Minutes of Rugby Bridge Club 2013 Annual General Meeting held on
Tuesday 21st May 2013 at the Sacred Heart Church Hall, Lime Tree Ave, Bilton, Rugby.
Rugby Bridge Club Committee
Peter Langley (Chairman)
Wendy Pattinson ( Vice Chair)
Phil Shorey (Treasurer)
Chris Malthouse
Terry Bradbury
Anne Carrington
David Hicks (General Secretary)
The following members were present:
Alan Webb Chris Cassin Freddie. Foster Ann Burrage
Patti. Jarvis David. Hicks Terry.Bradbury Roger Ward
Liz Edwards Peter. Augustus Jeff. Stafford Marion Dixon
Mary Kerridge Graham Clarke Sue Osborne Janet Chappell
Pat Wren Tony Wren Clare Dixon Dave Owen
Rita Lord Ken Miles Val Wormleighton John Bolton
Sheila Taylor Peter Iredale David Heron Maria Smyth
Pam Southern Ken Fernie David Reed Graham Lightfoot
Judith Kleiner Terry Leary Debbie Welch Richard Holland
Ivan Beniston Craig Hutton Sid Downton Pat Downton
Roy Deacon Nicky Bainbrdge Wendy Crees Carole Broadhurst
Malcolm Taylor John Leaviss Maxine Ross
1. Apologies
Phil Beagley Dennis Angrove Felicity White Christine Cooper
Mike Allman Peng Ward John Lord Vera Iredale
Helen Foster Anne Pettitt Geoff Lea Sue Spirett
2. Minutes of the AGM held on the 13th November 2012
The Chairman opened by drawing attention to the fact that there were two meetings held on this date, one of the former Rugby Bridge Club Ltd which included a proposal to close down Rugby Bridge Club Limited, which was carried, and a short General Meeting of the new Rugby Bridge Club. There were no comments on the accuracy of either minutes.
3 Matters Arising not elsewhere on the Agenda
There were no matters arising and the minutes were formally adopted. In response to a question raised the Chairman said that now the minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the 13th November 2012 had been formally adopted action would be taken to close down Rugby Bridge Club Limited.
Action: Terry Leary
4. Chairman’s Report
In opening his report the Chairman said that a great deal had happened in the last year and he believed that the club had moved from being a rather backward-looking, inward-looking organisation, agonising over Articles of Association, to one that was starting to look outwards and forwards again, thinking constructively about how best to develop the Club and this was a very welcome change.
Ceasing to being a limited company to being simply a ‘club’ he suggested had freed up time and energy for the management committee to think creatively and positively about the future of the club rather than getting bogged down in rules and regulations and he believed this was welcomed by the membership.
On the proposed move to Cawston he said that despite a planning application being lodged in December 2012, no planning decision had been reached and this was disappointing. When the agreement with the Parish Council was signed there would be a great deal to discuss about its implementation and the focus of the committee would be to get the best possible deal for the Club.
In referring to the decision to re-affiliate to the EBU he said this opened up access to a wider range of tournaments and events that required a culture change and was not going to happen overnight. It would be important to strike a balance in the amount of bridge that was played internally and externally, but offering a wider range of events was the right direction to go if it was done thoughtfully and carefully.
Membership had recently reached 150 for the first time and remained above that level. The committee were continuing to take opportunities to publicise the club and the excellent Clock Towers bridge demonstration match would take place again in July and members were invited to get involved.
Attendances at sessions were up about 12% since last year, which was particularly pleasing and might have something to do with the new master point competition which encouraged people to play more and he congratulated Val Wormleighton, Chris Malthouse and John Drake, who at the time were the current leaders in the overall standings.
He reminded those present that it required a great deal of commitment to run the bridge club and its range of sessions and there was a concern that too much work fell on too few shoulders. He said there were still members who seemed to think that it was alright just to turn up and play and he asked members to volunteer to help the minority who did all the work.
After paying tribute to the management committee he said there were others too who made invaluable contribution such as running individual sessions, moving furniture, teaching, catering and much more but he particularly singled out two people whose contribution he said did not get anywhere near enough recognition.
The web site had over 41,000 hits and required a great deal of work to keep it lively, interesting and up to date and for that the club should thank Liz Edwards who spent a vast amount of her time doing just that.
Clare Dixon provided the boards played at each weekly session and made sure they arrived to the right place at the right time – an invaluable contribution.
Members were hugely indebted to both Liz and Claire, who were each presented with a bouquet of flowers.
In concluding his report he said he had been very upbeat, the club was moving in the right direction, gaining strength and providing the members with opportunities they had never had before. There was plenty more to do but he believed the club were on the right track and focusing on the things that mattered.
