Members of the CBOC Committee                                                                   

CBOC BRANCH, ROYAL BRITISH LEGION – 2015 PLAN

1.         Introduction.   

a.         Plan.    CBOC Branch had a very successful 2014. The Branch recruited 7 new members, raised over £2627 (against a target of £1500), attracted over 100 people to the May Band Concert and to the Jul Trent to Trenches Story summer talk, by 31 Dec raised £4526 during the Poppy Appeal (against a target of £5000) and successfully handled 2 welfare cases. The Draft 2015 Plan was presented to the AGM on 9 Oct 2014 and was endorsed by the 49 members present.

b.         Granby, Barnstone and District.             In Dec 2014 the RBL National Membership Council agreed that Granby Barnstone and District Branch (GBD) should become a ‘Sub Branch’ of CBOC. GBD became a sub branch of CBOC on 1 Jan 2015.

c.         Welfare.           As directed by National RBL the Branch no longer carries out welfare case work in the CBOC area. Any individuals in the area in need and eligible for welfare from the RBL will now be directed to the Regional welfare resources through the National Helpline.

d.         WW1 - CBOC Great War Project.         2014 – 2018 represents the centenary years of WW1. CBOC has initiated a project to research and identify all those whose names appear on the War Memorials of the 3 communities as having died in WW1. The Project has been underway since Feb 2014 and is well advanced. www.CBOCGWP.co.uk is the project web site which will be enhanced year upon year.

e.         2015 Final Plan.           The 2015 Plan has been written in accordance with the CBOC Strategy 2015 to 2020 and was agreed by the CBOC Committee at the meeting on 12 Jan 2015. 

2.         Aim.    The aim of this document is to provide a plan for CBOC business in 2015.

3.         Objectives.       Following the success of 2014 and the direction in the new 2015 to 2020 Branch Strategy the CBOC objectives for 2014 are:

a.         Membership.

(1)        New Members. The Branch has 117 members but the average age remains high and the number of ex-servicemen low. Anyone wishing to join the Branch will be welcome but our recruiting effort will go towards identifying and recruiting 5 serving and ex-service members under 60.

(2)        Events and CBOC Gatherings. The following events and gatherings are planned:

21 Feb Sat – Branch Spring Meeting and Supper at Notts G & CC.

26 Feb – Visit to Bletchley Park (Member Transport)

14 Mar Sat – ‘Belvoir Wassailors’ Concert All Saints Church.

5 Apr Easter Sun – Support Martins Arms Easter Egg Rolling.

TBD Apr  Poppy Ball.

23 Apr Thur – Meeting and Supper at Lime Kiln.

25 Apr to 20 May– Start of the battles in Gallipoli event tbd.

28 May Thur - Gathering at Cotgrave Welfare.

20 Jun Sat – Tombola Stand at the Cotgrave Festival.

12 Jul Sun – Talk (WW2/RAF) and Supper. Main Fundraising Event.

TBD Sep Sat - Visit to National Memorial Arboretum.

8 Oct Thur – AGM and supper at the Lime Kiln.

24 Oct  Sat – Poppy Launch.

24 Oct to 8 Nov – Poppy Collection.

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

11 Nov Tues – Various Remembrance events.

16 Dec Wed – Christmas Gathering.

 (3)       GBD Members.             Take over and run the administration and finance of the GBD members.

             b.        Fund Raising.

(1)        Non Poppy Appeal.      Raise £2000 outside the Poppy Appeal from donations, talks and the following activities:     

• 14 Mar - Belvoir Wassailors                                    (Chairman/John Carlton)
• 5 Apr - Egg Rolling at the Martins Arms                  (President)
• TBD Cream Tea in Cotgrave with June Odell - Jun  (Brian Tansley)
• 20 Jun – Cotgrave Festival Tombola                        (Secretary)
• 12 Jul - Supper and Speaker                                     (Events Members)
• Quizzes and Raffles                                                (Various Members)

(2)        Poppy Appeal.              Raise £5000 from the Poppy Appeal mainly between 25 Oct and 31 Dec. Consider the following matters raised in the Post Appeal meeting held on 15 Dec 2014:

• More events throughout the year for the Poppy Appeal
• Metal poppies from Jan 2015
• Develop the knitted Poppy source early.
• Possible effort at other locations in partnership with other branches.
• Get more members involved and mentor new ones.
• Brief collectors.
• Expand House 2 House collections.
• More days  in Sainsburys and the Coop.

