THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION Falkland Islands Branch ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 14 th October 2013. Minutes Present: Liam Shelbourne (Chairman) Neil Russell (Vice Chairman) Keith Biles (Secretary) Dave Morris (Treasurer) Dave Lewis Pam Lewis Rev d Kathy Biles John Birmingham Karen Drysdale Frank Leyland Fred Simpson Phil. Middleton Sandra Tyler-Haywood Robin Luxton Alison McAndie Msg. Michael McPartland Roy Davis Pam Budd Wendy Shelbourne Pam Budd Dennis Budd Falkland Berntsen Mark Brook Ian Haywood Wendy Luxton In Memorium. The passing of Tommy Biggs, a World War II veteran, and member of the Branch was marked by a short silence and pause for reflection. 1. Apologies for Absence: Rev. Richard Hines; John & Sarah Maskell-Bott, Stella Prindle-Middleton, Bob French, Mark Neves, Jason Lewis, Yves Middleton, Ian Davidson. 2. Minutes of the AGM 19th November 2012 were agreed and signed. 3. Matters arising: There were no matters arising that were not to be covered elsewhere. 4. Chairman s Report: LS gave a brief report on the activities of the last year, specifically: There has been a donation of 200 made to Liberty Lodge for the purchase of fishing equipment for the use of visiting veterans. There was a Government House reception to thank all those who have assisting in the running of the branch, and who have sponsored various activities. The FIDF position regarding beneficiary status has now been determined. Members of the FIDF do not hold beneficiary status solely as a result of that membership. This matter has been taken to as high
a level as is practicable at this time, and whilst a change to the Royal Charter could theoretically be attempted, the chances of success are deemed to be slight, and the effort required is outwith the resources of the Branch. This matter will not be pursued in the immediate future. The Branch produced its own Christmas Card, and thanks are due to Sonia Felton for permission to use her art-work. Cards were sent to donors and supporters, and also to Buckingham Palace, from whom we have received an acknowledgment. February saw the Half Marathon being run and MPA raised 250 for the Branch, and in March a full Marathon was run with a total of 407.20 being raised, again by members of the forces at MPA. In April we received the pledge of a donation of a bench from Morrison Construction. Permission for the siting of this bench at the Cross of Sacrifice will now be sought. Also in April the Catering and Rations Squadron at MPA held Exercise Falklands Caterer, a fund raising activity on behalf of the Legion. A number of members attended, and the Chairman acted as one of the judges. The exercise was held over 2 days and resulted in a two course meal being presented to guests. The event raised 3,000 split equally between the Legion Branch and SAMA. In May the RBL Annual Conference in Wales was attended by the Chairman. This was the first time the Branch had been represented at Conference. John and Sarah Maskell-Bott also attended as Observers. The representatives were well received and the opportunity was taken to catch-up with current thoughts and activities of the Legion as a whole, and Head Office in particular. Following the Conference, the Chairman was invited to lay a wreath at the National Memorial Arboretum at the Falklands Memorial there. He was also invited to visit Crewe Branch on Liberation Day. The branch had asked for three short pieces to be read out at their parade. The Chairman had arranged for some these to be written by someone who has lived through the Conflict as an adult, one from a person who had experienced the Conflict as a child, and a poem from a present day child of the Islands. The poems have now been placed in a local museum as part of a Falklands Conflict display. Whilst the Chairman was in UK, he was invited to be part of the Battle of the Atlantic commemorations in Liverpool Cathedral, to lay a wreath during the service in the Cathedral, and met Her Highness The Princess Royal afterwards. The agreement for the use of the Pinn Inn for 2 years has now been signed, and includes the meeting room and bar area, the store and what will be the committee room. The provision of this facility will allow the Branch to hold small functions as well as our regular meetings.
A Cheese and Wine evening was organized by the Club Committee as a tester evening to see what response from the membership could be expected to similar function in the future. The evening was well supported, and proved to be very enjoyable for all attendees. A Quiz and Curry evening had been organized for last Saturday, but unfortunately there were insufficient responses within the deadline to enable this to go ahead. Members were reminded of the need to support the social activities of the Branch, and if responses are requested then deadlines should be respected. The Branch has received approximately 450 from the Green Token scheme run by FIC. The thanks of the Chairman, officers, committee members and Branch members were recorded to the sponsors who have given generous support to the Branch and the Legion throughout the year, in particular: FIC, Premier Oil, FIGAS, Seafish Chandlery, Stanley Services, Jaytec, Consultancy Services, Morrisons, Sudexo, and Falklands Tours and Travel. 5. Vice-Chairman s Report. The Vice-Chairman welcomed the potential progress being made to obtain the bench provided by Morrisons. A Golf Tournament is to be arranged at Stanley Golf Club to be held during the 3 rd week in January, where players will compete for the RBL Trophy. Due to other commitments, the current Vice-Chairman will not be standing again for office in 2013/14. 6. Secretary s Report: A request was made to members to check and, in need, update their e- mail addresses against the list currently held. The Minutes of the RBL Overseas Branches Forum, which was held just before the Annual Conference, and which was attended by the Chairman, were made available to members who wished to view. Attention of members was drawn to the first item of those minutes which contained a special mention of the attendance of the representative of the Falkland Island Branch. The Secretary advised that this year s Affiliation Fee is set at 14. In keeping with past practice, it was intended that no Branch administration fee would be added for this year.
