Annual AGM Meeting

ROTARY CLUB OF CHESTFIELD

Annual General Meeting 07.30am for 08.00am Thursday 30th May @The Plough

Present:               Andrew B, Andrew M, Chris, Dave C, David M, Elaine, Fiona, Godfrey, Ian, Jean, Kathryn, Lesley, Maureen, Margaret, Nick, Pat, Paul, Pete, Pippa, Robert, Spyros, Sue.

Apologies:           David K, Gerry, Hilary, Myfanwy, Marian, Reggie, Trevor, David B.

Guest:                  Kevin Fielding, ADG, Rotary Club of Whitstable

Welcomes:

                Pat welcomed everyone to the meeting, including our guest Kevin Fielding.  Birthdays this week include Reggie, Paul and Maureen.  Pippa said she has been to see Reggie, and he is cheerful but not doing what he has been told to do.  Pippa will be seeing Marian this afternoon.  Pete said that David B is very poorly.

Grace:                   By Paul.

BREAKFAST

Reports from Committee Chairs:

                Treasurer's Report:  David M said that we are OK financially.  He has circulated a budget as part of the papers for this meeting.  £1000 has already been paid to Foundation regarding polio, and a further £1600 will be paid in July.  £2970 has been recovered from Gift Aid.  The budget for next years was accepted by the meeting.

                Secretary's Report:  Nothing has changed.

                Comm / Voc:  Kathy reported that she and Hilary has had a meeting and agreed that they would like to do something focussed on one at least of Sue's 3x charities for the next year.

                Gardening:  Maureen and Elaine reported that the garden at the Whit & Tank is looking good.  We are getting more support from the staff at the hospital, especially with the heavy lifting.  £20 has been made available for plants to put in the garden.

                Foundation:  Nick and Pat will carry on the good work.

                Fundraising:  Godfrey said we will continue with all the tried and tested fund raising events.  Godfrey sais he would like to try something new - which doesn't just depend on the same peoples' pockets all the time.  Paul has just received the timetable for car parking until February; sheets will be in the folder from next week.  Sue said we can always call on friends and families to help with fund raising; North Star allows for this.  Nick and Lesley will join the committee next year.

                International:  Andrew B said we will continue to support the same projects we have always done: Shelter Box; OYHTB: W4W etc.  No doubt emergencies will arise from around the world.

                Youth:  Maggie has still not heard anything back from our Young Chef entrant Claudine.  Next year we will act jointly with Canterbury; they poach our candidates anyway.  Maggie wants to forward the Young Photographer competition next year; the rules were so complicated this year they deterred entrants.

                PR, Meals Steward, Environmental:  Robert asked for more photographs to post on the face book page.

                Almoner:  Pippa sais he has taken a Get Well card to Reggie.

                Membership:  Pete reported that we gained one new member this year.  Word of mouth still seems to be the best recruitment vehicle.  Participating in Plough Fest here may help.

                Speakers:  Chris said he felt as if provision of speakers for break fast meetings was jinxed.  He will sit down to plan speakers with Sue.  They are also thinking of scheduling an extra evening meeting this year.  Ron Benning is due next week 6th June to talk about D Day.  Bring your tin hats.

Election of Officers and Board Members for Next Year:

                These are the officers who will take over following the Hand Over meeting in the evening of Thursday 27th June 2024:

President for 2024/2025:                                                               Sue Vargyas

Past President for 2024/2025:                                                     Pat McFarlane

Vice-President Elect for 2024/2025:                                          Ian Small

Treasurer:                                                                                           David Mann

Secretary:                                                                                           Dave Coupland

Community & Vocational:                                                           Kathryn Fielding

Gardening:                                                                                         Elaine Young

Social Events:                                                                                   

Foundation:                                                                                       Pat McFarlane

Fund Raising:                                                                                     Godfrey Brown

Car Parking:                                                                                       Paul Hooke-Overy

International:                                                                                    Andrew Brealey

Youth Opportunities:                                                                    Margaret Cox

PR & Communications:                                                                 Robert Sissons

Club Protection and Health & Safety Officer:                      Paul Hooke-Overy

Membership Committee Chair:                                                 Pete Thomson

Environmental & Sustainability:                                               Robert Sissons

Almoner:                                                                                             Pippa Zintilis

Other Club Positions:

Meals Steward:                                                                                Robert Sissons

Speaker Organiser:                                                                         Vacancy

Master-at-Arms:                                                                              Nick Robinson

Raffle:                                                                                                  Margaret Cox

                Pat read through the above list and proposed voting into office all the names above en bloc.  This was seconded by Sue.  The meeting voted unanimously in favour.

Any Other Business:

                Regarding Race for Life, can anyone wanting to have lunch at Kathy's house, please lat her know asap.  There isn't a sheet in the events folder for this.

                Kevin spoke briefly about his experiences taking an ambulance to Ukraine.  He will come to an evening meeting to give a full account.  He did say that when they arrived in Lviv, they were met by medical staff from across Ukraine who were all grateful for the medical aid.

                David M said that if any member has a charity in mind, don't forget about the possibility of applying for a district grant.  Applications for the first round will start in September.

Greetings from Other Clubs:

                Kevin brought greetings from Whitstable on behalf of himself and president Tony.

Raffle:                   Won by David M.  More prizes are needed!

Master-at-Arms:              According to Nick, today is the day of the potato.. The largest ever grown was 10lb 4oz.  Also, on this day in 1431Joan of Arc was burned at the stake (by the French).

Final Toast:         Given by Sue.

Next Meeting:

07.30am for 08.00am Thursday 6th June 2024 @ The Plough