BRISTOL SOCIETY OF MODEL AND EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS

Transcription

1 BRISTOL SOCIETY OF MODEL AND EXPERIMENTAL ENGINEERS MINUTES OF 2014 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD 5 th FEBRUARY 2014 AT BEGBROOK COMMUNITY CENTRE 1. Apologies for Absence. Gordon Cackett; John Hawley; Roger Perrin; Peter Whistler; David Giles; June Heath; Paul Martin; Eric Lindsay; Roger Davis; Andrew Chambers; Colin Hawkins and Elizabeth Ward. 2. Minutes of 2013 AGM The minutes of the 2012 AGM have been available for collection at Begbrook, from the Secretary by and on the Notice Board at Ashton for review of accuracy. It was proposed by Kevin Slater and seconded by Adrian Gough that they be adopted as a true record. This was agreed unanimously. The Vice President, Mr Bernard North, duly signed the minutes as such. 3. Actions arising The requirement of an EGM was carried out in July for the approval to construct a workshop at Ashton Court. The minutes of this EGM have been available for collection at Begbrook, from the Secretary by and on the Notice Board at Ashton for review of accuracy. It was proposed by David Ward and seconded by Owen North that they be adopted as a true record. This was agreed unanimously. The Vice President, Mr Bernard North duly signed the minutes as such. There were no other actions arising. 4. Vice President s Address. The President s address was given and attached at annex Appointment of Tellers. Not required. 6. Annual General Meeting: ORDINARY BUSINESS a) Chairman s Report. This was given by Derek Todman and is given at annex 2. Acceptance of the report was proposed by Philip Bridgway and seconded by Donald Cordall. Acceptance of the report was carried unanimously. b) Ashton Site Manager s Report. This was given by Bob Lilley and is given at annex 3. Acceptance of the report was proposed by Richard Lunn and seconded by Frank Gribben. Acceptance of the report was carried unanimously. c) Treasurer s Report. This was given by Norman Rogers and is given at annex 4. It was stated that both the Ordinary and the Exhibition accounts have been audited by George Ganley. The Treasurer and the Chairman had also requested an oversight on the matter of Corporation tax due under a request from the HMRC with member James McLaughlin. Note: none payable. Page 1 of 10

2 Acceptance of the report was proposed by Kevin Slater and seconded by George Ganley. Acceptance of the report was carried unanimously. d) Financial accounts for 2012/13. An abridged version of these had previously been circulated to all members and the full version was available at the AGM to anyone who required a copy. Approval of the Accounts for the year ended 31st. October 2013 was proposed by Trevor Chambers and seconded by Kevin Slater. e) Subscriptions for 2014 It was proposed that the subscription fees for all members be kept unchanged ordinary members 35, senior members 25. Family 44, Associates 7.50 and Juniors 3 as well as the joining fee remaining at 0 The proposal was unanimously agreed f) Appointment of Vice President Bernard North stated that the position of President remained unfilled and that it was the Committee s wish to appoint a second Vice President; Donald Cordall. His active participation over a long period in the aims and running of the Society have produced much of benefit to the Society. Proposed Derek Todman, Seconder Alan Hooper, Third Norman Rogers. Carried unanimously g- j) Appointment of Directors Chairman: Derek Todman Proposed, Donald Cordall, seconded, Mike Stimson carried unanimously Vice Chairman: This position not filled. Treasurer: Sean Griffiths Proposed, Richard Lunn, seconded, Owen North carried unanimously Secretary: Alan Hooper Proposed, Sean Griffiths, seconded, Mike Goom carried unanimously Ashton Site Manager: Bernard North Proposed, Derek Todman, seconded, James Kent carried unanimously Appointment of Non Directors k) Programme Secretary: Owen North l-p) Proposed, Derek Taylor, seconded, Derek Todman carried unanimously Election of Five Members of Management Committee. There were five candidates are seeking election to the five posts; David Ward, Herbert Roberts, Mike Keighley, Mike Richardson & Norman Rogers. All five were proposed by Derek Todman, seconded, Sean Griffiths and elected unanimously en bloc. Page 2 of 10

