Annual General Meeting 2009

The Annual General Meeting of the Old Tauntonians' Association, Southampton was held on Monday 23 February 2009 at 7pm at The Sporting View, Southampton Sports Centre.

The Draft Minutes of this meeting will be presented for approval at the AGM 2010.

Given below for your information are the Meeting Agenda, list of Elected Officers and Honorary General Secretary's Annual Report 2008.

Prior to the meeting a minute's silence was observed in memory of Dr Gerald Caffrey, Former President of the Association and Principal of Taunton’s College, and of Keith Prewett, former Chairman of the Association and Treasurer of the Dinner Committee, who had died during the past year.

Agenda

1. Apologies for Absence
2. Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting (held on 25 February 2008)
3. Matters arising from the Minutes
4. Correspondence
5. Reports 2008:
   1. Honorary General Secretary
   2. Honorary Membership Secretary
   3. Honorary Website Manager
   4. Honorary Editor News & Views
   Additional Reports from appointees of the Council:
   1. Honorary Archivist
   2. Chairman – College Liaison Committee
6. Honorary Treasurer's Report 2008
7. Election of Vice President(s) and Honorary Members
   (In accordance with the Constitution, nominations must have received the prior approval of the Executive Council)
8.  
   1. Election of Officers for 2009–2010 (each is an honorary post):
      President; Chairman of the Association; General Secretary; Membership Secretary; Website Manager; Treasurer; Editor, News & Views
   2. Election of three Ordinary Members for 2009–2010
9. Election of Honorary Examiner of Accounts
10. Any Other Business
    Members may raise questions or matters for discussion relating to the Association but are reminded that the meeting cannot vote on any question or subject discussed.

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Elected Officers

The Officers for the year 2009–2010 are:

President:	Ted Colenutt
Chairman:	Roger Parsons
General Secretary:	John Bathurst
Treasurer:	David Bryett
Membership Secretary:	Jeff White
News & Views Editor:	Mike Gould
Website Manager:	Jeff White

The three Ordinary Members of Council are:

Gordon Jefferies, Martin Rowe and Paul Skates

Ex-Officio Members of Council:

Principal (Alice Wrighton)
Immediate Past President (Jonathan Prest)
Immediate Past Chairman of Council (John Martin)
Vice Presidents: Messrs Caffrey, Colenutt, Hodgkinson, Humby and Munro

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Honorary General Secretary's Annual Report 2008

The report covers the period covered from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008. It includes activities involving Old Tauntonians whether or not promoted by the Executive Council.

The Mayor of Southampton
In May 2008, Brian Parnell (1946–50) became the 786th Mayor of Southampton, the third Old Tauntonian in successive years to succeed to that office.

President of the Association
At the 2008 AGM (February), the Chairman announced the resignation from the College of Jonathan Prest. He had accepted nomination as President before accepting the post of Principal at Barton Peveril College. He had expressed the wish to serve Taunton’s and the Association up to the day he left, 31 August 2008. Faced with this, the Executive Council considered it preferable that a new President be elected to serve from 1 September 2008 until the next AGM and in consequence had exercised a provision permitted by the Constitution. It was with pleasure that the Council had asked Ted Colenutt to become President. It was to be hoped the meeting would endorse that decision.

The meeting endorsed the decision with spontaneous applause.

Golf:

1. The Old Tauntonian/Old Bournemouthian Golf Day (Dibden, May)
   This encompasses the John Rush Trophy for Old Tauntonians, the Old Bournemouthians Seniors Trophy and an overall Stableford Competition for which Duncan Pomeroy had donated a special trophy to be known as The Pomeroys Cup. The Pomeroys Cup winner was Peter Basil (OT), with Tony Robinson and Richard Knight (both OTs) in second and third places. Peter Basil won the John Rush Trophy. More details
    
2. The Triangular Golf Match (Hockley, June)
   The annual triangular golf match between Old Tauntonians, Old Symondians and Old Edwardians for The Freeman Cup was won by the OTs (9.5 points) from OEs (7.5) and OSs (7). More details

