Draft Minutes AGM 2009

These minutes will be presented for approval at the AGM 2010.

(official document)

Draft Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Association, held at The Sporting View on Monday 23rd February 2009 at 7.00pm

17 members of the Association were present and signed the Attendance Book.

The President of the Association, Ted Colenutt, took the chair.

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.

1. Apologies for Absence.
   
   Apologies were received from Ken Ball, Roger Hawkins, John Martin, Brian Matcham, Harry Ree and Diana Turley.
    
2. Minutes of the previous General Meeting, (25th February 2008).
   
   Copies of the minutes had been circulated to all registered members prior to the meeting. The chairman asked the meeting if he may sign the minutes as a true record. Adoption was proposed by J. White, seconded by D. Bryett and carried without dissent.
    
3. Matters arising from the Minutes.
   
   There were no matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting.
    
4. Correspondence.
   
   The General Secretary said there was no correspondence relative to the current meeting.
    
5. Reports for the year 2008:
   
   
   1. Hon. Secretary's Report. J. Bathurst presented a written report and begged leave to amend it by adding a further name to the deaths reported during the period it covered. He had only days beforehand received notice that George Lawrence (1925–32) had died (in New Zealand) in June 2008.
      (At this point the President spoke briefly of George Lawrence, in particular of his loyalty to the Association and commitment to ecology.)
      The secretary emphasised the point that the last College leaver to join the Association left the college 30 years previously.
      No questions were raised and the report was unanimously adopted. A unanimous vote of thanks to him was registered. A copy of the report is attached to the file minutes and is available online.
       
   2. Hon. Membership Secretary's Report. J. White presented a written report. He stressed that there were now only 14 members who had failed to alter their subscription from £3 to £5. They received only one issue of News & Views during the year.
      There were no questions relating to the report and its adoption was unanimous. A copy is attached to the file
       
   3. Hon. Website Manager's Report. J. White produced a brief written report. The major innovation had been the launch of a Website Photo Gallery, set up as a private site to minimise copyright and other issues. Thanks were due to David Foster for his great help.
      A copy is attached to the file minutes.
       
   4. Hon. Editor's Report. M. Gould produced a written report and addressed the meeting on the detailed attention and work involved in the production, packing and mailing of the twice-yearly issue of News & Views. A possible problem following a post office closure had been averted following the appointment of the previous very helpful postmaster to another local office. A copy is attached to the file minutes.
      Angie Turley offered to attend the meetings at which the newsletter was prepared for mailing provided she could receive prior notice. The secretary thanked her and agreed to ensure such notice was given.
       
   5. Report of Hon Archivist. David Brown verbally reported that sorting, collation and research work continued. One problem was the sorting of Douglas Huggins' newspaper cuttings dating back to 1952! Angie Turley volunteered to assist in this and the matter was left between David Brown and her to make the necessary arrangements.
       
   6. College Liaison Report. D. Defty presented a written report a copy of which is attached to the file. The main thrust for the coming year was the development of the "21st Century Network" project and the 250th Anniversary of the founding of Taunton's School, the latter celebration which the College would lead. There had been 'difficulty' in progressing the planning but the meeting was assured that the 'hearts of those responsible were in the right place'.
      Comments on the report included:
      - a statement from the floor that students appeared to be joining their own fraternity but not the Association
      - from the President that he had discussed the Anniversary with the College Principal. She had confirmed her commitment to it but (he said) nothing yet appeared to have been done. Whatever is done would be very different from the 200th celebration in 1960, which was 3 years in the planning. One snag was the delay in the impending redevelopment of the College caused by the current economic situation.
      Answering a question, the President agreed there was nothing to stop the Association arranging its own 250th anniversary celebrations, such as lunches, regional dinners and the like.
       
6. Honorary Treasurer's Report.
   
   David Bryett distributed a Balance Sheet, Income and Expenditure Account and a written report for the past year, afterwards commenting on them. Copies of the documents are attached to the file minutes. The Treasurer acknowledged the work of Mike Bull, the Examiner of Accounts, and the help of Ken Ball.
   While there was an excess of income over expenditure of £1400, half of this was income from the '100' Club. With money set aside for the Ken Carmichael bequest and the Doug Huggins memorial, in reality the surplus was around £300.
   He produced a 'pie-chart' showing that of the £5 subscription, £3 went on News & Views, £1.50 on website, secretarial and social expenses, leaving a surplus of 50p. Despite that he has made no recommendation for any change in subscription.
   R. Stephens proposed a vote of thanks to the Treasurer, which was unanimously approved.
    
7. Election of Vice Presidents and Honorary Members.
   
   The Secretary reported there were no nominations to be approved.
    
8. Election of Officers for 2009–2010.
   
   Prior to the electoral process the Secretary announced that D. Defty was not seeking re-election and that in his place a nomination for Paul Skates had been received. In that no other changes were contemplated the meeting might accept an en bloc vote. The President put to the meeting the suggestion that an en bloc vote be accepted and the approval of the candidates be given, and asked for a show of hands. Both the suggestion and the approval were carried unanimously. The President then mentioned that two co-options were in mind, the re-appointment of David Brown as Archivist and the new appointment of Bob Newell as Assistant Secretary. (John Bathurst's secretarial duties had reached a point where he needed help and Bob had volunteered to provide it). He asked the meeting to approve the co-options. On a show of hands there was unanimous approval and Bob Newell's action was shown approval by a round of applause.
    
9. Election of Honorary Examiner of Accounts.
   
   The re-election of Michael Bull was proposed by R. Stephens, seconded by J. White. The proposal was carried unanimously.
    
10. Any Other Business.
    
    Ivan Downer commented that he felt the 2008 Annual Reunion Dinner was excellent.
     

There being no other business the Chairman closed the meeting at 8.15pm.

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