ESU – Loire Valley
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD ON THE 7th MARCH 2013
AT THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LIBRARY, ANGERS
1. The President opened the meeting and welcomed the members, stressing that the AGM is the best forum we have for appreciating the events of the past year and for planning the future.
2. Apologies for Absence: 22 members present, plus 8 proxies. 8 apologies for absence
3. Scrutineers: Michael Small and John Turnbull volunteered and were accepted as scrutineers
4. Minutes of the Last Meeting: the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on the 8th March 2012 were approved
5. Matters Arising: there were no matters arising from the Minutes
As the interim Secretary was unable to attend the meeting, the Secretary’s report was included with that of the President.
6. & 7. President’s Report:
‘The year 2012 has been a busy one:
- In freezing winter weather, Peter Morgan shared with members his experiences in the Antarctic and highlighted some of the difficulties he encountered there
- In February, Quiz master Tim de Alwis exercised our brains
- March was given over to the AGM
- In April, Patricia Corbett, Director of the Château d’Angers gave us an overview of the history of the Château
- In May, June, July, August and September events were out-doors: The May Walk organised by Tony Oakley; the River Trip on board the “Lumières de Loire” unfortunately ending in heavy rain; the BBQ, organised, as it is every year, by Irene and Michael Small; and in September we had the treasure hunt organised by Terence O’Hara.
A special, unique, event was the celebration of the Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II at Irene and Michael Small’s house. No-one who attended will forget the delicious Coronation chicken Irene had prepared.
- In October Terence entertained us with a talk about “Saumur before the Revolution”
- 8th December, somewhat early, we all enjoyed our Xmas lunch at La Sansonnière. There was a good atmosphere: fun, sketches, Christmas Carols, an attractive raffle and Tony Oakley’s guitar playing. Everybody seemed to enjoy themselves.
ESU Loire Valley and ESU Bordeaux were the only 2 French branches to put forward candidates for the ESU International Public Speaking Competition 2012. Montaine Morice from the Lycée Saint Martin in Angers was chosen as the French finalist to compete in London against representatives from about 50 countries worldwide.
In November/December Edith sent out two notes to the membership, each containing information and questions. The ESU is YOUR Association therefore it was disappointing that very few members answered. Edith’s idea of organising a ‘Round Table’ was endorsed by only 3 members. Although she believes everybody enjoys the events she would greatly appreciate getting feedback from the membership.
In her second note Edith listed the events which had already been agreed:
13th April, ‘The Black Prince’
1st May, the May Walk, organised by Tony Oakley, who may this year shorten the walk to encourage more members to take part
15th June, Chantal Bertrand has kindly invited us to her home where the newly restored chapel windows should be of particular interest. Lunch by caterer or home made (details in due time) Afterwards we can choose either to have a guided tour of historical Beaufort or to visit the museum, depending on preference and weather conditions.
18th August, Irene and Mike Small have invited us to their house for the annual barbecue
The July Event still has to be organised. Edith suggested 3 choices were put to the vote:
A château visit – perhaps Villandry, Amboise or Gizeux
A river trip
Horseracing at Le Lion d’Angers
At this point the President’s report was interrupted for a vote. Lynn Turnbull explained that the Chateau de Gizeux is still inhabited The Marquis himself takes groups round on tours which finish with wine tasting in the cellar.
13 members voted for a château visit, 7 for a river trip, 0 supported horseracing.
Membership. At the beginning of March, 51 members had subscribed for 2013. As some of our members have been overwintering in warmer countries, this number may go up in the spring.
In 2012, the attendance at events averaged 33 members, against 26 in 2011. If we exclude the Jubilee Event, the average was 30.
17 paid up members are French
Last but not least, members will soon receive an Invitation to the National Final of the ESU International Speaking Competition 2013 which takes place at the salons of the Présidence of the Conseil Général in Angers on the 21st March at 7pm. It would be good if members would come and lend support to these enthusiastic young people.
Edith invited Patricia Curd, to report to the members about the Competition 2013, and to give some background to the National Final.’
Report on ISPC 2013:
Last year the students representing the Loire Valley were selected for their debating skills. Following a meeting on 26th June 2012, it was agreed with our partners, the English Language Library and the Maison de l’Europe d’Angers et Maine et Loire, that this year the students should be prepared earlier for public speaking and that 2 schools from Saumur should be invited to take part: the Lycée St. Louis and the Lycée Duplessis Mornay, bringing the total number of participating schools to 5.
The competition got under way in October 2012. Since then ESU members have been visiting schools to assist teachers in training their students for this event. In all, approximately 85 students have participated. Within each school, the teachers, trainers and students selected 3 students to go forward to the Departmental Final of the competition and students were chosen to take part in the showcase debates which will take place immediately after the National Final on 21st March.
The Departmental Final was held in the Library on 21st February and the theme for the speeches was ‘the Head or the Heart’. The students spoke on a range of subjects, covering topics from broken hearts to music, from cigarette smoking to arranged marriages. There were no winners and no losers. Every participant benefits from taking part. The judges selectedMarie Aure& Marine Verny, both from the Lycée Saint Martin in Angers where John Barritt assists the teacher, Françoise Placé, and Quentin Rybeirol from the Lycée Duplessis Mornay where John and Pat Curd assist Catherine Ménard and Nadine Marchet. These three students will now face three students representing ESU Bordeaux in the National Final. The theme for the competition will be ‘A House Divided Upon Itself Cannot Stand’. The winner’s prize will be the coveted trip to London in May.
