruited. This is the 13th month that membership has shown an overall increase and the membership now stands at 150.
83 members pay by cash.
62 members pay by direct debit.
There are 2 life members and 3 are excused payment.
County are hoping to get at least 60% of members to pay by direct debit. Lyme Regis falls slightly short of that target.
Members were reminded that membership badges are available from the Membership Secretary priced at £5 each.

• The Chairman introduced the County Secretary, Miss Beverley Harrison who had arrived to present the Trophy to the Branch.

11) Welfare Secretary’s Report: The Welfare meeting was held at 19:00 today the Committee structure was decided and the Welfare secretary set out her aims which were to revitalise the welfare work of the branch by visiting various organisations and establishments to inform them of the help we can offer and remind them that we are not just here at Remembrance.
In future the Welfare Committee meetings will be held approximately one week before the General Committee meeting at Lt Col Bennett’s House.

12) Poppy Organiser’s Report: Since December when the first amount of £4385.17 had been banked, another £81 had been received to give a total of £4466.17. At this point in the meeting the Secretary handed over another £48 which he had raised through the sale of enamelled poppy brooches. This was later rounded to £50 when the Chairman bought two of the remaining three brooches.
Mrs Manners welcomed Ms Hodder as the newly elected Poppy Appeal Organiser, who officially assumes her duties from the 1st June.
The “Type A” Poppy sprays which the branch normally gives to the families of the deceased have recently been modified and as a result look cheap and nasty. Mrs Manners proposed that the Branch purchase small ten inch wreaths instead. The Chairman seconded that. The “Type A” sprays will be returned and a refund requested. The extra cost of the wreaths is £3.

13) Events Organiser’s Report: The trip to Bovington Tank Museum will take place on Saturday 4th April. This date marks the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Armoured Corps. A 35 seater coach has been booked and is half full already. The price is £15 per person which includes the coach fare and entrance fee. The coach will depart from Anning Road adjacent to the playing field at 09:00 and will return at approximately 17:00.
Following a suggestion from the President about hosting “An Evening With…” event, the Events Organiser explained that was something he had considered but decided against due to the cost of paying for the type of celebrity that would guarantee a packed venue.
No clear answer has been received as to whether there would be a charge for using the Woodmead Hall for the Festival of Remembrance. The pro’s and cons for using the Woodmead Hall had already been discussed at the AGM. The main arguments for being the logistical advantage and against being the perceived lack of atmosphere. The Events Organiser had spoken with the band and their preference was for the Woodmead Hall. The Events Organiser stated that he required a decision from the Committee fairly quickly as the venue would have to be booked early to ensure its availability. Lt Col Bennett favoured the Woodmead Hall for its ease of access and explained that it was up to the branch to ensure a good atmosphere. The Chairman asked to be excused from the debate due to a conflict of interest. Lt Col Bennett proposed the Woodmead Hall as the venue for the 2009 Festival of Remembrance. A vote was taken and the Branch decided 8 to 2 in favour of the Proposal.
The Chairman requested the Events Organiser to inform the Marine Theatre of the Committees decision.
The Date for the Festival of Remembrance will be set for the 1st November as that is the only Sunday available around the Remembrance period.
The Events Organiser asked if anyone knew the whereabouts of the Quiz Trophy following the closure of The Angel Inn and was informed by the Membership Secretary that he had rescued it and it was now at his house.

• Agenda Item 5: The President welcomed Mr Pip Evans who had arrived to photograph the presentation of the Medium Branch Poppy Award and also Miss Beverley Harrison, County Secretary.
The Trophy and Certificate were presented by the County Secretary and accepted by the 2008 Poppy Appeal Organiser on behalf of the Branch. The Branch was last awarded the Trophy in 2004 when Mrs Manners had also been the Poppy Appeal Organiser.

14) Correspondence: Dorset County Plan for 2009 to 2013, Dorset County Conference Information and Dorset County Newsletter.

15) AOB: Mrs Manners asked the Committee to begin saving gifts and prizes for the May Day Fete.

Lt Col Bennett asked the Committee to rise and thank the County Secretary for attending the meeting.
The County Secretary addressed the meeting and gave a summary of the County Conference and the Dorset County Plan for 2009 to 2013 (Details are available from the Secretary)

Meeting Closed: 20:30 hrs.

Please note. The next Committee meeting will be held on 5th March 2009 at 19:00 hrs