# **ST JOHN’S HONEYPOT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Minutes of meeting held on February 20[th] 2023,** # **Studley Green Baptist Church.** **Present;** Trustees. Dave Lewis. Chairman. Eric Brown, Treasurer. Emie Haysom, Secretary. Mary Davis. Peggy Corr. Teresa Poole. Resource Group. Jenny Pyke. Dave Milsom. Pat Wells. Betty Wragg. Barbara Carberry. Glen Luscombe Plus members of St John’s Honeypot **Apologies;** Rachel Brown. Resource member. Sue Brown. **Minutes;** The minutes of the AGM held on February 28[th] 2022 were signed as a true record with the following amendments. Organiser’s report closure due to covid should read Dec 2021 to Jan 2022 not 2012 to 2022. Typo in Chairman’s report ”to attend” repeated in connection with Dave attending full council meeting. ## **Matters Arising** ; None. **Chairman’s Report** ; It’s easy to forget that just last year was the first time that we had been able to have an AGM since the outbreak of Covid. It feels a lifetime ago. At that time we had achieved a lot but faced significant challenges and needed to find solutions to ensure we could carry on operating. Possibly the greatest challenge was the removal of the grant from Wiltshire Council which has now been stopped completely. At that time it represented about a third of the money we needed to raise. As I said at the time don’t worry as we are cunning, ingenious and determined. The replacement scheme from Wiltshire Council turned out to be a poor replacement, Alison and I attended several online meetings over a number of weeks and read endless emails – thank you to Alison. What the Council offered was called Open Framework. We would have needed to have signed up as an organisation and then have to comply with whatever rules they set, only then could we be offered funding but only for individuals registered with the Council. As a means to replace the annual grant this was, is and will remain a nonstarter for us, a lot of paperwork for little money It would appear that Wiltshire Council does not want to fund organisations like ours. No matter because we have very healthy finances, so healthy in fact we can have confidence in being able to operate for a number of years, let me repeat that a number of years. Our last grant was actually set over two years so our donors who scrutinise us think we will be here for a while too. In the last year kindness and support has flowed to us from who genuinely want to see us and groups like us prosper. Wiltshire Community Foundation has been instrumental in connecting us with funding bodies and our last grant was actually a private donation from a person connecting with us through them. Not withstanding considerable donations have come from people we know well, not so well and even don’t know at all. Managing our funds well has paid dividends, we now claim Gift Aid on all the little donations you make so that they are worth a fifth more than you give. People who look to donate to us like to know that the money they give will have the most impact, so it’s great that we can show prudence from Kerry and Eric and display through our website and Facebook pages the fun and enjoyment you all share. You may see Jessica and I stalking around with our mobile phones taking pictures that are then posted on the internet, Thank you to everyone who participates, your happy smiling faces, the laughing, the arm waving, dancing and even just chatting together display to the wider world what we all know about Honeypot – It’s Good. We get referrals from professional people that see you here. Anchor Foods gave us a grant last year, as part of a post grant follow up I was asked to supply pictures to show the impact of the grant so I directed them to the Facebook page – the response was “that’s just brilliant” and it is. We saved money last year with the kind help of our Baptist Church friends who enabled us to get free DBS checks through them, DBS checks are mandatory requirement for the work we do so it’s great to avoid that cost. Many thanks to Audrey Brown who initiated this and Margaret Pictor who helped with the paperwork. It’s not all about money, the issue with the bus transport that we experienced last year shows not just what we are capable but also what can be achieved by determined people, I would like to thank all our drivers and Nicola from The Link for sticking her neck out to provide such a good service for us that is actually free with use of a bus pass. Thanks also to Dave Milsom who helped to make the transition so smooth. We still need to achieve food hygiene training /up dates for volunteers. A vote of thanks must also go to Rose and her staff for the excellent food she provides week on week in what is an increasingly challenging business. I feel that it is important that we offer our thanks to the Baptist Church for hosting and helping us weekly setting up tables and chairs etc. Three church members are also staunch weekly supporters and when two were recently absent and we were short handed Chris, The Pastor, turned up out of the blue to wash up. The Baptist Church have also arranged Safeguarding training that we were invited to join in with, I would like to say thank you to everyone that turns up on a Monday to help, giving up your time in this way whether you drive, wash up, wait on tables or sit and chat to members has immense worth in making things happen and making us what we are A special thanks to our Trustees and Resource Group the latter representing the members’ interests, together you shape this group and your contributions will help to ensure that Honeypot is always fit for purpose. Thank you to all our members, this is your group, we run it for you. Thank you for coming and your resolute support during the last year, many groups do not have such support. I hope that you have enjoyed Honeypot as much as we do, I think its important that we all stop for a second and offer a vote of thanks to Kerry who spends a lot of time, effort and tears ensuring things are as organised as they can be. Nothing is ever perfect, things often go wrong but I think we can all agree as ever that Kerry does her job well. We remain the largest group of its kind in the area and sadly if things continue as they are we may one day be the only group of its kind locally. I hope not, but whatever I believe we are the best group in the area and that’s on all of you. So after a year of turbulence and challenge things are well and looking good. No one can say what the future holds and prudence is still needed, I just want to say that even though life