Minutes for the 10th Annual General Meeting Held in the
Southwell Leisure Centre
At 10 am on 1st August 2017
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from Peter James, Caroline James and John Tebbs
2. Chairman’s Opening Remarks
The Chairman welcomed the members to the meeting, mentioning the necessity of 20% membership in attendance, which appeared to be the case, and the general Health and Safety Rules.
3. Minutes of the AGM held on 7th August 2014.
The Minutes of the meeting held last year had been displayed on the Southwell U3A Website for a year, and the Chairman asked for proposals that these were a true record. There being no questions from the floor, these were accepted unanimously and signed as a true record. Proposed by Lynn Dorling and seconded by Roger Bennett.
4. To Receive and Adopt the Statement of Accounts for 2014/15
Tony Key gave a general report to the meeting a summary of which is as follows.
2016/17 was another good year for our U3A, with our membership continuing to grow. Overall, income exceeded our overall expenditure and total receipts and expenditure have grown significantly. This is down to number of factors.
On the general account, the large surplus is accounted for by the fact that our membership income increased and this year’s accounts include two years’ worth of Gift Aid.
On the group’s account, the increase is down to
However, a handful of groups were not able to provide a full year’s account of the cash that they handled, so even this significantly increased figure still slightly understates the total monies that members contribute toward their activities. I am hopeful that come the end of this financial year, our accounts will fully reflect all member contributions.
On the social account, the turnover increased slightly on last year, even though the Theatre group’s finances moved to the groups’ account – so the fact the turnover was similar to last year’s level, again reveals an increase in activity.
The surplus from this year has increased our reserves significantly and to the point where we are now holding monies at the upper limit of amount required under TAT recommendations and our reserves policy. We need to make sure we do spend the income that we receive and the proposals to acquire some office space for the storage of equipment and records and potentially for holding some meetings would go some way to achieving that end.
Expenditure was largely in line with last year. We had anticipated a significant increase in the costs for our website; now that Paul Wilkinson manages our own website, the fees shown reflect the hosting costs for two years – turning an expected increase in costs to a saving.
We are very grateful to Stephen Rogers for acting as the independent examiner for our accounts. Following las year’s examination, we have now included the group’s cash transactions in the accounts and the paper trail that supports the entries in the accounts is much improved. Stephen has identified a small number of further improvements that we need to make and I will be carrying these through.
We expect our turnover this year will again exceed £50,000 and although there is no requirement to do so, the committee is of the view that our finances have reached the point where our accounts should be professionally examined each year. A motion to appoint a local firm as independent examiner will be put forward.
I attended a Treasurer’s conference in May, the main purpose of which was to provide an update on discussions that National U3A are holding with the Charity Commission about the proper handling of U3A monies and charity law. I was encouraged to discern that Southwell U3A shapes up pretty well against the requirements.
A couple of important points emerged from the conference. The first is that all contributions that members make toward U3A activity must be reflected in the U3A accounts – and as you will have seen from this year’s accounts, we are getting close to being in that position. The second is that if money is collected in advance from members for any U3A activity and needs to be banked, the money must be banked in a U3A account. The money must not be banked in a personal bank account on which a personal cheque is then drawn to pay for the U3A activity.
It is important that all of us who are responsible for members’ money understand the implications of being a membership charity, the constraints we must operate under and where the responsibilities lie. So I have produced a more detailed note following the conference for the benefit of the committee and groups leaders. It will be available on the website in the group’s area.
Finally, I would like to thank those people who help me manage our U3A finances – Peter Wheeldon who looks after the Groups bank account and Sue Baines who looks after the Trips and Social account. And also all the group leaders or group members who look after their group’s finances and provide an account of their dealings at the year-end.
Tony Key
There being no further points the adoption of the Statement of Accounts was proposed by Lucille Mauer and seconded by Frank Cooling, and accepted unanimously by the members present.
5. To Appoint an Independent Examiner of Accounts
The Chairman gave a brief report on the search for an Examiner of Accounts and reported that the committee had approached A P Accounting who had agreed to stand. She therefore asked for a proposer and seconder. Proposed by Eddie Burch and seconded by Roger Bennett.