(3)        Administration Funds.              Raise funds for Branch administration separate from welfare funds through the £1 annual admin fee per member.

c          Maintain Awareness.

(1)        Schools.           Visit and talk to pupils at Cotgrave Church of England Primary School, Candleby Lane Primary School and Ash Lea Special School.

(2)        Remembrance Sunday. Support all 3 village communities on 8 Nov. Parade with Cadets and uniformed services in Cotgrave.

(3)        Social Media.   Reconsider the use of the Web Site, Facebook and Twitter. Maximise the use of the Cotgrave Community web site.

(4)        WW1 Names.   Continue to research into those whose names appear on the war memorials as having died during WW1, giving priority to those who died in 1915. Maintain the web site www.CBOCGWP.co.uk.

(5)        Talks.   Visit and speak to external organisations and one Care Home in the area. Eg. WI, PROBUS, Methodist League, U3A.

(6)        Articles.           Write articles for newspapers and magazines such as Cotgrave Connections, The Cross, Wiverton News.

d.         Welfare.

(1)        Use members and networks to identify eligible and needy cases and direct them towards the Regional welfare resources.

(2)        Maintain liaison with Cotgrave and Cropwell Bishop Medical Centres, the Churches, Police and Cotgrave Advice Centre.

(3)        Introduce and maintain a support system involving members staying in half yearly contact with all members over 80 or in need of assistance.

e.         Structure.

(1)        Introduce and support the new Welfare Member, Poppy Coordinator and GBD Representative.

(2)        Identify individual members to play a greater part in the Branch activity.

f.          Granby, Barnstone and District.             GBD Branch became a sub branch of CBOC on 1 Jan 2015. As a result the main actions to be taken are shown below. Greater detail is at Annex A.

(1)        CBOC Branch:

• Take over responsibility for all the administration of the sub branch.
• Take over the account of the sub branch. The funds of the sub branch must remain visible within the ‘parent’ Branch account.
• CBOC Trustees become the trustees of the GBD sub branch.

(2)        GBD sub Branch:

• Retains its Branch number and has added ‘sub Branch’ to its title.
• Continues to parade its standard as necessary.
• Has nominated a member as the sub branch representative to attend the CBOC Branch committee meetings.
• GBD Trustees have no further trustee responsibility.
• GBD sub branch has no rights of representation at the Annual Meeting of County or the Annual RBL Conference.

g.         Financial Control.

(1)        Move all current members onto Direct Debit wherever possible. All new members are to be on Direct Debit.

(2)        Undertake financial checks and meetings every quarter.

(3)        Take over and run the GBD finances in accordance with the plan.

(4)        Assist members with the new payment methods that will be introduced in 2015 as necessary.

4.         CBOC Officers and Committee.

a.         Officers.          The Officers of CBOC Branch were voted in at the AGM on 9 Oct 2014. They are:

President                      Gordon Gray

Chairman                     John Ludlam

Vice Chairman             Vacant

            Secretary                      Peter McLaughlin

            Treasurer                     Josie McGuirk

b.         The CBOC Committee for 2015 was voted in at 9 Oct 2014 AGM. They are:

Chairman                     John Ludlam

Vice Chairman             Vacant

            Secretary                      Peter McLaughlin

            Treasurer                     Josie McGuirk 

            Events Members           Gilly Cross and Bert Wragg

Welfare Member          Chris Cockayne

Poppy Coordinator       Mary Myles

GBD Representative     Andrew Charlett (Nominated by GBD subcommittee)

5.         Chairman’s Tasks.

• Coordinate Granby, Barnstone and District becoming a sub Branch. (Annex A)
• Coordinate the recruiting of 5 new members under 60 who are serving or have served.
• Coordinate the CBOC Gatherings in Cotgrave.
• Help Organise the Belvoir Wassailors event.
• Identify Guest speakers as necessary.
• Arrange Remembrance Sunday parade in Cotgrave.
• Assist the President and Maureen Cockayne to arrange Remembrance Sundays in Colston Bassett and Owthorpe respectively.

