ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2006.

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at The Seabank Hotel, Porthcawl, South Wales, I5th March 2006.

The President J.Bawden opened the meeting at 1.30pm. The notice convening the meeting was read by the Chairman T.Porter.

Apologies for absence were received from:- P.Cornelius .P.Fraser, J.Roger ,M.Simpson, E.Summerhayes and J.Wheatley.

President's Address:-
J.Bawden welcomed everyone to the meeting hosted by the South Wales Group. However he continued stating that it was with sadness that he formally recorded the loss of two fine gentlemen of the Society, namely Derek Bircumshaw and Richard Harris, affection ally known respectively as "Birky" and "Dick". Both were Gold Medal holders and long time servants of the Society. At this point tributes were paid by Harry Lawson and Tim Pierce, these were followed by a period of silence after which the President commented that the high esteem in which the two deceased were held would be recorded by members of the Society for ever.

Continuing, the President said, my address will be simple and will introduce you to the happenings of today's meeting. The Society, over a number of years has seen many changes and as you will hear from the Trustees Report that will follow this address, there has been an enormous amount of work done in the last few years to redirect the Society by the introduction of a new management structure; we were aware that this would need amending and reviewed continually. But, we the Senior Managers fully supported by the Executive Committee believe that we have the Society on a firm base with the direction to move forward. You will hear the Chairman's Trustees report which he and his officers, once again endorsed by the full Trustees Board, is one of the most professional and well constructed documents that have been put to an A.G.M. for some considerable time.

The-Financial Manager will present a set of accounts that prove that the Society is in a sound financial position. My colleagues and I are aware that there might not be full support or agreement for the Trustees Report, but, we value every members viewpoint and we would ask you to assess it in it's full context.

Before I finish, I would like to pay tribute to all of the Officer's, Committee members and the Non-Committee members who have helped to run the Society during the past year. It is always difficult to single out individuals for praise but, I am extremely grateful to two retiring members Chris Wiles and John Letts for their services to the Executive Committee.

Especially so to Mark Hall for the many years of service he has given to the Shows Committee. There are many unsung heroes in the Society of our size and our Chairman and Vice Chairman have motivated the Executive Committee to stay strong look positively and run our Society successfully. The Group's are also a very important part of the Society and their work continues to maintain the contact in what one might call the "local" areas.

To the members who will shortly be presented with awards, I extend congratulations in the achievement of their honours.

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting, 12th.March 2005 :-
A copy of these minutes had been included in the papers circulated to members and were, therefore, taken as read. These were approved, proposed by K Smith, seconded by M Bryans and received a unanimous vote. There were no matters arising. The president duly signed the minutes.

Chairmans Report on behalf of the Trustees:-

T.Porter referred to the report issued to members (see end of minutes) and explained the various points with emphasis clarified by graphic display. He referred to the improved publications and in referring to the money obtained from the sale of George Gray house pointed out that to comply with the requirements of the Charity Commission were that monies should be used to the benefit of the Society and it's members. In this context the investments made by the Support fund Trustees ensured that the Society's finances remained healthy.

Financial Report:- 
The statement of the accounts was also contained within the Trustees report and Dr.G.Barclay went through the main points after explaining that the layout of the figures varied slightly from previous statements because a new firm of accountants had taken over Brown's business. Taking each prime item he explained the general situation reminding the meeting that the figures were less value added tax. It was explained that the postage figure was higher than in 2004 because there had been four publications sent out within the period covered. The minor "ups and downs" were explained. lan Moss asked why income at shows was down and this was considered to be because there was a smaller attendance by the public which reflected on raffles and other fund raising. T.Porter commented that some items were set out differently to that which we recognised; J.Letts suggested that the accountants be asked to prepare the accounts in the way we prefer!

Support Fund 2005:-
Ian Moss Spoke to this expressing the view that the figures showed a positive message in that investment structure for the year, based on C.O.I.F., was better than the open market, he explained the "spread" of the investments relating to capital growth and interest. The "risk" of investments is kept balanced with no chances taken. It was noted that the growth figures achieved in the year were good, He went on to clarify the make up of the investments and the improvement in the financial position. The approval of the Statement of Accounts was proposed by M.Higgins.seconded by A.Walters and agreed by unanimous vote.

