November Meeting 2015 - Our AGM

Madam Chair Jane addresses the 2015 AGM

The 11th of November saw us hold the Annual General Meeting for 2015.  Thank you to all those who attended; the business of the Club does need to be discussed and the AGM is the right place to do it.

Sadly, we were informed that Shirley Istead, our President for many years (and before that, our Chair), had decided to resign from her post owing to ill health.  Jane, our Chair, thanked her for her hard work over the years, and proposed that Shirley be given Life Membership.  The members resoundingly passed this resolution.  In addition, and in particular as Shirley will be a hard act to follow, the members agreed that we would operate without a President for the time being while we examine the way forward.

We were also presented with the accounts of the Club from the Honorary Treasurer, which show us to be in good financial order, and to an report of the shows from the Honorary Show Secretary.  Following the move of the show back to Hurst Green this year, the members agreed that we would continue to hold the shows in St. Agatha's Hall and that we would continue to invite "The Grow With Us Club" (LODHS) to take part and to show alongside us.

Attendance was good this year - nearly 50 of the members were in the hall.

Partly as a result of discussions at the AGM, the Committee understand that the Rules of the Society are rather outdated and inaccurate; it is therefore the intention of the Management to redraft the rules and to present them to the membership at the February meeting, so that they may be voted on at the March meeting which will be in part an Extraordinary General Meeting in order to do so.  Although we are a relatively small Club, it is essential that the Rules are accurate, and this is the first time for a number of years that they have been looked at properly.

Nibbles and a social!

There was a good attendance at the event, as you can see from the photographs.  This may have been in part because the Committee has learned, over the years, that bribery goes a long way, and that most of our members respond well to the prospect of free drink and food!  As usual, therefore, members brought along a plate of nibbles each, and mulled apple juice was also served; the second half of the AGM being a thoroughly enjoyed social!
 
We also held the "Longest Chilli" competition at the AGM; the results will form the subject of another post.