Date

18/11/2024

Time

19.30 – 20.14

Location

Newton Abbot RBL Club

Meeting type

Annual General Meeting

Chair

David Cair

Note taker

David Cair

Name

Initial

Name

Initial

Mike Joyce (President) *

MJ

Lionel Hawkes

LH

David Cair (Vice Chair / Secretary) *

DC

Sandra Hawkes

SH

Nicola Cair (Treasurer) *

NC

 Sue Joyce

 SJ

Mike Stark (Std Bearer) *

MS

Nigel Kenneison

 NK

Jason Downey

JD

Colin Davieson

CD

Ann Jones*

AJ

Tony Hewett

TH

John Rogers

JR

Sadie Grainger Gove*

SGG

Jeanette Rogers

JR1

Andy Grainger Gove

AGG

Rick Webb*

RW

Committee Member

*

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Discussion

DC

At 19.30 The Vice Chairman, David Cair, asked those present to be upstanding. The Branch Standard was marched in by the Standard Bearer, Mike Stark. 

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NC

 Apologies received from –Gareth Drew, Mary Drew, Nigel Gigg, Cathy Gigg, Basil Pelmear, Tony Franklin, David Heath, Leslie Sparks, Robert Cox, Chris Ratcliffe, Bob Beer, David Heath, Richard Underhill, Paul Toovey, Debbie Toovey, Chris Jones

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DC

The Vice Chairman welcomed everyone to the AGM and commented on the turnout. He went on to explain that the Chair had had to dash off due to his wife being ill.

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DC

The Vice Chairman presented the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on the 20^th of November 2023

Proposed by Mike Stark and Seconded by Nigel Kenneison that the that the Minutes of the meeting held on 20^th of November 2023 are a true record of the meeting.  All in favour.

The Minutes were subsequently SIGNED by the Vice Chairman and Secretary.

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No matters arising.

Actions:

Nil

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Discussion

MJ

The Branch President gave his report

Has it really been one year since I first stood here and read out my report to you. Where has the time gone, doesn’t seem that long ago, yet a lot happened has since that time.

With the funeral of our late Queen Elizabeth II and then the coronation of our new monarch King Charles III, to me it still takes a little bit of getting used to after all this time of referring to our Queen rather than having to say our King. I still chuckle sometimes at the slip that some make when saying God save the King etc.

The branch itself has continued to do what the branch does, be there for its members, serving, veterans and their families. It is the role that the Legion does exceptionally well and to those who carry out that task on behalf of us all, thank you. Two little words that sometimes get missed in the hurly-burly of modern life but yet can mean so much to those who strive to look after and ensure our members are not forgotten. They never will be.

The branch has been prominent in many areas this year, as it has done in the past attending many functions, fates and parades. Our standard, through our standard bearer, Mike Stark, ably assisted on occasions by Vice Chair or the Parade Marshal, has been proudly paraded on several occasions, although sometimes sadly at ceremonies where we’ve had to say farewell to our own. To you all again I say thank you for representing the Branch so honorably.

To our secretary, who always produces minutes and correspondence to enable us all to follow the branches progress, again a job that takes up a considerable amount of time behind the scenes.

To our parade marshal, youth liaison I say thank you. They have both again represented the branch to the full and indeed have seen the affiliation of Stover school into the system. It is also worth noting that other affiliations are being cemented ensuring that the many cadets and others in the area become and remain a part of our family.

I now come onto our chair. It is difficult to find additional words or indeed new words that can describe how our chair does so much for this branch and for the Legion as a whole. His knowledge, his enthusiasm his downright fortitude amazes me, making sure that everything ticks, that the branch is represented both locally, regionally and nationally and we as members know what the branch is for. The work every year as the poppy appeal officer takes weeks to come to fruition and is ably assisted by many others to enable us to take our boxes out for collecting onto the streets. That alone is a task undertaken by the Chair and the many helpers ensuring the poppy appeal locally is a success.

The chair I know does not look for recognition nor indeed thanks, he does what he does for both the Legion the branch and its members without really seeking thanks or recognition but for me as your branch president all I can say is, Richard, it has not gone unnoticed, and your contribution is always welcomed and appreciated.

