Minutes of Annual General Meeting, Tuesday 27th June 2023

The Arts Society Lunesdale

Minutes of Annual General Meeting, Tuesday 27th June 2023

at 2.15 p.m. in Borwick and Priest Hutton War Memorial Hall

1 The Chairman, Dr John Houghton, welcomed members and thanked everyone who had brought items for the exhibition, held in conjunction with the AGM, commenting on the skill and variety of artwork and handicrafts on show.

2 Apologies:  Moira Bell, Huston Clements, Janet Clements, Catherine Davenport, John Davenport, Richard Gargini, Martin Gillibrand, Alison Harry, Cathy Hartley, Alan Hayle, Kathryn Hyde, Keith Hyde, Judith Jones, Roger Jones, Gill Kaye, Pam Kojder, Rob Kojder, Gillian Mawby, Peter Mawby, Barbara Miller, John Parkinson, John Reynolds, Joyce Reynolds, Joy Rutter, Ann Shuttleworth, Hermione Simpson, Janet Thompson, Ann Turnbull, Judith Van Dam.

3 Minutes of AGM, 2022: Resolution that the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting, 21st June 2022, are a true record, proposed by Kathryn Hyde, seconded by Kaye Bibby.  Agreed unanimously.

4 There were no matters arising.

5 Chairman’s Report: The Chairman referred to and summarized his report for the past year, already circulated and copy attached hereto.  This had been the first full year since the pandemic, and it had coincided with the introduction of two sessions.  There had been challenges (especially for the Membership Secretary) but it was now running smoothly and the greater safety, comfort and car parking space was appreciated.  A further challenge was the extra cost involved and therefore, to balance the books, membership fees for next year would increase to £70.00 per person per year.

At the beginning of the year, when full membership fees became due after having been  rolled over during the pandemic, 60 members did not renew, but numbers had recovered to 222 (as of 27th June 2023).  He stressed that there is still capacity for more members and encouraged members to take an active part in recruitment.

During the past year, as well as an interesting and varied programme of lectures, other events included a short tour to the Thames Valley and an outing to Bishops Auckland. There was our usual Christmas mulled wine and mince pies lecture and a celebration of the society’s twentieth anniversary at the February lecture, with cake and fizz.  In addition, the society funded Young Arts workshops on ‘illuminated letters’ at two Lancaster primary schools.

There were changes to the committee.  Sue West, who had fulfilled the roles of Society Secretary and Vice Chairman and had dealt with on-line communications, left the committee in the preceding year, due to care commitments; he recorded his thanks to her.  Angela Pape was standing down, after a number of years as Programme Secretary, during which she not only booked lectures to suit everyone, but also co-ordinated arrangements for lecturers’ transport and accommodation, and on occasion dealt admirably with the task of finding replacements at short notice.  He welcomed her replacement, Jean Paton, to the committee.  Jennifer Fisher had resigned last autumn, although he noted that she seemed to have been working even harder since leaving the committee; she continued to lead on arrangements for opening and setting up the hall and refreshments.  He congratulated her, in particular, on the success of today’s exhibition, and recognised the huge amount of time and effort she had devoted to it.  Sue O’Brien, who has been acting Society Secretary along with various other roles, would also leave the committee.  He reiterated the need to find one or more volunteers to undertake essential secretarial duties, and to assist with on-line communications and the website.  Flowering plants were presented to those standing down, in appreciation of their support and hard work over the years.

On behalf of all members, the Chairman thanked current Committee Members for their hard work and commitment: Judie Graham-Clegg, for her meticulous attention to detail combined with a warm welcome to everyone as Membership Secretary; Margaret Dixon for her careful husbandry and diligence as Society Treasurer; Mary Frankland for her innovative work with Young Arts; John Wilson, not only for arranging interesting outings, but also for car park duty in all weathers; Richard Gargini and John Parkinson for taking charge of the audio-visual equipment; Martin Gillibrand for his assistance in many ways and advice as a past Chairman  Thanks were also extended to our volunteers:  Mike Fisher and his team, ensuring members park safely and tidily; the refreshments team; all those who lend a hand as needed throughout the year, and in particular with today’s exhibition. The continuing support of the society by the members themselves was also invaluable and augured well for another successful twenty years.   

Resolution to adopt the Chairman’s Report, proposed by John Houghton, seconded by Judith Jones.  Agreed unanimously.

6 Treasurer’s report: The Society Treasurer, Margaret Dixon, tabled the Financial Statements, and pointed out that although there appears to be £1,500 surplus in the current account, it had in fact been necessary to move £2,000 from the reserve fund, and we had received a grant of £1,000 from the Arts Society towards the extra costs of holding two sessions.  Average annual expenditure exceeded income by £500.  The remaining reserve fund of £5,000 would not last forever; there was a need to increase income.  The situation was not helped by the Arts Society increasing the affiliation fee by 32% over two years.  After protests, including our own Treasurer taking the CEO, Florian Schweizer, to task at a North West Area meeting and following through with a strongly worded letter, the affiliation fee has been frozen for 2024.  It still means that we will pay £4,000 instead of £3,000.  The Treasurer wished to record that the profit made by the refreshments team at lectures almost covered the cost of hiring the hall.  She also emphasised that it helps cash flow if subscriptions are paid promptly.  The visitor’s fee remains at £6.

In response to questions from the floor, the Treasurer said that her impression was that other societies felt the same about affiliation fees, and that some societies, but none in the North West Area, had closed due to financial difficulties.  She was aware that the Arts Society was reviewing staffing and activities, and having sold Guilford Street headquarters, were renting office space, which reduced running costs considerably.

Resolution to receive and approve the Annual Accounts, proposed by Margaret Dixon, seconded by Vivienne Matthews.  Unanimously agreed.

6 Election of Society Officers and Committee Members: conducted by Jean Timewell, founder member, member of the original steering committee and first Programme Secretary.  Jean recalled the early days of the society, and what wonderful and lasting friendships had been forged as we set out on a voyage of discovery.  She had loved being Programme Secretary, especially the Directory Days in London, and meeting lecturers, some at the beginning of their budding careers, like Susan Rumfitt.  She felt that the Arts Society Lunesdale had always been a happy, friendly society, and was proud to have been associated with it for 20 years, and wished it well for the future.  She reiterated the Chairman’s thanks to Committee Members for all they do, and extended a special thank you to the Chairman, who had steered the society through particularly challenging times, with Covid and then the move to two sessions.

Resolution to elect John Houghton as Chairman, proposed by Michael Fisher, seconded by Marie Boardman.  Unanimously agreed.

Resolution to elect Margaret Dixon as Treasurer, proposed by Jennifer Fisher, seconded by Roger Jones.  Unanimously agreed.

Resolution to elect Committee Members (en bloc) – Judie Graham-Clegg, Mary Frankland, Richard Gargini, Martin Gillibrand, John Parkinson, Jean Paton and John Wilson, proposed by Judith Horsfield, seconded by Gillian Mawby.  Unanimously agreed.

7 Resolution to appoint Steven Smith as Independent Financial Examiner for the ensuing year, proposed by Gillian Kay, seconded by Althea Gillibrand.  Unanimously agreed.

8 There being no other business, the Chairman thanked everyone for attending and announced that the next AGM would be held in June 2024.  The meeting closed at 2.55 p.m.