2023-06-30-accounts - Gilbert And Sullivan Fellowship, Plymouth

This text was generated using OCR and may contain errors. Check the original PDF to see the document submitted to the regulator.

MINUTES AGM MONDAY 9[th] OCTOBER 2023 STOKE DAMAREL CHURCH

Richard Clarke welcomed everyone to the meeting and congratulated us all on a wonderful year and thanked the committee for all their hard work.

Members Present – 35

1. Apologies – Kim Gilley, Pauline Smith, Janet Liddicoat, Kit Kendall, Simon Hill, Paul Foster, Janet Hunt, Pete Clement, Terry Clement, Rebecca Miller, Linda Greene, Isla Ellis, Toni Ellison, Debbie Lawson, Hilary O’Neill (Thommasson), Ziggy Bennellick, Carol Rose, Gill Regan, Phil Mills, Claire Mundell

2. Minutes from previous AGM/EGM

These had been emailed out prior to the meeting and were accepted as a true record. Proposer – Jo Meddings Seconder – Kim Daglish

3. Chairman’s Report

Mr President, Vice Presidents, Life Members, Patrons, and General Members - Welcome to the 2023 AGM and thank you for all attending this evening. WOW…where to start…what a year this has been for the company!! The Fellowship is officially 100 years old this month! So happy birthday PGS!! It is a great honour to be the Chairman of this company and I am immensely proud to represent and lead you all in our centenary year. I or we as a committee, have worked you all incredibly hard over the last year and I am in awe of what you have all achieved. I can’t think of any other company in this city and possibly region who are as hard working, whilst producing excellent, quality performances at the same time. So I want to say a personal THANK YOU to everyone involved over the last year for making this year memorable, whilst creating history for this amazing company.

I’ll Be Home for Christmas - Concerts We started the new term under the guidance of Helen Haviland and Mark Sidey who put together a nostalgic Christmas concert to kick start our 100th celebrations. The tour around Devon and Cornwall went down extremely well and was very well received by all the communities that we visited. It was that impressive that we were nominated (and won) the Best Concert award by NODA. A huge well done to all involved in that.

Anything Goes - Main production We the set sail the ocean blue, on the SS American with Cole Porter’s Anything Goes. Picking a main production is always a challenge, but a challenge the committee always embrace. Final show choices can at times divide opinions but yet again Anything Goes was an artistic success with some excellent reviews. We really wanted to do Anything Goes because if its navel connection to our city, but also to do a fun, light-hearted production for all to enjoy. This show also showcased some new talent amongst the whole cast, including offering some principal debuts with the company. The show also demonstrated another bow to our string with the quality of dancing that was in show. I was questioned by colleagues from other Theatre companies on why we chose a ‘dancy show’, when we are not a dance company…. well we proved a lot of people wrong…nope we are not dance company, but we are a company who can now provide that triple threat in our acting, dancing and musically.

TRP - Sunday Night in the Lyric After Anything Goes, we moved onto our return to the Theatre Royal Plymouth, a place we strived to return too after being absent since 2006. I know there were a few sceptical people and comments around how this concert was programmed, auditioned and put

