Minutes of Henley in Arden Bowling Club Annual General Meeting
Monday 4th March 2024
Welcome
The Chairman offered greetings and thanks to everyone attending the AGM.
Apologies
Sandie Butler, Mick Shenton, Sue and Graham Deeley
Previous Minutes
Agreed
Club Chairman’s Report 2024
2023 season was overall a successful one, despite the urgent need to repair part of the roof.
Fortunately, the outstanding support of the club competitions and the revenue generated largely covered the cost of the repair. However, the state of the main clubhouse roof remains very poor. Rob Jacobs thinks there may be some ingress although this may have been due to the leak that has been repaired.
The FPG committee is minded to repair the roof at the end of this season and fund the cost out of our reserves £8.5k. Carrying out this repair was proposed to members and was supported by a show of hands.
This means in 2024 we will be working hard to again build reserves. Largely because we are concerned about our main mower which may need replacing in the near future (£5k).
The League Teams had a reasonably good year even though the B team slipped divisions. Generally, our performances improved as the season progressed.
Jon has stepped back from a number of his club duties but has agreed to stay as League Secretary.
The social aspect of the club appeared to be well supported and was accompanied by some lovely picnic and funday weather.
The Quiz after the Special Meeting was enjoyed by many and we will look for other opportunities this year.
Rob and Diane Jacobs have organised our skittle nights and at the latest at Wooton Wawen Social Club and it was pleasing to see the commitment to the club and fellow club members.
A Spring Cleaning morning on the 18th March will be held where we spruce up the clubhouse, trim edges and hedges and put out the benches. Your assistance would be most welcome. Bring your bowls, and ,if Rob/Jon deem the green to be fit to play, you can start your season.
Club Treasurer’s Report 2024
In presenting his first set of accounts as new Club Treasurer, Steve thanked Jon Butler for all his hard work in this role over the years and for helping him understand his new duties.
In summary:
2023 2022
Income 6608 3410
Expenditure 6596** 3760
Cash Holding
Cash in Hand 207 26
Current A/C 7448 7788
Deposit A/C 5384 5337
Total Cash 13039 13235
** Expenditure includes £1500 for the repair of the toolshed and toilet roof.
If further detail is required, please contact Steve.
The Treasurer (and Chairman) set out the proposals for Subscriptions and Fees for 2024.
Annual Subs £60 to £65
League match fees £2 to £3
Club Competition fees (Mondays and Wednesdays) to remain at £2
No fee to be applied for non-bowling Social Membership
This proposal was agreed by the members’ show of hands.
Club Captain’s Report
Members who wish to play in the leagues were asked to sign up asap.
Team A – Captain: Gavin Pringle
Playing in Division 4 - S&W Birmingham Over 60s starting 16 April.
Playing in Division 4 - Heart of England Over 60s starting 3 May.
Team B – Captain: Sandie Butler
Playing in Division 6 - S&W Birmingham Over 60s starting 16 April.
Playing in Division 6 - Heart of England Over 60s starting 12 April
There will be some byes in all divisions.
A complete list of fixtures can be found on the leagues’ websites and our own.
Anyone not playing but able to offer support in a home game would be most welcome. A spare hand is always useful.
Green Keeping Report
Rob Jacobs reported that the contractor works were progressing satisfactorily and that Anton had managed to do some mowing over the winter.
The green remains wet as a result of the recent heavy rainfalls.
He stated that Monday morning maintenance will take place from time to time and volunteers will be advised, on WhatsApp, when work is required.
The next grounds work will take place on 18 March when the clubhouse and the surrounds of the green are prepared for the upcoming season.
Election and Appointment of Club Officers:
The following officers were appointed unopposed.
Club Chairman Michael Blewitt
Club Captain Sandie Butler
Club Treasurer Stephen Dorow
Club Secretary Maureen Blewitt
League Secretary Jon Butler
Green Keeping Officer Rob Jacobs
Safeguarding Officer Sue Deeley
Any Other Business
Provided members support it, in 2024 we intend to run men’s singles and ladies’ singles knock out competitions (each round being freshly drawn as in the FA Cup). If sufficient members support it there may also be a ‘plate’ competition for first round losers from both the men’s and ladies’ singles. The intention is to play rounds on the 2nd Thursday of each month. Rules will be issued in due course.
Maintenance of GDPR and Digital Image Permissions remain ongoing issues.
Members attending the meeting were individually canvassed as regards their interest in playing league matches.
John Townson suggested we resurrected the Honours’ Board in order to add the names of Fred Yarwood and Jon Butler, in recognition of their long-term membership and commitment. There was a general consensus in the meeting that this should be done.
