Minutes of the AAJLR Comrades Association
Annual General Meeting
by Herbie Slaughter
| Held at the Min-Y-Mor Hotel, Barmouth, Wales | ||||
| Saturday 28th March 2015 at 1735 hours | ||||
| 25 Members Present | ||||
| Apologies for Absence: | ||||
| The following tendered their apologies:- | ||||
| Peter Rogerson | Mike Owsley | Bruce Watson | ||
| Peter Jennings | Trevor Gibbons | Alan Tolcher | ||
| Ivan Scott-Lewis | Ian Boyd | Mel Smith | ||
| Lenny Kalter | Tom Gracie | Stan Moore | ||
| Tommy Brady | Lee Tilson | Brian Simpson | ||
| Rene Dee | John Larkham | Peter Woodridge | ||
| G. Moody | Gus Boag | Alf Fulcher | ||
| Terry Scriven | Barry Davis | Dave Reeve | ||
| Martin Turner | Richard Sharpe | Stewart Bonewell | ||
| Mick Roberts | Richard Abraham | Diane Bailey | ||
| Chris Roberts | Norman Minty | Stan Green | ||
| Tom Silverside | ||||
| Opening Address | ||||
| Larry Smith, Chairman on the day, opened the meeting at 1735 hours with the following: | ||||
| The Chairman welcomed everyone who made it to Barmouth in particular those who are attending for the first time. | ||||
| He also restated that decisions made by members at this meeting are binding. | ||||
| The Chairman asked members to stand to remember the comrades who have passed on since our last reunion, including: | ||||
| Sam Gribben, John Wiseman and Chris Elsey | ||||
| Minutes of the Previous Meeting | ||||
| There were no comments on the minutes. | ||||
| Proposal: That the minutes be passed as read. | ||||
| Proposed By: Herbie Slaughter Seconded By: The Chairman |
||||
| Carried | ||||
| Mike Owsley Secretary’s Report | ||||
| I am still receiving up to 50 returned emails and have therefore taken them off our list of members. | ||||
| If you do not receive an e-mail then I do not have your correct mail address. Please mail me at mike.owsley@uk.rapp.com | ||||
| A repeat | ||||
| The Secretary made the point that our association was not of the usual military reunions type, i.e. one where there is segregation by rank, 'top table' etc., but rather that we have always been - and will continue to be under his and the Treasurer's stewardship - an all-inclusive, social group where rank or status plays no part whether one was permanent staff, a Junior Leader or a civilian; the common denominator is that all were associated with Tonfanau. | ||||
| It has been an honour to have acted as your secretary for these past 12 years but for other reasons I have to retire. | ||||
| Treasurer's Report | ||||
| • Firstly apologies for my absence from this AGM - the first one I've missed - and many thanks to Larry for standing in, not only for me, but for Mike too. | ||||
| • The 2013/2014 and 2014/15 accounts are circulated. Currently we have £303.53 in our account, though of that £15.00 is earmarked for Combat Stress. If previous years are a guide this weekend could add to that figure. Any cheques received since I produced my report last Sunday will be banked after this weekend. | ||||
| • Monies are held in a simple Nationwide Treasurers Book account which produces about a couple of pence a year interest; details are recorded on an Excel spreadsheet as circulated. There is no legal requirement for audit. Copies can be supplied to any member requesting one at any time throughout the year – just e-mail me. | ||||
| • Account entries in red are obviously payments out of the account. | ||||
| • ‘Shop’ items (Association tie, plaque and lapel pin badges) are available from Mike. For those who are unaware we buy the badges for £2 each and sell them for £5; the surplus going to our chosen charity. This year that will have to be done after this weekend direct to Mike. That is in the short term as Mike intends to step down as Secretary with effect from this AGM. | ||||
| • We have circulated envelopes and if you are paying your annual subscription, buying shop items or making a donation would you please use those envelopes, marking it clearly with your name and for what the money is intended. This cuts down the likelihood of money going astray, or of my not being able to work out from whom it derived. | ||||
| • The cost of accommodation and for the buffet – separately for those staying elsewhere to this hotel – must be paid direct to the Min-Y-Mor. | ||||
| • Charities – since 2007 we have supported a number of military charities, donations going to Help for Heroes, the Army Benevolent Fund, St Dunstan’s, SSAFA Forces Help plus two donations to Outward Bound Wales Mountain Rescue. However to date our main charity has been Combat Stress to which we have sent a total of £3,822.87. In addition this year, as you’ll see from the Accounts we have paid £50.00 to Ken Hart to assist him in running our website plus the cost of sending a Canadian Dollar cheque, of £12.00. Aside from charitable giving the only other costs of were £50.00 for the staff at Min-Y-Mor following the reunion last year, plus £160.00 for the excellent Disco; a figure incidentally which never increased in the seven years that Rick & Ruth have been providing our entertainment. | ||||