together content wise, however, there was method behind the madness from the creative team and the committee. The main objective of this concert was to showcase the variety of talent that we have amongst our membership, whilst at the same time attracting a new core group of people to be involved with the company, with the hope that they stay with us in the future. This concert was never about making money, but to ensure that we celebrated in style on the biggest stage in the region. The committee and creative team had to think strategically about what the purpose was of this concert, and that was to provide our community with an opportunity to perform at TRP, whilst building our audience following, reputation and membership to ensure that this company continues to grow in stature and reputation for years to come. I personally think we have managed to do this, albeit a very challenging process for all involved…but it was worth it. I was incredibly emotional to see you all on that stage during the afternoon taking pictures, laughing, bonding and excited about the chance to perform on that stage. I know it made a lot of your dreams come true and for me personally, that was my goal since I became Chairman to give you all that opportunity and hopefully it won’t be long until we are back at TRP in the future. The reviews and feedback we received from our audiences, NODA and other critics was outstanding! Even to this day, my colleagues at TRP are still talking about it, so be proud of what you have achieved. You really did deserve that standing ovation from 900+ people at the end. All three of these projects I have just mentioned were ambitions but brilliant fun… This success of this last year was down to a fantastic team of talented individuals. To start off with, Mark Sidey, who we appointed as our Artistic Director for the year. To devise and deliver all three projects with hard work, dedication, professionalism, and expertise is just outstanding. The hours that this man put in was incredible to ensure that we produced three truly ambitious shows for all to enjoy, whilst maintaining the high standards. He will be taking a welldeserved break from the company, but we look forward to working with him again in the future. All through this, Mark had an assistant in Archie, who again put in so many hours for the company to ensure that we were organised, had props at rehearsals, music for the orchestra etc etc, so many jobs to mention today. But thank you both for all you have done for PGS over the last year. Over the three projects, we had three different Musical Directors, Helen Haviland who once again worked hard and put you all through your paces to teach us an ambitious musical concert for Christmas in December last year, whilst also assisting with the music for Anything Goes and the TRP concert by producing note bashing tapes etc. Thank you, Helen, for all that you do for the company, we all really appreciate it. We welcomed Adam Glynn as our MD for Anything Goes, who yet again brought with him some great knowledge and expertise to deliver Cole Porter’s famous score. I think you will all agree, the orchestra was also one of the best we have had over recent years. Then we welcomed Rob Young as our MD for our TRP concert. Rob really worked hard, along with Mark to ensure that we had an interesting and diverse musical programme for all to enjoy. He was always positive, enthusiastic, and upbeat during rehearsals who really brought the best out of the company. Everyone sounded stunning and epic on that stage, it blew everyone away. At every rehearsal there is always somebody hiding away but carries on with their job with high quality of performance and thats the wonderful Tom on the Keys. Last year we lost our residential pianist in Laura, but Tom joined us this year and has really embraced this company like we have embraced him. Thank you, Tom, for your incredible playing and dedication. Lastly but without a doubt the glue that keeps this company together and that’s our amazing choreographer and secretary Carole Wilson who again produced excellent Choreography for all of these projects. The tap routine in Anything Goes was, personally, probably the best piece she has produced for the company. So many people talked about that routine for weeks afterwards and same again after the TRP concert. Thank you so much Carole for your hard work, efforts, dedication, and patience to ensure that we all know what we are doing on and off stage. You just don’t realise how valued you are to this company, and I appreciate all the support you have given me too on committee. Thank you. Putting on a production isn’t just down to

individuals, it’s a team effort and my thanks go to props, Kit in wardrobe, marketing, box office, stage management, Nico and his technical support, Front of House and the stage crew led by the wonderful Liz Smith for Anything Goes and of course the brilliant Steve Wilson for the TRP concert, it certainly was lovely having him back guiding us through the day and reminding us all to be quiet!. My personal thanks go to this wonderful committee up here, who have worked hard all year round to ensure that I am accountable for one but at the same time to ensure that the company is in safe hands during a busy and ambitious year. You have all been incredibly supportive, thank you. Unfortunately, we will be losing Karen, who has decided to step down. It will be sad to lose her from the committee, but her expertise and assistance with all the costumes etc over the years was outstanding, so thank you Karen for your contribution over the years. Thank you also goes to our President, Richard Clark who has been an amazing support for us, always enthusiastic and supportive of the committee in what we are trying to achieve and deliver. It was an absolutely pleasure also, to see you back on stage at TRP. Throughout the year, there is always a team behind the scenes, we have our fab tea makers Phil and Maria who are here week in, week out to ensure we are all refreshed during rehearsals. There is also Buy from Di, who works hard raising important funds for the company with some many interesting goodies to sell each week. The 100th ball the other night, plus many other social events throughout the year, is one reason why we all had sore heads and feet over the weekend. You can thank the social committee for your fragile state, who are just incredible all year round to ensure we are all sociable with one another. Thank you, Steve, Sam, Matt and Isla, for all your hard work in ensure that we all celebrated in style this year. The last year will be hard to beat, but then again, we have another exciting year and future ahead of us, starting with the Christmas concerts and then Titanic the Musical next May which will really showcase our amazing vocal sound. Let this year be the start of the next 100 years of PGS. Thank you for listening.

4. Treasurer’s Report

PGS Treasurer’s Report 2023

In presenting this year’s accounts to you, I am pleased to report (and I have to admit rather surprisingly), was financially, the second most successful year in the last 10 years. This seems rather appropriate for our 100[th] Anniversary. That said, it’s all about how you judge a financial success, when again we made a loss on the show and all monies relating to our Theatre Royal concert have been transferred to the 2023/2024 accounts.

