Minutes of the 15th (100th) Annual General Meeting of the St. Beghian Society
Held in the Whitelaw Building on Saturday 13th September 2008 at 11.00 am.
1. The minutes of the 99th Annual General Meeting were accepted.
2. The Election of Officers for 2008/2009
a) President 2008-2010 – Mr Don Williams (FN 61-64) was proposed by Malcolm Dix (outgoing President) and seconded by George Robson.
b) Committee –Three of the retiring members, Mrs S.J. Calvin, A.D. Lord and A.J.Wills were re-elected, proposed by Bill Affleck and seconded by Alec MacCaig. Prior to the meeting Mrs A. Strafford
had tendered her resignation. David Lord, the Secretary, offered to progress the filling of two vacant Committee positions.
c) Secretary & Treasurer–Mr David Lord was re-elected, proposed by Malcolm Dix and seconded by John Bell. George Robson expressed his thanks to David for agreeing to continue and for all the time and work that he puts in on behalf of the Society.
d) Nominative Governors–Mr Anthony Fox, who was due to retire this year, was re-elected. Proposed by Alec MacCaig and seconded by Andrew Johnston.
e) Golfing Secretary–Mr Andrew Johnston had previously advised the Committee that he was actively looking for a successor but would continue until a replacement was found. John Bell confirmed that the Committee was aware and very appreciative of all the hard work that he had put into the Golfing Society and congratulated
him on such an active group. Andrew was re-elected until a successor could be found.
f) Accounts Checker–David Lord proposed that Jason Spires should be re-elected as the Accounts Checker and this was seconded by Anthony Fox.
3. 200 Club
Darryl Davies gave a report on the Club stating that there was about £2000 available to spend on items for the School.The purchase of canoes for the School had previously been agreed and would therefore now be organised. Darryl expressed concerns over the fact that there were now no more than 60 donors(instead of the
intended 200!) and highlighted a proposal to increase numbers by including a short article in the next newsletter explaining how the money raised had helped the school over the years.
The September Draw had taken place at the earlier Committee Meeting and prizes would be distributed accordingly.
The winners were as follows:
1 @ £135 No.62 Arthur Johnston 5 @ £40 No.7
No.60
No.34
No.36
No.63
Mrs Dorothy Fielding
Martyn Hart
Tony Cotes
Darryl Davies
Alec MacCaig3 @ £20 No. 5
No.30
No. 4
Gavin Robertson
Andy Haile
George Robson2 @ £10 No.48
No.22
Christine McKay
Bill Frankland
4. Grant to Golfing Society
David Lord proposed that the £500 annual grant to the Golfing society should continue. It was unanimously agreed by those present.
5. Accounts
David Lord, the Treasurer of the Society, circulated and explained the Accounts as follows:-
a) Guarantee Trust Fund–The purchase of No.8 Lonsdale Terrace had taken place on the 25th March 2008 and the Society, through the Guarantee Trust Fund, now owned all the properties on Lonsdale Terrace. All mortgages in favour of the Cumberland Building Society had now been repaid apart from a small amount outstanding of less than £2000 in respect of No.7 and the sizeable mortgage required to complete the purchase of No.8 earlier in the year.
Currently, Pam Rumney’s salary, the Assistant to the Secretary, is being paid out of the Guarantee Trust Fund but it is hoped that funding in future will be from the Society General Account, once the full savings, resulting from the distribution of the Society Bulletin by email, are realised.
b) Scholarship Fund-Grants of £7800 had been given to the School to fund Scholarships and Bursaries.
c) General Account–Larger items of expenditure included a new computer and laser printer, the old computer being well past its sell by date. A £500 contribution had also been made to help fund the School Autumn Ball. Several Members questioned whether the Society should financially support School activities of this sort. DFL
was of the opinion that, whilst the Ball should be self financing, the Society should support the School, assuming funds permitted, for an event such as this. The Ball is an extremely important event in the School calendar, and enjoyed immensely not only by parents and friends of the School but also by a considerable number of former
pupils, many of whom travel considerable distances to be present for the occasion.
Anthony Wills questioned whether the Capital Reserve Account enjoyed the best available interest rate. DFL agreed to look at the various options available.
d) Consolidated Trust Fund–Last financial year £300 had been given to the School to help fund prizes. DFL proposed that this be raised to £400 this year and possibly even £500 the following year, but obviously keeping an eye on investment income. This was seconded by John Bell.
6. No.8 Lonsdale Terrace
It was reported that No.8 remains empty at the moment whilst awaiting the completion of various works, ncluding full rewiring.
The Head suggested that the property would probably come into use in September 2009.
7. Any other business:
a) Nominative Governors–Anthony Wills made a request that female former pupils be encouraged to put their names forward for consideration as a School Governor. The Society appoints five Governors to the School Governing Body and at present all five are males. In September 2009, one of the five is due to retire/or seek
re-election with a further three being in this position the following year.
b) Branch Dinners –Bill Affleck, Branch Secretary for the Bristol and South West area, mentioned the state of the Branches and the lack of support particularly in his area for events such as the Branch Dinner. The 2009 Branch Dinner will take place on 8th May 2009 and will be the 60th Dinner for the Branch. Darryl Davies stated the importance of keeping the Branches going and encouraging people to attend these functions. It was cknowledged that new blood from the younger Society Members was urgently required. Steve Crossley- Smith stated that the Yorkshire area had not had a gathering for a long time and therefore he had agreed to try and reinstate a get together for the Yorkshire area later this year. A lunch had been arranged for Sunday 2nd November near Knaresborough.
8. Date of A.G.M. and OSB’s Day 2009.
The AGM and St. Beghians’ Day will take place on Saturday 12th September 2009.
The meeting closed at 12.10 pm.
The St.
Beghian Society,
St. Bees School, St. Bees, Cumbria, CA27 0DS
Tel: 01946 828093
osb@st-bees-school.co.uk