3 q-u) Appointment of non-voting officers. q.- Newsletter Editor - Trevor Chambers Proposed, Mike Stimsom, seconded, Richard Lunn carried unanimously r) Librarian - Robert Thomson Proposed, Kevin Slater, seconded, Adrian Gough carried unanimously s) Membership Secretary - Roger Jay Proposed, Mike Goom, seconded, Frank Gribben carried unanimously t) COG Editor George Ganley, seconded, Mark Pillips carried unanimously u) Web Master Harrison Fletcher Proposed, Donald Cordall, seconded, Sean Griffiths carried unanimously 7. Presentation of Awards. The following awards were presented: The H M Webb Trophy: Graham Hawkins 5" GWR Class 47 Chairman s Plate: Andrew Harding Aeroplane undercarriage Eric Griffiths Trophy: Ron James Services to the Society Ted Knight Trophy: Philip Bridgway Steam water pump Bristol Shovel Gordon Cackett BRIMLEC Ingenuity Trophy William Collett Bungee 1(elastic powered) Chairman s Challenge William Collett Bungee 1 (elastic powered) Certificates: George Ganley Cog Editort Arthur Clark Work on the Club Polly Bob Lilley & Alan Hooper The Club Workshop All other Cups and Trophies were not awarded 8. Any Other Business David Gray: Where are the awards set out Handbook Page 5 Kevin Slater: The Club traction engine, what is its status presently in bits but has been steamed and at Bob Thompsons. Requires volunteer to complete assembly and painting, Derek Todman is on the prowl to arm twist. Trevor Chambers: finish it or sell it! Adrian Gough: Budget for workshop machinery Derek replied that this has not been considered in depth and that the Committee should formalise how we should proceed with suitable financial way points. Will be added to the Committee Aganda. The meeting closed at 21:59hrs. Page 3 of 10

4 Minutes Approved by.date Bernard North Vice President Page 4 of 10

5 Annex 1 Vice President's Address (Bernard North) Vice Presidents Address AGM This address would normally of course be given by our President, but as has already been said, with sad demise of Geoff Sheppard in April 2013, the Society is currently without a President. As currently the only Vice President, I have been invited by your Chairman to say a few words at this particular point in the AGM. First of all can I just briefly touch on the subject of selecting a new President for the Society. Geoff s passing was a particularly tragic event in the life of the Society and he is a very hard act to follow. He was involved in so many aspects of the hobby both locally and nationally. He was a true champion of the Society and also had many influential contacts in the area. He definitely had the Societies best interests at heart. The committee has given significant consideration to this matter and it has taken up some time at committee meetings during the year. Traditionally, over the years, this Society has chosen a President from three main categories i. A well-respected local political figure. Someone perhaps within the City Council who has an interest in our affairs and who could stand our corner if required. I am thinking here of someone like Sir Bob Wall who was very influential in our move to Ashton. ii. A Captain of Industry. John Wragg as a Technical Director of Rolls Royce fitted this category and was a friend of the Society through his interests in railways generally and particularly the Festiniog. iii. An elder statesman of the Society. Here Geoff Shepherd was the obvious choice a long standing member and well respected nationally throughout the hobby. In our deliberations, the committee has yet to identify a suitable candidate from any of these categories that fits the bill. It was felt that rather than make a quick decision, we should take our time and make sure that the right candidate was chosen. The Society currently has one Vice President and shortly hopefully will have a second. So between us we should be able to keep the Chairman in order. I think perhaps the main credentials for a President are someone who really has the Society s interests at heart and is not afraid of standing up and being counted to defend our corner if required. If you have any ideas, I know that the committee would welcome any suggestions for consideration as our next President. It usually falls to the President in his address to take a look forward and perhaps challenge us to think about the future development of the Society. Well I am not going to be too controversial here and throw out any difficult suggestions. I think there are just a couple of points I would like to make. With the decision taken at the EGM back in August to build a workshop facility for the Society, we are moving into a new phase in the Societies history. With the tremendous work put in by both Alan Hooper and Bob Lilley, we now have a superb new building at our Ashton Court Railway site that has been completed both on time and on budget and is ready for establishing the Society s workshop. We now need to populate it with some good quality machine tools and equipment to give us a first class facility. I should make particular emphasise here that this facility is not just for the railway, it is for the members as a whole. For the first time we will be able to offer members a well equipped workshop together with the opportunity to offer assistance or training in perhaps that rather special job that is just outside the capacity of our own workshop. Yes there will be some rules, but these are only aimed at preserving the quality of the facility and operating in a safe environment. It will also give us the opportunity to encourage others new to the hobby to become familiar with using machine tools and gain the skills to start making something. One of the Society s prime aims is to encourage model engineering in all its various aspects and our new workshop facility definitely fills those aims. Many other Model Engineering Society s in the country do have similar facilities and I am sure we look back in years to come and wonder why we did not do this earlier. Page 5 of 10

