Minutes Of The General Meeting Of The Lyme Regis Branch. Held At The Woodmead Halls, Lyme Regis, Thursday 07 March 2013 At 19:00 Hrs.

Minutes Of The General Meeting Of The Lyme Regis Branch. Held At The Woodmead Halls, Lyme Regis, Thursday 07 March 2013 At 19:00 Hrs.

Present:
Committee:	Mr Cecil Quick	President
	Mr Ken Whetlor	Chairman
	Mr David Manners	Vice Chairman
	Mr Tony Smith	Honorary Secretary
	Mr Martin Jones	Honorary Treasurer
	Lt Col Ross Bennett	Welfare Chairman
	Mrs Sylvia Marler	Poppy Appeal Organiser
	Mr David Humphrey	Recruitment Advisor
	Mr Mike Lloyd	Member
	Mrs Angela Manners.	Member
	Mr Kevin Taylor	Member
	Mrs Jacqueline Ward	Member
Guests:	Mrs Lucy Eden	County Chairman.
	Mr Ron Eden	Christchurch Branch.

01. Exhortation:

The President

02. Apologies:             

	Mr Keith Austin	Member
	Mr Jon Hunt	Member
	Mr Peter Ward	Member
Absent:
	Mrs Ania Driver	Welfare Secretary
	CJ Kitchener	Area Manager.

Before the Meeting started, The Vice Chairman introduced Mr Phillip Evans, who received a Certificate in recognition of his Meritorious Service to The Royal British Legion, Lyme Regis Branch, over the last seventeen years.

Mr Evans responded by saying he had always been a huge admirer and supporter of the RBL. It had been an tremendous privilege for him to compere the annual Festival of Remembrance. He said “I am enormously proud to have received this Certificate and I will treasure it for the rest of my life.”

03. Minutes of the Last Meeting:

The Minutes of the last Meeting held on the 3rd of January 2013  were agreed as a true record and signed by The Chairman.

Proposed: David Humphrey.      Seconded: Kevin Taylor.            Carried: Unanimously.

04. Matters Arising:

None.

05. Additions to the Agenda.

None.

06. Chairman’s Report.

I have not got a report. I had expected Madam Kitchener to address the meeting but she is not here. However, The County Chairman, Mrs Lucy Eden is here and I would like her to say a few words.

The County Chairman has only been in the chair for seven weeks but stated that “ My aim is to visit all Branches over the next three years and bring Branches together and work together again.”

Remembrance Parade:

The Chairman sent a letter to The Reverend Jane Skinner and to The Council asking for comments about changing to a morning parade. The Council is happy but there has been no reply from the church to date.

The Vice Chairman said that the programme cannot be rewritten until the church’s views are known.

(After Minute. The Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary met The Reverend Jane Skinner and Margaret McConkey in St. Michael’s Church on the 2nd of April 2013.

It was agreed in principal that the new timings should be:

• 10:10 hours       Assemble in Langmoor Gardens.
• 10:35 hours       Arrive at St. Michael’s Church.
• 10:45 hours       Service begins.
• 11:00 hours       Two Minutes Silence.
• Post service      March past the War Memorial.

The Reverend Jane will be attending a meeting with the other Ministers in Lyme on the 10th of April, and will inform them about these changes. No information has been received about the outcome of this meeting.)

07. Vice Chairman’s Report.

The Town band are aware of the changes to The Festival of Remembrance and the Remembrance Day Parade.

The Town Diary is the most underused document in the town. It is no help in planning our fundraising dates. At the next meeting I will bring details of all the activities in the town for 2013.

08. Honorary Secretary’s Report.

There are still no details of courses. The branch has a requirement for:

• Branch Management
• Branch Treasurer
• Case Worker
• Parade Marshal and
• Standard Bearer Training.

The Secretary put in a plea to The County Chairman, whilst understanding that County is in a state of upheaval at the moment, this branch has a requirement for courses.

The County Chairman replied that there is now a Training Officer on board and it is recognised that appointees to committees need to be properly trained. It is hoped to run future course in Dorset.

Dave Humphrey has given all the details of Standard Bearer Training to Jon Hunt.

09. Honorary Treasurer’s Report:

The Branch holds:	Last Report 03.01.13	This report 07.03.13
Current Account	£1,077.79	£69.29
Branch Funds at Head Office	£13,738.10	£13,847.00
Total	£14,815.89	£13,916.29

Notes:

£832.00 will be debited by Head Office in the next few weeks for membership subscriptions.

The donation of £1,000 to County Welfare is now reflected in the above figures.

10. Welfare Chairman’s Report.

The visit programme continues.

I visited a 93 years old lady the other day who is basically suffering from the UK’s biggest disease – loneliness!

Lymewood visits to dementia patients continue.

Our Committee Member, Keith, has undergone a major operation and will no longer be able to serve on The Committee. He is now being treated at home.

Dave Humphrey proposed that a letter should be sent to Keith Austin accepting his resignation and thanking him for his attendance over the years. This was seconded by David Manners and unanimously agreed. The Secretary will draft a letter for The Chairman.

Ted Bignal is ill in The Ryeberry Ward in Bridport Hospital. As his wife does not drive some assistance is required. He will probably be going to Dorchester soon.

The Welfare Chairman recounted a story that he had given a brand new raincoat to a needy farmer who had given £10 for it. Ross had accepted it as a donation to The Legion. The farmer had been pleasantly surprised to receive a letter of thanks from Martin confirming the money had actually gone to The RBL!

11. Welfare Secretary’s Report.

Absent.

12. Poppy Appeal Organiser’s Report.

All the money for the wreaths has been received – including The Coast Guards!

13. Recruitment Advisor’s Report:

I have recruited one member since the last meeting, and I have my eyes on one other at the moment.

• The membership now stands at 165 members.
• 106 pay by Direct Debit
• 57 pay by Cash
• 2 are Life members.

Badges:

I hold six Legion Membership Badges and £70.00. If any committee member knows of any member wishing to purchase a badge they are £5:00 each.

Legion Dinner:

I am in the process of organising a dinner for Legion members and guests at the Golf Club on Saturday 6th April. I have sent out 150 letters to the 165 members and I have to say I think it has been a poor response: 34 people will be attending as it stands at the moment. That is only a response from 17 members. However the minimum number required was 20, so the event can continue.

14. Standard Bearer’s Activities:

Not present.

15. Future Meetings:

The next General Committee Meeting will be held at 19:00hours, in The Woodmead Halls, on the Thursday the 2nd of May 2013.

Meeting Closed: at 20:03 hours.