6. To Receive and Adopt the Annual Report
The Chairman then gave her Annual Report to the members.
It hardly seems possible that another 12 months have elapsed and I have completed 2 years as chairman.
I am blessed with a very cohesive and hard working committee to whom I am indebted for their help and input.
.
Our aim as a committee, has been to continue to offer
Our new holiday group is in place and we look forward to having holidays together.
Our current membership is 755 which is a net increase of 25. There has been a gradual slowing of net increase in current members We are sorry to have lost members over the year some of whom have been founder members and who contributed so much in the early years of our U3A..
This relatively small net increase means that we have no need for concern about our numbers becoming too large.
Our interest groups continue to flourish with us now having well over 80 groups.
Newsline has become much more colourful as our expenditure on printing has dropped owing to the number of people having it emailed to them. I must thank the team who put it together, Vivien Scorer who collates the calendar so ably and for so long now and the team of collators who collect all the copy.
Thank you to the teams of people who are the vital part of our monthly meeting. Welcomers and refreshment providers are all essential to the smooth running of our monthly meeting and the membership team whose hard work is evident at the meeting particularly Carol Fitzgerald and Keith Marklew whose professionalism and diligence ensures that things do not go wrong.
At this point I must also pay tribute to Beryl Rimmer and the staff of the Leisure Centre for their care in helping and resolving situations where one of our members has been momentarily taken ill.
The most important team at our monthly meeting are our “Techies” who put together our PA system every month, hauling large speakers round the hall and ensuring that all is well with whatever ‘gizmo’ our speaker may turn up with. Also for teaching me to use a microphone and how to put on a head set!! We must also thank Roger for his efforts in running the loop every month which has all the information you need as well as many photographs taken by our group members.
We have been very lucky with our treasurers in U3A Howard Godfrey got us into fantastic shape and Tony Key has done even more to ensure that we stay within the Charity Commission’s rules. When your committee is elected we all have legal forms to sign which state that we understand that as Trustees we are liable for any discrepancies in the finances of U3A and so if the rules are not adhered to all 12 of us could be penalised. So when we appear to being a little pedantic about accountancy procedures it is because we are liable for any thing that goes astray.
We do have two retiring members from the committee and I would like to pay tribute to both of them. Bob Hayes has been a wonderful web master and it is only through difficulties with his eyesight that he has decided to give it up. He saw us through some awkward patches with the website and we are very grateful to him.
Carol Fitzgerald has also decided to retire from the committee and we are indebted to her for all her hard work in keeping the membership on track. Both of them have been incredibly supportive to me and to the rest of the committee and we shall miss them.
Lastly my thanks must go to all of you, particularly Group Leaders who are the backbone of our organisation and to the rest of you whose enthusiasm is the life blood of Southwell U3A
Lesley Elkington
The adoption of the Annual Report was proposed by Kerry Holden and seconded by John Davies and accepted unanimously by the members.
7. To Elect the Officers and Committee of the Association
The nominees for the officers and committee had been published in Newsline for the members’ information and as there were no contesters the Chairman asked for proposers. Jackie Pitcher proposed the motion which was seconded by Margaret Royal and the members voted unanimously to appoint the Officers and Committee.
8. Vote of Thanks
The Chairman then placed on record a vote of thanks to retiring Members Carol Fitzgerald Membership Administrator, and Bob Hayes who had been a committee member and Webmaster for a number of years. This was proposed by Eddie Burch and seconded by Beryl Rimmer and followed by a unanimous agreement by the members.
Chris Bennett then asked for a vote of thanks for the Treasurer for his very efficient and understandable report. This again was met with full agreement by the members.
The meeting closed at approximately 10.30 am.
Southwell Leisure Centre
At 10 am on 1st August 2017
1. Apologies
Apologies were received from Peter James, Caroline James and John Tebbs
2. Chairman’s Opening Remarks
The Chairman welcomed the members to the meeting, mentioning the necessity of 20% membership in attendance, which appeared to be the case, and the general Health and Safety Rules.
