THE LEEDS ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS
Minutes of the Council Meeting held at 7.00 pm on Thursday 6th April 2023 at the Corner House Club Leeds LS17 6QE
1. Attendance. R. Town in the chair with, J. Aldersley, A. Kibler, S. Stacey, M. Murray, I. Scholes, G. Roper, A. Rogers, J. Bentley, H. Soutar and G. Toulson.
2. Apologies for absence. J. Burton, B. Yates and I. Blakeley.
3. Minutes of the Previous Meeting. Dated 2nd March 2023 were approved and signed.
4. Matters Arising. None.
Treasurers Report. Mr. Kibler has been collecting payments for the forthcoming dinner. He had also paid the church for the February and March lecture meetings, although the March meeting had to be cancelled due to illness of the speaker. Mr. Scholes advised that the church had agreed that the April meeting is now paid for as there was no March meeting. Mr. Kibler noted that four students, including Mr. Soutar, had applied for dinner tickets. He advised that due to eleven transactions in the current account we have been penalised in the sum of £6.50 having exceeded the terms of the account.
The following transactions were reported:-
| Date | Item(s) | Debits | Credits |
| 6/Mar/23 | Dinner – S Stacey & Gerry Allen | 0.00 | 60.00 |
| 15/Mar/23 | Dinner – B Clough – Keighley | 0.00 | 30.00 |
| Dinner – Ross Town & Guests | 0.00 | 90.00 | |
| 16/Mar/23 | Methodist Church Room Hire – Feb & Mar | 100.00 | 0.00 |
| 20/Mar/23 | Dinner – I Scholes | 0.00 | 60.00 |
| 21/Mar/23 | Dinner – D Harris x 4 | 0.00 | 120.00 |
| 23/Mar/23 | Dinner & Subs – H Kingswell | 0.00 | 45.00 |
| Dinner – N Cobbold | 0.00 | 60.00 | |
| Dinner – B McDougall | 0.00 | 60.00 | |
| Dinner – A Kibler | 0.00 | 60.00 | |
| Dinner – Jill & John Aldersley | 0.00 | 60.00 | |
| 4/Apr/23 | Dinner – S Gledhill | 0.00 | 240.00 |
| 6/Mar/23 | Dinner – S Stacey & Gerry Allen | 0.00 | 60.00 |
The bank balances were reported but are not recorded in the minutes.
5. Correspondence. Mr. Roper had visited long standing LAE member Francis Atkinson and taken some flowers. He advised that Mr. Atkinson would now be in London for specialist treatment for a serious illness. Mr. Kibler asked Mr. Roper to provide an invoice for the association to cover the cost of the flowers. Mr. Aldersley had been in touch with the Keighley Association of Engineers to share information on lectures and visits. His colleague Keith Walker, who had lectured to our association, has agreed to speak at Keighley. Mr. Aldersley had visited Harrison Lathes in Elland and discovered it was more of a holding company rather than a manufacturer. He had asked about the possibility of a visit in May but determined that there was not a lot to see.
6. Membership. Mr. Murray had received application forms from three students. They are: Martins Golubevs, Isaac Auty and Cameron Pinder. All three are from Kirkstall Precision Engineering and had supplied brief résumés of their experience so far. Mr. Aldersley proposed all three applicants and Mr. Kibler seconded all three of the applications.
7. Current Programme. Mr. Murray suggested the same walk as last year for the forthcoming Solstice Walk on 22nd June. He asked whether we should subsidise the supper afterwards. Mr. Kibler said we cannot carry on as before and suggested that we sponsor £5.00 per person at the event. Mr. Town asked should we cover drinks plus £5.00 but Mr. Kibler thought it best to leave it at a straight £5.00 per person subsidy. Mr. Murray noted that in the past we had offered a free meal after the church service resulting in improved attendance. Mr. Town proposed a vote that we subsidise the Solstice and Church events at £5.00 each. The vote was carried. Mr. Murray asked if council members/officers would be willing to continue with their positions for another year and all present agreed. Mr. Town offered to remain as president for a further year. Mr. Murray said that we should be looking for a dinner secretary as Mr. Kibler had stated he would be stepping down after the forthcoming dinner and that it was time for another dinner secretary.