Hazel Worrall expressed her upset that, other than water, there were no alternative soft drinks at the Annual Dinner. The Club Chairman apologised for this lapse but explained that it was very difficult to forecast the overall drinks requirements for the evening and often leftovers would be sold on to anyone who was willing to help the club cover its costs. Given the need to obtain a licence and the understandable reluctance of members to become a barkeeper for the evening the FPG will review its options nearer the time of the next dinner.
There being no other business, the meeting closed at 7.55pm
Minutes of the Henley-in-Arden Bowls Club AGM
13 March 2023 at 7.00pm
Henley Baptist Church Hall
The meeting was opened and chaired by the Club Chairman
Thanks were given to those who were in attendance and those who had assisted in the club’s running, particularly Jon and Sandie Butler.
Apologies
Paul Scarborough, Dave Morgan, Pete Day, Vicky Vernon, Louise Gasper, and Trevor Hydon
Previous Minutes
Accepted
Chairman’s Report
Clubhouse Roof
Members were made aware of the poor state of the clubhouse roof and the intention to have only the minimum repaired at this time.
Club Competitions
The successful Wednesday morning competition will continue and a, broadly similar, Doubles competition will be introduced on Monday afternoons.
End of season knockout competitions were well supported and will run again this season.
Social Events
Saturday Fun Day and Club dinner were both well supported and went well; both events will be held this coming season.
Other events that are being considered is a “Bring Your Own Picnic” bowls evening, to be held in midsummer.
As part of our recruitment drive, we are considering weekend open days for prospective new members.
Treasurer’s Report
Bank balances and cash in hand total is £11805
Income for 2022-2023 was £3410 and Expenditure was £3760 being a Deficit of £350
Additional anticipated expenditure for 2023-2024 is £727 being a 100% rise on electricity and 10% inflation expected on all other expenditure.
Anticipated deficit for coming season is likely to be £1077.
Members agreed to the proposal to cover the expected deficit by means, primarily, of an increase to membership fees to £60. Fees for organised club competitions to be £2 per person per match. League match fees to remain at £2. Social membership (non-bowler) remains at £10.
Repair to the club house roof is expected to be in the region of £1200 as a one-off payment from reserves.
Club Captain’s Report
League Results:
Played Won Lost Drawn Placed
A Team Tuesday 20 7 13 - 8/11
Friday 18 8 10 - 7/10
B Team Tuesday 20 5 14 1 9/11
Friday 18 6 12 - 9/10
‘A’ Team player Dave Lucas was congratulated for an excellent season. He finished 3/100 in the Friday division averages and 16/140 in the Tuesday league. Congratulations also to Charlie Heesom who achieved 7/100 in the Tuesday division of the South West Birmingham League. Rob Elsmore finished 25/124 in the Friday averages. Club Captain Sandie Butler managed to finish 21/140 in the Tuesday games.
During the pandemic there have been no league promotions and the ‘B’ Team came up against some particularly strong teams. Promotions have been reinstated this season and we expect a new normal service to be resumed.
Mention was made of 4 new league players, Alan Cowan, Kevin Middleton, Martin Holmes and Steve Dorow, all of whom have made a promising start.
Green Keeping Report
As is normal at this time of the year, we await contractor works. The green will open when the works are complete and weather permits.
We expect Anton to continue his weekly mow at £20 per mow which should cost about £480 over the coming season.
(Special Note : Since the AGM, Kevin Middleton has expressed a willingness to run a green maintenance programme via social media).
Change of Club Rules
Agreement was made by the members to the following changes in club rules.
Replace the term ‘Honorary’ with ‘Club’ for elected club officers.
The elected Club President Role has been made redundant.
Cheques to be signed by the Club Treasurer and either the Club Chairman/Appointee.
Financial year for the club will now end in December rather than September.
The AGM will be during the period November-March.
Fees for club competitions will not be included in the annual subscription.
There will be no subscription reductions for Over-60s members.
The management of the club should be in control of a Forward Planning Group comprising of Club Chairman, Club Treasurer, Club Secretary and Club Captain plus two other co-opted members
Election of Officers
The following unopposed appointments were made:
Club Chairman Michael Blewitt
Club Treasurer Jon Butler
Club Captain Sandie Butler
Club Secretary Maureen Blewitt
League Secretary Dave Lucas
Safeguarding Officer James Heesom
(James’ qualification for this role runs until the end of 2023)
Any Other Business
Members were advised that forms were made available for them to sign giving permission for GDPR, Digital Image Permission, and indicating willingness/availability to play league matches.
Meeting closed at 7.50pm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------