Minutes for the AGM held at CJ’s on 22nd October 2026 may be seen by clicking on the link Minutes
The reports provided for the AGM are shown below.
Report by Moira (Chair) for the Club Year 2025/6
Hello and welcome to the second AGM of Harvey’s bridge club. Thank you for all for joining Harvey’s and making it the friendly club it is.
The growth of the club has been very pleasing but better still is the lovely atmosphere created when we play together.
The committee and the extensive work done by committee members resulted in an amazing first year and this second year has been equally good. My highlight of the last twelve months Jeffery choosing to spend the afternoon of his 90th birthday here playing bridge and Helene’s wonderful cake for the event. Even though I had to stay away with a cold!
Scoring the afternoon play has been a chore since we started and I want to take the opportunity of thanking our scorers for their efforts over the last two years. It is very welcome news that I can now thank Stephen, our treasurer, for researching and finding an affordable and easy to use table-side scoring system which relieves people of that arduous task – although there is still work involved - especially if I manage to crash the device - it is far less onerous than before.
Thank you to those who contribute to the running of the club particularly those who help set up and take down each week, to Sally and Robin for the refreshments, to those who direct and to those who bring friends along and spread the word about Harvey’s but lastly and especially to Jenny who greets everyone who makes us all feel welcome and keeps track of the table monies. She is also an excellent resource for people seeking a partner if their usual partner is away.
Thanks to Helene today for some supplies to keep us going but before that over to Stephen tell us how the finances are shaping up.
Financial Report by Stephen (Treasurer) for Club Year 2025/6
We have just completed Harvey’s second year as an active duplicate playing bridge club, having started as a club on 1st October 2024.
The first year was successful as we started with a small core of members, and limited equipment, with membership increasing throughout the year which enabled Harvey’s to pay all our first year running costs and end the year with a surplus of £725.33. This surplus was carried forward to our second year to act as a buffer for future running cost increases and to permit the purchase of equipment that became appropriate to aid the smooth operation of Harvey’s.
A general financial goal is to have each club year pay its normal running expenses from the income generated during the club year. Unusual capital expenses may be made from surplus generated in the current or a previous year.
The main expense incurred by Harvey’s each month is the hire cost of CJs and this year the hourly rental rate increased by 10%. Another increase is expected around March 2027 and Harvey’s should again anticipate another significant increase. This will not be known until we discuss any proposed increase with CJs Church administrators.
One area of the club’s operation that has required extra effort and time is the scoring of the matches we play each Thursday. We have been lucky to have five scorers who have spread the load by one of them spending one to two hours after each match entering the traveller data into a scoring program, and after verifying its results uploading the results onto our website. The time taken to enter the traveller data varies due to the errors that are found on the travellers requiring cross referencing to scorecards in order to decide what should have been written on a traveller. A way to reduce the traveller error rate and reduce the time taken by a scorer after a match to produce the match result and load it onto the website would be a benefit for all.
After an add-on WiFi scoring system, which would greatly improve the manual system Harvey’s was currently using, was demonstrated at a committee meeting it was decided unanimously to proceed with the purchase of the required equipment and introduce it at our club matches. The WiFi system was introduced from August 2026 and required significant expenditure from our club finances but was well within the financial surplus that Harvey’s had accrued from its commencement.
Harvey’s financial strength also resulted in the committee deciding to reduce the annual full membership subscription to £3 from £5.
The club’s financial strength has been produced by the steady increase in membership numbers and this is key to the club’s future prosperity. It was also a reason why the introduction of a WiFi scoring system became more important and financially possible.
Harvey’s has also benefited from the donations of extra table covers from Carole Beavan and Helene Haig making the excellent cake for Jeffery Wear’s 90th birthday celebration.
It is pleasing to report that even after our expenditure on the WiFi scoring system Harvey’s has improved its strong financial position to start our club’s third year.
The annual accounts for the club year 2025/6 may be seen by clicking on the link Accounts 2025/6.
Lastly, I would like to thank the Committee under Moira’s leadership for the effort each member has made to the sound running of Harvey’s. While all committee members are worthy of special note I feel Jenny Heap should be highlighted for her secretarial duties and being the friendly face of the club welcoming members and potential new members each Thursday afternoon.
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