THE LEEDS ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS
Minutes of the Council Meeting held at 7.15pm on Thursday 6th April 2017 at the Cornerhouse Club Leeds.
1. Attendance. J. Aldersley Vice President in the chair with M. Murray, S. Stacey, A. Kibler , I. Scholes, J. Shergill, G. Toulson, K. Hegarty and I. Blakeley.
2. Apologies for absence. H. Kingswell, A. Rogers, J. Bentley and B. Yates.
3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting, dated 2nd March 2017 were approved & signed.
4. Matters Arising. None.
5. Treasurers Report. In Mr. Bentley’s absence. Mr. Toulson read out notes Mr. Bentley had prepared. The notes advised us that we need to get a further signatory on the cheque book, Mr. Blakeley (the latest trustee) needs to visit the bank to get his signature registered. The notes reminded us that the names of the three trustees Mr. Hegarty, Mr. Blakeley and Mr. Bentley should be read out at the A.G.M. and the members of the association should vote to accept them for a further year in office. Mr.Bentley wants to relinquish the job of treasurer so we need to find someone to take-over this role. Mr. Toulson said he is willing to help but could not take the job on because he spends significant time out of the country. We had notes on the accounts prepared for the AGM to scrutinise before they are presented at the 2017 A.G.M. Mr. Toulson advised us that the only financial transaction since the last council meeting was the receipt of £35 subscription payments. We agreed that we will not publish our finances / balance sheets for the A.G.M. on the website.
6. Correspondence. Mr.Murray circulated a book that one of our members Anthony Hunt has donated to the association. The book has been written by Anthony and is entitled “The Hunt Collection”. It features photographs and history of machinery from the J. & H. McClaren Airedale Works (formerly in Hunslet). We briefly spoke about where it should be kept, as we have no premises it was suggested that, along with our journals and minutes, Leeds University library might be appropriate as then it would then be linked to our history. In the short term we thought it should be made available to our members before it is filed away. Mr. Murray said he has sent Anthony a letter of thanks along with an invitation to the annual dinner and a request that he gives us a talk / lecture, but the response was that he is currently unwell so would be unable to do either in the near future.
7. Membership. No change. Mr.Aldersley is still trying to persuade one of his work colleagues to join us. Mr.Aldersley proposed that Mr. Hegarty should be made an honorary life member of Leeds Association in recognition of his long service and continued contribution to the association. This was agreed by the remainder of council and will be proposed to the membership at the AGM.
8. Current Programme. The trip to Drax Power station needs finalising, Mr. Murray would like to know of any special requirements so that he can circulate them to the membership for example whether safety footwear is required and details of parking would be helpful. Mr.Murray commented that the visit to the Sikh temple in Bradford was very well received by our membership. Comments were that we were made to feel very welcome by all the people we came into contact with. Mr. Shergill requested that we write a letter to the president of the temple thanking him for sanctioning our visit. Mr.Toulson agreed to do this. No venue has yet been found for the annual summer solstice walk.
9. Annual Church Service. This year’s annual church service will be on the 7th May, Mr. Aldersley (our new President) will take one of the readings. The church service will be followed by a free meal at the Palace (public house) for any of our members / partners who attend.
10. Next Session. Mr. Yates has sent Mr. Kibler details of a number of opportunities for visits for the next session. Mr. Aldersley is trying to organise a visit to SKF Bearings. Mr. Toulson will circulate a worksheet to keep us all informed of what is organised and what dates require filling. Mr. Scholes has requested a lecture / visit with Blackpool Tramways and is expecting a reply within the next seven days. We discussed the possibility of approaching the new recycling plant at Leeds for a visit, but Mr. Kibler’s wife is already pursuing a visit to the equivalent recycling plant in Wakefield on our behalf.
11. Website. Mr. Toulson advised us that fees for the website are due shortly, these are £44.39 for hosting from 10th April 2017 to 9th April 2018 and we are required to pay £14.39 (including vat) to maintain our domain name. He has published details of the Keighley Associations dinner that is planned for the 12th May 2017. Mr.Bentley has sent an electronic copy of the journal to Mr. Toulson for the website. Anyone with photographs from our events should also send them electronically to Mr. Toulson. Mr. Shergill said he keeps getting spam emails via the website but these are not malicious so can safely be ignored.
12. Golf. Gerry Allen will look after Mitchell Fox’s involvement in the golf tournament this year. In the future Steve Richards may get more involved. Mr. Stacey will prepare the golf notice and send details to Mr. Murray for the flyer and Mr. Toulson for the website. Mr. Stacey has researched the history of our golf tournament and produced figures of the number of times it has taken place at each venue. Mr. Toulson will publish a short article about this on the website
13. Annual Dinner. Mr. Kibler advised us that the venue is organised. We are having 6 tables. Each one seats 8 people, making 48 people in attendance. All menu choices have been advised to the venue. We need envelopes for the raffle contributions, Mr. Shergill will check if he has any at home and inform Mr. Kibler. We are all sitting together, there will not be a top table. Major Stan Hardy will represent the church and also the Lieutenancy. He will say grace and propose the toast to the Queen.
Any other Business. Having no other business Mr. Aldersley closed the meeting.
.
……………………………………………President. ……………….. Date