As we move into yet another year, I refer to it in my last year’s report, and I refer to it again now. It is the youth, in my opinion, that will take the mantle of the Legion forward it has to be so if the Legion is to continue to be there for all, whether serving, veterans or family and I look forward to seeing how the youth take on this mantle over the coming years. I am certain that all of you who have served the Legion to date and will continue I hope, for some time, will be there to offer advice, encouragement and a helping hand to those coming behind us.

The Legion will and must continue to adapt and I am confident that this Branch and the Legion as a whole will continue to grow and be there for all, as and when required. Life changes, its perspectives changes, our perspective changes but there is one continuum and that is the Royal British Legion.

In conclusion I want to say thank you, to you the Royal British Legion Newton Abbot Branch, who, through your dedication and service, are here for both serving , veterans and the community at large, for the commitment that you make to be part of our community and engage with it and last but not least,  thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your president, an honour  that I will treasure.

Actions: Nil

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Discussion

NC

The Chairman was absent, so Nicola Cair gave his report:

Welcome to all members and guests present

a.   Mr President thank you for your report which I totally concur with.   In fact, you, as usual, have stolen some of my proposed report which means my report will be shorter – probably not a bad thing. 

b.   I would like to give my personal thanks to the branch officers and committee members for their support to ensure the branch has continued to meet the many commitments we planned throughout the last year. Without your support there would be not branch. However, I will again mention the Vice Chairman/Secretary.  Behind the scenes David does an outstanding job supporting me.  Not only is he the Vice Chair he has also taken on the role of Branch Secretary; he also looks after the Branch Plan, media, membership and is web master.  As if that is not enough, he is also the County Community Support Co-ordinator and has recently taken on the role of Chairman of the Torbay Group. Thank you, Dave.  Both Youth and BCS continue to move forward, and I will also mention our Standard Bearer Mike Stark who has for the second year won the county SB competition and will be carrying the County Standard for another year.  Thank you all for your support.

c.   Remembrance Sunday – again it was a tremendous success and well represented by various organisations.  Having a full band definitely made a difference.  Thanks go out to Branch Chaplain Rev Bruce Porter and RAFAC Gareth Regan for officiating, to Paul Toovey for Parade Marshal and to the Club for providing the buffet. 

Looking at what we have achieved over the last year

d.   Decoration Day was well attended and back to normal with 17 standards in attendance.  Thanks go to Branch Chaplain Rev Bruce for officiating, the Mayor of Newton Abbot, County President and Chairperson and other dignitaries for attending.

e.   Branch Officers attended the War Memorial and paid their respects and laid wreaths at various commemorations including Holocaust Memorial Day, Falkland Liberation, VE and VJ Day, Monte Casino, Op Granby and Op Herrick. Also, the Vice Chair and SB attended the Battle of Britain Service at Teignmouth.

f.    Monthly Meetings have continued, which are open meetings, with members also using Teams for those unable to attend in person.

g.   This year the gazebo has not been out as often as usual due to events being cancelled by organisers due to weather conditions.  The Vice Chair and Treasurer have been out to St Luke’s Summer and Christmas Fayre and the Victorian Night.  In addition, they attended Scorriton Summer Fayre. 

h.   Looking forward to 2025.  Planning is ongoing and will include Decoration Day which next year will be on Sunday 1^st June 2025.

i.    Again, I cannot finish without mentioning the RBL Club.  There is a small committee who are all working very hard to ensure the Club remains open.  We all know the history of what happened to the Club and where we can as a Branch we do help where possible.  The Club needs the support of its members and anyone willing to help, without the commitment of being a committee member, is welcome.  Basically, support your club.

j.    A point to be considered is that at some time in the future the officers will leave, and others will need to stand in to their positions.  This is obviously a natural progression, but committee members should be aware they may need to step up.  The first example being this is the last year I will be running the Poppy Appeal and also Shirleys last year.  I have a willing volunteer to cover Shirley part of the appeal, but I will need to be replaced as Poppy Appeal Organiser.   The job of my replacement falls upon the County Poppy Appeal Manager.  However, you do not have to be a RBL member to be a PAO so if any of you, or if you know of anyone who may be interested let me know and I will pass the name onto the CPAM.

Finally, once again thank you to all the committee for your continued support and the work you do for the Branch it does not go unnoticed and is appreciated.

Action: Nil

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Discussion

DC

The Vice Chairman presented the Branch Plan report

He hoped that everyone had had a chance to examine the Branch Plan.   

