Hixon Memorial Hall Committee
Minutes of the 2022 Annual General Meeting held at 8.00pm on Tuesday 17[th] December 2024
Present: Mark Farrington, Jane Garner, Pete Appleton, Karen Appleton, Chris Hilton
1. Apologies
None
2. Welcome
Mark welcomed everyone to the 2024 Annual General Meeting.
3. Minutes of the previous AGM
The minutes of the previous AGM held on 12[th] December 2023, were read, approved and signed by the Chairman.
4. Matters arising
None
5. Presentation of accounts for year ended 31[st] October 2024 (see attached)
Current Account: £20,999.75 Deposit Account: £20,100.00 Petty cash : £100.06 Threadneedle Equity Fund : £5,000.00 amount invested (Value as at 31[st] August 2024 - £5,556.73)
Income
Karen reported that the Hall continues to be used regularly, with a wide range of activities offered by regular and individual hirers.
In April, the hourly charges were increased from £11.00 to £13.00 and Saturday evenings increased from £95.00 to £110.00. The deposit was increased by £5.00.
Slimming World are still committed to using the Hall every week, Core and Curves continue to offer a weekly session and there is now a Thai Chi class. There are two Yoga classes each week and a new Full Body Fit fitness class. The Tuesday cafe and the long-established Circuits are still popular, with growing numbers.
There have been many one-off bookings for children's parties and several repeated bookings for Thomas the Tank events, glass workshops and wreath-making and flower arranging workshops.
A pizza van and Thai food van have hired the space in front of the Hall on a monthly basis during the summer and these have been popular.
Donations have been received from John Martin and £1,350.46 from the cafe.
The lottery is still reasonably successful, raising £765.90 in spite of reduced numbers. The £5,000.00 invested in Columbia Threadneedle Equity Fund has increased by £853.00 and the deposit account in Skipton Building Society is now worth £21,100.00. Expenditure
The cleaner is paid £12.50 per hour which is above the Living Wage, but she is reliable and very much worth the extra cost.
Gas and electricity charges have stabilised this year and the other utilities, including insurance, are as expected.
Maintenance costs include regular window cleaning, the boiler service and repair, improvements to the Bar Room, repairs to the Portacabin, a new lock for the back door, a silencer for the heating system, a new first aid kit and general building maintenance. Miscellaneous costs include cleaning materials, new stage lights, Christmas decorations, deposit refunds, presents for the accountant and cleaner and the reframing of historical pictures.
Community First Responders
The major activity this year has been raising money to establish a CFR scheme. The breakdown of income and expenditure for the CFRs shows the success of our events and the generosity of the communities involved.
Donations have been received from many individuals, as well as Weston Fete, Weston WI, Weston Methodist Church and The Heart of Weston Charity. Stowe Produce Guild and Stowe Fete also donated, as did Salt Village Hall, Great Haywood Village Hall and Craft Group, Wellington Fields Allotments, Hixon Scouts, St Peter's School and St Peter's Church, Hixon Community Association and the Mayor of Stafford's Charity.
6. Chairman’s report
Mark reported on events in the Hall throughout what has been a busy and productive year.
In December 2023, the management committee decided to instigate a Community First Responder scheme, covering Hixon and surrounding villages, and took the ambitious step of purchasing a second hand car from Keele CFRs. Two recruitment meetings then took place in the Hall to introduce the scheme to the village and give people the chance to become involved, either as a CFR or as a member of a support committee.
The first fundraising event for the CFR scheme took place in February, with a concert with Rodney Branigan, supported by Beckeny. The evening was a great success,with very positive feedback and £1,200.00 raised for the scheme.
At this point we began to inform the wider community with articles in the Compass magazine.
In March it was agreed that one wall of the main hall would be designated a memorial wall to show some important aspects of Hixon's history. This would include the picture and memorial plaque of RAF Hixon, details of the rail crash in January 1968, together with photos of the naming of a train in memory of the victims and the painting of Wilmot Martin with information about him and his charitable work. This painting, and a 1935 photo of 'Hixon Old Codgers', have both been repaired and reframed.
