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.

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:
Appointees:
	Mr Cecil Quick	President
Committee:
	Mr Ken Whetlor	Chairman
	Mr David Manners	Vice Chairman
	Mr Tony Smith	Honorary Secretary
	Lt Col Ross Bennett	Welfare Chairman
	Mrs Ania Driver	Welfare Secretary
	Mrs Sylvia Marler	Poppy Appeal Organiser
	Mr David Humphrey	Recruitment Advisor
	Mr Jon Hunt	Member/Std Bearer
	Mrs Angela Manners	Member
	Mr Kevin Taylor	Member
	Mr Peter Ward	Member
	Mrs Jacqueline Ward	Member
Attendant:
	Miss Kelsey Ellis	Youth Member
Apologies:
	Mr Martin Jones	Honorary Treasurer
	Mr Mike Lloyd	Member
	Mr Robert Humphrey	Branch Member
	Mrs Tracey Humphrey	Branch Member
	Mr Vernon Rattenbury	Branch Member
	Mr Jeremy Robson	Branch Member
	Miss Nicole Parkinson-Ward	Youth Member

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.

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:
		Last Report	This Report
		29 November 2012	28 November 2013
	Current Account	£1,164.79	£423.08
	Branch Funds at Head Office	£13,738.10	£13,281.95
	Total	£14,902.89	£13,705.03

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	£0.00
Business Boxes	£0.00
Direct Church Collections	£0.00
Direct Gift Aid	£0.00
Direct Donations / Sales	£0.00
Direct Special Events	£0.00
Direct Wreaths	£0.00
Not Restricted Funds	£0.00
Poppy Appeal Organiser	£5,506.74
Church Collections	£403.75
Donations / Sales	£94.50
House to House	£0.00
Special Events	£579.67
90th Anniversary	£135.06
Static Point Collections	£0.00
Static Point Manned	£2,324.16
Static Point Unmanned	£1,791.69
Street Collections	£0.00
Unallocated	£52.91
Wreaths	£125.50
GROSS TOTAL	£5,506.74
Claimed Expenses (LC)	£0.00
Retained Expenses (LR)	-£41.00
NET TOTAL	£5,465.74

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
APPOINTMENT	NAME		PROPOSED			SECONDED
Chairman.	Ken Whetlor		David Manners			Jacqueline Ward
Vice Chairman.	David Manners		Ania Driver			Peter Ward
Honorary Secretary.	Tony Smith		Ania Driver			David Manners
Honorary Treasurer.	Martin Jones		David Manners			Jon Hunt
Welfare Chairman.	Ross Bennett		Ania Driver			David Humphrey
Welfare Secretary.	Ania Driver		Jacqueline Ward			Kevin Taylor
Poppy Appeal Organiser.	Sylvia Marler		Angela Manners			Peter Ward
Recruitment Advisor.	David Humphrey		Jon Hunt			Kevin Taylor
Members
	Jon Hunt			Ross Bennett		Sylvia Marler
	Angela Manners			Jon Hunt		Jacqueline Ward
	Kevin Taylor			David Manners		Ania Driver
	Peter Ward			Sylvia Marler		Angela Manners
	Jacqueline Ward Jon Hunt			Ross Bennett
All of the nominees above received a unanimous vote.
APPOINTMENTS BY THE COMMITTEE
APPOINTMENT	NAME	PROPOSED			SECONDED
President.	Cecil Quick	David Manners			Ania Driver
Vice President.	Bill Reed	David Humphrey			Angela Manners
Standard Bearer.	Jon Hunt	David Manners			Kevin Taylor
Deputy Standard Bearer.	Kelsey Ellis	David Humphrey			Kevin Taylor
Chaplain.	Jane Skinner	David Manners			Ross Bennett
Auditors.	Keith Jenkin	Tony Smith			David Manners
All of the nominees above received a unanimous vote.

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.