6 The other point I would like to touch on is the subject of getting involved. I think for the first time that I can remember, the Chairman has had quite a difficult time in finding sufficient folk willing to go onto the Society s General Committee and take on the various roles. As you will no doubt have noticed from the calling notice he has managed it but only by recycling us all around a bit and he is good at arm twisting there aren t many new faces. So the challenge is to get involved and become part of the team. The Society has several new members joining this year and a few of them are stepping up to the mark and doing their bit. This leads on to the other area that will be close to my heart during the next year the railway at Ashton, with all the hard work that is required to keep the railway safe and tidy as a fully operational facility. One of the reasons I agreed to take on the role of Railway Manager was because no one else came forward to do the job. OK it needs a bit of back ground experience I have done it a couple of times before, but I will need a good understudy to hand it over to in the future - it doesn t need to be a three year apprenticeship they can start next year!! The Society is generally in very good shape and it has a very bright and rich future in front of it. Can I just encourage you to consider stepping forward and getting a bit more involved in running the Society and also its railway. We do need your help. Finally can I enthuse you to continue making things in this wonder hobby of model engineering. If you are new to the hobby and have not yet taken the plunge, do give it serious consideration. Read one of the magazines to get some ideas there are plenty about talk to some of us seasoned model engineers. The hobby has so many different aspects it doesn t have to be just railways or even steam. And don t forget to show us what you have been doing at the On the Table nights or at the exhibition you might even win one of the Society s awards. Bernard North Vice President Page 6 of 10