8. Next Session. Mr. Toulson had been in touch with Mark Batchelor who had to cancel the March lecture due to illness. Mr. Batchelor had agreed to reschedule the lecture for Thursday 28th September 2023, this being the first event of the next session. Mr. Town reported that Owen Parry had offered to give a lecture on the history of development of 2D to 3D design. Mr. Toulson suggested this would be suitable for either October or November later in the year. Mr. Aldersley was in contact with Gary Briggs of James Walker Moreflex Ltd. who had previously offered to give a lecture. Mr. Aldersley has a work colleague, Neil Lonsdale formerly of Forgemasters, who he hopes to enrol as a member of the association and also give us a lecture on his experience of CAD/CAM. Mr. Soutar suggested Alex Chambers, ex-RAF member, who might be a possible candidate for an interesting lecture. Mr. Town had made contact through work with Faradion Ltd. and Esterform Group Ltd. for visits or lectures. He learned that Esterpet Ltd. might be more appropriate for a visit. Mr. Roper had been working with the Atomic Energy Authority but his request for a visit had been declined. Mr. Aldersley had contacted Speedibake in Bradford but had not received a reply. Mr. Town had a contact there, Andy Vaz, who had said he was not interested in holding after hours visits. Mr. Aldersley had contacted Schneider asking about a visit but as yet they had not replied. He also spoken with his chief at college about a visit to Kirkstall Precision Engineering and determined this might be a possible event for the next session.
9. Website. Mr. Toulson said the website was working well and was up to date. He had looked into the invoicing situation. In 2021 we had taken advantage of a special offer of reduced costs by paying in advance for a couple of extra years. As such the next hosting renewal will be on 10/04/2024 and the domain name renewal will be on 04/05/2024. Mr. Murray pointed out that the events menu on the website homepage showed 2022 events instead of 2023. Mr. Toulson said he would correct the menu header to now show 2023.
10. Annual Golf Tournament. Mr Stacey confirmed that the tournament is booked for Tuesday 4th July 2023. he advised that he would forward the Golf Notice to Mr. Murray for the newsletter and to Mr. Toulson for the website. He expressed concern about sponsorship of the prizes and that they now depended on receipts. Mr. Stacey said he had still to organise the menu and for those attending the dinner only the cost is estimated to be £18.00 per head to include three courses and wine. He advised that this year would be the 83rd running of the Braime Trophy competition. He is hoping for a maximum of 39 golfers for the afternoon event, informing us that more golfers play in the afternoon than the morning round. Gerry Allen had agreed to assist during the day. Mr. Stacey said he would be happy to see someone taking over the job of Golf Secretary as he had been in charge for a number of years.
11. Church Service. Mr. Scholes had been to see Rev. Paul Maybury, in charge at Leeds Minster, and given him details of the association printed off from the website, along with information taken from the introduction in the 2016 journal. He had told Rev. Maybury about the Leeds Association plaque in the minster, of which until then he had been unaware. Mr. Scholes learned that the lady who preached last year will again be presiding and she will be made aware that members of the association will be present. Mr. Kibler asked if Mr. Scholes had invited Rev. Maybury and partner to the dinner. Mr. Scholes said as it was so close to the dinner it was doubtful whether the invitation would be taken up. Mr. Kibler said it might be best to leave it for another time.
12. Annual Dinner. Mr. Kibler reported that 47 diners, spread over 6 tables, would be present at the dinner. Mr. Gledhill was bringing 8 guests and so was being offered a free meal. Brian Clough and Bruce McDougall from Keighley Association of Engineers will be present along with their wives. Mr. Kibler advised that last year we sponsored 14 free places compared to only 4 this year. He has organised a quiz and has several bottles of wine and spirits for the prizes. He also intends to buy a couple of Easter Eggs and some chocolates. Mr. Kibler asked if council thought a quiz was appropriate and council agreed it was. Mr. Stacey offered to use his golf club membership to pay for the bar bill to save the association 25% on drinks. Mr. Rogers asked about the dress code. Mr. Kibler advised it was as before, black tie or lounge suit. He asked Mr. Town to make a short speech and propose a toast. Mr. Murray suggested including thanking Mr. Gledhill in the toast for his continued support of the dinner. Mr. Town suggested we could present Mr. Soutar with the student award shield. As an aside Mr. Town said they had four apprentices at Thorite who might be put forward for the student award scheme next year. Mr. Kibler mentioned that previous minutes had stated that the format of the dinner might be discussed in detail at a later date. Mr. Bentley said that in the past the organisation of the dinner had been a huge task for council and especially the dinner secretary and toastmaster. He said we should not be changing the current format which has been very successful. Mr. Kibler asked if there were any more prize donations forthcoming for the dinner and to advise him if so.
Any Other Business. Mr. Murray reported that he had been suffering computer problems with software that only enabled him to read but not edit the information relating to the association. Word, Powerpoint and Excel were no longer working and he was looking for a solution. Mr. Soutar suggested using Google Docs. Mr. Murray said he will consider purchasing some cheap 2021 software but noted that there is limited support only until 2026. There being no other business Mr. Town thanked those attending and closed the meeting.
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President……………………………………… Date……………………