Page one of the accounts are the accounts for Anything Goes. The Committee (and others) have worked really hard to reduce the costs of our productions and even with inflation being as it is, Anything Goes was the cheapest production for us man a year, with Evita being the only comparable one. At a cost of just over £17,000, I am not sure we can prune much more! Interestingly, the show cost about £2,500 less than Hunchback to produce but overall, the loss on the two shows was roughly the same, at just under £6,500. This can be totally attributed to the fact that ticket sales were down by £2,500. Income from ticket sales was clearly the worst since 2016 and then, the ticket prices were lower. This year, we were able to particularly able to make savings in the cost of the orchestra. Unlike Hunchback, no ‘Sinfonia’ backing track was required and with a less complicated type of score, the Anything Goes orchestra didn’t require as many rehearsals etc. There was also a saving on the hire of hall for rehearsals i.e. using St Judes more instead of Kings. The biggest increase is obviously the cost of the set and professional fees. Due to the cost of raw materials Andy Martin, has had to put his costs up and we have had to pay more for a Musical Director.

I’d like to thank everybody who worked hard to keep costs as low as possible, for example Kit with the costumes and Liz Smith with the microphones as well as to the likes of Di, and the raffle ticket sellers whose efforts all help considerably.

Moving on to the second page which represents the overall income and expenditure for the whole year. As previously stated, I am very pleased to announce that we made a profit on the year of just over £1,700 compared to the loss on the previous year of over £2,500. The second most successful result for 10 years. At a profit of £7,800 in 2019, we would have been going some in order to improve on that. The turn around from last year’s loss can be put down to two main factors, firstly the profit on our concerts and secondly, an increase in subscription income. The concert income, shows how important these events are to the company. The £1,200 profit here can be largely attributed to the £900 raised at Noss Mayo in the summer of 2022. Thank you to Mel and Jean for organising that one and indeed to the production / musical team for all their work with the concerts as a whole.

The last page shows the overall balances in our various accounts. The main points to mention here are that financial assets of the company have roughly stayed the same and overall remain healthy. The interest rates on our Virgin Deposit Account to the Notice Account have increased, but I have had to withdraw money to keep things afloat. Hopefully, once the dust is settled after the 100[th] Anniversary Concert finances, I will be able to put some money back in! The Creditor / Debtor / Pre-Payment figures all relate to the 100[th] Anniversary Concert in order to keep it one financial year for accounting purposes and to advanced payments for Titanic.

I’d like to thank everyone who has worked hard to keep the company afloat this year and also express my thanks to Yazmin Roberts for auditing the accounts.

Any questions?

Jean Ellis asked how the subs had increased – it was increased in members with a larger number paying subs due to the Lyric concert.

The report was accepted Proposer – Jean Ellis Seconder – Matt Caves

5. Entertainment Report

Well, what a year we have just had. Not many companies can say that they have been running for 100 years so for us to be in that small group is amazing. We not only celebrated it in style but I also could not think of a better group of people to celebrate it with. Each and every one of you are essential in how this company runs, from promoting the company and welcoming new members to the constant support you have given to all the social events throughout the years. I must thank you all for making this company such a social and welcoming group.

Whilst we have had a jam-packed calendar on stage, I was pleased that we also managed to pack in many of our usual social event. First up on the calendar was the annual D’Oyly Awards which was, once again, very well attended and a massive congratulations to all the winners. Following this was the Christmas meal at Wildwood where we once again had a great time. The skittles evening was one of the most popular events, a big thank you to Charlotte Land for booking this for us.

The usual show socials are always a welcome addition to the week and this year was no exception, returning for the opening night meal at The Hyde Park was great as was the return of the Friday Night Indian & Saturday between shows at the Café in the Park. The after-show

party was not held at Wilson Towers this year but rather hosted by our very own Tom on the keys, a massive thank you to Tom for being our fantastic host & to Colin for sorting the gorgeous food.

Then was the big one, the 100[th] Ball. What a night it was. There are so many thankyous for this one, firstly to all those on the Social Committee with me, the 18 months of planning was necessary & I think you can all agree it paid off. A huge thankyou to Matt for co-ordinating the raffle prizes, so many great prizes there & with £700 made for MND a massive thankyou to all who purchased tickets for this fantastic cause. And a huge thankyou to Jodie, who designed the decorations for the evening assisted by Tim, and to all those who assisted on the day getting it all set up. And finally, to all who came, thank you, you all made the evening a great success and enjoyable. All the events set up by the social committee over the years allowed us to subsidise this ball to make it the event it was so please keep supporting the Social Committee and the events they put on so they can put on bigger and better events for you all.

