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2020-12-31-accounts

Herefordshire Beekeepers' Association ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 7.30pm March 18th, 2021 AGENDA, MINUTES AND REPORTS

Registered Charity No: 1174917

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

of the

HEREFORDSHIRE BEEKEEPERS’ ASSOCIATION

will be held on

Zoom

on

Thursday 18th March 2021

THE MEETING WILL COMMENCE AT 7.30 pm

AGENDA

  1. Apologies

  2. Minutes of the meeting held on 13th July 2020

  3. Matters arising.

  4. Adoption of the Annual Reports.

  5. Finance.

  6. Election of nine Trustees. Under the constitution the three longest serving trustees are required to resign every year. These are Robert Cross, Deborah Smith and Mary Walter. If requested they are prepared to stand for re-election.

  7. Election of Officers:

  8. a) Honorary Chairman

  9. b) Honorary Treasurer

  10. c) Honorary Secretary

  11. Propostion: That from the renewal date in 2022 there should be an increase of £2 in the Annual Subscription, taking it to £32 for three hives. This reflects the £2 increase in the BBKA capitation fee.

  12. Any Other Business

1 Registered Charity No: 1174917

Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity:

Ian
Bodell
Robert
Cross
Rod Ellis
Roger
Gill		 Treasurer
Nicola
Percival
Deborah
Smith		 Vice
Chairman
Stephen
Utley		 Membership
Secretary
Mary
Walter		 Secretary
Robert
Williams		 AHAT
Coordinator
BBKA
Delegate

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD ON July 13th 2020 by Zoom.

Attendees: Andrew Barnes, Andy Spanjers, Andy Tatchell, Steve Utley, David Pealing, Dave Sutton, Maureen Sullivan, Colin Pavey, John Robinson, Debbie Smith, Bob Cross, Kath Cross, Ron James, Rob Williams, Nicola Percival, Rihards Krauze, Mary Walter, Ian Bodell, Steve Parker, Val Watson, Tony Mitcheson, Judi Thomas, Ann Shawcross, Alan Jenyon, Jeanie Sherwood, Roger Gill, Rod Ellis, Tony Ravenhall, Dick Hailwood.

Chaired by Debbie Smith.

  1. Apologies: Ellen Davies, Diane Kent, Len Dixon, Russell Sutcliffe, Nicky Whitaker and Wendy Cummins

  2. Minutes from previous meeting: The minutes were approved and to be signed off.

  3. Matters Arising: None arising.

  4. Annual Report to be adopted.

2 Registered Charity No: 1174917

  1. Finance: there is £15,278.41 in the Charity’s account. Report by John Robinson (JR) adopted. Proposed by Debbie Smith (DS). Seconded by Bob Cross (BC).

  2. Election of Officers:

  3. a) Honorary Chairman: Vacant. To be filled

  4. b) Honorary Treasurer: Roger Gill (RG). Proposed by Steve Utley. Seconded by Bob Cross.

  5. c) Honorary Secretary: Mary Walter (MW) to continue in post. Proposed by Steve Parker (SP) and seconded by Andy Spanjers (AS).

  6. Election of nine trustees: Ian Bodell, Bob Cross, Rod Ellis, Roger Gill, Nicola Percival, Debbie Smith, Steve Utley, Mary Walter, Rob Williams. John Robinson to stay on for a short period to assist in hand over to Roger Gill. Proposed by Colin Pavey (CP) and seconded by Maureen Sullivan (MS)

  7. A.O.B:

Dave Sutton (DS) proposed a vote of thanks for John Robinson who had held post of treasurer for 16 years. There was also a vote of thanks for Andy Tatchell for holding post of chairman for the last three years.

Rod Ellis proposed that SU takes on becoming apiary manager for the Holme Lacy apiary. SU happy to take on the job.

Colin Pavey: asked what differences exist for the trustees now that HBKA is now a Community Interest Organisation (CIO).

Alan Jenyon: asked if risk assessments had been carried out for all LAN apiary meetings.

The meeting closed at 19.35pm

Signed..................................................................................Date...................................

3 Registered Charity No: 1174917

ANNUAL REPORTS

2019 – 2020

VICE-CHAIRMAN'S REPORT

After a year filled with uncertainty and unexpected events, I sincerely hope that beekeepers and their bees have come through in good health.

Whilst Covid locked everyone down, beekeepers were fortunate to be able to visit their apiaries and enjoy the bees, swarm collection continued with appropriate measures in place, and our bee inspectors were able to continue their work.

In-person meetings, and the accompanying companionship, learning from informal chat, and, of course, cake, were sadly not possible. LAN meetings, the annual Beginners Course, the Three Counties Show, our own Honey Show and other educational and social events were cancelled.

But as one set of doors closed, others opened. Online events, Zoom meetings and webinars have provided a rich variety of interesting and informative events accessible from wherever we are. Committee meetings first took place on conference calls, then more pleasantly on Zoom. The AGM went online, and was completed very efficiently so that poor internet connections did not affect it, and with excellent attendance. Association meetings and Buckfast talks on Zoom have been superb, reflected in up to 80 people joining in at one time. Many thanks to Steve Utley and Mary Walter who have put in much work to make this possible. Other associations have opened their meetings to us, and there have been various BBKA offerings including the Spring convention. All of this, and other online content, have provided an extraordinary range of advice and interest at our fingertips, keeping us well occupied throughout.

