BILLERICAY LAWN TENNIS CLUB BLUNTS WALL ROAD BILLERICAY ESSEX CM12 9SA www.billericayltc.co.uk President: Mrs Eileen Booth Minutes of Annual General Meeting Held Friday, 17 th November 2006 PRESENT 51 members OPENING REMARKS The President, Eileen Booth, welcomed members to the meeting especially those attending for the first time. Eileen said that the past year was supposed to have been quieter than 2005 but we seemed to have been as busy as ever, both on and off the tennis courts. The Chairman s report covered all that we had done and also what is proposed for the future. The Committee s main proposals to be discussed concerned several amendments to the Constitution and, in particular, altering the structure of the Club Committee. These proposals had come after great deliberation by the Committee and Eileen hoped that members would be able to support them when the time came to vote on the amendments. Eileen concluded by presenting the Most Improved Player of the Year award to Karl Broom and the Member of the Year award to Chris and Alison Judge in recognition of their support and enthusiasm for all they did at the club. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE Apologies were received from 34 members. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES OF LAST AGM Eileen stated that all members had received copies of the last AGM minutes and asked for any comments. All members present agreed that the minutes were a true and accurate record of the proceedings held at the AGM in
November 2005 and Peter Tyrrell proposed that the minutes be accepted as a true record and Sylvia Best seconded. MATTERS ARISING There were no matters arising at this time. ADOPTION OF THE ACCOUNTS A copy of the audited accounts was posted on the noticeboard for inspection. The books were also available for anyone who wishes to study them in greater detail. Mike Thurlow audited the accounts. Richard referred to the Balance Sheet which showed that the reserves had begun to be rebuilt after last year s heavy expenditure. The net current assets after sundry creditors were 52,328.90. The LTA loan was 9,000 down on last year and all loans will be re-paid by 2016. The profit and loss sheet showed an excess of income over expenditure in the sum of 32,009.58, which was an excellent surplus over last year s loss. Richard thanked Grahame Lister and Liz Brooks for all their work in producing a healthy income from the junior section, even though the club does not set out to make a profit from the juniors. The second highest income generator after members subscriptions was the highly successful Essex Junior Open Tournament. Bar income was down slightly due to fewer social events. Richard thanked all those who had helped to raise money for the club this year through social activities, particularly Eileen Booth. He also gave an enormous thank you to Isabel Holmes for all her work on the catering side. Richard remarked that the club was in a good financial position with a healthy surplus to help cover expenditure over the next few years. The accounts were proposed by Trevor Ward and seconded by Phil Zammitt. Eileen thanked Richard for all his hard work in looking after the accounts of the club. RESOLUTION TO CHANGE THE CONSTITUTION Les explained the committee s proposed changes to the constitution, which had been posted on the noticeboard. Most of the changes were of a technical nature and were required to make the running of the club easier. 2
Mike Thurlow asked whether it would not be sensible to become a member of CASC. If the club was a CASC member, upon dissolution the proceeds would be offered back to the LTA, which would be of no advantage to any members of the club seeking financial gain. Richard replied that the committee had looked at the membership requirements of CASC, as reported at last year s AGM, but it was not felt they were of sufficient financial benefit to the club at the present time. CASC could potentially reduce our council tax bill, but at currently the club received a 50% reduction anyway. It was felt that the situation with regard to dissolution was sufficiently covered by the present wording of the constitution. Phil Zammitt asked whether the committee were worried about the threat of fraud with regard to switching to on-line banking. Les replied that it was a consideration, but felt that the bank would cover us in such an event. Richard advised that he looks at the bank accounts virtually every day and felt any fraudulent transaction would be spotted very quickly. Appropriate precautions would however be taken and the benefits to the club, and particularly on Richard s time, outweighed any anxieties over fraud. On-line banking would principally be used for making payments out, particularly to coaching staff and the bank itself would prefer the club to use this method. The most radical change to the constitution was in connection with the officers of the club. Les explained that the tennis sub-committee felt that more roles should be created to spread the ever expanding workload and make each role a little less onerous. It was therefore decided to create additional positions of a mens captain, a ladies captain and an assistant fixture secretary. These posts would not be main committee positions and would report to the club captain. Rough job descriptions were posted on the noticeboard in advance of the meeting so that anyone interested could see what would be involved. The meeting voted in favour of the changes recommended by the committee. ELECTION OF OFFICERS The Chairman took the floor while the President was proposed by Les Cambridge and seconded by Mike Thurlow. The following members were elected to the committee posts OFFICE NAME PROPOSED SECONDED Chairman L. Cambridge S. Best D. Gent Vice Presidents Mesdames: M. Drewery, S. West Messrs. A. Black, M. Clampin, R. Cook D. Gould, T. Gordine, J. Grottick, B. Gristwood, W. Hawes, K. Murton, M. Randall, K. Rouse, J. Sach, B. Thomas, T. Rutter, W. West, the Chairman of the Cricket Club 3