3. Minutes of the AGM held on 7th August 2014.
The Minutes of the meeting held last year had been displayed on the Southwell U3A Website for a year, and the Chairman asked for proposals that these were a true record. There being no questions from the floor, these were accepted unanimously and signed as a true record. Proposed by Lynn Dorling and seconded by Roger Bennett.
4. To Receive and Adopt the Statement of Accounts for 2014/15
Tony Key gave a general report to the meeting a summary of which is as follows.
2016/17 was another good year for our U3A, with our membership continuing to grow. Overall, income exceeded our overall expenditure and total receipts and expenditure have grown significantly. This is down to number of factors.
On the general account, the large surplus is accounted for by the fact that our membership income increased and this year’s accounts include two years’ worth of Gift Aid.
On the group’s account, the increase is down to
- Theatre group 1 monies moving from the social account to the group account where it properly belongs,
- The accounts reflecting for the first time the cash that passes through some of our groups,
- A real increase in the number of interest groups and the activities they undertake.
However, a handful of groups were not able to provide a full year’s account of the cash that they handled, so even this significantly increased figure still slightly understates the total monies that members contribute toward their activities. I am hopeful that come the end of this financial year, our accounts will fully reflect all member contributions.
On the social account, the turnover increased slightly on last year, even though the Theatre group’s finances moved to the groups’ account – so the fact the turnover was similar to last year’s level, again reveals an increase in activity.
The surplus from this year has increased our reserves significantly and to the point where we are now holding monies at the upper limit of amount required under TAT recommendations and our reserves policy. We need to make sure we do spend the income that we receive and the proposals to acquire some office space for the storage of equipment and records and potentially for holding some meetings would go some way to achieving that end.
Expenditure was largely in line with last year. We had anticipated a significant increase in the costs for our website; now that Paul Wilkinson manages our own website, the fees shown reflect the hosting costs for two years – turning an expected increase in costs to a saving.
We are very grateful to Stephen Rogers for acting as the independent examiner for our accounts. Following las year’s examination, we have now included the group’s cash transactions in the accounts and the paper trail that supports the entries in the accounts is much improved. Stephen has identified a small number of further improvements that we need to make and I will be carrying these through.
We expect our turnover this year will again exceed £50,000 and although there is no requirement to do so, the committee is of the view that our finances have reached the point where our accounts should be professionally examined each year. A motion to appoint a local firm as independent examiner will be put forward.
I attended a Treasurer’s conference in May, the main purpose of which was to provide an update on discussions that National U3A are holding with the Charity Commission about the proper handling of U3A monies and charity law. I was encouraged to discern that Southwell U3A shapes up pretty well against the requirements.
A couple of important points emerged from the conference. The first is that all contributions that members make toward U3A activity must be reflected in the U3A accounts – and as you will have seen from this year’s accounts, we are getting close to being in that position. The second is that if money is collected in advance from members for any U3A activity and needs to be banked, the money must be banked in a U3A account. The money must not be banked in a personal bank account on which a personal cheque is then drawn to pay for the U3A activity.
It is important that all of us who are responsible for members’ money understand the implications of being a membership charity, the constraints we must operate under and where the responsibilities lie. So I have produced a more detailed note following the conference for the benefit of the committee and groups leaders. It will be available on the website in the group’s area.
Finally, I would like to thank those people who help me manage our U3A finances – Peter Wheeldon who looks after the Groups bank account and Sue Baines who looks after the Trips and Social account. And also all the group leaders or group members who look after their group’s finances and provide an account of their dealings at the year-end.
Tony Key
There being no further points the adoption of the Statement of Accounts was proposed by Lucille Mauer and seconded by Frank Cooling, and accepted unanimously by the members present.
5. To Appoint an Independent Examiner of Accounts
The Chairman gave a brief report on the search for an Examiner of Accounts and reported that the committee had approached A P Accounting who had agreed to stand. She therefore asked for a proposer and seconder. Proposed by Eddie Burch and seconded by Roger Bennett.
