Minutes of The Annual General Meeting of The Lyme Regis Branch.Held at The Woodmead Halls, Lyme Regis, 28th November 2013 at 19:00 Hrs.
Present:
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Appointees:
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Mr Cecil Quick
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President
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Committee:
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Mr Ken Whetlor
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Chairman
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Mr David Manners
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Vice Chairman
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Mr Tony Smith
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Honorary Secretary
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Lt Col Ross Bennett
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Welfare Chairman
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Mrs Ania Driver
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Welfare Secretary
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Mrs Sylvia Marler
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Poppy Appeal Organiser
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Mr David Humphrey
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Recruitment Advisor
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Mr Jon Hunt
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Member/Std Bearer
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Mrs Angela Manners
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Member
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Mr Kevin Taylor
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Member
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Mr Peter Ward
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Member
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Mrs Jacqueline Ward
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Member
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Attendant:
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Miss Kelsey Ellis
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Youth Member
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Apologies:
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Mr Martin Jones
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Honorary Treasurer
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Mr Mike Lloyd
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Member
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Mr Robert Humphrey
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Branch Member
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Mrs Tracey Humphrey
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Branch Member
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Mr Vernon Rattenbury
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Branch Member
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Mr Jeremy Robson
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Branch Member
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Miss Nicole Parkinson-Ward
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Youth Member
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01. Exhortation:
The President
02. President’s Address.
Thank you all Ladies and Gentlemen for attending this
meeting. It is a very important one when we have to do a lot of business at the end of the year. Thank you
for all your support during the year, it has been a good one and we look
forward to continued service.
Thank you very much Ladies and Gentlemen.
04. Minutes of the Last Meetings:
The Minutes of the last General Meeting held on the 7th of
November 2013 were agreed as a true record and signed by The President.
Proposed: Kevin Taylor Seconded:
Ross Bennett Carried: Unanimously.
05. 1. Matters Arising:
None.
The Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting held on the
29th of November 2012 were agreed as a true record and signed by The President.
Proposed: Ross Bennett Seconded:
Jon Hunt Carried: Unanimously.
05. 2. Matters Arising:
David Humphrey commented on Paragraph 05. Matters Arising.
viz:
Angela Manners asked about the beach huts and the proposal
to rename them. The Council has said it has taken up the reins but nothing has
been heard. The Chairman will pursue this matter.
The Chairman responded by stating he had heard nothing. As
it has been brought up, he will go to the offices within the next week and
pursue it.
06. Additions to the Agenda.
None.
07. Chairman’s Report.
Our branch still maintains its usual consistency of loyalty
to The Legion from Committee and Member’s alike. All committee positions have
been taken up and fulfilled to the job required.
All Committee Members will give their reports as per The Agenda.
All Committee Members will give their reports as per The Agenda.
Six meetings have been held in the past year. I missed one of the meetings and must thank my Vice Chairman and Honorary Secretary for their help when needed. If this meeting wish to know any information from The Committee representative on outside committees of the Legion I am sure they will give any help for you.
One comment. It was good to see our Standard Bearer at our functions on a regular basis. Well done Jon.
Rogation Sunday Blessing of the boats was well attended by Members.
The laying of the crosses in The Cemetery was carried out by Members on the 9th of November. A short service was held at the Polish War Memorial in Anning Road later in the morning conducted by Rev J Skinner. Wreaths were laid by The Mayor and The Chairman.
On the 10th of November a church service was held with many organisations taking part after marching through the town. Wreaths were laid by The Legion, The Mayor and representatives of the organisations. On behalf of The Legion I thank them all. After the service the parade marched past The War Memorial to be dismissed eventually in the square.
On the 11th of November, as usual, we held a short service at The War Memorial with the two minutes silence and to lay wreaths, one for the Legion and one by The Mayor for the town. The Memorial garden was full for this dedication to remember the local people who gave their lives for us in the past. I would like to thank my Vice Chairman and the Rev J Skinner on behalf of The Legion for all the work they put into this weekend.
08. Vice Chairman’s Report.
I think that 2013 has been a year of change for Lyme Regis
RBL. The most significant change, agreed at this meeting, last year, has been
to hold The Remembrance Sunday Parade in the morning. After numerous meetings
with the various denominations of the church, and the Town Council the schedule
for the new format was agreed and I have to thank our secretary, Tony Smith,
for his assistance in this. The new time proved successful albeit some fine
tuning with the parade times needs to addressed. The Branch's Standard
Operating Procedures are now being updated to reflect our changes.
