THE MINUTES OF THE AXMINSTER CARE SERVICE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD IN THE BRADSHAW ROOM, AXMINSTER HERITAGE CENTRE THURSDAY 15[TH] SEPTEMBER 2022 AT 2.30PM
1. Welcome and Opening Remarks
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The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting, and our new venue, and declared the meeting open.
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Apologies for Absence : Tina Hewitt, Graham Beer, Gary Hall, Keith Barnard, Gillian Hayhurst, Maurice Liddiard, Hilary Pike, Iris Mills, Luena Hayward, Linda Roberts.
Trustees Present: Chairman Dr James Vann, Vice Chair Mr Mervyn Symes, Secretary Mrs Jacqueline Symes, Treasurer Mrs Alison Hayward, Driver Coordinator Mr Malcolm Laws.
3. Approval of the Minutes of the AGM held on 29[th] September 2021
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The Chairman asked if there were any questions regarding the previous Minutes which had been made available prior to the meeting. The Minutes were proposed by Rita Curryer and seconded by Malcolm Laws.
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Shop Manger’s Report : Due to the changes in Shop personnel during the past year, the Vice Chairman stood in and reported on progress.
With the Shop reopening in mid-April 2021 following the final Covid-19 ‘lockdown’, the Shop continued to bring in a steady income. Following the break in during the summer, repairs were made to the skylight and flat roof in the autumn of 2021. Ann Kilford stood down as Volunteer Shop Manager following the Christmas break due to health reasons.
The Trustees agreed that due to changes in legislation over the years, the role of Shop Manager now needed to be a paid position. A Shop Assistant Manager would also be required to stand in for the Shop Manager for holidays etc.
Without a Shop Manager in position, The Secretary and Vice Chairman opened and closed the Shop throughout January to ensure continuity and not see the Shop closed for an indefinite period. The Vice Chairman thanked all the Shop Volunteers who continued on and helped to keep the Shop open throughout this time. The Shop closed for refurbishment in February.
During January the committee was joined by Paul Hayward, who took over from the Vice Chairman as Shop Maintenance Representative. Paul has overseen the refurbishment of the upper floor, new telephone/office area, and shop floor areas.
Following a recruitment drive, Alison Hayward came on board as a self-employed Shop Consultant in February. Alison oversaw the redesign of the shop sign; installation of the new
shop till, which facilitates card payments and the production of sales reports; reorganising of the Shop layout etc. The Shop remained closed whilst works continued until April 2022.
5. Driver Coordinator’s Report:
Malcolm reported that during the first Covid-19 ‘Lockdown’ we were reduced from twentyone Drivers to seven Drivers in total. Our current total is now twelve Drivers, but more are required as we are unable to meet all the requests that come into the office.
Malcolm thanked the Volunteer Drivers for their contribution throughout the year. We were informed that we are associate members of the East Devon Car Forum, and that all the car services and charities involved with the Forum are experiencing the same volunteer recruitment problems. A study report has been received from the Forum, which confirms that Covid appears to have affected people’s consideration to volunteer, and so fewer people are coming forward. Being part of the Forum is an asset, giving us information and support, and most importantly provides the parking permits that are required for free parking at RD&E Hospital.
Malcolm thanked the Telephonists for their support over the year. The addition of a second phone, a mobile, has proved to be a valuable asset, allowing Drivers to leave and receive messages at any time. This has been very useful for when taking a call is not possible.
Malcolm requested of our volunteer Drivers and Telephonists to please check when sending a text message before hitting the send button. The auto-spelling on mobile phones often changes words without you being aware, resulting in strange messages if not checked.
6.
Treasurer’s Report: Alison read through the report and commented as follows:
Income – Donations were down this year, but this can vary from year to year; Council grants are down this year. They were higher last year due to the Covid-19 grants that were issued; Client Donations were up due to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and things getting back to normal; Senior Citizens Lunch Club increased on prior year due to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. However, the club ceased by the end of the financial year due to the reduction in overall numbers, along with other charities in the town now doing similar things; The Shop was back on track following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and people starting to make good use of the Shop.
Expenditure – Donations and Client Expenses were up this year due to more support being requested from individuals and organisations alike; Transport Costs have increased due to the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions and more journeys now being taken; Roof Repairs are an addition this year and due to costs incurred to repairs following the Shop break in last summer; Shop Supplies include items such as Pat Tester, Hoover, etc.; A Shop Honorarium was given to Ann Kilford for her commitment as Shop Manager in 2021; Administration costs include the Volunteers Summer and Christmas Parties, room hire for meetings, printing and stationery etc.
7. Closing remarks from the Chairman:
Dr Vann recalled that we have all had a testing and very different three years since our last full AGM in the Guildhall in 2019, with Covid and all that it involved changing all our lives. The Chairman reported that ACS played a major part in helping residents of Axminster get through the crisis. Although we closed the Shop during periods of ‘lockdown’, we were able to utilise our transport service to provide prescription deliveries and our telephone line became the ‘go to’ contact number for people in need of help. We are now back to a more normal mode providing transport to our hospitals and more general support.
There have been several changes in personnel making up the committee over the past year or so. Thank you to Normal Copland, Russell Pearce, Maureen Arnold, Rita Curryer, and
Christine Angus, who have all decided to retire from the committee, and for the effort they put into making the ACS work for the local population.
We welcome Malcolm Laws, Paul Hayward, Thelma Collier to the committee and we look forward to working with them.