Next up on the calendar is the Christmas meal combined with the D’Oyly Awards at the zoo, please speak to any of the Social Committee regarding this & keep an eye out for emails.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the Social Committee and the team have been brilliant to work with. I must give a special thanks to everyone who has been on there throughout the years it was set up and as I step down from my role, I know you are all in very safe hands moving forward.

Here’s to the next 100 years.

Thank you

Jean Ellis asked how many came to the Ball – 95 people

6. Election of President

There were no other nominations for President so Richard Clarke stays for the forthcoming year.

7. Election of Chairman

There were no other nominations for Chairman so Ross Ayling stays for the forthcoming year

8. Election of Vice Chairman

There were no other nominations for Vice Chairman so Sam Wilson stays for the forthcoming year

9. Election of Secretary

There were no other nominations for Secretary so Carole Wilson stays for the forthcoming year

10. Election of Treasurer

There were no other nominations for Treasurer so Trevor Caves stays for the forthcoming year.

11. Election of Committee Members

With Karen Rockey standing down all other committee members of David Green, Nico Bray, and Charlotte Hammond were up for re-election and there were 2 other nominations of Kit Kendall and Cai Foster. With 4 places available a vote was taken and the results of that vote were counted by Steve Wilson and Di Bennellick (as non members) and the new committee members are:

David Green, Nico Bray, Charlotte Hammond and Kit Kendall.

12. Election of Social/Entertainment Committee

With Sam Wilson standing down from the Social Committee, Jodie Wheeler was accepted on to the committee so the Social/Entertainment Committee are:

Steve Wilson, Isla Ellis, Matt Caves and Jodie Wheeler

13. Election of Honorary Auditor

Yazmin Roberts was willing to stay as Auditor. Proposer – Colin Woodfin

Seconder – Lucy Oliver

14. Subscriptions

Subscriptions for the company will run from 1st October to 30[th] September next year as normal and remain as agreed at an EGM last October.

Basic (Concert) membership will be £60 for the year or £5 a month. Instalment can be paid between October and September. This entitles you to participate in all activities of the company for this year except for the show.

Full (Show) membership will be £120 for the year or £10 a month.

Student membership will be – basic membership = £30 (£2.50 a month) / show membership = £60 (£5 a month) . A student is someone in full-time education.

Associate membership remains at £10 for the year.

Instalment payments should be by a standing order ideally paid on 5[th] of each month.

If paying by cash the membership fee has to be paid by 31[st] January 2024.

15. AOB

Richard announced for those who did not attend the Ball that the committee had awarded 3 new Life Members – Jo Meddings, Jean Ellis and Mel Ellis.

Carole said that Noda do a Life Membership Badge if any of our Life Members would like one to see

her and she will get the form sorted, it is about £10 for the badge.

Ross had Pin Badges celebrating our 100 years and if anyone wanted one to see him – he will also forward to PPAA and Military Wives.

We had received a certificate from Noda congratulating us on our 100 years.

Alice Byers said how welcoming we were to her and she has paid her subs and is staying with us.

2023 Show Accounts (excluding Pirates 2020)

Box Office Receipts Box Office Payments Hire of Theatre Costumes & Wigs Make-up Set & Lighting Sound Equipment Orchestra Props Professional Fees Rehearsal Room Hire Publicity Tickets & Postage Sundries Programme Sales Programme Advert Income Programme Costs Show donations Raffle Proceeds Operating Profit / Loss Performing Rights Profit / Loss	Anything Goes £2,140 £1,214 £0 £3,750 £851 £3,600 £72 £3,546 £1,483 £471 £25 £42 £578 £280 -£700	£2,023 £14,116 £17,194 -£3,078 £158 £37 £633 -£2,249 -£4,079 -£6,328	Hunchback £1,971 £1,285 £0 £3,000 £876 £7,220 £122 £2,270 £2,140 £753 £46 £12 £550 £355 -£670 .	£2,022 £16,558 £19,695 -£3,137 £235 £358 £687 -£1,856 -£4,642 -£6,498	Evita £1,500 £1,872 £35 £2,700 £1,131 £3,775 £140 £3,440 £2,481 £705 £28 £69 £711 £505 -£700	2019 £21,715 £17,876 £3,839 £516 £82 £543 £4,980 -£4,958 £22	Spamalot £1,400 £2,384 £0 £2,500 £962 £3,520 £303 £5,330 £2,301 £607 £242 £51 £505 £585 -£620	2018 £16,314 £19,600 -£3,286 £470 £649 -£2,167 -£3,588 -£5,755	Chess £1,400 £3,581 £0 £2,700 £708 £4,520 £252 £8,700 £2,978 £1,717 £546 £32 £826 £505 -£680	2017 £22,214 £27,134
										-£4,920 £651 £662
										-£3,607 -£2,506
										-£6,113