We now have a much more effective committee and I believe
that the delegation of responsibilities has been a positive step forward. The
decision not to hold a Festival of Remembrance this year proved to be a good
one, as it seemed not to be missed at all, but every effort needs to be made to
find other fundraising events in the forthcoming year. We are all aware that
this is in hand, as are plans for the forthcoming 70th anniversary of D Day, in
June, and the centenary of WW1.
Whilst efforts were made to compile a list of members' email
addresses to improve communication between this committee and the branch
members, this proved fruitless and communication is as poor as it ever was,
despite the fact that almost 90% of households in Lyme Regis have the
internet.(Dorset County Council). There seems little else we can do under the
Data Protection Act.
The secretary and myself were due to attend a Branch
Management Course in London, but this was cancelled with no reason given. I
certainly hope that other courses become available if local interest is to be
maintained.
The improved arrangements with hospital taxis is still to
reach its potential, but we are in a much better position than this time last
year. It all boils down to being able to communicate with our members and
beneficiaries. This sole task I wish to pursue in the forthcoming year with The
Committee's approval: to establish an email directory of all branch members in
order that general correspondence, such as minutes, can be effectively
circulated, as can information regarding forthcoming events.
09. Honorary Secretary’s Report.
The Inventory was introduced to the meeting and relevant
Members asked to sign.
The Vice Chairman mentioned fundraising; this has to be the
number one priority for next year.
10. Honorary Treasurer’s Report:
The Secretary pointed out that The Accounts had been
completed for the new year's end, 30th of June, been audited and sent to
County.
(The following Report
was submitted post meeting.)
The Branch holds:
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Last Report
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This Report
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29 November 2012
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28 November 2013
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Current Account
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£1,164.79
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£423.08
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Branch Funds at Head Office
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£13,738.10
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£13,281.95
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Total
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£14,902.89
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£13,705.03
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The details are attached to this report.
Notes:
£900.00 has been transferred to The Head Office Deposit
Account to gain better interest.
A further £280.00, for memberships collected by D Humphrey,
has been credited.
11. Welfare Chairman’s Report.
Ross commented how lovely it is to see a young person
present. (Kelsey Ellis. The Vice Chairman agreed and formally welcomed her to
The Meeting).
Normal visits take place and will continue.
12. Welfare Secretary’s Report.
Ania requested that details of anybody requiring help should
be passed to The Welfare Committee.
Jon commented that he was available to assist if anyone had
a round of social calls to make, or if house visits are required.
The Meeting was appreciative of this offer.
13. Poppy Appeal Organiser’s Report.
First I would like to thank anyone who helped in any way.
The Summary of Donations for the 2010 Appeal, Lyme Regis
(TCF 18), was presented to The Committee. The details are:
Direct Total
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£0.00
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Business Boxes
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£0.00
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Direct Church Collections
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£0.00
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Direct Gift Aid
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£0.00
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Direct Donations / Sales
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£0.00
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Direct Special Events
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£0.00
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Direct Wreaths
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£0.00
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Not Restricted Funds
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£0.00
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Poppy Appeal Organiser
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£5,506.74
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Church Collections
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£403.75
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Donations / Sales
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£94.50
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House to House
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£0.00
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Special Events
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£579.67
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90th Anniversary
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£135.06
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Static Point Collections
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£0.00
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Static Point Manned
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£2,324.16
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Static Point Unmanned
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£1,791.69
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Street Collections
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£0.00
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Unallocated
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£52.91
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Wreaths
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£125.50
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GROSS TOTAL
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£5,506.74
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Claimed Expenses (LC)
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£0.00
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Retained Expenses (LR)
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-£41.00
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NET TOTAL
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£5,465.74
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Sylvia announced that this would be her last year as The
Poppy Appeal Organiser.
Jacqueline Ward volunteered to take over next year. This was
most welcome news and all The Committee expressed their thanks.
14. Recruitment Advisor’s Report:
Five members have died since the last meeting.
