Royal Air Forces Association
Minutes of the North Costa Blanca Branch BRANCH Meeting
held 12.00-13.00, 12th October 2015 at Los Arcos Restaurant, Pedreguer,
1. Present
Gaby Ferenczy (President)
Bob Hunt (Chairman)
Colin McNae (Vice-Chairman)
Brian Flowers (Secretary)
Maggie Dennis (Treasurer & Welfare)
Alan Gill (Social & Entertainment)
Shane Martin (Wings Appeal)
Stephen Lemon (Flyer Editor)
- Apologies
None.
3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting
· Approval of the minutes of the previous meeting was proposed by Len Hewitt and seconded by Alan Page.
4. Matters Arising
· The Branch President thanked Bob Hunt and the Committee Members for organising an excellent 75th Anniversary Battle of Britain function at the El Canor on 15th September.
5. Chairman's Report
5.0 Introduction
· The Chairman welcomed 44 members plus 3 guests, namely Paqui Sinclair (with Maurice & Jaye Hamlin), and Phil & Natalie Eames (with Steve & Maria James).
· The Chairman thanked the Committee and Members for a very successful Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary dinner/dance on 15th September. The CBN and RTN had published good reports on the event, but Euro News had mixed up the NCBB and the Aircrew Association.
5.1 Limitations of RAFA-CHQ new Computer
· The RAFA-CHQ computer was presently unable to accept changes to branch membership and unable to give branch account details on request. These problems will be discussed with Nick Bunting (European Area President) at the Autumn Conference in Jersey.
5.2 Costa del Sol Branch bid to host 2017 Autumn Conference
· The Costa del Sol Branch had prepared a bid to host the 2017 Autumn Conference at the Tamisa Golf Hotel near Mijas, Spain. The cost would be €340 per couple plus €30 per person for participation in the conference, (lunch included). The meeting unanimously agreed that the Branch Delegate should support this bid at the Jersey conference.
· 5.3 Flyer Editor
· The Chairman reminded members that a new Flyer editor was urgently required.
5.4 NCBB’s Donation to Wings Appeal
· The Chairman reported that the Wings Appeal Officer had collected €3,521 so far this year. The Committee had suggested a donation of £3,000 to the RAFA Wings Appeal for 2015, so this was proposed by Maurice Bryne, seconded by David Keir, and approved unanimously.
5.5 Colin McNae's Parachute Jump
· The Chairman congratulated Colin on his sponsored parachute jump on 4th October, which had raised more than €1,000. Half of this total was donated to the NCBB Wings Appeal and half to the North Costa Blanca Area Chaplaincy.
6. Vice-Chairman's Report
· The Vice-Chairman thanked members for sponsoring his parachute jump, and he especially thanked those who were there to support him at the drop zone on the 4th October.
· Colin reported that the haggis for the Burn's Night dinner had now arrived from Scotland.
7. Secretary's Report
· The Secretary explained that his 8 years old PC had ceased to function a few days prior to the Branch Meeting due to a faulty hard-drive. Fortunately, he had been able to use a laptop to send the Branch Meeting Agenda to Stephen Lemon, who had kindly distributed it to the members by email. The Secretary had ordered a new PC with Windows 10.
· The Secretary reported that there had been no changes to the List of Members (Rev.308a).
8. Treasurer's Report
· Maggie Dennis reported that the NCBB's financial situation was as follows:
Bank Account: €13,635·22 Cash: €214·06
9. Welfare Officer's Report
· The Welfare Officer reported that there was presently only one person in the NCBB's area in receipt of a monthly grant from the RAFBF, but Maggie was currently undertaking financial ’reviews’, on behalf of the RAFBF, for three other ongoing cases.
· She had followed up additional requests for support from the RAFBF. However, the people concerned had been unable to provide the required bank documents giving details of their financial situation and/or a medical report giving confirmation of ongoing health problems. Without these documents, it was not possible to obtain financial support from the RAFBF.
· Maggie reported that she had recently visited Brian Newman in Ciudad Patricia. He was recovering slowly but he was not yet ready to return to his apartment. Maggie also reported that unfortunately Joan Summerhayes was very poorly.
10. Social and Entertainment Officer's Report
· Alan Gill gave the following list of events:
- 28th October, Quiz evening, 19.00/19.30, Bar Nou, Senija, (quizmaster – Colin McNae)
- 8th November, 14-45/15.00, BL Remembrance Service, Fisherman's Church, Javea. (The pre-service meal at Pepe y Estrella's Restaurant was fully booked).
- 24th November, 19.00/19.30, meal at Rusty's Restaurant.
- 17th December, Pre Christmas dinner at Satari's Restaurant.
- 23rd January, Burn’s Night at Los Leones Restaurant, Moraira.
11. Wings Appeal Officer's Report
· The Wings Appeal Officer reported that the 7th September Branch Meeting raffle had raised €155 for the Wings Appeal, and the 15th September Battle of Britain dinner/dance raffle had raised €2007.
· The total raised so far in 2015 was €3,521.
12. Flyer Editor's Report
· Stephen Lemon reported that the December Flyer was well advanced, although he was awaiting the regular reports. However, there was space available for an additional article.
13. Chaplain's Report
· Father Steve reported that he had been in the UK for medical treatment and members were pleased to learn that he was now fit for another year of duty in Spain.
14. Webmaster's Report
· The Webmaster reported that there were 132 hits on the NCBB website in September.
· Colin had put a report plus photos of the Battle of Britain dinner/dance on the website, plus video coverage of his 4th October parachute jump.
15. AOB
· The Chairman reported that Memorial Services for AM Peter Walker had taken place in Guernsey and at St Clement Dane's Church, London. The new President of the European Area Council will be AM Phil Sturley, who was formerly President of RAFA for 4 years.
16. Date and place of next meeting.
The next meeting will be held 12.00-13.00, 9th November, Los Arcos Restaurant, Pedreguer.
(Brian Flowers - Rev.3 - 29th October 2015)