THE LEEDS ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS
Minutes of the Council Meeting held at 7.15pm on Thursday 6th March 2025 at The Corner House Club Leeds.
1. Attendance. J. Aldersley in the chair with G. Roper, S. Stacey, M. Golubevs, I. Auty, J. Bentley, A. Rogers and G. Toulson.
2. Apologies for absence. R. Town, M. Murray, A. Kibler, B. Yates, C. Pinder, I. Blakeley, I. Scholes and J. Burton.
3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting, dated 6th February 2025 were approved & signed.
4. Matters Arising. None.
5. Treasurers Report. In his absence Mr. Kibler emailed the following transactions, listed below in the table. Mr. Aldersley had proposed earlier that the collection taken at the dinner would be donated to Cameron Pinder. He had since received a message from Mr. Pinder, who had kindly offered to use any monies collected to go towards the £5 joining fees for the eleven new members that he had introduced to the association. Mr. Aldersley reminded council that an ISA savings account for the association had been suggested previously and this would be considered at a later date to see if it was appropriate for the association.
| Date | Item | Detail | Debit | Credit | Balance |
| 4/Feb/25 | Other | Website security issue – G Toulson | 10.50 | 828.72 | |
| 5/Feb/25 | Subs | A Davies – paid by cheque | 40.00 | 868.72 | |
| 10/Feb/25 | Subs | I Auty | 4.00 | 872.72 | |
| 11/Feb/25 | Dinner | J Aldersley | 64.00 | 936.72 | |
| 13/Feb/25 | Dinner | M Murray | 64.00 | 1000.72 | |
| 17/Feb/25 | Dinner | G Kibler | 64.00 | 1064.72 | |
| 17/Feb/25 | Dinner | A Kibler | 64.00 | 1128.72 | |
| 25/Feb/25 | Other | Refund of website security – G Toulson | 10.50 | 1139.22 | |
| 28/Feb/25 | Subs | P Baker – Colin Kibbler Bell – E Battye | 70.00 | 1209.22 | |
| 28/Feb/25 | Dinner | I Blakeley | 64.00 | 1273.22 | |
| 28/Feb/25 | Other | Methodist Church – February Talk | 50.00 | 1223.22 | |
| 1/Mar/25 | Dinner | Eddie Battye – Paid by cheque | 64.00 | 1287.22 | |
| 2/Mar/25 | Dinner | I Scholes | 64.00 | 1351.22 | |
| 2/Feb/25 | Subs | M Stoker paid in by S Stacey | 20.00 | 1371.22 | |
| 4/Mar/25 | Other | Withdrawal for magician at the dinner | 250.00 | 1121.22 | |
| 4/Mar/25 | Dinner | B Clough | 64.00 | 1185.22 | |
| 4/Mar/25 | Dinner | G Roper | 64.00 | 1249.22 |
Balance of Accounts was reported but not published here.
6. Correspondence. Whilst on holiday Mr. Murray had been in correspondence with Mr. Aldersley who asked if he could investigate the possibility of a lecture or visit to British Jeffrey-Diamond (Wakefield) for the next session. Mr. Aldersley had received a message from Mr. Murray suggesting ‘Angloco’ Ltd. Fire Fighting and Rescue Vehicles (Batley) for an event, but to date had not received a reply. He understood that Angloco have received a large order from Iraq for fire fighting vehicles. Mr. Aldersley had contacted Cummins Turbochargers (Huddersfield) but had not yet received a reply. He had also corresponded with Millers Oils (Brighouse) with a view to an event on a Thursday evening and is awaiting confirmation. Millers Oils had initially asked how they could support the association, which sounds positive. Mr. Aldersley said that through Millers Oils we may be able to obtain some contacts for events in Motorsport.
7. Membership. Mr. Aldersley reported that Mr. Pinder had initially suggested four new applicants for membership but had gone on to introduce a further seven members. Mr. Pinder had offered to supply the membership application fees himself and then collect back from the applicants. Mr. Aldersley had thanked Mr. Pinder for his efforts in introducing the eleven new members to the association.
8. Student of the Year. Mr. Aldersley had arranged for Mr. Pinder’s name plaque to be added to the Student Award Shield and reiterated the earlier suggestion that the collection, which is usually taken at the anniversary dinner, would be donated to Mr. Pinder.