7 Annex 2 - Chairman's Address (Derek Todman) Mr Vice President, Ladies and Gentlemen, good evening and thanks for your attendance. I have survived my first year although I have to say it did not get off to a good start with the passing away of our President, Geoff Sheppard. Also at the same Time Bill Burnett passed away. Both these members were part of the large group that were involved in the setting up of the Railway at Ashton Court after moving from Canford. It did bring home the fact that the Chairman is charged with looking after the Club s assets and where impossible improving them for the future. It also reminded me of the efforts of a lot of people have put in the get the Society where it is today. Those efforts still continue and the committee and I recognise the support we get from the members to support our major events such as the Exhibition, Santa Special, Cludo Club and of course the Public Running days, I could go on This year saw the agreement of the new lease with the Council. In the current climate it was the best we could get and at least we have security of tenure for a further 5 yewars. It was clear in the negotiations that Bristol City Council does see us as a major asset and are looking for a continued presence on the estate. My thanks go to Bob Lilley and Kevin Slater for all the efforts they put in to achieve a good agreement, negotiating with a government body is straightforward at all. Returning to the improvement of the Society s facilities I am pleased to announce that the building of new Club Workshop is complete, we are just waiting for the floor paint to cure before starting the job of equipping it. I would like to thank Bob Lilley and Alan Hooper for their efforts in getting planning permission, organising the builders and the team to get the doors and electrics in, the walls and floor painted and all the other bits and pieces. My thanks also go to the team for the support. I believe thanks should also go to the members who attended the AGM. There were a lot of searching questions asked and I believe all points raised at the meeting or by proxy were addressed and the Workshop Motion was passed with a large majority. I would remind you all that this is a Society Workshop and any member can use it. It certainly not limited to railway members only! The exhibition again was a great success, again there were the usual comments that it is a friendly and excellent exhibition with a variety of exhibits, even to the extent that some traders limit are putting us on a par with Harrogate. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Steve Birch and his team for organising this event and again the members for their magnificent support during the setting up, during and dismantling the event, I know from my own experience it is hard work. This year has seen two Directors completing their 3 year stint; my thanks go to Bob Lilley as Railway Manager for looking after the railway and Norman Rogers for looking after the money. I think it has been yet another good year at Ashton with a large number of passengers being carried. Incidentally, my thanks go to Keith parker for organising the Fun Days. Bob has decided to step down from the Committee, I think I am going to miss his input. He has been a long serving member on the Committee in a variety of guises. We have however managed to persuade him to look after the Clubs and Societies for the exhibition; at least he won t get bored. My thanks go to Norman Rogers for looking after the money; the Club s Accounts remain in good shape, even with the workshop expenditure. Phil Bridgway has also decided to retire from the Committee; my thanks go to him for his input over the years. Also retiring from one of his jobs is George Ganley who has relinquished his role as COG editor. This has always been a very good journal full of interesting articles and I think his last edition was one of his best. He will still continue producing the certificates, Playing Santa and auditing the Society s general and Exhibition accounts. Finally Ron James, who has also served on the Committee as treasurer, has after many many years passed over the Silver solder stock to David Ward I would like to say here that it has been a bit of a struggle to get new members to join the Committee and I believe this is the first time for many years that we do not have a full Page 7 of 10

8 quota of nominations. The Committee does need new blood, so over the next year I will be looking to persuade a few of the younger members to join. One of my successes as Chairman is that I have cut down the number of Committee meetings to roughly six per year. This year saw the r-introduction of the Chairman s Challenge and there were some very interesting entries and a very interesting article in the COG. I understand from those that entered that it was not as easy as it sounded. This year I have simplified the task, it will be to lift an egg from a table to the floor without touching any part of the egg with one s hand. Finally I would like to thank you all for the support, comments, advice suggestions over the last year and I look forward to the same again Thanks Page 8 of 10

9 Annex 3 - Railway Managers Report (Bob Lilley) Page 9 of 10

10 Annex 4 - Treasurer's Report (Norman Rogers) Treasurer s Report to the Annual General Meeting of the Bristol Society of Model & Experimental Engineers 5th February For the year ending 31st October 2013 Mr. Vice President, Ladies and Gentlemen I am pleased to present the Treasurer s report for the BSMEE s financial year ending 31st October A copy of the Income & Expenditure Summary has been issued to all members and shows the income and expenditure of the Society during the financial year with the closing statement at the bottom of the report. Copies of the reports & accounts that will be submitted to Companies House are available from the secretary. To highlight the overall results for BSMEE: - We started our year with total assets of 65,594 Our income from all sources was 37,722 and our expenditure was 56,635. We ended the year with total assets of 46,681 thereby recording a net loss of 18,913. The principal features for 2013 are that the railway generated an income of 17,279 and the Exhibition returned a surplus of 11,864. Running costs for the Ashton Court railway amounted to 10,269 and the total spent on projects was 37,512 which includes 33,077 for the workshop. An amount of 700 was withheld on the final invoice to cover floor leveling which has now been done and the retention cleared. In considering the Society picture the income from the membership including gift aid was 7,489 and Club General Expenditure was 8,854, but it should be noted that that includes 2 years rental costs for this Begbrook meeting room. No changes to the subscription rates for the coming year are proposed. As has already been mentioned George Ganley has conducted an audit of the Society and Exhibition accounts and has found them to be in order. In conclusion the accounts show BSMEE to be financially healthy and I offer the reports & accounts for your acceptance. I shall be happy to take any questions through the chair. Thank you. Page 10 of 10