Newport Pagnell and Olney Lions Club
Minutes of the Business Meeting held on 2nd March 2015 at the Two Brewers
Present: Trevor Aldred (TA), Bob Benbow (BB), Russell de Ville (RdV), John Ferris (JF), Geoff O’Brien (GO’B), Tony Triggle (TT), Rod Wayland (RW), Tony Higgs (TH),Tina Byford (TB), Tom Hart (TH*), Richard Pearson (RP), Martin Ward (MW).
Apologies: Bill Littler (BL), Derek Seymour (DS), Karen Thorpe-Morgan (KTM), Dave Simmons (DS), Fran.
Minutes of the last meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were agreed. AP’s would be picked up during the current meeting.
Election of new officers: At the last Board meeting it was agreed that succession planning was still the correct strategy to follow, with opportunities being made to prospective post holders during the year by the creation of some additional roles e.g. Quartermaster and Social secretary. The strategy of nominating a sponsor for new members who would take on both a checking and mentoring role was also re-affirmed. In the absence of a positive response concerning the role of president, the following proposals were made to the Club:
· That Trevor was prepared to stand as President – but for one more year only
· That Trevor would stand down as Zone Chair at the end of this Lionistic year and to politely decline any other ‘job offers’ from District
· That John would stand as 1st VP and was willing to take over as President the following year if there were no other nominations.
· That Bob would stand as Secretary
· That Trevor would stand as Treasurer
· That John would continue to act in the role of Membership Chair
· That John would stand as acting FR Chair pending the identification of a suitable candidate to replace him.
· That Russell would stand as Service Chair
· That Tina would stand as Tail Twister
· That Tony T would stand as Members’ Welfare Officer
The nominations were agreed.
Treasurer’s Report:
· Charity Account stands at £10,685.39, with receivables of £400.00 including £250 Dickens sponsorship and £150 Filmbank refundable deposit. Also payables of £138.00 including £100.00 MK Dons raffle prize and £38 for sensory garden plaques.
· Receipts this month totaled £279.40, and included £100.00 Calendar sponsorship, £45.25 Calendar sales and £129.25 calendar sales via Newton & Cowper, £5.00 Sundry donations.
· Payments – £6.55 certificates and photos and £38.00 engraving for Sensory Garden.
· Donations - £1000.00 LCIF undesignated donation, £250 ATC and £150.00 Raptor Rescue.
· Admin Account stands at £223.73 after receiving dues of £48.00. There were no payments this month. Receivables total £33.00 and there were no Payables. .
Service Committee:
· Canine Partners: David and Mrs. Day came along to the meeting and gave an interesting talk about how Canine partners works. They talked about the process of training and partnering dogs and the need to start them young and follow through with consistent training. They also talked about how Canine Partners operated, largely with volunteers. They brought their own dogs along and introduced them to the Lions, but nobody got eaten. AP Discharged
· Sensory Garden – The plaques for the benches have now arrived. Bob to check with Claire Woods re positioning of plaques. AP BB.
· Carers UK – Bob awaiting approach from newly appointed officer. AP BB
· Charity begins at home – Tanya Noble was unable to make tonight’s meeting owing to work commitments. Trevor will extend an invite to another meeting. AP TA
· Xmas Parcels and entertainment for the elderly, or THE GREAT BISCUIT DEBATE – After consideration by the Service Committee their recommendations that we should keep the Xmas entertainment separate from the Xmas gifts was agreed. Entertainment would be considered for appropriate locations. In the meantime we would continue to offer Xmas gifts and maintain our report back of any changes or new needs identified. AP Discharged – yes!
· Message in a bottle – It was agreed that Lions should be free to spot any opportunity to raise people’s awareness e.g. by carrying some with us when we visit the elderly. AP Discharged.
· KIVA Website – Having received no response to our enquiries, it was agreed to discharge this item. AP Discharged.
· Medical Detection Dogs – In response to an enquiry by Russell, the organization offered to send a speaker along but with an expectation of a £50 donation. It was agreed that Russell would go back to his contact and make the point that we need to see something about the organization before we make any decision to support it, and that the nature of that support might not just be about making a donation, which could sell the organization short. AP RdeV.
· Marie Curie Charity – Marie Curie were delighted that we had offered to make their charity one of the beneficiaries of Motorama. AP Discharged.
· Guide Dogs for the blind – It was agreed not to take up the offer of a large interactive group to raise awareness. AP Discharged.
· DFI Programmes in Africa. It was agreed to await a response to Russell’s letter. AP RdeV.
