Constable Burton Reading Room
Annual General Meeting, 8th March 2016
Apologies for absence: Hilly, Mike and Gerry
Present: Cathy and Stewart Ayers, Martina Miller, Moira Edington, Trevor McDonald and Jonny Handley
Minutes of the last meeting were read and accepted as an accurate record.
Matters arising:- The Green has now been rolled and grass has grown back. George Tomlin checked the area two weeks ago and has confirmed that it continues to drain effectively. Thanks to all helpers/volunteers on this project.
Chairperson’s Report 2015 – 2016 (Cathy)
Welcome to everyone, as Deputy Chairperson I have compiled this report as a representative of the Chairman.
This year has been eventful and successful in the Reading Rooms calendar. Our regular Coffee Morning and book sales have continued throughout the year and are always a good social meeting point and provide regular income for the hall along with the Afternoon teas. Our regular users of the hall have been the Yoga classes which seem to be well attended and enjoyed by their membership. There are a lot of more elastic and supple residents about, thank you to Josie. Mike Phillipson continues his computer clinics on a regular basis and keeps the website up to date – thank you Mike.
Our year began with a “Take and Share” supper at end of March providing a good social event. It was followed by an Easter Tea and Egg Hunt on April 5th, good participation by the children and combining a tombola with the Afternoon tea was a financial boost for the hall. The teas continued in May preceded by a “Pie & Peas” supper on May 16th. Also in May the hall was used for elections.
George Tomlin gave a talk about his trip to the Himalayas to raise funds for the Impact Foundation after the Nepal earthquake which was followed by a supper in June (26th). July we held Coffee morning and Afternoon tea, a bit of a cloud over this, as we had lost one of our previous Chairwoman (Moira Bullen) to illness. We were able, as a community, to donate our recent tea profits to the fund for Alistair’s aromatherapy clinic which was dear to Moira’s heart.
We said farewell to another former chairwoman and secretary, Anna Corbett, who with her husband Chris were moving out of the village. A farewell BBQ on the Green was held – which the weather was kind. At this point I’d like to remember another former Chairman and Treasurer (Keith Manning) who we also lost through illness earlier in the year.
The Summer fair went ahead this year without a Duck Race but plenty of stalls and a new attraction of a Scarecrow Trail, with lots of participation from residents creating imaginative scarecrows dotted about the village. One of which, “Barnabus The Owl” lives in the Reading Room. The coconut shy, crockery smashing, raffle, tombola, plant stall and BBQ and afternoon teas provided the refreshments. I’d like at this point to thank all the helpers and bakers for these events and coffee mornings and afternoon teas, we couldn’t do it without you.
Our Halloween party and supper went extremely well, both the childrens afternoon party and the adults evening were well attended and lots of fun for all.
Although the last afternoon tea was in September, we held a Christmas Afternoon tea in December which was enhanced by Christmas decorations and trees. Unfortunately, New Years Eve supper didn’t happen this year due to lack of response and illness, hopefully another time. However, we held a most successful and well attended Chinese Supper to celebrate Chinese New Year in January which hopefully will lead to more suppers this year.
Our aim has always been to keep the Reading Room open for use as a social hub of the village along with the village Green. This is a constant challenge and being a small committee we need support from the community. The hall is also the emergency centre for the area so we have to keep it going. You may have noticed that the committee have placed slow down and safety signs about the Green, hopefully, to make motorists aware of our village use.
I would like to thank the committee for their support and keeping things going for another year, also the backroom people that keep it floating!
Cathy Ayers (Deputy Chair)
The committee thanked Cathy for her report.
Treasurer’s Report
Jonny advised that the current figures were due to be audited and therefore a finalised report will be made available shortly. Jonny confirmed Bank Balance as at year ending February 2016 to be £2754.00.
Two pie charts were shown to committee members detailing Income and Expenditure. The following figures have been extracted from these charts.
INCOME
Village Fair 27.23%
Events 20.21%
Coffee Mornings 19.22%
Room Hire 16.09%
Afternoon Tea 14.86%
Maintenance 1.32%
Donation 1.09%
EXPENDITURE
Services 38.21%
Maintenance 28.27%
Village Fair 11.76%
Events 11.32%
Donation 3.19%
Misc 3.03%
Afternoon Tea 2.28%
Petrol 0.99%
Coffee Morning 0.77%
Rent 0.19%
The committee thanked Jonny for his report. Further details to follow.
Election of Officers
It was assumed, that all committee members absent from the AGM meeting, were happy to continue, as no resignations had been received. Thank you
Jonny Handley was nominated as Treasurer by Cathy Ayers, seconded by Stewart Ayers and was duly elected.
Martina Miller was nominated as Secretary by Cathy Ayers, seconded by Stewart Ayers and was duly elected.
Cathy tendered her resignation as Deputy Chairperson and was thanked for her support. Stewart Ayers was nominated Deputy Chair by Jonny Handley, seconded by Martina Miller and was duly elected.
There being no application received for the position of Chairman, the committee thanked Charles Wyvill for agreeing to continue as Chair, to satisfy the requirements of the constitution.
Appointment of Auditors
Decision pending, Jonny to advise shortly
Suggestions for Future Events
Easter Afternoon Tea due to be held on Sunday 27th March 2016
Summer Village Fair due to be held on Sunday 28th August 2016 (With Duck Race)
Halloween Children Event
Halloween Adults Supper
Meditaranean Supper Night
Indian Supper Night
70s or 80s Themed Supper night (Fancy Dress)
Summer BBQ with Sports Day event
Gatsby/Downton style Supper Night (Fancy Dress)
Any Other Business
Trevor advised the committee of his concerns regarding the Reading Room Open Fire being used without a full sized Fire Guard. At the recent childrens Halloween event he noticed that the current fire guard was not a sufficient safety measure when the fire lit and children present. A discussion took place and it was agreed that a full size permanently fixed fire guard would be sourced and fitted. Thank you Trevor for valuable Health and Safety input.
Thank you to all helpers and supporters of the Reading Room for another successful year. Your continued support is greatly appreciated and needed.
The meeting closed at 7.30 p.m