Approval of Honoraria for 2006:-
The Executive Committee had proposed an increase of the honoraria paid to Managers to £1,150 per annum. The meeting approved this as proposed by M.Higgins seconded by H.Lawson,

Election of Officers:- 
The meeting was advised that the existing Officers.as listed in the Year Book,were prepared to continue and they were re-elected en bloc by unanimous vote- 

Election of Executive Committee Members:-
Due to the retirement of J.Letts and C.Wiles there were three vacancies and these were filled by M.Bryans, M.Higgins and J.Wheatly proposed by P.Edmunds seconded by W.Farr and duly approved.

Election of Support Fund Trustee;-
This vacancy occurred due to the untimely loss of Derek Bircumshaw and P.Cornelius was proposed by M.Bryans seconded by T.Pierce and elected accordingly.

Approval ofAuditor/Examiner of the Accounts:-
Dr.G.Barclay suggested that this should go out to tender; the meeting agreed.

Presentation of Awards:- 
The Chairman read out the citation for each person and the President duly presented Gold Medals to Mrs.Rae Boon and Mike Higgins
Silver medals to Mrs.Pat Lawson, Brian Ramsdale and Mike Henson
and the Woolman medal of Honour to Ken Dear

each recipient responded.

A,G.M. Scotland 2007.
Mr.Dave Scott, Chairman of the Scottish Group gave some details of the location and hotel etc. and extended a welcome to everyone. Full details will appear in the appropriate publication in due course.

Presentation on Cryogenics:- 
Dr.Andy Whetton of Reading University gave a brief but concise description of the procedures involved in this process. He explained the method of taking minute pieces of plant tissue from the meristem and "freezing" them in suitable chemicals. The members expressed interest by the questions that followed and were, no doubt pleased to learn that the treated material had been retrieved and duly propagated with great success. The Executive Committee is aware that to pursue the scheme will necessitate involvement with other parties, including, we hope the R.H.S., to defray some of the considerable cost involved, 

Items for discussion:- N.C.S. Five Year Plan (see Trustees Report). 
T. Porter spoke to this and taking each item clarified the proposals emphasising the time frame in each case. The proposals were well received as an indication that the members appreciated that the Management and Executive Committees are endeavouring to ensure the security of the Society and of course it's members.

Click here for full details of NCS Five Year Plan

Discussion:
During comments and questions from the floor, Peter Fawcett suggested that consideration be given to dropping the term "Flower Show" and using the alternative "Flower Festival" which seems to attract the public interest. This to be considered by the Shows Committee. 

Peter Fawcett also suggested that a D.V.D. be prepared to advertise the work/activites of the Society. Harry Lawson undertook to investigate this. 

Ivor Mace suggested that in view of falling membership lap top computer be purchased for each Group to be used at garden clubs etc., free of charge-various locations as to where such equipment might be used were suggested. 

K.Dear suggested that advertisements be placed in various garden publications to attract new members- Jim Osbome added that, possibly, membership application forms be sent to Affiliated Societies.

New Cultivars;-
K.Dear addressed this matter reminding the meeting that "Professional" breeders of chrysanthemums were virtually non-existent and we are almost totally dependent on some of our members to produce new cultivars. While acknowledging that very few people have land to spare to grow trial seedlings from raisers, he invited members to submit suggestions as to how trials to evaluate "new raisings" might be carried out.

Any other business:-
Keith Dixon pointed out that due to a change in the routing of the local bus service, there is now no bus service to the show ground and suggested that enquiries be made to see if this can be rectified. 

Harry Lawson suggested that the date of the late show be brought forward because so many cultivars are "coming early". The general view of the meeting was that this would affect too many Society and Group shows that have been planned not to clash with the National. 

Harry Lawson also suggested that a medal to commemorate Derek Bircumshaw be introduced. The criteria to be decided, but, possibly awarded to someone who is not necessarily a Committee member but has done outstanding work for the N.C.S., The award to be made as and when appropriate and not necessarily annually. The Management and Executive Committees to consider this. 

Emphasising that he was speaking for members of the Northern Group, Barry Hogg asked that further investigation be made into the reinstatement of payment of subscriptions by direct debit. Ivor Mace made the point that such payment could be made "on line". Comments were made that the latter method is not always secure. 

There being no further business the President thanked the South Wales Group for organising the weekend and thanked members for the attendance and contribution to the meeting and expressed the hope that everyone would enjoy the dinner dance. The meeting closed at 4.05pm.