THE LEEDS ASSOCIATION OF ENGINEERS
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting + Lecture By Barrie Yates on Russian Rockets
7.15pm on Thursday 31st March 2016 at Scandura Trust Hall Cleckheaton
1. Attendance– Eighteen members of Leeds Association of Engineers were at the meeting along with two guests. Mr. Yates opened the AGM which would be followed by his lecture on Russian Rockets.
2. Apologies for absence. S. Stacey.
3. Minutes of the previous A.G.M. Held on 30th April 2015 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. Aldersley and approved by a show of hands.
4. Matters Arising. None.
5. Nominations for Council. Mr. Yates 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 and Mr. Rogers must tender their resignations. They are prepared to continue on council if the membership wishes them to do so. We have two further vacancies on council including the position of Vice-President for which Mr. Aldersley has offered his services. Mr. Stacey who has been seconded to council as golf secretary recently is also offering to continue if the membership wishes him to do so. Mr. Yates proposed all the candidates and they were seconded by Mr. Murray. We voted to accept all candidates onto council by a show of hands of the membership.
6. Website. Mr. Yates commented that the website seems to be well used and any comments we get about it are complimentary.
7. Membership Report. Mr. Murray said we have entered our 150th year which we celebrated by presenting a commemorative plaque to Leeds Parish church. He said we should thank Mr. Yates for putting together such an interesting and varied programme. He also thanked Mr. Rogers for putting on a superbly organised annual dinner but commented that was a great shame that only 17 of our members attended this year and we are reliant on partners and guests to boost the numbers. He said Mr. Stacey has done a great job in recruiting new members and Mr. Aldersley has recruited a new corporate member. Current membership stands at 75. This comprises of 72 full paying members and 3 honorary life members. Since the last AGM we have had 3 resignations and 2 members are now deceased.
8. Treasurers Report. Copies of the audited accounts for the year ending 31st October 2015 had been circulated to all members present. Mr. Bentley commented that things had been done a little differently this year because Mr. Mallinson had not been available to carry out the audit. He said the Bonds which appeared on the 2014 accounts had been returned to us at face value which was not the projected sales value given to Graham Mallinson, so the accounts had been corrected to reflect this. The effective deficit for the year is £1673.00. He commented that he sees no need to increase subscriptions for the coming year. Mr. Bentley invited questions relating to the accounts, but none were asked. Mr. Yates proposed that the accounts should be accepted, this proposal was seconded by Mr. Murray and accepted by a show of hands by the membership
9. Annual Dinner. Mr. Yates stated that last years dinner had proved a success although it could be better attended by our members. We currently have 64 people wishing to attend the current dinner, which takes place on the 16th April. Mr. Rogers needs their menu choices by 10th April which is the closing date for applications.
10. Confirmation of Trustees. Mr. Yates 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. Independent Examiner. Mr. Yates made a proposal that Rule 15 of our Rule Book should be changed to allow us to use an independent examiner. This would allow someone who had not been involved in collating the accounts to scrutinise and validate them. Mr. Rogers seconded the proposal and it was agreed by a show of hands of the membership. Having agreed the change to the rule book we then voted that the next year’s accounts prepared for the A.G.M. should be verified in this way. This was done with a show of hands.
12. Annual Golf Tournament. The tournament has been organised to take place at Cobble Hall Golf Club on 30th June 2016. Non-players are invited to the dinner after the tournament.
13. Investiture. Mr. Yates thanked Mr. Aldersley for accepting the office of Vice-President saying it is a great relief to finally have a deputy and presented him with the chain of office.
Any Other Business. Mr. Yates said we have 24 people taking part in the daytime visit to JCB on Thursday 26th May the cost is £25 per head and this will include lunch and refreshments. Having no further business Mr. Yates closed the AGM at 8.00pm after thanking all who attended for their contribution. He then went on to give us a very enlightening talk on the development of rocket propulsion by Russian scientists.
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