The 9th Annual General Meeting of Ash U3A was held at
The Ash Centre, Ash Hill Road, Ash on Friday September 4th at 3 p.m.

Minutes

1. Apologies for absence
John and Brenda Carruthers, Michael Bliss, Mary Taylor, Mary Lamont

2. Welcome from the Committee
Malcolm Saunders introduced himself as the chairman for the meeting in the absence of a branch chairman and read a report from the committee.
Membership:
The number of members is rising and we now have about 260. The publicity drive has been successful and we feel that local residents are much more aware of our existence. Welcome to all the new members here today.
Groups:
We currently have 20 groups with the hope of a second book group and a scrabble group for next year. Yoga has ended, mainly because of high costs and the jazz group also finished after the sad death of its leader Alan Green, although we are hoping it may continue in a new guise. Ideas for new groups are always welcome, preferably with an offer to lead them attached. The committee will support any new group until it is flourishing.
Fees.
The bank balance is healthy so the annual fee remained the same for 2009/10 at £10. The committee will, of course, continue to monitor financial matters along with the Trustees.
Communication.
The introduction of a regular newsletter has been a great step foreword in making sure that all members know what is happening and as a place for groups to advertise their events. We hope to see it used more next year for this.
Publicity
Publicity has improved and, as well as posters throughout the area, we had a spread in the Parish news and articles in church magazines. The Ash Fun Day stall attracted much attention with its bright displays and live exhibit in the form of a Mah-Jong game.
Monthly meetings
The new format has been very successful with a mix of member led activities and speakers. Next year we are planning another Christmas event, a photo competition and will be looking for another group to lead the July meeting. The 2.30 start has proved popular.
Visits.
Many groups have been out and about this year and Helga Burgess continues to arrange theatre trips. (Thank you Helga)
Finally we are losing two long standing members of the committee. John Richards who has been organising the programme for many years. And Ron Jarmain who, with his computer literate assistant Pam, has been booking the halls and looking after the equipment again for many years. We will miss these two, not just for their official jobs, but also for their willingness to go the extra mile behind the scenes to make things happen. Thank you. We also say goodbye to Carol Malley, who is leaving us after a year due to ill health. We wish her all the best.   

3. Minutes of the 2008 Annual General Meeting.
Passed

4. Matters arising.
None

5. Treasurer’s Report.
Reg Phillips explained the statement of accounts. He expressed his thanks to Colin Beer, the previous treasurer and to John Burgess for their help.
A vote to accept the statement of accounts was proposed by Trevor Brodrick and seconded by Colin Beer.

6. Election of Officers and Committee
No further nominations were received so the committee nominations as listed were agreed upon. The following were proposed and seconded;
Jane Morgan –Chairman: proposed by Alan Bew. Seconded by Trevor Brodrick
Gillian Brocklehurst –Secretary: Proposed by Win Paine. Seconded by Ronald Reading
Reg Phillips – Treasurer: proposed by Ray Pearse. Seconded by Colin Beer
Irene Cummings, Anne Hill, Win Paine, Pam Stuart-Jones, Ray Pearse, Len Pugh -Committee members: Proposed by Laurence Castledine. Seconded by John Burgess,

7. Any other business.
1. A request from the refreshment organisers for a volunteer for the September 15th meeting was answered,
2. Iona Leith-Macgregor, leader of the Painting for All group reminded members that the group will now meet in The Victoria Hall. She offered to stage an exhibition for the July meeting.
3. Trevor Brodrick, on behalf of the members, thanked the committee for their hard work throughout the year.

The meeting closed at 3.25