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Colston Bassett

Colston Bassett, Owthorpe & Cotgrave Branch

ROYAL BRITISH LEGION

Minutes of the 2015 Annual General Meeting held at the Lime Kiln, Cropwell Bishop on    7 October stating at 1830

1. Act of Remembrance

1.         The Branch President, Lt Col G C Gray OBE spoke the exhortation.

2. Attendance

1.         Members. (43 CBOC, 1 GBD) Sheila Astill, Jean Barratt, Lisa Bell, Marion Betts, Roy Blowers, Linda Blowers, Ray Brown, Richard Butler, Ina Chapman, Andrew Charlett GBD, Chris Cockayne, Gilly Cross, Gordon Gray, Don Gregory, Maureen Gregory, Sybil Griffiths, John Hallam, Rita Hallam, Russ Hamer, Penny Hamer, Geoff Hannibal, Joyce Hannibal, Johnathon Hicks, Nancy Hodgkinson, Phil Hodgkinson, Sue Hodgkinson, Philip Holmes, Valerie Holmes, Christine Jeffreys, Tina-Louise Jeffreys-Cockburn, John Ludlam, Jacquie Ludlam, Peter McLaughlin, Josie McGuirk, Craig Moxham, David Myles, Mary Myles Freda Parrot, Ian Shaw, Jacky Shaw, Joyce Smith, Norma Toft, Margaret Wills.

2.         Apologies. (27)           Brenda Ainsley, Stan Bolstridge, Maureen Bolstridge, Pam Brooks, Terry Davies, Dennis Thomsen, Jon Carlton, Maureen Cockayne, Nigel Ford, Wendy Ford, Ken Kirk GBD, Liz Handbury, Bill Handbury, Paul Massey, Suzi McCullough, Jim McGuirk, Brad Poulson, Adele Poulson, Derek Pullinger, Jim Reeves, Mike Rust, Avril Rust, Bryan Tansley, Carole Tansley, Nic Travena, Pamela Travena, Bert Wragg.

3.         Guests. (5)       Mick Astill, Pam Brown, Joan Charlett, Ann Hicks, Audrey McLaughlin

3. Introduction

1.         The Chairman, Col T J Ludlam OBE opened the meeting by welcoming all those present. In particular he welcomed those who had joined the branch since the AGM of 2014.

2.         The President then presented RBL badges to: Freda Parrot, Nancy Hodgkinson, Phil Hodgkinson and Sue Hodgkinson.

4. Minutes of the Previous Meeting

1.         No comments or concerns were raised over the content of 2014 minutes. Adoption of the minutes was proposed by David Myles, seconded by Chris Cockayne and approved by the meeting. The Chairman signed the minutes.

5. Matters Arising.

1.         There were no matters arising.

 

6. Chairman and Secretary's Report

1.         The Chairman outlined the autumn 2014 and spring and summer 2015 activities and a copy of his report is attached. He emphasised that  8 new members had joined the Branch, including a new standard bearer. He congratulated everyone on raising over £7000 for the RBL.

7. Presentation and Adoption of Accounts

1.         A statement of branch accounts were distributed to members by the treasurer Josie McGuirk. No matters were raised and acceptance of the accounts was proposed by Mary Myles and seconded by Christine Jeffreys.

2.         The treasurer proposed the following donations be made by the Branch this year:

  • Poppy appeal. £1000.00.
  • Galanos House. £ 500.00.
  • Alderson House. £ 500.00.
  • County Welfare. £ 500.00.

3.         In addition Granby, Barnstone and District had received a legacy of £400 and wished to donate £200 to each of Galanos House and Alderson House.

4.         The above donations were proposed by Ian Shaw, seconded by Ina Chapman, and accepted by the meeting.

8. Elections

1.         President.        Lt Col Gray had accepted the request from the committee to continue to hold the post of President for a further 3 years.

2.         Committee.     There had been no offers to take up any of the committee posts. However the current committee members had offered to stay on for a further year. The following officers and members were proposed:

Chairman. - Col T J Ludlam. Secretary. - Mr. P. McLaughlin. Treasurer. - Mrs J McGuirk. MBA. Welfare - Mr C Cockayne.  Events. - Mrs G Cross and Mr B Wragg. Poppy Appeal Coordinator. - Mrs M Myles

3.         Conference Delegates.            Col Ludlam was proposed as the Branch delegate to the County Annual Meeting and the RBL National Conference.

4.         All those elections above were proposed by Sheila Astill, seconded by Sybil Griffiths and accepted by the meeting.

9. Presentation and Adoption of 2016 Branch Draft Plan

1.         This item was presented to the meeting by the chairman and a copy, which includes the proposed events list, is attached.  He emphasised that the member recruiting and fund raising targets would remain the same as last year.

