Page 7 - November December 2010

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the British Region, NMRA, held at Kegworth, Saturday 23 October 2010
Present were: John Spratley (President), Robin Swan (Vice­ President), John Firth (Membership Director), Patrick Grace (Treasurer), Steve Scott (Secretary), Mike Arnold, Vernor Bates, Patrick Bopp, Peter Borcherds, Martin Boyask, Ken Bradshaw, David Brown, Dave Burman, Graham Charman, Leigh Clark, Bryan M Clarke, Nobby Clarke, Russ Cook, Alan Crooks, Alan Cross, Richard Czaja, Trevor Dickenson, Jim Dickinson, Bill Ely, Paul Evans, Rai Fenton, Len Firth, Paul Flint, Bert Foster, Derek Frow, Gavin Fry, Peter Garrood, Tony Gath, David Gigney, Chris Green, Christopher Greenway, Arthur Haberlin, Peter Harris, Tony Hayselden, Charles Hendy, Les Herriot, John Hey, Mike Hughes, Michael Ingham, Alain Kap, Neil Lancaster, Mike Lenz, John Menzies, Kathy Millatt, Mick Moignard, Steve Park, Barry Peacock, Bob Perrat, Jym Phillips, John Pitty, Paul Purnell, Colin Reed, Philip Saunders, Tony Scutt, Peter Skinner, Richard Smith, Ralph Snelling, Hans Starmans, Graham Taylor, Graham Thompson, Tom Watson, Carol Webb, Keith Webb, Chris White, Tom Winlow, Adrian Wood, Stuart Wood, Pete Woodland, Chris Wright, and Terry Wynne. (75 members)
In attendance: William H (Bill) Kaufman (Vice President Special Projects, National), and John Sing (Pacific Coast Region). (2 out­ of­Region NMRA members)
Apologies: Lindsay Beare, Des Browne, Patrick Cook, Vanessa Howells, Mike Rimes, and Niall Smith.
Minutes of the last meeting which had been published in Roundhouse (December 2009) were proposed for adoption by Tom Watson, seconded by Michael Ingham and passed by a show of hands.
The President gave his report, reminding the meeting attendees that he would be standing down with effect from this Annual General Meeting. He acknowledged: 1. the impact that the weather had had earlier this year, in particular on the Winter 2010 Meet (postponed), 2. the very successful Spring Meet, and 3. the efforts of a small team to ensure Benson was re­arranged later in the year.
The Vice-President gave a brief report on Publicity issues, acknowledging the hard work put in by Mike Hughes prior to his resignation last April. Copies of this report would be added to the consolidated report which would be distributed to the Region’s officers and which would be published on the website.
The Membership Director gave his report, noting a slight increase in members of nine over the figure for last year. This was the product of 110 members not renewing, but 119 new members. He advised the meeting that some 30 members had lapsed at the end of their first year’s membership. The membership figure as of today (23 October 2010) was 720.
There had been a continued drop in the number of members taking Scale Rails, probably due to the high cost. The PayPal scheme for membership renewals and new members was proving successful, with 170 new and renewing members using it in the last year.
The Treasurer gave a brief résumé of the Accounts for the 12 months ending 31 March 2010. An abbreviated version had been placed in the October edition of Roundhouse and a full version would be placed into the members’ area on the website.
In summary he reported an income of £21.7K and expenditure of £22.9K. This left the Region with a deficit of £1.2K (rounded up) compared to a surplus of £2.0K the previous year. The principal factors for this were Members’ Rebate £1.0K (worse), Meets income £0.2K (w), Interest Received £0.2K (w), Roundhouse income £0.2K (w), and Dues payable to the US £1.5K (w) result of poor £/$ exchange rate. He was pleased to report Publicity costs had been reduced.
The NMRA is increasing its dues from 1 November 2010, and with other increased costs, it has been decided that Dues would increase by £1 for all membership renewals falling due from 1 April 2011.
Concerning the accounts, the meeting accepted the explanation provided by the Treasurer, it was proposed by Steve Park, seconded by Michael Ingham, and passed by a show of hands at the meeting.
The Atlantic Director reported on the new NMRA national logo and the recent change of name for the house magazine to NMRA Magazine (formerly Scale Rails), and an increase in US dues. In response to a query from Tom Watson concerning the appropri­ ateness of the new logo, Nobby Clarke stated there was no requirement for Regions to change their existing logos. Badges and other material bearing the new logo can be obtained via the NMRA website. Jym Phillips queried whether the Regions had been consulted over the changes outlined above, to which Nobby replied that the decisions had been taken at National level.
The Secretary noted that a report had been received from each and every Division/Group, some 30 in total, and formally recorded his thanks for all the hard work put in by Officers and Group Organisers. The reports were informative and an enjoyable read.
Note: Copies of the above­mentioned reports would be rolled up into the Region’s ‘Consolidated Report’ which would be distributed to the Region’s officers, representatives and group organisers, and which would be published to members on the website and progressively through the year with updated versions in Roundhouse.
The Ballot Officer gave details of two nominations received, one each for the vacant positions of President and Vice­President, and one nomination, the incumbent, for the three remaining positions. The Board of Directors (BoD) would consist of: Robin Swan – President, Keith Webb – Vice­President, John Firth – Membership Director, Patrick Grace – Hon Treasurer, and Steve Scott – Secretary.
Robin Swan and Keith Webb took their respective seats. The new President proposed a vote of thanks, seconded by Nobby Clarke, for the work by the outgoing President John Spratley. The members present then applauded John for his contribution to the Region.
The Secretary reported that there were a number of vacancies for Appointed Officers: 1. Reporting Accountant (vice Kathy Millatt), 2. Annual Directory (vice Tom Winlow), 3. Publicity (vice Mike Hughes). No nominations had been received so far, and the BoD would continue to look for volunteers to fill these important roles. In addition, the Contest Chairman (Terry Wynne) had indicated that, due to family commitments, he would be unavailable to officiate at the 2011 Bournemouth Belle Convention. Les Herriot’s offer to fill this temporary vacancy for 2011 was accepted by the President.
A vote of thanks was recorded for Tom Winlow’s long service to the Region for his efforts in sustaining a credible and professional Region Annual Directory.
The meeting members noted the willingness of the Ballot Chairman to continue in post and, therefore, re­appointed Rai Fenton to this position.
Other Business
The Ballot Chairman gave details of the issues that could require consideration of some proposed amendments to the Region’s Constitution. These issues were the result of whether the current constitution, as written, should allow an elected President the permitted two terms of service without allowing a challenge at the intermediate year. Considerable debate took place with questions from, amongst others, Tom Winlow, Martin Boyask, Tom Watson, Alan Crooks, and Leigh Clark. A motion tabled by Alan Crooks was eventually adopted. In simple terms this requires a small group of members to investigate the options and likely consequences for constitutional change. Two options noted: 1. The Constitution unchanged, 2. Incorporation of the practice and custom that the post of President serves for two
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