Members are reminded of the Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 19th October 2016 at 6.15 prompt. The agenda is as follows:

1. Attendance/apologies

2. Minutes of AGM held on 21/10/15

3. Chairman's Report

4. Treasurer's Report

5. Honoria

6. Election of officers and Committee members

7. Festice Evening arrangements

8. Christmas arrangements.

Members are requesteed to make every effort to attend as we have to achieve a quorum. There will be no AOB as proposals for items to be discussed at the meeting should be passed to Mike Savage or Pat Arpino prior to the meeting. We urgently need a new Secretary and another Committee member so if you know of anyone who would be willing to fulfil these roles, please put their names forward at least 2 days before the meeting, together with the names of the proposers and seconders, and showing the person's willingness to stand.

The first item on the agenda will be the approval of last year's minutes and these can be found below this announcement, therefore the minutes will be taken as read. Hard copies will be made available at the meeting. 

As we would like to play bridge after the meeting, we kindly request members to be prompt. 

In view of the fact that there have been no play results scored for the Tuesday sessions for about 4 months and irregularly before that, it is impossible to continue with the competition for the Keith Gilbert Trophy. It has therefore been cancelled.

Further to the item below on updating your details on the EBU  website, we have been asked to make sure that members also indicate their 'Primary Club'. Several members are members of and play in more than one club and the EBU needs to know which is their 'Primary Club'. This can be done by clicking on to their personal page, then my Club membership and then click the star under 'Primary'. This only applies to members who are members of several clubs.

ALPHA BRIDGE CLUB

Venue Gorleston Conservative Club.

Date 21/10/2015 at 6.15 pm

Present Pat Arpino (chairman) and 19 other members. No apologies were received.

The minutes of the AGM of 15/10/14 and of the EGM of 17/12/14 were read. Charles Stenner proposed they be accepted, seconded by Mike Amos and carried.

Chairman's Report: The Chairman started by thanking several people. All of the Alpha Committee and Conservative Club staff for their efforts over the year. Kim Plane and Sue Knight for the delicious cakes on Fridays. The webmaster, Andy Bremer, the TDs Peter Harrison and Mike Savage, and the scorers. She also commented on the overall attendances in the year, with the worrying low attendance on Tuesdays and the much higher attendance on Fridays. Peter Harrison proposed the report be accepted, seconded by Mike Amos and carried.

Treasurer's Report: The Chairman reported that she had covered this role since January with the assistance of Wendy Smith. The Club has shown a profit of £48 this year so she proposed that the table money stay the same at £1, seconded by Carl Jacob, and membership fees at £2, seconded by Chris Lock, both carried. Peter Harrison proposed the Report be accepted, seconded Doris Bailey and carried..

TD Comments: Chief TD Mike Savage reported that the timing of the rounds on Friday was necessary in order to finish on time as the room was aften needed straight after us leaving it.

Honoraria: The Treasurer pro tem proposed that the honoraria continue at £250 for venue staff and £50 for the webmaster, seconded Rob Richardson, and carried.

Election of Officers: of the outgoing Committee, Pat Arpino expressed her wish to step down as Chairman and Treasurer pro tem and Rob Richardson was no longer able to be Secretary. Nominations had been received for Mike Savagae as Chairman, proposed Chris Lock, seconded Pat Arpino, and for Wendy Smith as Treasurer, proposed Pat Arpino, seconded Mike Savage. Both elected unopposed. There were no nominations for Secretary so the post will remain vacant. Mike Amos, Janet Dillon and Charles Stenner were re-elected as Committee members and Pat Arpino agreed to stay on the Committee, proposed Alan MItchell, seconded Ella Mitchell, elected unopposed. As the Committee was one member short Rob Richardson proposed that the Committee be allowed to co-opt another member should a volunteer arise, seconded Charles Stenner and carried..

Festive Evening: The outgoing secretary, Rob Richardson, stated that he had received a proposal from Martin Plane that non-members and those members who had attended fewer than 12 sessions in the year be charged £10 to attend the Festive Evening. Rob Richardson seconded this. A debate on the matter followed and it was put to the vote and carried by 9 votes to 8. The new Chairman gave further details of the Festive evening (these can be found further on this News Page).

Closure The meeting was closed at 6.50pm and bridge played 

The new Committee as of 21st October 2015 comprises: Mike Savage, Chairman; Wendy Smith, Treasurer. There is no Secretary.  Committee members: Pat Arpino, Mike Amos, Janet Dillon, Charles Stenner. Pat Arpino is acting as Secretary pro tem until a permanent Secretary can be found.

It is in members’ interests that the personal details that the EBU holds for them on its records are up-to-date. It is also helpful if members can provide the EBU with an email address so that important communications from CountyAssociations, which are currently sent out by post, can be sent electronically, thereby helping to keep costs down. We are therefore asking clubs to encourage their members to check that their own details are correct. You may wish to provide your members with the following instructions:

Checking your EBU membership details

It is a good idea to check that the EBU has the correct personal details for you on its records which will ensure that your magazine and diary are delivered to the correct address. You can do this most easily online through your own personal members area on the EBUwebsite. If you do not have Internet access at home, you might ask a friend or family member or someone at the club to help. Local libraries also offer free access to the Internet, and the staff are usually very helpful if you are not familiar with its workings.

Logging in to the EBU members area

In order to log in to your members area on the EBU website you will need your EBU number and password. EBU membership cards and passwords were sent out to all EBU members with the June 2010 edition of the EBU magazine English Bridge, or on joining the EBU if that took place more recently. If you have lost your password, see below.

1. Go to the EBU website at www.ebu.co.uk
2. Click on the 'Member Login' button at the top left
3. Enter your EBU (User) number and password – note that passwords are case sensitive
4. Click on ‘Login’
5. Click on ‘My Details’
6. Update your details
7. Please provide an email address if possible. Your email address will not be passed on to any third party.
8. The EBU may on occasion forward third party advertising material. If you do not wish to receive this, please untick the box marked ‘Receive Non-EBUMailings?’
9. Click on the ‘Update’ button
10. Check that everything is correct
11. Click on the ‘Logout’ button

Note that if you wish to change your primary County of Allegiance, you will need to call the EBU on 01296-317225 or 01296-317201.

If you have lost your EBU password

A) If your current email address is registered with the EBU:

• Go to the EBU website at www.ebu.co.uk
• Click on the 'Member Login' button at the top left
• Enter your EBU (User) number
• Click on 'Forgot Password?'
• An email with a new password will be sent to the email address we have registered for you. Please note that if the email address is out-of-date or inaccurate, the email will not reach you.

B) If your current email address is not registered with the EBU, send an email to postmaster@ebu.co.uk or call us on 01296-317200.

(Note that some overzealous spam filters will filter out email messages from the EBU, so it is always a good idea to check your spam messages for a reply if you haven't received one within an hour or so.)

C) If you do not have email and wish to register a change of postal address,please call the EBU on 01296-317200 or write to Membership Department, EBU,Broadfields, Bicester Road, Aylesbury HP18 8AZ