AGM & Members Meeting Wednesday 11Th September 2013

AGM & Members Meeting Wednesday 11th September 2013

Minutes

Welcome & Apologies

Sonia Roberts (SR), SDN Chairperson, welcomed 48 members to the meeting and advised that pictures would be taken during the meeting for publicity use. Please indicate. if you do not wish to be photographed.

Apologies were received and we noted 16 apologies

SR thanked Mears’ for hosting the event and complimented them on the excellent facilities provided.

A health & safety briefing was given by Carla Boulton from Mears’.

SR welcomed our guest speakers.

Minutes of last meeting

The minutes of last meeting of 12th June 2013 had been previously circulated.

SR went through page by page.

Acceptance proposed Eirlys Evans, Seconded June Jones.

The Meeting approved the minutes as a true record unanimously.

Matters Arising

There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Annual Report from the Chair

SR gave the following report:-

Sonia referred to website styles which were on display at last Members’ Meeting. Due to Members feedback there is a slight delay in launching the website.

The Management Committee are very busy, several new volunteers including Secretary and Membership Secretary, have been recruited as a result of a press release which 7 people responded to. The Committee is looking very strong and looking forward to next 12 months which will be very exciting.

The Membership was growing month on month. It is thought Twitter is contributing a lot to our growth. Several successful fundraising events have taken place. We are looking to build up a good photo library and Jim Hawkins has been commissioned to take photographs for us.

Treasurer’s Report & Agreement of Accounts

Copies of the Draft Income & Expenditure Account for the Financial Year Ending 31st May 2013 were circulated to members. (see appendix 1)

SR explained that the finalised report is still with accountant and we are disappointed they have had it for 2 months. SDN submitted all the records in the format requested in plenty of time, including a Profit & Loss Account with a Balance Sheet all balanced.

Draft accounts available and it was believed that there will not be any deviation.

SR went through individual items of Income and Expenditure, including Awards for All.

SR predicted an increase in spending next year in particular the website costs rising and more outreach work.

SR urged members to use Givingabit( )–spend online and donate at the same time at no extra cost to you but of great benefit to us. JustTextGiving donate by mobile phone. Text SHDN12 £1 and send to 70070 there is no charge for the text message!

Election of Officers

SR said James Moraghen had resigned as Deputy Chairperson as well as from the Management Committee. Sonia thanked him for all he had done for SDN.

SR reported the management committee had voted:

Ruby Hartshorn to be Deputy Chairperson

Russell Price as Secretary

Philip Kent as Membership Secretary.

All other officers remained in situ in line with our constitution.

Philip Godden proposed and Martin Carruthers seconded that the new appointments be approved.

The Meeting approved the appointments unanimously.

Any Other Business

SR stated the committee wished to create calendar of events for year ahead and urged members to inform the Management Committee what they topics they wished to be covered for inclusion SDN Website & newsletter our YourVoice.

The Management Committee sought to continue the idea of themed meetings.Members who had a particular interest were asked to share with the Committee.

SR introduced Alan Townsend, who has been working on new frame for next Disability Challenge thatwe plan for 2014 on The Long Mynd. Alan had constructed a model to demonstrate to members. The Management Committee hoped to make challenge BI-Annual event. Alan was progressing with the design and hoped to have it constructed locally.

Alan was congratulated and thanked by the Members for his idea and work.

SDN Member Roland Brown queried possible Charity Commissions view of the delay with accounts. SR said they would be brought to next Members Meeting for official sign off. Another Member said we could call an Extraordinary Meeting. SR asked which people would prefer.

It was proposed that the draft accounts be accepted by the Members and that they be officially signed off at the next meeting.

The Meeting approved the draft accounts unanimously and that they be signed off if correct at the next meeting.

Next Members Meeting

Our next Quarterly Meeting will take place on

Wednesday 11th December 2013, at Mears, Shropshire Home Services, Unit 3, Hartley Business Centre, Monkmoor Road, Shrewsbury SY2 5ST.

The formal AGM was then concluded and the Members Meeting continued.

Guest Speakers

Linda Cox – Shropshire Community Transport Consortium

Linda’s Presentation gave a brief history of SCTC and its work.She described recent developments in the changes at Shropshire Link and how SCTC was supporting.

She appealed for more volunteers.

In response to questions from floor she replied that they aimed to fill minibuses on journeys as it was the best use of resources, and that all volunteers were insured by them (some legal and age restrictions applied) and volunteers under went training and it was hoped to commence training to PSV standard.

Haydn Jenkins – ‘Mobility’

Haydn who is Proprietor of Alpha Mobility explained he was a specialised driving instructor and spoke about how disability cars have changed over the years and displayed the many adaptations that are available from simple steering aids to cars set up to drive from wheelchair. He recommended getting an eye check and talked about legal requirements and role of DVLA and what they might require.

Atiyah Ali and Rajhish Virk- Community Development Workers

We welcomed Atiyah & Rajhish to the meeting as they took one of the two 5 minute slots to have a display stand & do a 5 minute talk. They spoke about their work as mental health Community Development Workers among ethnic minorities in Shropshire and Telford. They explained that their role had expanded due to Equality and Diversity Act 2010 to include disability.

Jim Hawkins- How to take a good snap

Jim gave an entertaining and informative talk sharing various tips. He explained the importance of producing good quality photographs as newspapers employed fewer photographers and Social Media meant it was easier to publically display pictures. A poor photograph reflected badly on the organisation.

The raffle raised £44.00 which will go towards the cost of this meeting..

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