2018 AGM Minutes

Burnham on Sea Woodturners club

Annual General Meeting

Held on the 30th May 2018 at the Methodist Church Hall, Burnham on Sea

Attendees: 16 of the 24 club members

(Apologies received from Rob Brown)

Chairman – George Foweraker

Minutes

GF welcomed the 16 members in attendance to the 2018 Annual General Meeting and thanked everyone for their support over the preceding year and in attending the regular monthly sessions and other club activities.

Firstly, we remembered 2 club members, Richard Hooper and Jim Hester, who sadly died during the last 12 months.

Club members were reminded who the relevant committee members are and the valuable role of the committee in ensuring the running of the club for all involved:

• Chairman - George Foweraker

• Secretary – Ray Blake

• Treasurer – James Whitmore

• Webmaster - David Langan

Maurice Davis (not in attendance) relinquished his Treasurer role on the committee with effect from the AGM and he was thanked for his work in the role. His replacement, James, was thanked for taking over this vital role at such short notice - it is a legal requirement that the club has a designated treasurer. Thanks was also given to Shirley for her help in providing the refreshments during the monthly sessions.

GF reminded club members that if they wanted to become a committee member then they should please express their interest to him. Significantly, he announced that this coming year would be his last as Chairman. Having founded the club 8 years ago he felt it was time for a new face at the helm and indeed felt that it was good for the health and development of the club that other committee members were similarly rotated possibly on a 3 or 4 year basis. He said that whilst he will still enjoy being involved in club activities, the fact that he is planning to reduce some of his work commitments, and together with increased family commitments, now is the right time to make the change. The club members fully appreciate all the work that George has put into the club over the last 8 years and fully support him in this move. George confirmed that he will be happy to continue his quarterly “Drop-in Workshops” after he leaves the Chairman’s role in 2019.

Website review

David Langan commented that the number of visits to the website, both first time and repeat visits, had reduced by 40% over the last 12 mths for no known reason other than perhaps the reduction in club membership and the dropping of all-day demonstrations which previously would have attracted non-member website enquiries.

David re-iterated last years comments that the “For Sale” page continued to be successful for sellers. If anyone wishes to add to the “For Sale” page please send a photo and description to DL, using the club email address on the Contacts page, and he will upload to the site. It would also be appreciated if club members could submit photos of their individual work for display on the website gallery as this could enrich the website and potentially encourage new members. Photos should be of good quality and again sent to DL using the club email address on the Contacts page. For those without photographic facilities GF offered to photograph any items at his workshop premises.

Treasurers Report

With the outgoing treasurer Maurice not being able to attend, JW was not in a position to give a detailed picture other than to say that there were sufficient funds in the bank as of the date of the AGM. However, the committee had done some projections recently and come to the conclusion that in order to maintain the number and quality of demonstrators at the club monthly meetings it was necessary to raise the monthly meeting fee from £3 to £4 from the June 2018 meeting. This was unanimously agreed by the members present. Statement of club financial status can be made available to club members on request.

Secretary report

Participation at the Show and tell sessions on club night have been improving and is encouraging for new members to see work and discuss with the individuals. This years AGM was no exception as can be seen below …

… notable for the number of bowls in the style of Liz Kent’s “Green Dragon” bowl which she demonstrated at the club April meeting, and also notable and fitting that GF won the monthly prize for his attractively decorated bowl.

During the year a successful coach trip was arranged to the Black Country museum on the 8th July 2017 and a visit to the Axminster Tool Centre training and distribution centre was well attended and enjoyed as always.

General Discussions

Of concern to the committee was the fact that club membership has declined over the past 12 months with a few new members being welcomed but a greater number having left due to death, illness or other unknown reasons. As mentioned earlier this puts a strain on club funding - an increase back up to of the order of 30 members should be the objective both from a financial perspective and for the health of the club. To this end various possible actions to achieve this were discussed …

Men’s Sheds - according to the Men’s Sheds association, in our area, there are sheds at BoS/Highbridge, Bridgewater, Street, Nailsea, Clevedon and Long Ashton - GF agreed to drop leaflets into the BoS/Highbridge shed
Attendance at Farmer’s Markets although it was pointed out that often there is a need for a regular commitment rather than a 1-off appearance
RB is investigating a repeat of last September’s open day in the Church Hall to coincide with a church coffee morning. Dates were discussed and 1st September was suggested, otherwise it would probably have to be October in order to avoid clashing with other events such as the Yandles Show etc.
Publicity in local papers, village journals etc. The club currently has leaflets which were produced for AWGB 30thOpen Day and which can be obtained from GF to be distributed when attending craft fairs, village shows etc. DL is looking to produce promotional material, again along the lines of that which was produced for the local newspapers and radio for the AWGB 30th Open Day.

2018 Events

Club members were asked for suggestions on future events for 2018/19

Bryan Milburn offered to host an Open Day at his home workshop to view his setup and methods etc
GF suggested an Open Day at his wood store in Bridgewater where he has a large supply of seasoned and part-seasoned wood for sale - ash, oak, mulberry, cedar of Lebanon etc etc
GF also has recently restocked with tools and supplies, available to members at discount prices - next “Drop-in Workshop at George’s is 28th July./

Current events

• Monthly meetings

• GF regular open workshop events

• Christmas meal

David Langan

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