2024-03-31-accounts - Porthmadog U3A

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

Porthmadog u3a

Minutes of the 23[rd] Annual General Meeting

Held at the Ganolfan Porthmadog and on Zoom at 2.00pm 20[th] May 2024

Present at Meeting

Michael Bird (Chairman), Ken Hickmott (Treasurer), Jillian Lawrence (Communications/Group Support), Mary Collard (Vice Chair, on Zoom), Tony Lawrence (IT Co-ordinator, Zoom), Andy Carey (Group Co-ordinator, Zoom), Ken Humphreys and approximately 30 other members.

Apologies for Absence

Tricia Newey, Val Edwards, Ambra Burls, Linda Mountford and Duncan Fleming.

Opening Remarks of the Chairman

The Chairman welcomed members and apologised for the delayed start, noting that there were problems with the microphones. He thanked Ari Bant for his assistance. The Chairman also mentioned that, as the Membership Secretary was away, there was no list of attendees for the meeting.

Minutes of the 22[nd] AGM, 22[nd] May 2023

The minutes of the previous AGM had been circulated in advance of the meeting. It was agreed that they were a true record and should be accepted as such by the meeting. Proposed by Bill Andrews and seconded by Roger Mountford.

Chairman’s Report

The Chairman reported that it had been a good year with membership numbers maintained and he thanked the Membership Secretary in her absence for a magnificent job.

He noted that the talks at the monthly meetings had moved from Zoom (organised by Ambra Burls) to live talks. The first live talk was given by Mike Leaver and the Chairman thanked him for that, going on to say that many of the subsequent talks had been given by other members, thanking them too.

There were several new groups: Walking, Creative Writing and Bowls now making a total of 23. The Chairman thanked the group leaders collectively. However it later emerged that the walking group had not yet decided whether it actually wanted to be run within the u3a or continue independently. A decision is awaited on this once Martin Emery has consulted his walking colleagues, some of whom are not u3a members.

The Chairman then thanked the outgoing Treasurer, who had served for nearly six years and was leaving healthy finances. Ken had introduced online banking and had also been acting secretary at one point. He had provided invaluable advice and support, and a great deal was owed to him.

The Chairman went on to thank the Vice Chair for her support and also the outgoing secretary and the newsletter editor. He continued by thanking Ken Humphreys, who had taken over the running of the table tennis group and who always made a 100% effort.

Next, he thanked Jillian Lawrence for her work on the business cards and commented positively on her energy and drive. He also thanked Mo Crane, Rose Humphreys and Pat King for their work in providing tea and coffee at the meetings.

The Chairman then thanked Tony Lawrence for his support and management of the website, along with servicing the Zoom attendees, and commented the group could not have managed without him.

He thanked Christine Sharp for organising the trip to Scotland earlier this year and concluded by thanking everyone for the support given to him as Chairman.

Treasurer’s Report

The Treasurer referred to the annual accounts and the production of the single sheet of paper already provided to members, which he remarked was the most stressful task for a treasurer and which must be published not less than three weeks before the Annual General Meeting.

He reported that there was plenty of money in the Porthmadog u3a accounts. A bank deposit account had been opened and the sum deposited was gaining interest. He commented that the balance on 31[st] March 2024 was approximately £1500 less than the previous March and explained this was owing to three factors: the holding of money for the annual holiday, additional expenditure this year and the fact that membership subscriptions were half the usual amount owing to the 50% rebate (which had addressed the issue of reserves being too high).

The Treasurer concluded by thanking members for their help and support.

Roger Mountford proposed that the annual accounts should be adopted, and this was seconded by Patricia King.

Subscriptions

The Treasurer proposed that the subscription amount for next year should revert to the full amount, that is £14 per person and £24 per couple, noting that if the reserves became too high again it would be open to the u3a Committee to suggest an adjustment.

Membership Secretary’s Report

The Membership Secretary was absent from the meeting and no formal report had been sent.

It was noted that there was a difficulty with membership forms (although there is a copy on the website) but there is work being carried out to address this issue.

Group Co-ordinator Report

Andy Carey was on Zoom, so the report was read on his behalf. There are now 23 internal groups, which is the highest for some time. The u3a timetable is becoming full, which in some respects is a good problem to have.

