HEMEL HEMPSTEAD BRIDGE CLUB

Minutes of 56th AGM held on Monday 29 June 2015

Attendance     32  members

1          Apologies for Absence   
Fiona and Paul Littlewood, Margaret and David Goodwin, Tim Cooper, Pat Henry, Jane Farndon, Rodger Livesey, Clive and  Jean Walters, Barbara and Terry Neal, Joanne Turner, Lesley and Derek Peers, Chris Eveleigh, Graham Morton and Tom Banks

2          Minutes of Last Meeting    

Copies had been available on the website and these were accepted as a true record.

3          Chairman’s Report   

The chair reported that although we try to organise Bridge on Bank Holiday Mondays, this year we had to cancel Bridge on May Day as no Director was available. We also had to cancel Spring Bank Holiday week while the premises were rewired. 

He thanked David Blasebalk for running the Duplimate machine, used for all sessions The club’s membership is in line with last year and the average number of tables per week has risen slightly due to a  rise on Monday evenings. We did experiment with a standby system on Thursdays, and he thanked Pat Hogger, Jane Farndon, Clive Walters, and Peter Thomas for volunteering to be a standby.

We ran a Swiss pairs event on Sunday 22nd February and with a larger entry than in previous years.   Those playing enjoyed the day and therefore we will be running the event again in Februay 2016. Thanks to Derek Peers for organising the event.

He thanked Susie Bond and Pat Henry for organising the Christmas Party. The committee felt it would be good to introduce one or two more fun items to the bridge element of the party this year 

The Club won the Herts Eccles cup for the first time in many years. Congratultions to Lesley Peers, Naomi Gibbs, Derek Gowlett, Patrick McIntrye, Jonathan Harris, Barry Moule and Paula and Graham Morton. We also came second in the Desmond Flockhart trophy, having won the trophy in the previous year.

He thanked all those who have served on the Committee;  Cliff Short,  Paula Morton, Lesley Peers,  Susie Bond, David Blasebalk, Pat Jacobs, Jean Walters and Naomi Gibbs. Susie, Pat and Jean are all retiring after many years of dedicated service. If anyone would care to join the committee it would be much appreciated.

He also thanked  Derek Gowlett for organising  Tuesday’s bridge;  all our Directors;  Roger Edmonds for the web site;  Anne Short as our membership secretary and  Cynthia Wheatley for acquiring our provisions. The Club couldn’t function without their help.

4          Treasurer’s Report
Cliff Short reported that this year we had made a bigger profit than last year as some costs had gone down.  The hall cost was reduced as it had been unavailable for one week. We were also receiving income for Leverstock Green’s use of our Duplimatinig machine and we had bought no new equipment. The increased cost for trophies was catching up on those that had been missed in previous years. The  Treasurer reported that the accounts had not yet been audited but asked they be accepted subject to auditing.

It was proposed by Roger Edmunds and seconded by Fred Atkinson that the meeting should accept the Accounts and this was agreed. 

5          Appointment of Auditor
The Chair asked that the appointment of an Auditor be left in abeyance until he had spoken to the current auditor and he would report in the  next newsletter.  This was agreed.

6          Election of Officers and Committee

Proposed Chairman:           David Stimson.

Proposed Treasurer:            Cliff Short.

Proposed Secretary;            Paula Morton

Other committee members who had agreed to serve for 2015/2016 were :
David Blasebalk, Lesley Peers and Naomi Gibbs.  New committee members were Barry Moule,  Joanne Turner and Roger Edmonds

The Chairman asked that the existing officers and committee members be re-elected. This proposal was carried unanimously, and those listed above were duly elected to serve for the coming year. 

Susie Bond thanked the Chairman and the committee for all their work on behalf of the Club and its members.

7          Any Other Business

A         Donald Reid asked that the bidding box cards be replaced as they were getting tatty and the Treasurer agreed to cost this with a view to getting new cards.

B         The Chair reported on the latest situation regarding Bridgemates.  There had been no improvement to these since the last AGM and there were now three new systems.  We had been in contact with other clubs who were evaluating them.  If the situation changes, the purchase of any automated scoring system would be put to a vote by members.

The meeting closed at 19:30 and trophies were awarded as listed on the website.