The Branch Plan is a LIVE or DYNAMIC document, it is fluid, it will evolve organically and be updated during its life and thus spawn further actions.

We had mainly neutral results mostly just reaching our targets over the past twelve months and the modified Branch Plan has taken this into account.

I have again continued with the traffic light signaling system which I feel does help highlight immediately how we are doing.

A couple of points he raised.

2.1            Branch Community Support.  Generally, we are doing well. Areas we have done well in are 2.1.1 Recruiting and Training & 2.1.5 Safeguarding ……All supporters branch Officers and committee members have received safeguarding literature, All BCS Supporters are up to date with Safeguarding training. BCC training has commenced

2.2            Fundraising We are doing well overall, however as normal we are being stymied by 2.2.3 We need to recruit more Poppy Appeal Volunteers

2.3            Remembrance and Ceremonial.

We are overall very good at this. 2.3.4 Ceremonial Planning We hold dedicated planning meetings with the Town Council on all aspects of Remembrance Parade and Armistice service.  We also maintain event plans for Decoration Day

2.4            Membership, Recruiting and Events.

2.4.3 Investigate and encourage renewal of lapsed members.  This is in Amber.  Frustratingly most leavers do so due to events outside of our control.

2.5            Training. No change in objectives.  All committee members are aware of their duties and responsibilities All officers and committee however do need to attend Branch Management Courses regularly, and of course these are open to the wider membership too. 

2.6            Administration and Finance. Everything in the Green

He asked that all take their copies of the Plan and let him know of any amendments or additions to the plan that need looking at.

Lastly, he proposed that we adopt this Branch Plan, and a copy will be sent to County for their approval.

Action: All in favor.  DC to submit to County. 

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Discussion

NC

 The Treasurer, Nicola Cair, presented the accounts:

Copies of the accounts were distributed. And included in the AGM Packs

My first year as treasurer has been relatively quiet, our accounts are now very simple as we no longer receive any rent as this is collected by the trustees. And I have found the Legions LOMAS accounting software very easy to work.

The accounts were signed off by and independent Examiner and sent to head office, within the time limit.  A copy which is in your information pack.

 A brief breakdown was given.

Going forward, this year we still need to be prudent with our spending, and we hope to be able to attend more fundraising events. 

Proposed by Mike Stark Seconded by Jeanette Rogers All in favour

Action: Copy to be posted on noticeboard

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Discussion

DC

a)    Secretary David Cair gave his report

No formal report as such as everything will be covered by other officers (Hopefully)

I have endeavored to deal with all correspondence in a timely manner, replying within 24 hours.  I have forwarded information to the membership as required.

I have taken part in 11 training courses including BCS Supporter, BCC, County & Branch Management, Treasurers Courses and I am about to complete the Independent Examiner Course.  I am enrolled on an instructor lead Branch Management course.

During the last year I have attended several events and functions, National Annual Conference (online), Devon Quarterly Meetings, Torbay Group Meetings, Remembrancetide events and even a couple of awareness events.

That concludes my report, but can I remind Branch Officers and Committee members to stay behind after the AGM to complete the MS1. & MS1B

DC

b)    Membership Secretary

The Membership Secretary, David Cair, gave his report:

During the last twelve months we have been unable to hold any stand-alone recruitment events, due mainly to illness and bad weather. However, we did tie recruitment to awareness events, and this has helped to stem the tide in decreasing membership numbers.

The membership is down nearly 9.5% on 2023 and now stands at 275

All leavers do get an email asking for feedback.  Most reasons for leaving are for things out of our control.

Our New Members pack, which has been updated recently, goes out to new joiners.

Hopefully in 2025 we will be able to hold dedicated recruiting events as well as our awareness and fundraising measures to help boost our membership.

In closing, Can I ask you all, as members, to play an active part in recruiting. If you can all recruit just one new member, a relative, friend, or associate, in the next twelve months the Branch would be in a far better position to help our beneficiaries.

DC

c)    Vice Chairman

The Vice Chairman, David Cair, gave his report.

Most of the pertinent points have been raised by the President and Chairman.

Our delegates, and members, attended National Conference in Newport – 

The Motion that the Branch Proposed with reference to FoR ticketing was carried 266/40.