| My suggestion would be to continue to support Combat Stress however it is for this meeting to decide what is to be our designated charity for the coming year. If anyone has an alternative proposal now is the time, and that will be decided by a simple show of hands. | ||||
| Any Other Business | ||||
| • As many of you know we hold other gatherings throughout the year – to date most have been held in London, though there are of course other meetings which are organised by members; including I believe Stan Preece and Ken Hare getting together in Australia. The annual St Fagg’s Day Luncheon this year is on St George's Day, Thursday 23 April, in the Civil Service Club, Great Scotland Yard. The Joint AAJLR/ICCY Luncheon will most likely be in November. Both of these excellent occasions are arranged by John Sabini and if anyone would like to be kept informed about either event please let John have your e-mail address and/or contact numbers. | ||||
| • Richard Rothwell (via Herbie Slaughter) had communicated that he felt Minutes of previous Annual General Meetings had insufficiently conveyed the actual content of those discussions which had taken place. It was agreed at this meeting that Minutes are only required to record the essence of matters discussed and not provide a verbatim account. Therefore the Minutes of subsequent Annual General Meetings will continue to be produced in line with those of previous meetings. | ||||
| • Richard Rothwell (via Herbie Slaughter) had proposed a donation of £50.00 be made annually to the Outward Bound Wales Search and Rescue Team, due to the fact that AAJLR members continue to climb Cadair Idris each year and the service could potentially be called upon in the event of an emergency. The meeting agreed that the sum of £25.00 should be forwarded to the Team this year. Any future donations to them would be decided at later Annual General Meetings. The Treasurer will action this. | ||||
| Website(s) | ||||
| • In my opinion our own website is underused especially the Forum. Ken has put, and is putting a lot of work into the site and it is a pity that so few of our members appear to use it. If you are not using the Forum then e-mail Ken and he will give you a password which is a necessity to avoid misuse by others than our members. | ||||
| • The Facebook page which Mike set up is also an excellent way to communicate, put stuff on and have some fun. It does not, nor was it intended to, replace Ken’s fine website but to compliment it. | ||||
| .......and Finally | ||||
| • You will know that Mike Owsley's absence is due to his wife Trish's recent ill health and the fact that she is currently unable to travel very far. However, you will also know by now that Mike is standing down as Secretary at this AGM. The AAJLR Comrades Association was formed at our first reunion in Towyn on 3 April 2004 and Mike has been Secretary ever since, as indeed I have been Treasurer. Mike has done an amazing job on behalf of the membership raising the profile of the All Arms Junior Leader Regiment beyond anything we could have wished for in the early days. | ||||
| • If this Association is to continue it will need a new Secretary to take one pace forward either this weekend or very shortly thereafter. That way I shall be able to work with Mike's successor taking the Association forward. With the support of Colin Gunning and Larry, Mike and I have run the Association from the outset and he will be enormously difficult to replace. If anyone can be said to have been the Comrades Association then it is Mike Owsley! | ||||
| The Chairman reported that the committee are willing to continue in their roles, with the exception of the Secretary, so are standing for re-election for the coming year, but that if anyone wished to propose alternatives they should do so at this point. | ||||
| Jim Sherville volunteered for the vacant Secretary position. | ||||
| Proposed by: Larry Smith & Seconded by: Dennis Parry | ||||
| Carried | ||||
| Flowers | ||||
| It was suggested that the Association send flowers to Trish Owsley. | ||||
| Proposed by: Henry Holmes & Seconded by: David Scott | ||||
| Carried | ||||
| Charity | ||||
| Chosen Charity for 2015 is Combat Stress. | ||||
| Proposed by: Herbie Slaughter & Seconded by: Larry Smith | ||||
| Carried | ||||
| Subscriptions | ||||
| It was proposed that the subscriptions be increased to £10 on 1 January 2016. | ||||
| Proposed by: Geoff Brown & Seconded by: Paul Howitt | ||||
| Carried | ||||
| There being no more business to discuss the meeting closed at 1800 hrs. | ||||
| The next Annual General Meeting will be held on 2nd April 2016 | ||||
| --- Minutes End Here --- | ||||
| Notice | ||||
| In view of the change of secretary please address all correspondence to: | ||||
| Jim Sherville | ||||
| 29 Meadow Lane | ||||
| Weston | ||||
| Newark | ||||
| Nottinghamshire | ||||
| NG23 6SU. | ||||
| Telephone 01636 822249. | ||||
| Email: jamessherville238@gmail.com. | ||||
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