This year we will be entertaining a group of 6from Bordeaux from 20th March to 22nd March. It is extremely important that we follow the ESU official rules and ESU members will therefore be playing a major role in the organisation of the National Final. All ESU members are welcome to join our guests for a meal in Saumur 20th March and it is hoped many of you will be able to give your support on the evening of 21st March. Invitations will be sent out next week.
We were invited this year by ESU London to apply for funding towards the competition from the HSBC Global Educational Trust, the major sponsor of the IPSC in London. I understand our bid has been successful but to date we don’t know the full amount, only that it is a ‘generous’ donation. As this funding is intended to help towards the selection of the French candidate, we have agreed that it should go towards the cost of the winner’s registration and travel to London, and any surplus should be split between ESU Loire Valley and ESU Bordeaux towards the costs of either hosting or travelling to the National Final.
Edith Prunier has spent much time seeking sponsorship for the competition. We have to date received 100 Euro in the form of a donation towards funding the event; a further donation is anticipated; the Mairie in Saumur has offered 3 books and Patricia Corbett has offered free entry to the Château for our Bordeaux visitors.
Vice President: John Barritt pointed out that this year the IPSC is the only way we are supporting the ESU ethos of assisting young people to improve their communication skills using the English language. We have not this year awarded a scholarship to a student to go to the Globe Theatre because, although John is still teaching a Shakespeare group, no one has met the required criteria. We hope to sponsor someone in 2014.
8. Treasurer’s Report:
Tim de Alwis reported that we started the year 2012 with 849.69 Euro in the account and closed the year with 2,108.02 Euro, thus with a profit of 1,258.33 Euro for the year.
This last year:
- We had 4 raffles which increased our profit by 502.56 Euro, an increase of 225.56 Euro over 2011
- We increased our profit on the events, which brought in 377.37 Euro
- We have reduced the cost of speakers by using local people and avoiding travel and accommodation costs
- Publicity and printing costs have been reduced: brochures have been adapted with stick-on labels, for example
- We have not had to fund a Globe Theatre scholarship or award a scholarship to a young French professional to attend the annual conference at Oxford University
However, the cost of the annual fee to ESU France is not yet known and we must be careful in 2013. We must remember there will only be 2 raffles and there is no event planned that is likely to attract large numbers as the Jubilee Event did. The cost of the IPSC will increase this year as we are hosting the National Final.
Currently we have 3309.58 Euro in the bank. After our share of the costs of the IPSC have been paid it would be good, subject to the approval of the committee, to place a sum of money in a deposit account in order to earn some interest.
We should have a profit at the end of 2013, but greatly reduced from that of this year.
Tim thanked Michael Small for auditing the accounts.
9. A vote was taken to accept the accounts. The vote was unanimous.
10. Auditor’s Report:
Michael Small reported that he carried out an audit of the financial accounts for the ESU, Loire Valley, for the financial year 2012.
Apart from some minor errors in procedures, on which the Treasurer has now been briefed, the accounts are in good order, well kept, reconciled correctly to the starting and end of year bank statements and showing a healthy surplus. For the 3rd consecutive year the accounts show a year on year increase in operating surplus.
11. Michael Small agreed to audit the accounts for the financial year 2013
12. Committee
In August 2012, Susan Darby, Secretary, stepped down for personal reasons. Peter Morgan, our web-master offered to be interim secretary. Peter has now resigned from the Committee as he wants to travel. He will remain a member of ESU Loire Valley. The youngest member of the Committee, Olivier Badadan, father of a new baby, feels he now has increased family commitments and has consequently resigned from the Committee. He will remain a member of the branch.
Edith thanked all three for their hard work and assistance in running the branch.
The Committee has currently 4 remaining members: Edith Prunier (President), John Barritt (Vice President), Tim de Alwis (Treasurer), Peter Clarke
3 members have volunteered to join the Committee: Patricia Curd, Lynn Turnbull, Gaetan Wehry
A vote was taken to accept these new Committee members. The vote was unanimous.
13. Membership Fees – 2014
There was unanimous agreement that for 2014 the membership fee should be kept at a maximum of 22.50 Euro per person, which in effect means that authority has been given to the Committee to reduce the fee if appropriate.
The Committee misjudged the members’ views when the decision was made to reduce the fees for a couple although in most French associations this is the norm.
A suggestion was put forward to introduce ‘country membership’ at a reduced rate for people who don’t live here full time. This may bring in more money than the additional sum they pay for meals as guests. A proposal was made to introduce country membership with no voting rights. The vote was unanimous.
Peter Clarke pointed out that this isn’t covered in the Constitution and will have to be put in the internal rules.
14. AOB.
The President proposed that for 2014 an exchange visit is arranged with another ESU branch abroad. Members would volunteer to be hosts and the visitors would in turn return the hospitality. The majority of members present were in favour of such an exchange.
15. The President closed the meeting at 7.45pm
Patricia Curd
Committee Member
8th March 2013