MS

d)    Standard Bearer

The Standard Bearer, Mike Stark, gave his report:

Busy year. Especially so due to County Standard Bearer duties. Several Funerals attended, along with AFD and other events. He attended the FoR at the Albert Hall and the County FoR in Exeter

He again won the Devon County Standard Bearer Competition

He won the Devon County Standard Bearers Competition. So, he is now County Standard Bearer Most recently he was present for the Poppy Train and Service on Armistice Day, then a quick dash to London where he paraded at the Festival of Remembrance in the Royal Albert Hall, then back home for Remembrance Sunday.

He thanked his deputy Standard Bearers for standing in when required and the Branch and committee for their support.

DT

e)    Branch Community Youth Liaison  

Debbie Toovey was not present, so no report was given

PT

f)      Parade Marshal

The Parade Marshal, Paul Toovey, was not present:

He did email to say he felt that Remembrance Parade went well this year, and he was very pleased with it..

DC

g)    Web Master

The webmaster, David Cair gave his report

The website is maintained monthly, so it is up to date.   

That said, material from the Membership is required to keep it current and relevant.

Facebook Group - 

447 members up nearly 10% on last year

16,500 views

91 posts

Facebook Page

358 followers, again up by 10.5% on last year

4,400 views

Instagram - our Instagram account is linked to the FB page so a decent viewing average.

Twitter X - again only an average of 100 views per month but this is because he doesn’t tweet much.

We also have a Treads account but again I rarely post.

Not social media but we are still producing a Newsletter – Again like the Website input is required from the membership.

RU

h)    Poppy Appeal Organiser

The PAO, Richard Underhill, not present:

DC reported that as we had already heard Richard is giving up POA, he will run with it for a further year.

We have done a quite well this year –

As of today. At total of Approaching £40,000

Thank you to all supporters and volunteers.

i)      Branch Community Support Representative

The BCS report was given by David Cair in the absence of the BCS Rep:

The Branch has been relatively busy on the Branch Community Support scene.  We have a small, but dedicated BCS Team who work hard to fulfil their duties

Telephone Buddy Calls – 251 made to our beneficiaries.  2 Home/Hospital visits

The Standard attended 7 funerals.

He logged 48 BCS events - 

The way reporting is conducted has changed we now, starting this month, report monthly, and this is done directly from the web.

BCS Reps have been replaced by Branch Community Coordinators (BCC) Telephone Buddying and HHV is still carried out by BCS Supporters.

Can everyone please consider stepping up to the Supporter role and give a little back to the community.

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Discussion

DC

The report was given by Dave Cair

All being well you have all seen a copy of the Byelaws.

Changes in the last year

·       Document date

·       Removal of the term BCS Representative to be replaced with BCS Lead

·       Addition of BCC role guide

·       Reference to Branch Trustees added

If there are no objections as to the contents, I would like to submit that these Bye Laws to be passed on to County for approval.

All agreed to adopt Byelaws

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Discussion

RU

No positions were being contested, however there was a shuffling of posts.

Mike Joyce – President - 1 Year

Richard Underhill – Chair - 3 Years

Ann Jones – Membership Secretary – 3 Years

Jeanette Rogers - Committee 3 years

Mike Leaman – To be coopted in future

All voted for en-bloc by a show of hands.

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Nil

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No motions

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DC

Debbie Toovey appointed Branch delegate for National Conference

Debbie Toovey appointed Branch delegate for County Conference

Action: DC to register Branch Delegate for National and County conferences

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Discussion

DC

DC

David & Nicola Cair mentioned that they will be retiring in a couple of years’ time and likely moving away from the area.  The membership needs to consider putting themselves forward for officer / committee positions.

It was proposed that we change the day and time of future AGMs - To be discussed at committee

Actions: Nil

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Discussion

Next Committee meeting on completion of AGM.  Next AGM General meeting Monday 17^th November 2025 (Provisionally)

.

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DC

The first version of the National Anthem was sung.

The Vice Chairman stated that the business of the meeting being concluded we should remember our duty to our King, Country, and Comrades and to our Branch. Let us be ready at all times to foster the spirt of brotherhood and mutual helpfulness to which we are   dedicated never forgetting our solemn obligations as members of The Royal British Legion.

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NC

When you go home tell them of us and say

For your tomorrow we gave our today

.

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The Standard was Marched off by Standard Bearer Mike Stark

.

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DC

The Vice Chairman closed the Annual General Meeting at 20:14