**Norfolk & Suffolk 4x4 Response – Annual General Meeting**
## **Minutes of the AGM held on 2 September 2026 at 19:30 at Charles Burrell Centre Thetford and via Zoom**
## **1. Welcome and Opening Remarks**
The meeting was opened at 19:30 by the Simon who has been asked to stand in as the current Chairman is stepping down and is absent. The Vice-Chair had given apologies.
The Chair welcomed all members attending via Zoom and outlined the order of business for the AGM.
## **2. Apologies for Absence**
Apologies were received from:
- David Palmer, Aaron Buckland, Adam Bester, Shane Bowering
## **3. Minutes of the Previous AGM**
The minutes of the previous AGM were presented for approval.
- The minutes were **approved** by members without amendment.
- No matters arising required further action.
## **4. Chairman’s Report**
The Chairman delivered an overview of the charity’s activities during the year, including:
- Operational deployments and support provided to partner agencies – Highlighting recent deployment at Dunwich
- Key achievements and improvements in capability – Acquisition of lighting tower
- Developments in training, equipment, and member engagement
- Strengthening of inter-agency cooperation
- Thanks were offered to Kalvin, who is stepping back from the Group, for many years of service to the group
## **5. Treasurer’s Report**
The Treasurer presented the annual accounts for the financial year.
- Income and expenditure were reviewed.
- The financial position of the charity was confirmed as stable.
- No anomalies or concerns were raised by members.
## **ACCOUNTS TO BE ADDED**
## **Decision:**
- Members **adopted the annual accounts** .
- The Treasurer will file the accounts in accordance with charity regulations.
## **6. Appointment of Independent Examiner / Auditor**
A proposal was made to appoint Graham Jarmy as the Independent Examiner/Auditor
Members **approved this appointment.** Graham confirmed he had already carried out the examination and all was considered to be in order.
## **7. Elections to the Trustees (Maximum 12)**
**Under our constitution 1/3 of the Trustees stand down in rotation**
## **Current Trustees**
- Kalvin McLeod – **standing down** , not seeking re-election
- Simon Alexander
- Shane Bowering
- Rob Hawley – standing down & seeking re-election
- Nick Hindle
- Michael Fysh
- Aaron Buckland
- Darren Southernwood
## **Nominees / Applicants**
- Keith Weston – Group Secretary
- Max Byrne – Deputy Training Coordinator
- Amy Kent – Membership Secretary
## **Election Process**
Members agreed to vote **en bloc** and All eligible Trustees seeking re-election were **re-elected**
- Nominees **Keith Weston, Max Byrne** and **Amy Kent** were **elected** as Trustees.
- Trustee numbers now stand at 10, with capacity for further appointments if required.
## **8. Committee and Non-Committee Nominations**
## **Chair (Vacancy)**
- Rob Hawley – self-nominated
- Michael Fysh – self-nominated
## **Vice-Chairman**
- Shane Bowering – not seeking re-election
- Aaron Buckland – self-nominated
## **Other Committee Roles**
- Treasurer – Simon Alexander (seeking re-election)
- Events Secretary – Rob Hawley (seeking re-election)
- Radio & Communications Coordinator – Darren Southernwood (seeking re-election)
- Training Coordinator – Michael Fysh (seeking re-election)
- Committee Member (no portfolio) – Nick Hindle (seeking re-election)
- Welfare Officer – Aaron Buckland (seeking re-election)
-
- Group Secretary – Keith Weston (seeking re-election)
- Membership Secretary – Amy Kent (seeking re-election) additionally Paula Hawley has self-nominated for the role
- Deputy Training Coordinator – Max Byrne (seeking re-election)
## **Appointment Process**
Committee members are **appointed by Trustees** , not elected at the AGM.
## **Decision:**
- All nominations were **received and recorded** .
- Appointments will be confirmed at the **next Trustees’ meeting**
## **9. Amendments to the Constitution**
The Chair reported that no formal amendments had been submitted for this AGM.
Members noted the update.
## **10. Fundraising**
Paula’s report is attached as **Appendix 1**
## **11. Events Report**
Rob’s report is attached as **Appendix 2**
## **12. Any Other Business (AOB)**
The following items were raised with prior notice:
a) **Committee protocol** (GF) – Raised issue of Kalvin being removed and it was confirmed that he had decided to step down from his role so other procedures were rendered unnecessary.
b) **Mileage payment timing** (JC) – Concerns raised that payment is made only once we have received payment from a user group. The Trustees have recently drafted a Mileage policy for reissue and this is to be reviewed again in light of the members comments. The issue of insurance was also raised and the Committee will take this forward to ensure future compliance
c) **Radio use education** (JC) – Concerns raised about the lack of members knowledge and Training Coordinator will look to incorporate into future training sessions.
d) **Multi-organisation cooperation** (JC) – Concerns were raised around prior prejudices effecting the group’s current relationships - This was noted and all agreed that we wish to improve relations with other groups but they must also want to do the same for this to move forward.
e) **Suffolk Fire Services endorsement** (Chris Hall) – Trustees to explore feasibility and requirements for their endorsement
f) **Car safety tool addition to kit list** (Chris Hall) – Seemingly, most members already carry a tool to smash glass and cut seat belts. Members decided that such a device should be added to the Group’s Kit List
g) **Succession planning for key roles** (KW) – To be carried forward to the new Committee.
h) **Joint training session proposal** (Martin Imbush) – Training Coordinator to evaluate and liaise with partner organisations.
i) **DBS monitoring/renewal** – Trustees to review current processes and ensure compliance.