The bees meanwhile made the most of the fine spring weather, and I and many others had a bumper spring crop of honey. In my case my bees decided this also offered excellent swarming conditions, and with time at home to observe them I decided to let a couple of colonies go their own way. It is exciting to stand in the middle of a swarm as it swirls around, and it was very interesting in one case to witness bee indecision as clusters formed and broke up at various locations before the swarm returned from the hive whence it came, while I was mid inspection - presumably the Queen had stayed at home. The later part of the year brought colder and wetter weather, so there was generally a poorer summer honey crop for the beekeeper, and it was more challenging for the bees to gather sufficient stores for the cold winter.

During this past year I, for one, have realised how much I appreciate seeing my beekeeping friends, and have felt blessed in having my bees to occupy, interest and entertain. May 2021 be a good year for all of us, bees and beekeepers alike.

Debbie Smith

4 Registered Charity No: 1174917

SECRETARY'S REPORT

The bees carried on regardless of Covid restrictions and luckily regulations allowed us to attend to our out apiaries during lockdown, as bees count as livestock. The bees had a good Spring season, benefiting from the wonderful weather in April and May, although the weather was not so kind later in the summer, and the summer honey crop was rather disappointing.

We had very few swarm callouts, maybe local beekeepers managed their swarm control better than usual, or fewer people contacted us when seeing a swarm. Fortunately the Asian Hornet did not make an appearance in our region, so the Action Team was not required to step into action. Climate change does seem to be affecting bee behaviour. it seemed that the warm wet autumn led to the bees carrying on brood rearing well into winter, and autumn feed was converted into brood, rather than stored for the coming season.

Unfortunately the ongoing pandemic led to the cancellation of most of our usual events during the year. The 2020 AGM was held over Zoom, the Beginners Course and Three Counties Show were cancelled, as was the Honey Show, which we had hoped to hold as an outdoor event.

Online we had a steep learning curve and Zoom came to the rescue. We held online sessions regularly over the summer, ably organized by Steve Utley. We have also benefited from online talks by Martin Hann and Clare Densley of Buckfast Abbey, and joined forces with Ludlow and District Beekeepers' Association to hear a very informative talk, "Rational Varroa Control" by Professor David Evans of St Andrews University.

A big thank you to all those who helped during this difficult year looking after the Association bees. Kirsten Ellerby has made a splendid job of the monthly newsletter, and Steve Utley has kept us in order on Zoom and up-to-date with the on-line meetings. I hope the coming year will gradually see educational and social events once more allowed, and we will be able to get back to meeting each other and exchanging bee related chat, tea and cake.

Mary Walter

5 Registered Charity No: 1174917

HONORARY TREASURERS REPORT 2020

Having taken over as honorary treasurer at the 2020 AGM, may I express my thanks to my predecessor John Robinson, not only for all the work he has done over many years, but also for the help he has given me in the transition.

Inevitably 2020 has been a different year for the finances. We have had fewer costs associated with holding physical meetings and no costs for holding a training course, but we have also had less income from training fees and honey sales. Thus we have ended the year with a thousand pounds more than when we started.

As in previous years, the majority of the income we receive from subscriptions goes on the BBKA capitation fee and the costs of Bee Disease Insurance This year the online meetings and training sessions have proved excellent value, judging by the attendance and by the feedback We have transferred the accounts onto an online accounting system. Our attempts to obtain a little professional assistance both in preparing the accounts and giving them an outside view, have been thwarted by so many bookkeepers having reduced capacity and extra business as a result of the pandemic. Even tempting them with honey could not persuade them. We hope this year to get the benefit of an independent look at the 2021 accounts.

Owing to administrative issues associated with transfer of authority for HMRC, we have yet to claim gift aid for income from 2019. With these now resolved, this should be achievable for both 2019 and 2020.

Planning and budgeting has been almost fruitless when we do not know when we will next be able to hold meetings in person. Nevertheless, the Association is securely placed financially, and thought could be given to investing in more facilities and benefits for our members. This might be in the form of enhancements to the training apiary, securing the freehold to the training apiary, or providing more equipment.

The trustees will consider these opportunities, looking to implement them once we have a clearer view of when we will all be able to meet in person.

Roger Gill

6 Registered Charity No: 1174917

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MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY’S REPORT

2020, it is fair to say, was not a year any of us were expecting. Lockdown occurred very soon after the beekeeping season really got going. Caring for your bees was considered an exemption from the rules which made things slightly easier. I think many of us spent more time with them than we otherwise would have, maybe this is why a large number of members have renewed in 2021 with more hives than in 2020. Membership was very slightly down from the previous year, this is probably explained by the fact we had to cancel the beginners course so there were much fewer beginners joining us.

Listed here are the 2020 figures (compared to 2019)

Total Membership for 2020 - 201 members (from 207).

Physical meetings obviously had to be cancelled so, as with many other Associations, we turned to virtual meetings via Zoom. Previous to this many of us hadn’t ever heard of Zoom let alone experienced it, as the year progressed more and more of us were getting to grips with it. We started with virtual beekeeper meetings and these proved popular with beekeepers of all levels of experience. Many were able to get advice on any problems they may had encountered and was a chance to listen to different views, methods and experiences. In November we had our first presentation on Zoom, this was given by Clare & Martin from Buckfast Bees at Buckfast Abbey in Devon, it was a huge success and we continue to book more presentations.

Steve Utley

8 Registered Charity No: 1174917