Mr Jim McMurtry
Mrs Eileen Legg
Mr Keith Austin
Mrs F W Williams
Mr Cecil (Jim) Sweetland
The branch has recruited seven new members since the last
AGM, the oldest being 90 and the youngest 16. A positive note is that out of
the seven members recruited three are youth members (between the ages of 12 and
17). The membership stands at 157 as follows:
103 Pay By Direct Debit
49 Pay by Cash
2 are Life Members
3 are Youth Members
157 Total Membership.
I would encourage all of you here now to go out and recruit
at least one new member over the next year to help increase the size of the
branch. I have had confirmation from Head Office that they received the
returned cash cards.
At the moment I am holding four Badges and £85:00; the
reason for the extra £5:00 is that it was given to me by one of the youth
applicants. Once these last four badges are sold I will not be purchasing any
more; if someone else from The Committee would like to continue with this I can
give them the contact details on how to purchase them.
Earlier today two people, Robert Humphrey, (a member of the
branch), and his friend Leon Finbow gave me £480:00 for this years Poppy
Appeal. They raised this money by completing a twelve mile assault course, The
Tough Mudder, back in September.
The Secretary proposed a vote of thanks to the
two youngsters: it was agreed unanimously.
The County Poppy Appeal is, as of Wednesday 27th, up by 17%
for the County on last year - so well done to everybody for that one.
I have
just found out that the new Management handbook will be released within the
next couple of weeks as a digital copy only, as to print and distribute this
would have cost the Legion in excess of seventy thousand pounds. The County is
hoping to hold a Branch Management Course in Shaftesbury on the weekend of 8th
and 9th of March 2014.
15. Standard Bearer’s Report.
I would just like to thank Kevin for his assistance over the
last few months helping Kelsey and I with our training in the art of Standard
Bearing. I am extremely confident in how to do it and I am looking forward to
taking part in The Standard Bearers' Competition next Autumn.
The Committee welcomed this news.
16. Members’ Reports.
None.
ELECTION OF THE BRANCH OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE |
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APPOINTMENT
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NAME
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PROPOSED
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SECONDED
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Chairman.
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Ken Whetlor
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David Manners
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Jacqueline Ward
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Vice Chairman.
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David Manners
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Ania Driver
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Peter Ward
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Honorary Secretary.
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Tony Smith
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Ania Driver
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David Manners
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Honorary Treasurer.
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Martin Jones
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David Manners
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Jon Hunt
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Welfare Chairman.
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Ross Bennett
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Ania Driver
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David Humphrey
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Welfare Secretary.
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Ania Driver
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Jacqueline Ward
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Kevin Taylor
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Poppy Appeal Organiser.
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Sylvia Marler
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Angela Manners
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Peter Ward
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Recruitment Advisor.
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David Humphrey
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Jon Hunt
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Kevin Taylor
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Members
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Jon Hunt
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Ross Bennett
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Sylvia Marler
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Angela Manners
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Jon Hunt
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Jacqueline Ward
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Kevin Taylor
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David Manners
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Ania Driver
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Peter Ward
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Sylvia Marler
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Angela Manners
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Jacqueline Ward Jon Hunt
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Ross Bennett
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All of the nominees above received a unanimous vote.
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APPOINTMENTS BY THE COMMITTEE |
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APPOINTMENT
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NAME
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PROPOSED
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SECONDED
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President.
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Cecil Quick
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David Manners
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Ania Driver
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Vice President.
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Bill Reed
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David Humphrey
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Angela Manners
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Standard Bearer.
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Jon Hunt
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David Manners
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Kevin Taylor
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Deputy Standard Bearer.
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Kelsey Ellis
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David Humphrey
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Kevin Taylor
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Chaplain.
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Jane Skinner
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David Manners
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Ross Bennett
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Auditors.
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Keith Jenkin
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Tony Smith
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David Manners
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All of the nominees above received a unanimous vote.
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FORM MS 1
This was completed and signed by Branch Officers and
Committee Members.
Nominations for County Office and Nominations for National Office.
None.
Motions for the County Annual Conference, Sunday the 12th of January 2014.
None.
Delegates for the County and National Conferences.
Kevin Taylor will attend The County Conference in January
2014.
Award of the Jack Loveridge Trophy.
After a secret ballot there was a tie for the first time:
Mrs Sylvia Marler and Mr Tony Smith received the Jack Loveridge Trophy from The
Chairman.
The Next Meeting:
The next meeting will be a GM on Thursday the 2nd of January
2014, at 19:00 hours in The Woodmead Halls.
Meeting Closed: at 20:01 hours.