• Write a newsletter twice each year, the first early in the year and the second running up to the AGM.
• With David Myles maintain a CBOC web site and make maximum use of the Cotgrave Community web site in order to inform, recruit and retain.
• Review the greater use of social media.
• Provide presentations and articles when opportune.
• Mentor the new committee members.
• Coordinate the CBOC Great War Project.

6.         Secretary’s Tasks.

• With the Chairman all secretarial work for CBOC.
• With the Chairman plan, advertise, organise and coordinate the AGM.
• Provide the main conduit into CBOC from other organisations or individuals wishing involvement.
• Identify 1 additional Standard Bearer.
• Assist the Poppy Coordinator to run the Poppy Appeal in Cotgrave involving as many members as possible.
• Take the necessary administrative action arising from Granby, Barnstone and District becoming a sub Branch of CBOC in accordance with the plan.

7.         Treasurer’s Tasks.

• Maintain the accounts, present them for audit and then present them to the AGM.
• Provide annual financial information to the timetable set by the RBL.
• Comply with the RBL financial regulations and advise the committee on all financial matters.
• Prior to and at the AGM advise the committee and members on the money available for donation and the maintenance of the Reserves.
• Act as banker for CBOC and GBD activities.

• Organise financial checks every quarter.
• Organise and act as secretary for 2 financial meeting each year to fill the gaps between Committee meetings.

8.         Events Members’ Tasks. (The GBD sub branch committee will run events in GBD area)

• Plan, advertise, organise and run the Spring meeting and Supper and Remembrance Sunday lunch.

• Plan, advertise, organise and run those CBOC Gatherings outside Cotgrave.
• When required help organise events such as visits.
• CBOC GWP – Bert Wragg take the lead for the Colston Bassett names on the CBOC GWP.

9.         Poppy Coordinator’s Tasks. (The GBD sub branch Poppy Coordinator will run the Poppy Appeal in GBD area)

• With the Secretary, Cotgrave Representative, Colston Bassett Representative and Owthorpe Representative run all aspects of the Poppy Appeal 2015.
• Involve more CBOC members to carry out Street Collections in Cotgrave.

• Incorporate the cadets early in the planning and execution of collection.
• Note the measures recorded at the Post Appeal meeting held on 15 Dec 2014.

10.       Welfare Member’s Tasks. (GBD sub branch committee will run Welfare in the GBD area)

• Identify welfare cases in Cotgrave and the outlying villages and liaise with Regional Welfare Case Officers to provide welfare.
• Carry out welfare work for CBOC members in consultation with the remainder of the committee as necessary.
• Introduce a system whereby younger members maintain 6 monthly contact with members over 80 and those in need of assistance.
• Advise members on the possibility of becoming a Regional welfare volunteer.
• If essential assist GBD with Welfare advice.

11.       Coordination.   The 2015 program will be coordinated through the CBOC Committee. One meeting was held on 12 Jan 2015 in order to ensure all understand the plan and ask for assistance as necessary. One meeting will be held on 28 Sep 2015 to prepare the 2016 plan and coordinate effort for the AGM (8 Oct), Poppy Appeal and Remembrance events.

