Minutes of the 18th (103rd) Annual General Meeting

of the St. Beghian Society held in the Whitelaw Building

on Saturday 10th September 2011 at 11.00am.

 

1. The minutes of the 102nd Annual General Meeting held on 18th September 2010 - Matters arising:
   a) Mr Donald Brownrigg raised an objection with regard to Item No.6 of the Minutes, ‘Abbey Farm and the Release of the Restrictive Covenant’. He was aggrieved that the meeting which had been agreed would take place with regard to the above had not done so. He had also written a letter to the President and Secretary which had not been tabled as requested. The Secretary, as he had stated a year ago, regretted that there had been no communication between the school or the Society and those affected by the school Governors’ decision to release the restrictive covenant over the land adjacent to Abbey Road. Again he mentioned that the Society itself had not been informed that this was going to happen nor that planning permission had been approved.
   Notwithstanding the above, Donald insisted that he would still welcome a meeting as had previously been agreed. A suitable time was considered to be before the next Committee Meeting on Saturday 3rd March, 2012 at 9.30am. This was proposed by Sara Calvin and seconded by Richard Hall.

2. The Election of Officers:
   a) President 2011-2013 – Anthony Wills.
   At this point in the meeting Don Williams handed over to Anthony Wills, the new Society President.
   Anthony expressed his sincere thanks to Don for his work in support of the Society during his three year term as President. He asked that thanks be recorded for all his efforts and very interesting and innovative ideas.
   b) Committee – Mrs S.J. Calvin, A.D. Lord and A.J. Wills were due to retire. Sara Calvin and Alastair Lord agreed to stand again. Andrew Haile proposed their re-election and it was seconded by Alec MacCaig. The vacancy created by Anthony Wills’ elevation to President was highlighted and Darryl Davies proposed the election of John Woodhouse (SH 99-02). The Secretary agreed to approach John to confirm his interest before putting his name forward for consideration and approval by the Committee next March.
   c) Secretary and Treasurer – David Lord agreed that he was prepared to continue. He was proposed by Darryl Davies, seconded by Alec MacCaig.
   d) Golfing Secretary – Although the Secretary had not heard directly from James Doggett, it was believed that he was happy to continue. James was proposed by Richard Hall and seconded by Matthew Rigby.
   The Secretary asked that thanks be recorded to Michael Coffey, Matthew Rigby and other members of the Golfing Society for their tremendous efforts in fundraising in order to assist with the school’s golfing projects and bursaries. Their efforts had been considerable and were ongoing.
   e) Accounts Checker – Jason Spires, an old boy of the school, has been very supportive and is willing to carry on. Jason was proposed for re-election by David Lord and seconded by Darryl Davies.

3. Grant to Golfing Society – The Secretary mentioned that the grant had been increased from £300-£600 over the last few years and recommended that in view of the current economic climate the amount should remain at £600. This was proposed by Richard Hall and seconded by Matthew Rigby.

4. 200 Club Report and Draw – Darryl Davies advised that there was a credit balance of £783 in the 200 Club bank account with an expected £1000+ to be received during the next twelve months. Monies had been recently given to the school: £2500 towards the cost of a new climbing wall and £400 in respect of golfing jerseys for school pupils.
   Darryl mentioned that sadly, John Hunter, a loyal supporter of the school and 200 Club, had passed away earlier this year.
   The September draw then took place. The winning numbers may be found in the following 200 Club Report.
   
   
5. Communication with the School – As was advised at the AGM a year ago, the President mentioned the deterioration in the communication between the school and the Society. This had been and continued to be of major concern to Society members although he felt that improvements had been achieved during the previous twelve months, culminating with a presentation by Mr Bill Roberts, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Vice Chairman of the school Governors, to the Society Committee earlier that morning. The Secretary mentioned that it had been discussed as to whether Bill Roberts should first address the Committee or the AGM, but due to the limited time available at the AGM, it had been agreed that the initial presentation should be to the Committee. The Secretary asked for comments about the possibility of Bill Roberts addressing the AGM next year. Dr. Anthony Rigby commented that it had been an extremely interesting talk and he felt that perhaps 30 minutes could be set aside for a presentation followed by 15 minutes of questions and discussion. Tony Graham agreed and stressed the importance of communication. Matthew Rigby emphasised that the governing body was very eager for the Society to be on board and involved and concurred that communication was absolutely paramount.