5. Treasurer’s Report
At the outset of the presentation it was explained that there were two sets of financial accounts to be reported upon and Terry Leary in presenting the accounts for the period from the 1st October 2012 to the 13th November 2012 in respect of Rugby Bridge Club Limited said it was necessary to do so and for them to be approved before the company could be formally closed down. He drew attention to the fact that as at the 13th November 2012 the Corporation Tax and W&N Air Ambulance payments had not been debited to the bank account and that for the period in question there had been a loss of £47.91.
Phil Shorey in reporting on the period from the 14th November 2012 to the 31st March 2013 for Rugby Bridge Club said that although the table money had been raised by 50p per session, 40p of this went to the EBU and 10p was to support the provision of free refreshments at sessions which had resulted in costs of £458.14 He drew attention to the fact that the Annual Dinner had been cancelled at short notice because of very bad weather and whilst it had been rearranged the club had been required to pay a cancellation fee of £375. He made mention of a Solicitors fee of £810 and said this was for professional advice sought on the proposed draft agreement with Cawston Parish Council to enter into a tenancy agreement with them.. He concluded by saying that despite the one off costs mentioned the financial position of the club was moving in a positive direction and a similar expression was made from the members present..
In response to a question raised as to why there was nothing shown against prizes and trophies he explained that the engraving had yet to be carried out and prize money had not yet been paid.
It was proposed by Alan Webb and seconded by David Owen that both sets of accounts be accepted and this proposal was carried unanimously.
6. Election of Officers and members of the Management Committee.
David Hicks informed the meeting that there had been two nominations for the position of Chairman of the Management Committee, Graham Lightfoot and Peter Langley, and that an election would be necessary. So far as the other officers posts were concerned there was only one nomination for the posts of Vice Chairman, Treasurer, General Secretary and a total of 5 nominations for committee members.
A short presentation was then made by the nominees for the post of Chairman.
Graham Lightfoot in his presentation made reference to his early experiences in the game of bridge and a feeling that he had that Rugby Bridge Club was not highly respected by other clubs and he was anxious to change their perceptions of the club. He said he felt that this could be achieved if there was a Rugby Pairs League, driven by Rugby Bridge Club but open to others, would be attractive to members, could bring in additional revenue and he believed would improve the skills of those competing.
Peter Langley in making his presentation said that he had little to add to his Chairman’s report to the meeting. He said that like Graham he wanted the club to be successful and the committee was happy to consider a proposal for a Pairs League provided it could be fitted into the club calendar.
A note of caution was expressed from the floor about thinking very carefully about a proposed pair’s league and its possible impact on numbers attending club sessions but this was countered by it being pointed out that it would be a Rugby Bridge Club event played at Rugby Bridge Club.
A ballot of members present elected Peter Langley to the post of Chairman of Rugby Bridge Club Committee by 43 votes to 8.
All other nominees for Office and Committee posts were elected unopposed as follows:
Vice Chair Wendy Pattinson
Treasurer Phil Shorey
General David Hicks.
Secretary
Committee Anne Carrington
Members Terry Bradbury
Chris Malthouse
Janet Chappell
David Owen
The Chairman pointed out that whilst the current committee had a membership of 7 the Constitution provided for this number being between 6 and 10.
7. Proposed Amendments to the Constitution
The Chairman in opening said that the committee were grateful for those members who had suggested changes as reflected in the documentation provided for the meeting.
There were two motions - on proxy voting and Chairman’s period of office - where the committee considered it was necessary to debate them and to then vote on the suggested changes. In addition, Christine Cooper had proposed deleting a sentence in section 14 (iv) of the draft Constitution that new resolutions may be proposed during a General Meeting only if proposed and seconded by officers of the Club.
In addition there were a number of smaller changes which the committee had considered and on which they were recommending acceptance, but this did not rule out debate if the members present felt so inclined.
Motion 1 - Proxy Voting
Malcolm Taylor spoke to his paper where he had suggested a proposed change from postal to proxy voting and highlighted the differences in each system or neither of them and his view that proxy voting was the way forward.
In the discussion that followed attention was drawn to the wording of Clause 14(xii), which said that postal voting would be at the discretion of the management committee which meant that it did not necessarily follow that all proposals submitted for discussion at AGMs would be subject to postal voting. It was said that there would be issues with proxy voting if proxy holders were given directed proxies whilst another view was that if it was a simple matter requiring either a yes or no vote then postal voting would be appropriate whilst another proposal, perhaps more detailed could require discussion and debate to allow for possible change or amendment at the meeting.
In a show of hands the motion to substitute proxy voting for postal voting was defeated.
Motion 2 - Chairman’s Period of Office
Unfortunately the member making the suggested change to the Constitution to limit the period of office of the Chairman to two years was not present at the meeting through illness to talk to the motion.