Various other items were raised form the floor, including:
- Reinforcement of the need for Support Members training and it was noted that this is already in hand with the committee
- Improvement to Sarsys and the potential to have formal Apps in future – in the meantime the the committee with recirculate the links to members
## **13. Closing Remarks**
The Chair thanked all members for attending and contributing to the AGM. The meeting closed at approximately **21:00** .
## Appendix 1
## **Tombola Report (Paula H)**
I started this year in January with £365.52 in the kitty, we now have £440.39.
Through the year from events, we have purchased tombola prizes, which we are always praised on for having good prizes, we have brough new storage boxes for the PR trailer to keep things tidy and organised, paid for the gazebo to be repaired after it was wind damaged at an event, and most recently brought x 2 new tables and black table cloths.
There were a few other small purchases, but overall, the PR trailer is continuing to pay for itself and generates income to the group.
Moving forward, it will be great to have a few more faces attend PR events, training is provided, and it would be good having a dedicated PR team, both support and full members.
We do sometimes struggle with getting the PR trailer moved to and from events, relying on the same members, so if you are trailer assessed and can help, please put your name down. Mileage is claimable when towing the PR trailer.
|**TOMBOLA START OFF FROM PREVIOUS YEAR**
**DATE**
**DESCRIPTION**
5th April
Tombola and donations
6th April
8th April
Laminator from Amazon
10th April
Stationary from Hobby craft|**326.52**
**INCOME**
127|**OUTGOING**
29.99
25.3|
|---|---|---|
|28th April|Chain Link for PR off Kalvin x 2 lots||||20|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Spill Kit for PR stand off Kalvin||||10|
|10th May|Car Booster Seats x 5||||50|
||Tombola Prizes||||114.78|
|19th May|Boxes for storage in PR trailer||||56|
|25th|Laminator (sale of)||29.99|||
|25th|x 2 car seats (sale of)||15|||
|27th/28th|Suffolk Show||266.8|||
|13th June|Melton Fete||54|||
|23rd June|Tombola Prizes||||82.94|
|23rd June|Tombola tickets / Lollies||||20.24|
|4th June|Wheelie Fun day||29.21|||
|24th July|x 1 key cut fro PR trailer hitch lock||||9|
|27th July|pack of 12 AA batteries||||4.79|
|28th July|Gazebo repair||||40|
|1st August|Festival of Wheels||137|||
|2nd August|Festival of Wheels||54.3|||
|18th||||||
|August|Tombola Prizes||||118.34|
|18th||||||
|August|Tombola Prizes||||11.08|
31st August
80
August x 2 new tables and table cloths 31st August Cars by the Bridge 73.04
## Appendix 2
## **Events Report**
Since the beginning of January, we are now up to Job Number 525, miles submitted 29,891 and man hours 4546, which has been achieved through things like Xmas Tree collections, PR events, running races, Festivals, Weeting was a big one, training days etc.
Also included are x 3 Call outs to assist NORLSAR, a few self-deployments and of course the recent Dunwich wildfire – I would like to thank again all those who attended that event – as a group we put in over 610 man hours and over 4,600 miles since the first call on 1[st] August for 1 4x4 right through to the end when 1 member was maintaining our light tower on site 10 days later.
I also need to mention the Life Ring check, his is a check of about 20 life rigs around the broads, done 4 times a year March, May, July and September. This is a nice day out, with mileage payable up to £100. As it working near water it requires x 2 people, be it another member, family or a friend. Please message me if you are interested in doing this, as it getting to be the same few faces, and it is only fair to share this job equally.
Going ono to future events, I do regularly update TEAMS calendar, but ones to watch for are
Priory Fest 5[th] September – I need one more vehicle to basically escort about 100 vehicles on a road run, and make sure they all go the right way by leading the route to junctions , and then leap frogging to the next junction – details I have are on the TEAMS calendar.
## Additionally, as raised in AOB:
Pier to Pier 12[th] September – Again I need one more vehicle to attend, David Baker is lead for this event and can explain more. The start is Lowestoft finishing at Southw event in old
Enduro 20[th] September – This is covered, but there is another similar event in November, again details are on TEAMS
Ipswich Half marathon 27[th] September – I need 3 more names for this event too, again details on TEAMS
Finally, I wouldn’t be me without nagging everyone to regularly log in to TEAMS to see if you can assist at any events, if you put your name down, then can’t go, then please let me know so I can find a replacement for you.
Also, please remember to keep your availability status up to date, and if on call, then please make sure you are able to answer your phone.
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