7. Treasurer s Report: The Treasurer circulated the audited accounts for the year ended 30 th June 2013. He pointed out that this year the accounts closed earlier than previously in accordance with the new requirements of Head Office. Main points included: At the opening of the year the current account contained 4,853.10, and at the close of the year the balance stood at 5,732.10. The Poppy Appeal account started the year at 10.00 and ended at 296.01, but 4,934.66 had been sent to UK for the main Appeal. The Benevolent Fund was 1,192.60 at the beginning and finished at 1,106.36. The fall in the balance was due to funds being spent on a welfare case. There are 2 Fixed Deposits balances at the end of the year are: 1,271.11, and 1,188.26, but very little movement was seen during the year as interest rates are so low. The accounts show a surplus of 1,079.88 for the year. Had the accounts not closed early the surplus would have been a lot greater, but the funds will be carried over to the next year. Of this surplus, approximately half represents membership fees which will have to be paid to the UK in due course. There were several donations received during the year, of which some of the larger ones were: Premier Oil donated 250 for stationery; 250 from 453 Flight for the Half Marathon; 1,500 from MPA Service Funds as our share of the proceeds of Exercise Falklands Caterer. The Green Token Scheme raised 275.97 as at the end of June, but more may have gone into the next years accounts.; FITT donated 100. Thanks are due to not only the major donors, but also to those people who have donated smaller, but equally important amounts during the year. Thanks are due to Consultancy Services who have, as in the past, audited our accounts this year free of charge. A point raised from the floor questioned the total amount of donations listed by the Treasurer against the amount shown in the accounts. The Treasurer confirmed that he would clarify this point in due course. The Chairman suggested that as there was a question requiring clarification on the accounts that it would be prudent to wait for a formal adoption of the accounts until later in the meeting. 8. Election of Officers: (i) (ii) Chairman: Liam Shelbourne (Prop. by Frank Leyland, Second. by Ginge Davis) was Vice-Chairman:
Pam Budd (Prop. by Dave Lewis, Second. by Karen Drysdale) was (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) Secretary: Keith Biles (Prop. by David Lewis, Second. by Karen Drysdale) was Treasurer: David Morris (Prop. by Liam Shelbourne, Second. by Dave Lewis) was Committee Members: Web Master: Bob French Poppy Appeal Co-ordinator: Dave Lewis Standard Bearer: Mark Brook (Prop. Dave Lewis, Second. Kathy Biles) was elected on a show of hands. Overseas Wreath Layer: It was agreed that Marvin Clark be approached to see if he wished to continue in this role. Welfare Team: John and Sarah Maskell-Bott have indicated that they would be willing to continue to serve in this capacity, subject to the exigencies of medical treatment. Rev. Kathy Biles and Pam Lewis also said that hey were willing to be part of that team. Appointments to this team will be finalised by the committee in due course. 8. Any Other Business: The retention of the two Fixed Deposit accounts was raised, and it was proposed by the Chairman (seconded by the Treasurer) that the larger account be consolidated into the Branch Benevolent Fund, and the other be sent back to UK as part of the Poppy Appeal. The proposition was carried by the members unanimously. The position of the over-70s membership fees were discussed. Currently the affiliation fees were absorbed by the Branch. There are 8 members who are over 70 at present, of which one member is overseas. The question as to whether this arrangement should continue was put to the members, and after discussion it was agreed by a majority (22 votes for, 3 against) that the status quo would continue for the current year. Further consideration of the annual accounts was deferred until a subsequent meeting pending clarification regarding the item Donations being obtained from the auditors. A volunteer was requested to attend the next RBL Annual Conference to be held in Torquay in May 2014. It is likely that an indulgence flight would be obtainable, but the delegate would be required to pay for their own
accommodation, and providing a minimum number of sessions during the Conference are attended, then a claim may be made for up to 50% of costs. The Secretary suggested that the matter be deferred until it was known if any one would be back in the UK on holiday at that time, which would be costeffective as far as both the individual, and the branch were concerned. Further details of the Conference will be available on the RBL web site and links to that will be provided on our branch page. The Agenda and details of this year s Conference are available from the Chairman. The next Branch general meeting was fixed for the first Monday in November. K. Biles. Secretary.