PGS INCOME & EXPENDITURE 2023

Show Income (Tickets, Programmes, Raffle) Show Expenses Concert Income Concert Expenses Net Profit' on concerts Member's contribs Harrogate Expenditure re Harrogate Income Sale of CDs etc. £25 Costs Net Profit' Charity Collections Awards Evening £490 Fund-raising £266 Donations £298 Gift Aid £884 Interest £101 Subscriptions £5,847 Patrons' Subs £660 Limelight Insurance Admin Sundries Excess of Income over Expenditure	Y/E	Y/E	Y/E	Y/E	Y/E	30/06/2019
	£15,645 -£21,973	£18,509 - £25,008	£110 -£6	£9,306 - £14,667	£23,556 - £23,534	£22 £909 -£51 £512 £2 £200 -£250 £918 £189 £5,856 £495 £436 -£1,401 £7,836
	£4,271 -£2,984	£819 -£863	£0 £0	£1,826 -£663	£2,889 -£1,979
	Expenditure -£55 -£490 -£782 -£472 £0	-£792 -£379 £0	-£762 -£301	£15 £0	£257 -£308
£490 £266 £298 £884 £101 £5,847 £660				-£768 -£1,275 £0	-£758 -£594 -£50

PGS Balance Sheet as at 30th June 2023

Assets Virgin Money Notice Account Virgin Money Deposit Account Cambridge BS Savings Account Lloyds Bank Account Lloyds Bank Other Account Cash in Hand Total Cash & Bank Balances Loan to Social Committee Debtors Pre-payments Total Assets Less Creditors Bank Overdraft Net Assets Represented By: Balance brought forward Less Y/S Account Net surplus for the year Balance carried forward	2023 £21,510 £60 £5,951 £66			2022 £21,425 £4,345 £2,063 £45 £27,878 £255 £1,388 £29,521 -£100 £29,421 £31,976 -£2,555 £29,421		2021 £21,353 £5,840 £3,239 £44 £30,476 £0 £1,500 £31,976 £0 £31,976 £30,395 £1,581 £31,976		2020 £21,230 £5,829 £2,358 £48 £29,465 £430 £500 £30,395 £0 £30,395 £30,712 -£318 £30,395		2019 £16,970 £9,796 £3,664 £401 £30,831 £520 £555 £31,906 -£1,193 £30,712 £22,876 £7,836 £30,712		2018 £10,832 £6,726 £2,772 £39 £20,370 £1,144 £2,186 £23,699 -£819 £22,880 £24,771 -£1,895 £22,876
	£27,588 £773 £3,770
	£32,131 -£980
	£31,151
	£29,421 £1,730
	£31,151

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT ON THE ACCOUNTS Report to the Trustees / Members of: The Plymouth Gilbert & Sullivan Fellowship On the accounts ofthe year ended: 30.06.23 Set out on pages: Respective responsibilities of Trustees and Examiner As the Chariv Trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the Accounts. you consider that the audit requirement of Section 43121 of the Charities Act 1993 (the Act) does not apply. It is my responsibility to state, on the basis of producers specified in the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners under Section 4317llbl of the Act, whether particular matters have come to my attention. Basis of Independent Examinerfs Report My examination was carried out in accordance with the General Directions given by the Charity Commissioners. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparisori of the Accoijnts presented with those records. It also include5 consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the Accounts. an(1 seeking èxplanations from you as Trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all evidence that would be required in an audit. and consequently I do not express an audit opinion on the view 8iven by the Accounts. Independent Examinerfs Statement In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention- 111 which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements to keep accounting records in accordance with section 41 of the Act, and to prepare accounts which actord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of the Act. have not been met, or 121 to which in my opinion attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. SiBned= Date.. 21 Name: Professional Qualification- Address.. OFJ