Proposed by Graham Bruce and seconded by Richard Lehman Hon. Treasurer R. Lehman Mike Thurlow S. Best Secretary Julia Lewis D. Gould R. Milburn Club Captain I. Holmes P. Lehman F. Ward Mens Captain L. Keary G. Lister T. Ward Ladies Captain Julia Lewis Marcelle Thurlow P. Lehman Membership Sec P Tyrrell I. Holmes Julia Lewis Fixtures Sec C. Lovell G. Smart D. Gould Ass. Fixture Sec C. Judge R. Lehman M. Keary Ground Sec D. Gould E. Booth G. Bruce Catering I. Holmes S. Torr N. Alami Bar Rep. M. Capper E. Booth S. Best Head Coach G. Lister Under 21 Rep. K. Broom T. Ward L. Keary Social M. Keary M. Capper C. Judge Midweek Rep S. Best Voted by all mid-week members Ground Sub Committee Bar Sub Committee Messrs. Jan Lewis, W. West, G. Bruce, R. Tyrrell, P. Zammit, P. Tyrrell, M. Keary, J. Nunn T. Ward, S. French, Julia Lewis, T. Galley, C. Judge, P. Zammit, R. Gill, I. Holmes Trustees Messrs. R. Cook. B. Gristwood, L. Cambridge, Mrs. E. Booth TREASURER S ESTIMATED BUDGET FOR 2006/2007 Richard said that the club had been fortunate to receive a number of refunds from our electricity suppliers in the past few years. However, with the large increase in electricity prices, Richard expects a huge bill in the region of 4,000 for the coming year and therefore increasing costs could push up subscriptions and floodlight fees in the future. It was also necessary to bear in mind that reserves need to be built up to maintain a court resurfacing programme over the next six years. Richard expressed his view that our fees are extremely competitive compared with other clubs. Richard then presented his budget in detail: Proposed Subscriptions for Season 01/04/2007-31/03/2008 Senior Members 210 + 10* = 220 Mid-week Members 155 + 10* = 165 Improvers 115 + 10* = 125 4
Under 21 s (in full employment) 135 + 10* = 145 Full Time Students & Intermediates 91.80 + 3.20* = 95 * = proposed LTA/ECLTA Affiliation Fee (Levy) Proposals: 1. Discount of 10% applied to subs payment only (i.e. not levy) to: Over 65 s, OR Families (two or more memberships paid on one cheque) 2. Entrance fees to increase to 100 for all adult membership classes. 3. Social membership to remain at 10. 4. Holding fees to remain at 10. 5. Visitors fees to remain at 3 6. Match fees to remain at (for senior members only) 2 for both summer and winter matches 7. Floodlight fees to remain at 1 for 15 minutes. 8. Floodlight fees for group sessions (e.g. Tuesday social play & Improvers social play) remains at 2 per head (Students 1 per head). 9. Pro rata subscriptions after 1 st October 2007. The Treasurer s proposals were put to the Floor, everyone was in favour and Chris Judge seconded them. TENNIS CAPTAIN S REPORT Firstly Les thanked Rob for all his hard work over the past 5 years as he stepped down as club captain. Rob referred to his written report and reiterated what a good year it had been in the Essex leagues. A second men s singles team will be entered in the Essex league next summer, as there is sufficient support to run two singles teams. CHAIRMAN S REPORT See written report. JUNIOR COACHING See written report under Captain s Report. 5
DEVELOPMENT Les reported that there were no big plans at the moment, as reserves needed to be built up. It costs 35,000 to resurface 2 courts and 50,000 for a block of three courts. The only item being considered at the present time is CCTV in the car park to try to deter joy riders and this will cost 2-3,000 to set up. The surface of the car park remains a problem and will cost at least 15,000 to tarmac, but for the moment it is felt our reserves should be spent on tennis. Les said that the committee were always looking at expansion and have considered buying the strip of land between the cricket club and our driveway. The land next to the football club has recently been sold but without planning permission. If planning permission should be given in the future, it may be an opportunity for us to gain permission to erect a bubble. This project is still on hold, but during the visit of the LTA chairman, Stuart Smith, he expressed his surprise that we had been turned down and offered LTA support to help. He is pursuing the issue with Baroness Billingham, his contact at Westminster. Les referred to the departure of Jamie Walker and Helen Wales and said that it had been sad to see them go and he sympathised with those who had written to him on the subject, but coaches come and go and we cannot get too upset about it. Les said that the arrival of Alex Rouse had helped immensely and had also contributed to our men s first team going up to the 1 st division next year. Les said that he had mixed feelings about continuing as a performance club as it involved a lot of hard work, but provided more opportunity for the children. However, it can be frustrating when children move on to other clubs. He wasn t sure that we really fill the criteria at the present time, but with 343 children on our books it was beholden upon us to provide the best coaching that we could offer. The EJOT had been a great success again, especially with a professional to run it and David Fuchs has been retained to run the tournament again next year. The committee had considered a single membership fee rather than having full and mid week categories, but in the end it had been decided it was too much money to ask the mid week members to pay. Les said he was pleased to see an increased turn out and some new and younger members coming to the committee. Richard reiterated how important it was to have a strong committee and that the club was wholly dependent upon its members and its volunteers. He highlighted the plight of Brentwood Hard to show how things can go wrong without firm leadership. 6
WIMBLEDON TICKET ALLOCATION Bill West s proposal was read to the meeting and a ballot was held. The proposal was defeated. Gill Bamber had written a letter suggesting that only written apologies should be eligible for the ticket allocation as was the case in the past. The meeting did not vote on this suggestion because it had not been posted on the noticeboard in advance of the meeting. The meeting closed at 10.15 p.m. 7