THE LEEDS ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting + Lecture By retiring president Andrew Kibler “ The Master Model” a lecture describing the Design Process with 3D Modelling Software.
7.15pm on Thursday 30th April 2015 at Scandura Trust Hall Cleckheaton
1. Attendance– Eighteen members of Leeds Association of Engineers were at the meeting. Mr. Kibler opened by thanking everyone for their attendance. The A.G.M would be followed by his lecture on the 3D modelling process.
2. Apologies for absence. G. Toulson.
3. Minutes of the previous A.G.M. Held on 10th April 2014 were given to all members; Mr Murray proposed these should be accepted as a true record of the past AGM, this proposal was seconded by Mr Hegarty and approved by a show of hands.
4. Matters Arising. None.
5. Nominations for Council. Mr. Kibler said that our constitution dictates that after 2 years council members must resign in order to give other members of the association a chance to take office. Therefore at this meeting Mr. Toulson, Mr. Shergill, and Mr. Aldersley must tender their resignation along with Mr. McClarty who no longer lives in this locality. We already have 2 vacancies on council and have had no response to our request for volunteers. Mr. Kingswell offered to join council from the meeting floor and was duly proposed by Mr. Yates and seconded by Mr. Murray. Mr Kibler advised us that Mr. Toulson, Mr. Shergill and Mr. Aldersley are willing to stand for re-election and they were seconded by Mr. Yates. We voted to accept all candidates onto council by a show of hands of the membership.
6. Website. Mr. Kibler commented that the website has changed quite dramatically since Mr. Toulson took charge and is constantly being updated. Mr. Yates suggested that it might be beneficial to add a shortcut on the home page to point to the next event lecture or visit.
7. Membership Report. Mr Murray reported membership is a little down again this year we now have 79 members. We have lost 8 members, 3 of which were resignations in response to our letter pursuing members who are in debt, and two who sadly died this year, Michael Armstrong and Peter Ward. Our base membership is more solid than previously as we have eliminated none payers who remained on the books, but had lost interest. We have a potential corporate member and are constantly looking for individuals to join us. Mr. Kibler has written to all members in the last 12 months asking how we can improve what we offer as an association and what would encourage more members to attend. The response was that we are doing things right, some of the members quoted other demands on their time prevented them attending but they still wished to continue with their membership. Mr. Murray thanked Mr. Kibler for the leadership he has provided over the last two years.
We have recently become a corporate member / sponsor of the Quicksilver water-speed record project. This allows our members to attend special corporate days detailing the progress in the design and manufacture of the Quicksilver boat that is to make an attempt at setting a new world water-speed record
8. Treasurers Report. Copies of the audited accounts for the year ending 31st October 2014 were circulated to members. Mr Bentley summarised the important details of the accounts to the membership highlighting the deficit of £984 for the year but commenting it is clear on the balance sheet that we made £300 of donations from funds to charities (Quicksilver and Yorkshire Air Ambulance. He said that total expenditure for the year had been £2064.00 but income was only £1080.00 however, we do not feel it necessary to increase subscriptions at this time. Graham Mallinson (auditor) is retiring after next year’s audit, he said the audit had been very straightforward so he will waive his fees for this year and next. He suggested that in future we should get an independent examiner to carry out the audit, this would allow someone who is not involved in collating the figures to verify them. Mr. Murray explained that to use an independent advisor would require a change to our rule 15 (Leeds Association Rule Book). Mr Murray read out rule 15 and proposed that it should be changed to allow us to use an independent examiner, this was seconded by Mr. Blakeley and the membership voted to accept the proposal with a show of hands. Mr Bentley invited questions relating to the accounts, but none were asked. Mr Hegarty proposed that the accounts should be accepted, this proposal was seconded by Mr. Rogers and accepted by a show of hands by the membership
9. Annual Dinner. Mr. Kibler said the new venue had proved a success. Both the venue and the food were judged to be an improvement on last year.
10. Confirmation of Trustees. Mr. Kibler said that we need to confirm the names of the trustees at each A.G.M. and minute this for the bank. The names of the trustees are John Bentley, Kevin Hegarty and Ian Blakeley. He asked that the membership vote to accept that these people continue in their current rolls. This was done with a show of hands.
11. Church Service. Mr Kibler said the church service went well, the vicar made us very welcome and integrated us into the church service. We took the plaque along to the service and it was handed over to the church to be prepared for installation in the church. We are to have a dedication service in July where the plaque will be formally installed in the church.
12. Annual Golf Tournament. The tournament is organised at Garforth this year. Non players are invited to the dinner after the tournament.
13. Investiture. Mr Kibler’s last act, as president, is to pass the chain of office to Mr. Yates. Unfortunately we do not have anyone taking the office of Vice President at the moment. Mr Yates told us that in the past, Leeds Association had a secretary who was paid an honorarium, but this job is now divided across the council although we rely heavily on Mr. Murray. He feels we seem to be changing into an old man’s drinking club. It was agreed that we should do more casual visits at weekends. We are hoping to have next year’s programme together in the next month or so.
Any Other Business. Having no further business Mr Yates closed the AGM at 8.00pm after thanking all who attended for their contribution. He invited Mr. Kibler to introduce his lecture as retiring President “The Master Model”
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