Colonel (Retired) T J LUDLAM OBE

Chairman CBOC Committee RBL

ANNEX A

GRANBY, BARNSTONE and DISTRICT  AS A SUB BRANCH of COLSTON BASSETT, OWTHORPE AND COTGRAVE BRANCH

PROCESS AND FUTURE MANAGEMENT GBD and CBOC

1.         Administration. After the approval of the Members Committee has been received the following administration will apply.

a.         Membership.   The GBD member database will be transferred to CBOC. Any outstanding membership matters will be passed to the CBOC Secretary.

b.         Members Finance.       CBOC only takes new members who pay by Direct Debit; this will not apply to current GBD members who are ‘cash’ payers, although they will be encouraged to change to Direct Debit should they be able to do so. CBOC members pay an administrative fee of £1 per year for incidental administrative expenditure. GBD members will be expected to do the same, their contributions being visible within the CBOC account.

c.         ‘Cash Payer’ Membership Cards.       When cash payer membership cards for GBD members are received by CBOC they will be passed to the GBD sub Branch committee (see sub para 7e). Sub Branch committee members will be responsible for collecting the cash due and paying it en masse to the CBOC Treasurer. If cards are not paid for within one month of receipt CBOC will assume that, unless there are special circumstance, the individual no longer wishes to be a member and the cards will be returned to the RBL.

d.         Secretarial.      CBOC members will not act as secretary for any committees which exist in GBD sub Branch.

e.         Committees.    GBD Branch Committee will disband. A new committee will be formed as the ‘GBD sub Branch Committee’. It will have no trustee responsibilities and will not require a President, Secretary or Treasurer. It will require a representative to attend CBOC meetings, a Welfare member, a member or members to organise Events, a Poppy Coordinator and, if required, a Standard Bearer. The makeup of the GBD sub Branch Committee and how it elects its representative on the CBOC Committee will initially be determined by the GBD Committee prior to its disbandment.

f.          CBOC Branch Committee.     One of the GBD sub Branch committee members will represent the sub branch at the CBOC Committee meetings. That person will ensure that the GBD voice is heard and will also interface with CBOC Committee members on such matters as membership, funds and donations. The representative will only have a vote on GBD business. GBD sub Branch finance will be included with CBOC Branch finance as an agenda item.

g.         CBOC AGM.  GBD members will be invited to attend the CBOC AGM. They will not have a vote.

2.         Accounts.        GBD assetts will be transferred by the GBD Treasurer to the CBOC Treasurer in the presence of a County Represenative. GBD Treasurer will transfer all funds to CBOC by cheque and, when the cheque is cleared, will close the GBD accounts. Any funding of GBD sub Branch will then follow the same procedures as similar CBOC activity. GBD funds will be identifiable within the CBOC account.

3.         Finance.           Where applicable and allowable GBD sub Branch Committee may direct GBD sub Branch funds towards Welfare within their area^[1]. Additionally they may request CBOC Treasurer to provide donations towards RBL recognised activity such as Byng House. Pre funding GBD fundraising activity may be undertaken as long as GBD sub Branch Committee puts an acceptable ‘business case’ to the CBOC committee for their agreement.

4.         GBD Activity. GBD sub Branch activity will be carried out as in the past. This is likely to include, but is not restricted to, the following:

a.         Remembrance.            GBD sub Branch run the Poppy Appeal in their area and pay money collected direct to the Poppy Appeal. They parade with other uniformed organisations (including the Grenadier Guards Association) alternating between All Saints church Granby and St Andrew’s church Langar. They take a full part in the church service (congregation approximately 200) and hold a buffet lunch and raffle after the service. The buffet costs approximately £100 and will not be funded from sub Branch funds.

b.         Fundraising.    GBD sub Branch hold one fundraising lunch event each year. This is held in Barnstone village hall usually on the first Sunday in Sep. This event is self-funding with organisers being reimbursed through ticket sales and the excess being paid into branch funds. GBD sub Branch will make it clear to those attending whether the profits are going to RBL Welfare or sub Branch administration.

5.         Trustees.          CBOC Branch Committee members will become the Trustees of GBD Sub Branch. Their duties as such are described in part 4 of the Management Handbook (4.1.1). As Trustees they will take what action might be necessary to ensure GBD sub Branch follows the requirements of the RBL.

6.         Review.           It is hoped that GBD sub Branch will, in time, recruit sufficient members to return to full Branch status. It is also possible that the number of members and activity will decrease to the point where there would be no benefit in the sub Branch continuing. These matters will be discussed annually and the sub Branch status will be reviewed by the CBOC Committee.