In the discussions that followed there was no support for the motion with the point being made that there was the opportunity every year to vote on who should be Chairman and it would make little sense to get rid of a Chairman who was doing a very good job and there was a learning period for such an important role, which should not be constrained to two years in the post
Motion 3 – New Motions During a General Meeting
Again, the member proposing this motion was not present. During discussion, it was pointed out that the purpose of the present wording in section 14 (iv) of the draft Constitution was to make it difficult for one or a few members to disrupt the flow of a General Meeting by introducing new motions which had not been notified in advance. However a new motion could legitimately arise out of discussion on a particular issue during the meeting and in those circumstances officers would be likely to propose and second the new motion. The motion to delete the wording was defeated.
Other Amendments
The Chairman then made reference to the Management Committee paper (‘Specific Proposed Modifications to Rugby Bridge club’s Draft Constitution’) circulated to members in which a number of changes were recommended.
The proposed changes to paragraphs 4 and 5 concerning the Membership Secretary were agreed.
The amendment to section 9 i to reflect EBU affiliation was agreed.
Paragraph 9 vi and ix – There were differing views on whether any changes in the annual membership fee or table money should be recommended by the Management Committee and subject to a vote at a General Meeting. Following a show of hands the proposal was carried by 25 to 23.
The changes to Management Committee procedures in paragraph 11 were agreed.
The proposed minor changes to paragraphs 13, 14 and 15 were agreed.
8. Formal adoption of the Constitution
A proposal to adopt the Constitution as revised during the discussion was carried unanimously
9. Appointment of members to sit on Disciplinary or Code of Conduct Panels.
The following members were elected to sit on the above panels.
Graham Clarke. Christine Cooper. Peter Iredale. Sue Osborne.
Alan Webb Stuart Warne John Drake. Graham Lightfoot
Richard Holland Helen Foster, Peter Augustus John Bolton
Craig Hutton.
10. Appointment of Auditor
It was confirmed that Phil Beagley was prepared to continue to act as Auditor. He had been proposed and seconded and was duly elected.
11. Any Other Business
Teaching:
Chris Malthouse said that a new beginners’ course would commence in September. Members were required to assist with Saturday teaching and to support the improvers on Wednesdays who were still learning the game of bridge.
Four members of the Club would be attending an EBU training course for those who may wish to be teachers, who should contact Wendy Pattinson or Sue Osborne if they were interested in teaching.
Newsletter:
Wendy Pattinson as editor of the Newsletter said that the role was time consuming and she was looking for members to become more involved in editing and by submitting articles for inclusion. She wanted to feel that members were part of the process.
It was suggested that a small working party should be set up to see what could be done to stimulate interest and whilst this suggestion was accepted it was pointed that there had previously been a similar group involved.
Coffee/Tea/Biscuits at Sessions
Val Wormleighton made reference to the cost of providing coffee/tea/biscuits at bridge sessions and referred to the fact that there were no coffee/tea/biscuits on Wednesday evenings and suggested that consideration should be given to not supplying biscuits at any session.
It was agreed that the suggestion would be considered at the next meeting of the Management Committee.
Development Fund.
Peter Iredale referred to the fact that £100,000 of the clubs funds would be going into the Cawston proposal. His view was that club needed to consider how finances could be improved over the next 15 years because it was highly probable that rent levels would rise significantly. The Chairman agreed that this was something the committee needed to consider.
Refreshments at Sessions
Phil Shorey said that where refreshments were provided at sessions it would be helpful if the task of supplying these could be shared and Pat Downton and Maria Smyth kindly volunteered to assist in this role.
Distribution of Papers
Malcolm Taylor asked for clarification of the Management Committee's policy on distribution of papers to those not on e-mail or with internet access. The Chairman said that the Committee's policy was to treat all members alike in the distribution of papers, irrespective of whether they had e-mail or internet access. He apologised for any shortcomings in actual performance.
14. Presentation of Awards
Margaret Preece Shield
Winners:
1st Marion Dixon and Chris Malthouse £20 each
2nd: Graham Clarke and Richard Holland £12 each
3rd Chris Rowles and Christine Cooper £8 each
Total Prize Money = £80
John Day Shield – Best Improvers
Vera and Peter Iredale
Perrin Trophy – Best Pair Children in Need SIMS
Judith Kleiner and David Hicks.
Stephen White Plate - Rubber Bridge Tournament
Val Wormleighton and Peter Langley
Williams Trophy - Best Pair 1st Tuesday in November
Sue Osborne and Wendy Pattinson
Allott Trophy
Terry Bradbury £40
Troughers Trophy
Chris Malthouse £40
Meeting closed at 2030 hours.
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