9. Current Programme. Mr. Toulson confirmed that the events for the current session were all planned but the Solstice event still needed to be arranged. This is normally done closer to the date. He mentioned that our member Neil Cobbold had proposed a possible visit to Leverton (Caterpillar) as an extra summer visit but this had yet to be considered.
10. Next Session. Mr. Toulson reminded council that we already have a couple of events in mind for the next session and these will be discussed in detail at the next council meeting.
11. Website. Mr. Toulson reported that the association has recently changed the hosting service from Big Wet Fish (BWF) to ‘Hostinger’ operated by our friend Kally Shergill. Kally had also transferred the domain name (leeds-engineers.org.uk) from BWF to ‘Cloudflare’. Kally had kindly offered free hosting to the association which will save ever increasing annual charges upwards of £85. As with hosting, the domain name was to renew with BWF in the next few weeks. This was to be around £16, whereas with the new provider the cost is estimated to be £3.79 per annum. Mr. Toulson advised that the transfers have been arranged almost entirely by Kally and we are indebted to him for the expert advice and help with the website that he has so kindly offered. Mr. Toulson said council should consider showing our appreciation to Kally for his help and this ought to be discussed and arranged in the near future. Mr. Toulson advised that there had been some improvements to the website recently and he hoped that further changes will be made in the coming months. Maps showing the location of events have been reintroduced and new articles will be appearing. Mr. Toulson noted that the ‘Rogues’ Gallery’ of council members needed updating and requested that new members of council provide a photograph to be included in the gallery. He said that a further post would appear on the website shortly to remind members to book places at the anniversary dinner. A post to welcome new members along with a very interesting CV from new member Colin Bell would be also seen in the next week. Mr. Aldersley asked for photographs from the recent visit to M.A. Ford be added to the website and Mr. Toulson conformed this would be arranged. Mr. Aldersley appealed to our new young council members to forward their photographs and any articles for publication, especially about their work, providing this is approved by their employer.
12. Golf. Mr. Stacey advised that the golf notice will be issued in April for publication in the newsletter and on the website. He confirmed that payments by cheque will be collected to be paid to him and then one total cheque will be paid to the treasurer to avoid bank charges which are incurred due to penalty charges imposed by the bank with multiple transactions. Mr. Stacey said he would not be providing wine at dinner this year due to increased cost and wastage. Although yet to be confirmed with the golf club, the rough prices are as follows: the full day cost will be £68 with the ‘afternoon only’ cost being £52.
13. Annual Dinner. In Mr. Kibler’s absence Mr. Toulson read out his comments as follows:- “The dinner this year has been a real effort. I have had to send out multiple emails with very little reply. I have to inform The Manor of numbers and menu choices a week on Saturday. Please stress to all to let me have menus and numbers asap. Preferably this week. The magician has confirmed attendance. I suggest he will be called upon after John’s short speech. With regard to the raffle and donations, are we still going to pass this on to Cameron? Only he mentioned that this was not necessary. If not, then my suggestion is that all donations go to a little known charity for Fibromyalgia. A painful disability that can affect the whole body. Please confirm.”
14. Annual Church Service. Mr. Aldersley advised that the time and date for the service had been confirmed.
15. Journal. Mr. Bentley reported that he had completed tables and listings for the journal and the next task will be to arrange pages to be suitable for printing. He mentioned that even though this is completed the printer previously had made his own changes to the layout. Mr. Bentley requested a report from the president to be included in the journal and Mr. Aldersley confirmed that he would forward one shortly. Mr. Aldersley said he would send student reports on Mr. Pinder and Mr. Soutar for mention relating to the Student Award. Mr. Toulson mentioned that Mr. Murray had requested an additional twenty copies of the journal to be given to new members after joining the association, as he had run short of available copies to hand out. After a few suggestions from other council members Mr. Toulson suggested a print run of 130 copies or as close to that number as possible, dependent on the printer’s capability and the cost. Mr. Roper said that he was currently the keeper of the association’s laptop computer and wondered if it might be of use to Mr. Bentley for production of the journal. Mr. Bentley said he had experienced some problems with his own laptop but at the moment it was adequate for his needs.
Any other Business. Having no other business Mr. Aldersley closed the meeting.
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……………………………………………President. ……………….. Date