The quiz in April was a resounding success, with 65 people attending and £425.00 raised for the CFRs.
By now, other villages were starting to show and interest in the CFR scheme, and we were able to spread the word through talks at coffee mornings, hall management committee meetings, W.I.s and Produce Guild events.
In April, there was a small increase in the hourly rate charged for hiring the Hall, due to increased costs, but we were still found to be the cheapest in the area.
In May, we attended a meeting at Stone CFRs, which proved very beneficial as we received a donation of a defibrillator and were lent a CPR practice dummy for use at various fetes during the summer, where we were to have a stand.
In June, we were involved in the dedication of the new stained glass window in St Peter's church, commemorating the RAF, the rail crash and the church. A small exhibition was held in the Hall with refreshments available for those who had attended the service.
Also in June, the portacabin was spruced up with a coat of paint, but unfortunately, the door to the section used by HCA was badly damaged and had to be replaced.
In July, Forker Construction, which had been involved in a major scheme in association with Seven Trent, heard about the CFR scheme and offered to buy a Patient Monitor, a piece of equipment costing over £1,000.00. Other fundraising continued throughout the summer, with the start of a grand raffle.
The warm air heating system was fitted with a silencer in September, reducing the noise, but maintaining its efficiency.
The Beckeny concert in October was a great success and together with the proceeds from the Summer Raffle, which was drawn on the night, raised £1,318.00.
Other donations continued to come in, including £2,500.00 for Sandon Fete Committee and these ensured that the first year target of £11,000.00 had been surpassed.
The new door to HCA's portacabin section was found to have warped and could not be opened. We agreed to buy another new door and fit it ourselves.
The annual Service of Remembrance was held in the Hall in November and was very wellattended.
Another fund-raising quiz was held with over £450.00 added to the CFR funds.
Mark then thanked the committee for all their hard work over the past twelve months, because without their help, none of the above would have happened.
7. Election of Officers
| 7. Election of Officers | 7. Election of Officers |
|---|---|
| The following were elected unopposed: | |
| Chairman | Mark Farrington(Proposed by Jane, seconded by Pete) |
| Vice-Chairman | Pete Appleton(Proposed by Mark, seconded by Karen) |
| Secretary | Jane Garner(Proposed by Chris, seconded by Karen) |
| Treasurer | Karen Appleton(Proposed by Chris, seconded by Jane) |
| Booking secretary | Karen Appleton(Proposed by Mark, seconded by Pete) |
8. Appointment of Management Committee
The following agreed to serve on the Committee for the next twelve months and were elected en bloc:
Chris Hilton
9. AOB
Website – The website is in need a revamp.
New committee members – New members are needed for the committee. It was suggested that the regular users were asked to send a representative and that a notice was put on the website.
Mark then closed the meeting and again thanked the Management Committee for their continued support over the past year.
Signed: ________ Chairman
HIXON MEMORIAL HALL Account• lor lh• ymr and•d 31 Octob•r 2024 J111rK013 IN¢OME R4rf. R•gLd•rvi•ri 241 JO 5.07•.27 1.888 14 i.M670 1.570 fy) 7000 17$ fy) DOn•ty {Inc cafèl LDttery i.Jfy) ty) 1240 C•> TOTAL INCOII '26.e4S.10 9.910.11 IXPEllmftl 1.219 33 2.547 339 71 )1142 I,cN Wt•r 39 Milnlwiiiic Iniw• PRS 1,828. 626 •127 aol IJ Jwio 124 36$ i• L(rft•ry Commwty Fhl R••py4w Co•1• TOTAL SXPINCITUP 10.7•3 21 8.421 TE1 •rr¥ Iv Ihb Y4 1.gYJ4J BIl¢JI mwnry1 FL¥J• ComrnLr Fhl Il•w4v FLY 3•.4W 17 Jti,yg 17 cnI 20. 7$ 20.1fy)fX lfy).C4 s.tyJ) tyc4h M41311&24. r¥.sgen) FCA IIM¥2Q24