THE LEEDS ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS
Minutes of the Council Meeting held at 7.30pm on Thursday 2nd April 2015 at the
Cornerhouse Club Leeds.
1. Attendance. A. Kibler (President) in the chair with, G. I. Scholes, K. J. Hegarty, J. S. Shergill, A. Rogers, J. Aldersley and G. Toulson.
2. Apologies for Absence. I. A. Blakeley, J. McClarty, B. J. Yates, M. S. Murray, J. Bentley.
3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting, dated 5th March 2015 were, approved and signed by the President.
4. Matters Arising. Mr. Hegarty (Trustee) reported that the 3 1/2% War Stock account had been closed and the balance of £2160.53 passed to the Treasurer. He had also on the previous day received a cheque for the recently closed account of 3 1/2% Conversion Stock in the sum of £275.00 and would be presenting these funds for the Treasurer to deposit.
5. Treasurers Report. The Treasurer was absent this evening and no report was available. Mr. Toulson advised that he had paid the two invoices to maintain the website. On receipt of the detailed invoices it was noted that VAT had been added to the amounts advised previously. The Annual Hosting total was £43.19 for the next twelve months whilst the renewal for the Domain Name was £14.39 for the next two years. Mr. Toulson stated that this still represented excellent value when compared to the previous hosting company. He also advised that in addition to these expenses he would be requesting reimbursement for the cost of the Commemorative Plaque in the sum of £426.00 including VAT. The total sum Mr. Toulson would request from the Treasurer is £483.58 to cover his expenses.
6. Church / Commemorative Plaque. Mr. Kibler advised that Mr. Toulson had collected the completed plaque from Ryder & Chaddock last week and personally paid their invoice. Mr. Kibler brought the plaque to the council meeting to show to the members. He said that he had made contact with Canon Charles Dobbin M.B.E. at Leeds Minster and confirmed that the church service would be held on Sunday 26th April. Mr. Kibler would discuss with Canon Dobbin when we might install the plaque in the church and also make arrangements for the reading of the lesson at the church service. It was initially hoped that the plaque installation could be before the service but Mr. Scholes advised that as the plaque was to be placed in the Ladies’ Chapel (where such plaques are located) it would be out of view to those attending the Sunday service. It was then proposed that the plaque might possibly be displayed during the service and installed in the chapel at a later date.
7. Correspondence. Nil.
8. Membership. Mr. Aldersley advised that his employer, Horton & Armitage, were awaiting an invoice from the association to initiate their corporate membership.
9. Current Programme. Mr. Kibler said that he was soon to prepare his presidential lecture to be given after the AGM on 30th April.
10. Next Session. Mr. Rogers advised that he had discussed with Mr. Bill Jagger (member) the possibility of a lecture for the next session by a gentleman from Copmanthorpe near York. Mr. Jagger noted that the gentleman in question is elderly and would probably need transport arranging if he agrees to lecture to us. This would be investigated at a later date. Mr. Toulson said that he had received tentative agreement from Mr. Jagger that he too would consider giving a lecture to the association during the next session on a topic still to be determined. Mr. Jagger said he would give it some thought.
11. Website. Mr. Scholes had reported to Mr. Toulson that he had received ‘spam’ (nuisance email) that had originated from the website. Mr. Rogers had also received some ‘spam’. Mr. Toulson said he would investigate and attempt to remove any problems from the website that might be causing this nuisance.
12. Journal. Nothing to report.
13. Golf. Nothing to report.
14. Annual Dinner. Mr. Rogers reported that 17 members had applied to attend the dinner. This made a total of 38, including the 17 members. He was hoping for members of the Keighley Association of Engineers to make a booking for several places. Mr. Stephen Gledhill (member) had discussed with him the possibility of booking a table of 10. Mr. Rogers said that Mr. Yates had been in discussions with Mr. Robert Bray (member) of Sinclair Harding (clockmakers) with a view to them also booking a table for 10. Mr. Rogers said that in the past we had enjoyed attendance at the dinner of around 90, but this year bookings had been slow. Several of those who had given lectures or offered visits had declined invitations to attend. These guests would have been paid for by the association. As this situation would reduce the overall cost Mr. Rogers proposed that complimentary wine should be placed on each table. This was agreed by the council members. He went on to advise that the Lord Mayor, his assistant and the Sergeant-at-Mace would be attending. Mr. Rogers is still awaiting confirmation from Mr. Ian Buxton, President of the Keighley Association of Engineers, that he would be attending. There would be no representative from Leeds Minster as Canon Dobbin was otherwise engaged that evening. Mr. Aldersley advised that Mr. Graham Roper (member) had confirmed to him that he would be attending and this was noted by Mr. Rogers. Mr. Scholes offered to take photographs of the evening and these could be later be displayed on the website. Mr. Rogers said that Mr. Yates had supplied a bottle of ‘Jamesons Irish Whiskey’ as first prize in the raffle. This bottle had originally been purchased for the quiz following the Nu-Swift visit last December, but the quiz had not taken place. Mr. Rogers proposed buying a bottle of wine as second prize in the raffle. This was agreed. There being no Honorary Chaplain this year Mr. Rogers proposed that the proceeds from the raffle be given to the Lord Mayor’s charity, which this year is the ‘Leeds Children’s Hospital Appeal’. This was agreed. Finally, Mr. Rogers requested that anyone who had booked to come to the dinner should please pay him by cheque as soon as possible.
15. Next Council Meeting. The 2015 General Election is to be held on 7th May and this would clash with the next council meeting, as the Cornerhouse Club is usually used for voting. Mr. Toulson proposed to defer the meeting to Thursday 14th May subject to the meeting room being available. This would be discussed with the management of the club and if confirmed the revised date would be advised to council.
Any other Business. Having no other business the President closed the meeting.
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