Annual General Meeting 2023

Annual General Meeting

To be held on Thursday, 23rd March 2023
At 8:00pm, at Toot Hill Village Hall

As a member of the Group, you are invited to the 23rd AGM.

We look forward to welcoming you to our AGM which will be held at Toot Hill Village Hall. We need a minimum number of attendees so would urge you to come along as this short meeting will be followed by a short talk by our Committee Member, Anne Brooks. There will also be wine and nibbles to follow.

Agenda

1. Welcome and apologies for absence.
2. Minutes of previous AGM held on 24th March 2022 (copy attached).
3. Matters Arising.
4. Reports
   1. Chairman’s Report: Martyn Lockwood

      2022 proved to be another successful year for the Group, with a variety of speakers, with a few returning for a subsequent talk. We continue to look out for interesting speakers and so if you come across one, then please let us know. Our programme for 2023 is full.

      Sadly, we have lost several members during the past 12 months and, although our numbers at the moment are good, we need to encourage people to join. Our attendance at meetings is good. Our meetings are advertised in the Ongar News.

      We continue to produce 4 newsletters a year and we still manage to find articles of local interest to fill the pages.

      Many thanks to the Committee for their support, especially in the kitchen, and to those who have written articles for the Journal.

   2. Secretary’s Report: Jane Adair

      During 2022 all 8 meetings were held at Toot Hill Village Hall and were well attended. We had interesting talks provided by 4 speakers from the Group and a further 4 external speakers increased the variety of talks.

      Our AGM was held in March at Toot Hill Village Hall where 20 members attended which ensured we could be quorate for the meeting to go ahead.

      Additionally, we held 2 Committee Meetings, one in August 2022 at Anne Brooks’ house and the other in February 2023 at my house. We would welcome anybody who would like to join the Committee so please do approach any Committee Member if you would like to join us.

      I would like to conclude with my thanks to my fellow Committee Members and that we can all look forward to another interesting year of talks.

   3. Treasurer’s Report: Andrew Smith

      Approval of draft accounts for the year ended 31st December 2022. Please see attached Receipts and Payments Account and Treasurer’s Report.

      Proposed/Seconded

5. Subscriptions for the year beginning 1st April 2022.

   It is recommended that the membership fee remains at £15.00 individual and £30.00 for family membership. In order to cover some increase in expenditure it is recommended that the entrance fee be increased to £2.00 for members but will remain at £5.00 for visitors. At the AGM and Christmas when special refreshments are served that this will remain at £2.00 for members and £5.00 for visitors.

   Proposed/Seconded

6. Election of Committee.

   The Constitution requires one Committee member for every 10 members (para. 6.1). The following Committee Members have offered themselves for re-election and the Executive Committee recommends:

   • Chairman: Martyn Lockwood
   • Treasurer: Andrew Smith
   • Secretary: Jane Adair
   • Other Members: Anne Brooks, Peter Moring, Elaine Smith

   Proposed/Seconded

7. Programme for 2023: A full programme of speakers for the year 2023/24 has been agreed.
8. Any Other Business: This should be communicated to the Secretary before the meeting.
9. Date of next Annual General Meeting: To be advised as our March meeting and AGM in 2024 would fall on Maundy Thursday.

Secretary:
Jane Adair