2.         The draft plan was proposed by Russ Hamer, seconded by Josie McGuirk and accepted by the meeting.

10. Remembrance

1.         It was agreed that the Branch would support this year’s poppy appeal and make every attempt to raise £5K. Members would be asked to collect in Sainsburys, the Coop and on their street. Mrs M Myles handed round a Collection Proforma for members to book their slot. [ Afternote: The Branch will also be collecting in Morrisons from 24 to 30 Oct]

2.         There would be three services on Sunday 8th November 2015, at which the Branch would be represented:

  • 8.45 am St. Margarets, Owthorpe.
  • 10.30 am  St. John the Divine, Colston Bassett
  • 10.30 am All Saints, Cotgrave

The Chairman encouraged all members to attend and those attending in Cotgrave to join the march to the church which would start from Cotgrave Welfare at 1000.

3.         There would be lunch afterwards at the Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club, Cotgrave for members, families and friends. A call in e mail/letter would be issued shortly. [Afternote: now issued]

11. AOB

1.         Notices: The Chairman encouraged members to attend and support the following events:

  • Tuesday 13th October 1245. Loos Memorial Service at Cotgrave War Memorial. A short service to commemorate the midpoint of the Battle of Loos.
  • Saturday 17th October 1400. Walking with the Wounded, Entrance to Morrisons Gamston. To greet the walkers on their 1000 mile walk brief stopover.
  • Friday 23 October 1130. County Poppy Launch at Rufford Abbey.

12. Granby, Barnstone and District

1.         The Chairman said that the Branch would be helping Granby, Barnstone and District sub branch to return to full branch status within the next 2 years.

13. Date of Next Meeting

1.         The next AGM would be held on Thursday 13 Oct 2016.

 

 

Signed as a true record …...................................................................... Chairman.................. dated.

Attached:

Chairman and Secretary's Report for 2015.

2016 Branch Plan.

 

CHAIRMAN and SECRETARY REPORT FOR 2015

 

1.         2014 an Excellent finish:

Poppy Appeal raised a total of £4780 against our target of £5000. Thanks to Mary Myles and her team who did very well in difficult circumstances.

A great turnout at the Remembrance Service and 60 members and friends attending lunch afterwards.

2.         2015 progress so far:

Membership.

  • We now have 124 members.
  • 8 new members this calendar year against a target of 5. One is a serving member of the RAF and 2 are Ex services. 3 under the age of 35.
  • We have lost 3 members this year. 2 failed to renew membership and sadly Beryl Willans died recently at the age of 90. Thank you those who attended the funeral.
  • We await the results of the effect the new paying system on our membership.

Fundraising.

  • We raised a total of £2300 outside the Poppy Appeal against a target of £2000.
  • This included: £1370 at the Lost Lancaster event, well done Bert Wragg and Gilly Cross and other helpers. £484 at the Belvoir Wassailers concert in All Saints church for which we thank Jon Carlton and Heather. £240 from the Tombola at the Cotgrave Festival, well done Peter McLaughlin, Audrey and team. Also well done Maureen Gregory and Val Holmes for the excellent decorated wheelbarrow.
  • So since our last AGM we have raised over £7000 which is great. But we can improve on that.

Raising Awareness. We:

  • Attracted 110 people to a very successful Talk and Supper in Jul.
  • Supported the Cotgrave Festival in Jun which was visited by over 1000 people.
  • Presented on the RBL to all Cotgrave schools.
  • Provided various articles in The Cross, Cotgrave Connections and Legion Knotts.
  • Developed our CBOC Great War Project and produced an informative web site. www.cbocgwp.co.uk . Ian Shaw, Jim Reeves and I visited and photographed all graves and memorials of those killed in WW1 in France.

Welfare.    We:

  • Referred some cases to the Regional Welfare team as the RBL policy now demands.
  • Continued to expand CBOC welfare intelligence network and Chris Cockayne is becoming well known amongst our members for his efforts to help. Interestingly enough having stopped Branches carrying out welfare, the RBL has had a change of heart and is planning to take the brakes off in the near future.

Events.      We:                 

  • Organised and ran a very successful Spring supper with 60people attending and listened to an excellent speaker, Elaine Hopkins the County RBL fundraiser. County raised over £800,000 this year!
  • Visited Bletchley Park and The National Memorial Arboretum. While 39 people attended the NMA only 21 were members a little disappointing.
  • Held CBOC Gatherings and quizzes in Apr and May, including one F & Ch Supper. One more gathering to go before the end of the year: Thursday 17 December. Please note not on Wednesday 16 Dec as in my Spring Newsletter. Im not certain of the location yet.
  • Held a Fish and Chip supper at tonight’s AGM. Of the 48 attending 43 are members. We have received 21 apologies. I am most grateful to those who do send their apologies for 27 non-attendance. It saves myself and the Secretary a lot of time and effort.