Election of Officers

A motion was passed that the following committee members standing for re-election would be re-elected en bloc:

Chairman Michael Bird Vice Chair Mary Collard Group Co-ordinator Andy Carey Committee Ken Humphreys (Meetings Support) Committee Jillian Lawrence (Communications/Group Support)

The following were elected:

Treasurer Bill Andrews, proposed by Carol Brown and seconded by Bethan Jones Deputy Treasurer Philip Eckstein, proposed by Sue Andrews and seconded by Robbie Rickard Secretary Diane Jackson, proposed by David Goodchild and seconded by Sue Andrews. Committee Mo Crane, proposed by Mike Jones and seconded by Carol Brown

The posts of Membership Secretary, IT Co-ordinator and Speaker Co-ordinator were not filled.

The Chairman commented that the time of the Membership Secretary, as defined by the constitution, had come to an end, but she will continue in her role until a replacement is found. In the meantime, as far as the committee is concerned, she will have the status of observer.

The IT Co-ordinator is stepping down from the committee but will still be available to give support to members and to provide guidance to anyone willing to take up the role.

The Speaker Co-ordinator had been Ambra Burls during the period when the talks were on Zoom. Now that u3a has returned to live speakers the organisation is adopting a teamwork approach, but there is still a need for a link person to liaise with the speakers. The person would have full team support. The Chairman asked all members to be on the lookout for new speakers.

Any other Business

Independent Account Examiner

The outgoing Treasurer said that the annual accounts must be examined by an independent person and there are three scales of validation depending on the sums involved. The current account examiner would prefer not to continue in the role, thus there is a requirement for a new examiner who has some form of expertise. The Chairman asked members to come forward if they knew of any suitable individuals.

Venue for Monthly Meetings

The chairman invited views on whether the monthly meetings should be held in the Glaslyn Room or the main hall at the Ganolfan. Opinions were divided.

Ari Bant said that his plan was to link the Zoom technology with the room so there should be no difference in principle between either room as far as the sound was concerned.

Ken Humphreys made the point that recently there had been 47 people at meetings in the Glaslyn room and it was too crowded for members to mingle.

A vote was taken and 11 were in favour of the meetings taking place in the main hall, whereas 18 were in favour of the Glaslyn.

Sunday Lunch Group

On behalf of the Vice Chair, Pat King advised the meeting that the next date for the Sunday lunch is 9[th] June, and the venue is The Bryn Arms, Gellilydan.

The chairman was thanked for organising the meeting and there followed a performance by the Ukelele and the Singing for Fun groups. There were also several display tables and group members were on hand to present their activities and invite further interest. Tables included Patchwork, Exploring Language, Gardening, Creative Writing, Geology, Dancing, Walking, Bowls, Table Tennis and Chess.

Porthmadog U3A. Charity no.1112080 Statement of income and expenditure for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

Balances 1 April 2023

Main account 3964.49 Deposit Account 6000.87 Cash 189.39 Total 10154.75

INC0ME

EXPENDITURE

INC0ME		EXPENDITURE
Subscriptions 2023-4	985.12	U3A Subsciption	908.80
Subscriptions 2024-5	1394.18	Third Age Matters	503.15
Gift Aid	137.00	Speakers	200.00
Amazon Smile	28.42	Venues	500.00
Group deposits		New laptop	414.97
Art Appreciation	3515.80	Group withdrawals
Table Tennis	1952.50	Art Appreciation	3572.30
Holiday	13113.00	Table Tennis	1972.85
Xmas Dinner	1626.80	Xmas Dinner	1634.00
Bank interest	117.07	Holiday	13812.00
Donations	23.50	Photocopying	41.10
		Postal newsletter	75.00
TOTAL	22888.83	U3A Web /IT	474.53
		Bank Charges	60.00
Pending:		Catering	71.50
Table Tennis deposit	264.71	Committee	24.88
		Publicity materials	235.89
		TOTAL	24500.97

Group income not otherwise recorded Badminton 1052.00 Ballroom Dancing 1683.00

Pending: Table Tennis bookings 429.64

Total U3A income for Charity Commission return 25623.89

Balances 31 March 2024

Current account	2426.81
Deposit account	6109.85
Cash	10.51
TOTAL	8547.17

Currently held for Groups

Art Appreciation 95.14 Table tennis 234.34 Total 329.48

K.C. Hickmott Treasurer

Zosia Bernad MBA ACIB Examiner