· Application for replacement floor covering in Lovett Fields – This was referred to Bletchley who had declined to offer help. After some discussion it was agreed that this responsibility should rest with the Landlord. AP discharged.
· Willen Hospice – We were invited to organize a fund raising event to support Willen Hospice, but as we often make them the beneficiaries of other events, we declined this offer. AP Discharged
· URC Newport Pagnell – Geoffrey brought this to the meeting with a request that we help finance the reconstruction of the Church Hall on the basis that it provides a community venue for Newport which is frequently used (by us as well). They have raised £100K and need another £500K. A donation of £1000.00 was agreed. AP TA
· Martin Ward – Bike Ride from John O’Groats to Lands End – Martin is funding himself to undertake this ride after he retires in May. Donations have been set up via the Virgin fund raising website, and he will undertake this challenge with the help of a friend who is wheelchair bound as a result of a sports accident some years ago. The four charities they have nominated as recipients are Cancer Research, Alzheimer’s, Whizz Kids and the Youth Cancer Trust. Although Martin had not asked for any direct support from the Club it was agreed that we would make a donation of £1000.00.
Fund Raising Committee:
· Olney & Newport Calendars 2016 - We are now planning for 2016 Calendars for the two towns. Olney will work on the basis of a photographic competition. Newport will look how to link into the Historical Society. Business cases for both would be submitted. AP JF/MW/GOB
· NP Events 2015: With the closure of the URC, Geoff is planning the use of another location for Newport events. AP GOB
· Newport ‘Sealed Knot’ Project – There was an event held on 27th February where it was suggested that a donation of £50 would be necessary to become a Friend which has longer term benefits. Much will depend on this event and access to lottery money, but Tom Hart felt hopeful about the outcomes because there were enough effective people involved with a reputation for succeeding. It was agreed that we would make our donation of £50.00 to become a ‘Friend’. AP RP and GOB ongoing.
· Can Shake – BOFF have agreed that we could undertake this. John has therefore made the application to go from 0800hrs. – 20.00hrs. on 12th September 2015. AP JF
· Cinema club – Discussion with Bob Watson ongoing. AP JF Ongoing
· Printer Cartridge recycling – Envelopes will no longer be provided as the organizers try to shift costs back into the customer base. John to look at the possibility of combining orders with other clubs thereby gaining the benefits of bulk ordering. AP JF ongoing
· Easter Eggs – 14 eggs have now been distributed along with raffle tickets and posters. AP OG TT
· Motorama 2015 – We have received 56 applications for places so far. In addition, Andy Hutcheson has already lined up 14 TVR’s for the lower car park which we will fill as a TVR theme this year. AP BB.
· Co-op Charity of the month - Tina to approach the Co-op to see if they would offer a raffle prize for Motorama. AP TB ongoing
· LCIF – A donation of £1000.00 to the LCIF emergency fund has been made. AP discharged
· Psychic Evening - As foretold, Tina has identified two Psychics who will operate theatre style with an audience of 150 in the Carlton House Club. The door charge suggested is £12 and all income from the door will be split 50:50 between the Club and the Mediums. Tina is seeing one of the ladies for a reading before the event. All raffle money will go the Lions. The date for the event is Friday 22nd May. AP TB ongoing.
Social and other events
· Newmarket Races – Tina has been exploring the prizes and entertainment on offer and suggested the possibility of tickets for the Family Enclosure. Possible dates between 19th June and 31st July. AP TB Ongoing
· Psychic Evening – 22nd May (see above).
· Nostalgia Evening – Bob looking at getting the TVR man to do a talk in conjunction with the Olney Classic Car Club. AP BB
· Cowpers Oak – To be organized for 24th April. AP JF
· Zone Meeting – The last Zone meeting in the Lionistic year is usually a social. This year is no exception and everyone is invited to attend a Beetle Drive at Carlton House Club on 26th March, including wives and friends
· St Patrick’s night – 20th March including meal and entertainment at Carlton House Club.
· See social calendar on website for more information.
Membership:
· Nothing to report.
Correspondence:
· Letters of thanks were received for our donation to the school in Kilimanjaro, and for our sight savers donation, which taking all clubs in the multiple district had raised £102K, which represents £205K with match funding.
AOB:
· Face book page – Now up and running. Pleas ‘like’ and share with friends!
· The next Business meeting will be held on 13th April in Newport. Secys Note: This will be at Harben House courtesy of Geoffrey’s negotiations for a venue
Next Meeting: 13th April 2015 – Harben House, Newport Pagnell.