Structure.

  • The CBOC Branch Committee has met 4 times this year. 2 full meetings and 2 meetings to agree the finance. I can assure you that Josie McGuirk is a very safe pair of hands where our finance is concerned. She is an excellent Treasurer.
  • Our new Secretary, Peter Mclaughlin and Welfare Member, Chris Cockayne have settled in well as has Mary Myles our new Poppy Appeal Coordinator.
  • Your Committee has now taken over the administration, finance and trusteeship of Granby, Barnstone and District sub branch. They have 14 members and are represented on the CBOC Committee by Andrew Charlett. It is great to see Andrew and his wife Joan here tonight. Joan provided half the puddings at the Lost Lancaster talk in July for which we are most grateful. We hope that the sub branch will recover to a full branch in the next 2 years.
  • We have a new Standard Bearer, Owaine Reynolds is now our youngest member. Please give him support where you can.

3.         The RBL.

  • You will remember last year that I told you that the RBL was modernising at a great rate of knots. Well this year it has continued to do so:
  • Rebranding.    It has rebranded and has a much better strap line in ‘LIVE ON – To the memory of the fallen and the future of the living’.
  • Call Centre.     24/7 Call Centre 0808 802 8080 for all subjects. Very useful and working well.
  • Database.        Provided a new database of members and an intranet using Office 365. Meaning we can now take a lot more action on the web as opposed to on paper.
  • Membership Fees.       Sorted out the membership finance so that each individual member is responsible for his or her membership, instead of leaving it to the Treasurer. There are now so many different ways to pay that one is spoiled for choice. I hope you have all had your renewal letter now and if you have problems please give myself or Peter a ring. By the way subs are now £17 - £16 for the RBL and £1 for the Branch.
  • Welfare.          Ive already spoken of the ‘about turn’ on Branches running Welfare in their areas.

4.         Thanks.            I want to take this opportunity to thank your Committee. They use an enormous amount of time and energy trying to ensure that the Branch has a good time while following the guidance of the RBL and the Charities Commission. Im never really convinced that everyone understands and appreciates how much they do. We are always happy to accept advisors or even helpers.

 

John Ludlam                           7 October 2015

 

2016 BRANCH PLAN

 

2016 Draft Plan.          At their meeting on 28 Sep the Committee started to sketch out the draft Plan for 2016. The Plan will be finalised at the Committee meeting on 11 Jan 2016. The draft plan is as follows:

Membership.         The Branch is now 124 strong but the average age remains high and the number of ex-servicemen low. Anyone wishing to join the Branch will be welcome but the Branch effort will go towards recruiting 5 ex-servicemen/women under 60.

Remembrance.      As in the past CBOC will play a full part in the Remembrance period and attempt to raise more than the previous year.

Fund Raising.       

Non Poppy.           CBOC will aim to surpass a target of £2000 from events shown below. Good ideas are always welcome as is actual help.

Poppy.       Target of £5000. Lots of member involvement.

Events.      The draft program is as follows:

20 Feb Sat – Branch Spring Meeting and Supper at tbd.

Spring – Visit to tbd

27 Mar Easter Sun – Support Martins Arms Easter Egg Rolling.

?? Apr - Poppy Ball.

28 Apr Thur – Meeting and Supper at Lime Kiln.

?? May Sat – RAF Concert TBC, All Saints Church. tbc

26 May Thur - Gathering at Cotgrave Welfare.

18 Jun Sat – Tombola Stand at the Cotgrave Festival.

1 Jul Fri – Somme Centenary events

16 Jul Sun – Talk tbd and Supper. Main Fundraising Event. Colston Bassett village hall

?? Sep Sat - Visit to tbd

13 Oct Thur – AGM and supper at the Lime Kiln (or other location).

22 Oct Sat – Poppy Launch.

22 Oct to 11 Nov – Poppy Collection.

11 Nov Tues – Various Remembrance events.

13 Nov Sun - Remembrance Sunday and Lunch at Notts G&CC.

15 Dec Thur – Christmas Gathering.

Welfare.    Continue to seek out those eligible and in need and help them to receive assistance under the new RBL (and hopefully Branch) systems. Look towards building a welfare committee.

CBOC Great War Project.            Continue to research the names on the war memorials and develop the web site. Particularly in Colston Bassett.

Poppy Appeal       Continue to strive to collect more money than in 2015. All members to help.

Granby Barnstone and District.    Help GBD to return to full Branch status.

IT  Develop our use of IT by using Office 365 and LOMAS, the finance online system. Refresh and develop our CBOC web site and CBOC GWP web site. Introduce a FACEBOOK page and TWITTER feed.

 

John Ludlam                     7 Oct 2015