Mervyn Symes has become Vice Chairman and will take the Chair when I am unavailable. Jacqui Symes continues as Secretary, and Alison Hayward continues as Treasurer after a brief spell running the Shop also. Thank you to Alison for stepping in when Ann Kilford retired.
We are very pleased to announce that we have a new Shop Manager, Amanda Walker, who comes to us with considerable experience having managed the Hospice Care shop for some years.
The Chairman recalled the Volunteer’s Cream Tea, and Christmas Party in 2021, both of which were a great success. Thank you to all those involved in making these events happen. The Christmas Party is to be repeated this coming December, due to popular demand.
8. Q & A
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An enquiry was made from a Shop volunteer regarding the use of the ACS telephone. Amanda addressed the enquiring, reminding all that the downstairs phone does not have an outgoing line, and should any volunteer need to phone a taxi, or make an emergency call, to please let her know and she will assist in facilitating the call.
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The phone upstairs is for office use only and should be kept free for incoming calls and receiving messages from the public and Volunteer Drivers.
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A request was made to reinstate the list of ACS donations made to organisations, previously displayed in the back room. Upon discussion, it was agreed that moving forward a list would be displayed.
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An enquiry was made regarding the possibility of ACS funding children’s dental procedures. Upon discussion it was generally felt that children have treatment provided for free, unless something more unusual was required. The committee agreed to review any dental referrals as they arise.
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An enquiry was made regarding accepting transport requests for private treatments at private hospitals. Malcolm addressed the enquiry, stressing that we cannot expect our Telephonists to be pressurised to discriminate between transport requests, i.e. who is and who isn’t entitled to transport support. It was agreed that transport requests are all treated the same.
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Mervyn invited the new Shop Manager, Amanda Walker, to speak from the floor. Amanda reported that all was going well at the Shop, with more Volunteers coming on board and sales increasing. Amanda asked permission to take down the Covid screen from the shop counter, and committee agreed. Sanitising gel will still be available for Volunteers and shoppers on the premises.
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Mervyn requested that all future enquiries for shop maintenance be directed to Paul Hayward in the first instance.
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It was confirmed that the Shop will be closed on Monday due to the extra Bank Holiday in place for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on that day. It was also confirmed that there would not be a requirement for the Telephonists to work on the Monday also.
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An enquiry was made regarding the telephone answer machine, and if this could be updated to request that callers leave their name and telephone number to enable call backs. Louise Taylor, Telephonist, agreed to look into the matter on her next shift.
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Mervyn enquired if any of the Telephonists would consider becoming a Team Leader, and Diane Bruce offered to take on the role.
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Norman Copland thanked all the Trustees for their continued commitment to ACS.
| 2:42?, | 202!. | |
|---|---|---|
| g | g | |
| lncome | ||
| Donations | 6,756-79 | 10,493.79 |
| Councilgrants | 2,567,m | 29,431.O0 |
| Clienttransportdonations | !CI;l4L,29 | 5,626.93 |
| SeniorCitirensl-unchOtrb | 3,83O.m | 2,781.11 |
| CharityTqs | I18.3?E.2tl | 20,4X8-O7 |
| GiftAld rcftind | 333.sO | 1,@7,56 |
| lnterestreceived | 51.92 | 123.99 |
| 72,769.70 | 59,972.45 | |
| Expenditure | ||
| Donations | L4,712.48 | 2,4t7.W |
| Clientexp€nses | 3,O19.50 | |
| Transportcosts | 15478.08 | 8.240.09 |
| Advertising | 295.oCI | |
| Fleat&lfiht | 2,ffi.56 | {577.23} |
| Tetephone | 38S.2? | 767.55 |
| Water &rates lnsgrance |
575.33 1,317.46 |
615.12 ,Y' |
| Roofrepairs | 10,649.80 | |
| Shoprefurb | 16,&10.48 | |
| Shop ncaintenance | 2,631.91 | 4775.O1 |
| Shopsupplies | 2,L92.25 | |
| Shop cleaning& waste | 2A74.W | - |
| Staffcosts | 1.909.0S | |
| Shophonarariurn | Lffi.0o | |
| Administrati*n | 3.901J.4 | 1,91635 |
| Senior CitlzenslunchC!*b | 5.69n.m | 7,255.5? |
| 80,545.3L | 26,403.90 | |
| Surplus(Deftit)forthe year | 43F68ss |
| AxnilerkSglietrcp"Cl.ruill[Io"g$mt*S] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Balancesheetasat31stMarch 2022 | |||
| 2922 | za21 | ||
| t | f | ||
| Cashatbank | |||
| COIFClnrltis kposit ftsd&unt | 9L8!9.e4 | lm,78654 | |
| COIFCharities Deposit BuildingFundAccount | 6,245.94 | ||
| CharityTrysbankaccount | 93,?a7.7t | 36,025.72 | |
| Number1bankaccount | 7"7?]AL62 | 4L372.65 | |
| Number2hnhamunt | 5,1$rtg3 | ||
| Funds | |||
| Uwestri#ftr,&hrfrgfrt ftrsnrrd | lSlS:Is.78 | 146,967.23 | |
| Surplus{defiat}fortheyear | 17;?77.6Lt | 41568.s5 | |
| _lE:58$. | |||
| -@ | Oate | &.1":.* | |
| AFtayuard,Trea*rer |