changes about us, people may come and go, we remain cunning, ingenious and determined that there will always be a St John’s Honeypot to look forward to on Mondays. Thank you. **Treasurer’s Report** ; I am very happy to report that the club’s finances are in good order and have been duly audited. At the end of 2022 we had £14,028 in the bank. The reason for this is that we received two years of grants plus a covid grant from the council totalling £4744. We also received other grants/donations from various organisations due to the sterling work of our Chairman – these include £400 from St James, £500 from The Blair Charity, £3000 from CFWS and £500 from the Community Bus. We have also received personal donations of approximately £1500, a legacy of £515 in memory of Lady Barbara and have claimed back HMRC £992-00 via Gift Aid. We have been informed that we will be receiving a donation of £5500 via CFWC for this year and 2024. The committee have decided to continue to subsidise the meals in future and keep Christmas arrangements the same. The cost of Christmas 2022 was £1500. We are also going to introduce some free Mondays during the year and look at some Health and Safety issues. So you will see that at present the club can carry on for a few more years without any additional funds but I would like to have £6000 in the bank at the start of each year to guarantee a year of meetings. Statement of accounts 01-01-22 to 31-12-22 attached to minutes. **Election of Auditor** ; Mr Holmes has stated his willingness to continue as auditor for Honeypot Accounts. All present in agreement. **Organiser’s Report** ; We had a really good year last year, survived the hot summer and another round of Covid. We only closed for a few weeks due to Covid in January 2022. a week in the summer as it was too hot and a week in November as it was so cold and icy. We currently have 29 members and 19 helpers, with some older members passing on, going into care homes or moving away I would like to welcome all our new members and hope they enjoy their time with us. The food from Rose at the Lamb Inn has been lovely, I think everyone is enjoying the meals and puddings. Unfortunately like everything the price has increased to £11 and at present it is agreed that the club will pay the additional £1. I would like to thank The Baptist Church for all their help in setting up every week. This is a tremendous help to us, also thank you for the kindness and support which means so much to us all. Special thanks to Margaret and Ken for helping in the kitchen and Audrey and Martin for volunteering to drive. I would like to thank all the volunteers for everything they do for the club, we really couldn’t run without you. We have a wonderful group at present and I think we all look forward to our Mondays together. Our Jubilee party went well and we had a wonderful afternoon with a buffet lunch, I am now looking forward to the King’s Coronation this year. I hope that everyone is happy with the entertainment we have in the afternoons, the quizzes have been fun going forward I am looking at arranging a few more expensive acts. Our Christmas parties went very well and I hope that everyone enjoyed themselves, The Lamb decorated their room and we all had a lovely meal with great joy. The free meal at the end of the year was great fun with a lovely buffet that everyone could enjoy. Thank you all for making Honeypot such a wonderful club. **Transport Report** ; We have had a few issues last year with transport with the news that the Guild were selling their bus and would no longer be providing transport for us. Thank you to all who drove for us, for stepping in and helping. Thankfully we had the bus back form the beginning of August 2022. A big thank you to Nicola Blackmore from The Link who has done a wonderful job in acquiring the bus and organising it for us every Monday, also for arranging with the council that if you have a bus pass transport is free. Nicola also gives up her free time to be an escort on the bus journeys to assist the drivers and help passengers on and off the bus. We currently have two spaces on the bus and a few in the cars. Thank you to all our drivers. A safety reminder to members when on the bus or in a car not to travel with walking stick between their legs, but place on floor, as a member was hurt when there was an emergency stop and the stick banged into him causing an injury – this was did not occur on Honeypot transport. **Health and Safety Report** ; There have been no accidents and only one incident this last year. The incident regarding a new member who choked on his food, he was OK and taken home early. It was later discovered later when talking to the family this had happened before. This highlights the need for a home visit to assess needs before new members join the club. A big thank you to Rachel Brown who has completed a First Aid Course, we now have two first aiders Rachel and Dave Lewis. Can I remind everyone to please hang their coats on the pegs and not on the back of chairs and to ensure bags and walking sticks do not present a trip hazard, trolleys and rollators are to be stored in the side room. **Members Report** ; No problems reported everyone happy and grateful to Kerry and all helpers for making Honeypot so enjoyable. Peggy Corr **Volunteers Report** ; All volunteers at present enjoy helping and work well as a team. Rachel Brown **Election of Ofcers** ; All Trustees indicated their willingness to continue for another year hence Chairman David Lewis Trustee Mary Davis Treasurer Eric Brown Trustee Peggy Corr Secretary Emie Haysom Trustee Teresa Poole There were no other nominations thus the above were re-elected un-apposed . -------------- Members of Resource Group indicated their willingness to continue for another year hence Rachel Brown Jenny Pyke Dave Milsom Pat Wells Barbara Carberry Glenn Luscombe Betty Wrag There were no other nominations thus the above were all re-elected unopposed. AOB; A reminder to all members that a small raffle prize would be appreciated each week as this raises enough money to pay for the room hire. Anchor Foods who gave Honeypot a grant this year will be coming to film a day at Honeypot on Monday February 27[th] , only three such clubs in the Country have been chosen for this honour. A statement of Income and Expenditure for 01-01-21 to 31-12-22 which had not been circulated prior to the meeting was made available for all members to read, there were no additional comments except to thank Eric for his careful management of the accounts. Iliiillll::, Iliiillll::,