The 98th Southampton Reunion Dinner (Southampton Park Hotel, November)
The Dinner Chairman was David Harrison (1948–56), who was accompanied by his wife, Gloria. The Principal guest was the Sheriff of Southampton, Councillor Elizabeth Mizon, accompanied by her husband, Grayham. Other guests included Alice Wrighton, Principal of Taunton’s College, members of her Senior Management Team and three members of the Student Committee, Lewis Darbyshire, Chairman of Governors and representatives of kindred alumni associations. The total attendance was 110. David Defty welcomed the Guests and proposed the toast to The College, to which Alice Wrighton responded. Ron Allison was the Master of Ceremonies. More details

Old Bournemouthians' Association Dinner (September)
7 OTs attended the annual dinner. Ted Munday was the OBA's special OT guest. More details

College Celebration Evening (Taunton's College, December)
The OTA again sponsored awards of vouchers and shields for the winners of three College Faculties – Arts, Science and Social Science. The presentations were made by David Defty (OT and College Governor).

The Executive Council
The Council met three times during the year. Tauntonian events are mainly organised by independent groups of OTs. The Council is mostly concerned with administrative matters – secretarial, financial, membership, website and editorial. During the year:

• The '100' Club continued to flourish, with its monthly prizes of £20 and the £400 drawn at the Dinner. More details

Summer Lunch (August)
Now firmly on the calendar this event drew a capacity attendance of 62 at Keats Restaurant. While intended primarily as a mid-year get together, if the occasion arises it is used to mark an event that might otherwise pass unheralded. This year Steve White and Jonathan Prest were the guests. We celebrated Steve’s 90th birthday and wished well and farewell to Jonathan. David Harrison spoke of Steve’s sporting triumphs and disasters, impostors that he did NOT treat just the same! Roger Parsons presented Jonathan with an OT plaque and tie. More details

News & Views
Two 48-page issues of the newsletter were published. In the April edition an appeal for ‘younger’ members (those in their 50s!) to come forward to serve on the committee went totally unheeded.

Taunton’s Memorabilia
Organised by the President, all known remaining Taunton’s School memorabilia stored at the College was removed to storage facilities at Pearsons, where it is painstakingly sorted and stored by David Brown.

250th Anniversary of the founding of Taunton’s School
Prior to the resignation of Jonathan Prest, it was established that the College would lead the 2010 celebrations of the founding of Taunton’s School. It is understood that the new Principal, Alice Wrighton, fully supports the arrangement and that definitive plans will be announced during 2009. The Association has agreed to help in any way it can.

Obituaries
During the period the deaths were announced of:
Members: Howard Barker (1919–23), W.K. "Bill" Black (1958–63), M.J. Challis (1953–58), Ray Dalton (1939–45), John Daniels (1949–57), Gordon Dods (1934–40), Victor John Dunleavy (1939–47), A.G. "Alf" Elliott (1929–35), The Reverend Thornton Elwyn (1938–45), The Reverend Charles Cyril Franks (1931–36), A.G. Lansley (1930–35), Capt. Eric Long (1939–45), Harold Lush (1928–37), Richard Patrick Morris (1957–64), Derek John Oram (1943–48), John Pack (late 1940s), Keith Prewett (1941–50), H. "Dougie" Prince (1930–35), R.F. "Ray" Riseley (1939–45), Keith Robinson (1939–46), "Bob" Ross (1955–62), Roy E. Rowe (1939–46), Brian Ruffell (1939–43), John Shippey (1960s) and John Ward (1938–45)

Staff: Dr Gerald Caffrey (Principal, Taunton’s College (1969–86) and A. Robert Pargeter (Taunton’s School 1946–61)

Of those members who died during the year special mention is made of Gerald Caffrey and Keith Prewett. Both long-time members of the Council and the Dinner Committee they each gave wise counsel, commitment and great contribution to those bodies and to the activities of the Association.

New Members
10 new members joined the Association during the year. The youngest left the College in 1979.

As ever I express my gratitude to the Chairman and members of the Executive Council for their help, counsel, humour and patience.

John Bathurst, January 2009