6. To Receive and Adopt the Annual Report
The Chairman then gave her Annual Report to the members.
It hardly seems possible that another 12 months have elapsed and I have completed 2 years as chairman.
I am blessed with a very cohesive and hard working committee to whom I am indebted for their help and input.
.
Our aim as a committee, has been to continue to offer
- Interesting speakers from all sorts of different walks of life.
- We have introduced workshops on
- We have had several social events
- A website which is now of the 21st Century, easy to use and to find things.
Our new holiday group is in place and we look forward to having holidays together.
Our current membership is 755 which is a net increase of 25. There has been a gradual slowing of net increase in current members We are sorry to have lost members over the year some of whom have been founder members and who contributed so much in the early years of our U3A..
This relatively small net increase means that we have no need for concern about our numbers becoming too large.
Our interest groups continue to flourish with us now having well over 80 groups.
Newsline has become much more colourful as our expenditure on printing has dropped owing to the number of people having it emailed to them. I must thank the team who put it together, Vivien Scorer who collates the calendar so ably and for so long now and the team of collators who collect all the copy.
Thank you to the teams of people who are the vital part of our monthly meeting. Welcomers and refreshment providers are all essential to the smooth running of our monthly meeting and the membership team whose hard work is evident at the meeting particularly Carol Fitzgerald and Keith Marklew whose professionalism and diligence ensures that things do not go wrong.
At this point I must also pay tribute to Beryl Rimmer and the staff of the Leisure Centre for their care in helping and resolving situations where one of our members has been momentarily taken ill.
The most important team at our monthly meeting are our “Techies” who put together our PA system every month, hauling large speakers round the hall and ensuring that all is well with whatever ‘gizmo’ our speaker may turn up with. Also for teaching me to use a microphone and how to put on a head set!! We must also thank Roger for his efforts in running the loop every month which has all the information you need as well as many photographs taken by our group members.
We have been very lucky with our treasurers in U3A Howard Godfrey got us into fantastic shape and Tony Key has done even more to ensure that we stay within the Charity Commission’s rules. When your committee is elected we all have legal forms to sign which state that we understand that as Trustees we are liable for any discrepancies in the finances of U3A and so if the rules are not adhered to all 12 of us could be penalised. So when we appear to being a little pedantic about accountancy procedures it is because we are liable for any thing that goes astray.
We do have two retiring members from the committee and I would like to pay tribute to both of them. Bob Hayes has been a wonderful web master and it is only through difficulties with his eyesight that he has decided to give it up. He saw us through some awkward patches with the website and we are very grateful to him.
Carol Fitzgerald has also decided to retire from the committee and we are indebted to her for all her hard work in keeping the membership on track. Both of them have been incredibly supportive to me and to the rest of the committee and we shall miss them.
Lastly my thanks must go to all of you, particularly Group Leaders who are the backbone of our organisation and to the rest of you whose enthusiasm is the life blood of Southwell U3A
Lesley Elkington
The adoption of the Annual Report was proposed by Kerry Holden and seconded by John Davies and accepted unanimously by the members.
7. To Elect the Officers and Committee of the Association
The nominees for the officers and committee had been published in Newsline for the members’ information and as there were no contesters the Chairman asked for proposers. Jackie Pitcher proposed the motion which was seconded by Margaret Royal and the members voted unanimously to appoint the Officers and Committee.
8. Vote of Thanks
The Chairman then placed on record a vote of thanks to retiring Members Carol Fitzgerald Membership Administrator, and Bob Hayes who had been a committee member and Webmaster for a number of years. This was proposed by Eddie Burch and seconded by Beryl Rimmer and followed by a unanimous agreement by the members.
Chris Bennett then asked for a vote of thanks for the Treasurer for his very efficient and understandable report. This again was met with full agreement by the members.
The meeting closed at approximately 10.30 am.
| agm_mins___chairs_report_aug_2017.pdf |