6. Accounts –
   a) Old St. Beghians’ Club Guarantee Trust Fund – The Treasurer, David Lord, pointed out that since last year the mortgage on No.7 Lonsdale Terrace had been repaid leaving only one mortgage outstanding, on No.8. He mentioned that the property values stated in the balance sheet were the amounts paid out on purchase and that there was therefore a considerable hidden asset value.
   b) The St. Beghian Society General Account – This account had made a small loss owing to:
        i) Bulk buying of envelopes to achieve economies of scale.
       ii) Postage on a large additional mailing.
      iii) The purchase of new software to allow the website to be produced and updated in-house.
      iv) A database package upgrade to accommodate requests not to show private email addresses to all.
       v) A late (previous financial year) bill from the school for postage and photocopying.
   The Secretary expected the financial year ending 31st January 2012 to show a profit.
   c) The St. Beghian Society Scholarship Fund –£8,240 was given to the school last year in respect of assistance to sons and daughters of OSB members. Three of the pupils involved left school in July and the sum to be provided this current financial year will be significantly less. Whilst the accounts revealed a small shortfall, the Secretary was not unduly concerned as he felt it extremely important to continue to support the sons and daughters of former pupils for whom assistance had previously been agreed. Again a return to profit was envisaged in the current financial year.
   d) The St. Beghian Society Trust Funds – Consolidated Trust Fund This small fund has continued to provide funding to the school towards prizes on Speech Day. Over the last few years the amount given has increased from £300 to £500. The Treasurer recommended that it should remain at £500 for the coming year.
   
   Acceptance of the accounts was proposed by Alec MacCaig and seconded by Richard Hall.        

7. Any other business
   a) Alec MacCaig asked whether there was to be a new Members’ Address Book and if so, when? The Secretary explained that not all Society members wished their details to be displayed in a book and therefore it would probably require an opt-in confirmation from individuals before it could be produced. The Secretary agreed to investigate this and report back to a future meeting.
   b) Matthew Rigby enquired about the process regarding OSB annual subscriptions. The Secretary reported that parents are asked to pay £50 in two instalments during their child’s time at school. Each year a small number of parents chooses to delete the amount from their account and therefore those individuals are not included in the Society list of members on leaving school. Matthew Rigby felt it was extremely important to have as many former pupils on the database as possible. He also pointed out that some schools gained as much as 15% of their income from legacy giving. c) The 2012 Reunion due to be held on the Friday before OSB Day next year was mentioned. The dinner, which will probably be held in the Sports Hall on Friday 14th September, will be for all those who left school in the 1960s and also between 2000 and 2004. If the dinner proves to be successful, it is proposed to organise similar functions to ensure that, over a period of several years, all Society members have the opportunity to attend a reunion. Society members interested in attending next September’s proposed dinner had been asked to advise Mrs Pam Rumney in the Society office, as updates would be issued on a regular basis throughout the year.
   d) The Secretary mentioned Bill Dove’s long standing involvement as Secretary of the North East Branch. Bill had organised the NE Annual Dinner for the last 37 years and George Robson had suggested that the Society should consider some form of recognition. The Secretary agreed and indicated that he would speak to Bill Dove to encourage him to carry on and complete 40 years of loyal service, at which stage recognition would certainly be justified!
   e) Tony Graham expressed his appreciation for the production of name badges for the day.

8. Date of AGM and Old St. Beghians’ Day 2012 – Saturday 15th September, 2012.

The meeting closed at 12.15pm.