MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING HELD AT THE BEST WESTERN HOTEL, STOKE-ON-TRENT 
ON SATURDAY 15^th. MARCH 2008.

Proceedings commenced at 1 .30pm.The notice convening the meeting was read by T.Porter.

Apologies for absence were recorded from Mrs.R.Boon , Dr.D.Spencer, P.Fraser,J Lawrie, J Letts, H,Minns, R, & Mrs. M.. Maddocks, K. Smith, G. Steele and J. Wheatley.

President’s Address;-
J.Bawden welcomed everyone and thanked the members of the Midland Group for hosting the weekend, he recalled that the last time he had visited the area was to judge in 1986. On a sad note he reminded the meeting of the loss of Syd Paine during 2007 commenting on Syd’s considerable involvement with the Society, in particular his work on the bookstall at R.H.S., Westminster plus his willingness to provide sustenance, (fish & chips) for the shows working party, and the welcoming cup of tea to exhibitors, adding that he would also be missed for his strong character. The President reminded the meeting that an appropriate silence, as a mark of respect to Syd, had been held observed at the show. Continuing he pointed out that the Chairman would be addressing the Trustees Report and, therefore, he the President, was not going to go into any detail, suffice it to say that a great deal of work had been carried out during the year by the officers ,sub-committees and other committee members aided by many individual members and he thanked everyone concerned for their help and involvement. 

He went on to say that he would be the first to admit that we do not always get things right at the first attempt and we are, therefore ,not without criticism but, we are always prepared to change direction if necessary after consultation and listening to our members. We had two good National Shows last year and with the six active Groups, I am very optimistic for the coming season. As you will see from the agenda, there is no need for a selective vote this year and I am not quite sure how to judge this, however, all of the places on your Executive Committee are filled. You have, no doubt, also noticed that three long standing members with “Youth and Maturity” on their side, are to give presentations on items of interest relative to the future of your Society, there will, of course, be open debate, On that note I will close and repeat my thanks to the Midland Group for undertaking to arrange this years A.G.M.

Minutes of the previous A.G.M., held on l0th March 2007 at The Atholl Palace Hotel , Pitlochry.

A copy of these had been handed to each member, in addition to those published in the Year Book and were taken as read. These were accepted as an accurate record as proposed by J. Peace, seconded by B. James and carried by a unanimous vote. There were no matters arising that were not covered by the agenda.

Chairman’s Report on behalf of the Trustee’s:-
Terry Porter opened his report by thanking the Committee members and everyone who had helped in anyway throughout the year, special thanks were recorded to Mike Higgins for filling in on the Floral and Promotions front. Referring to the main points as recorded in the report, he commented that there had been good displays at Chelsea and Tatton Park where Gold Medals were awarded , a Silver Gilt was awarded at the N.E.C., Birmingham. Our National shows were well supported and tribute was paid to Hazel Allen for her hard work in raising over £1,000 at “Hazel’s Hut”, similarly Martin and Sylvia Bryans achieved excellent results with their “Liquor Stall”. The participation of “local” organisations such as the National Vegetable Society, Midland’s Branch and the Stafford Borough helped by creating additional interest. An appeal was made for more help in setting up and breaking down the shows, perhaps more so for the latter when the effect of several days activity sets in. 

The Chairman continued stating that the Judges & Exhibitors book had been updated and improved-plant sales had been excellent and the Year Book contained some very good articles; the response to the request for contributions for 2008 had been excellent. 

Cryogenics:-
This is proceeding as agreed, Reading University had acquired sponsorship for the £140,000 project, a PhD student is to continue from the existing studies. Similarly the process of cleaning up stock is being arranged, unfortunately, Warburton’s are now too busy to undertake the work but, Gentec Propagation, Dundee are able to take this on. Suggestions as to which cultivars might benefit from the treatment were invited; it is intended that plants from the treated stock be offered for sale via existing catalogues. 

Membership: -
Unfortunately, Peter Fraser could not be present but he had, as usual, managed the work required to maintain the necessary record and system in excellent fashion. 

Website:-
The Chairman stated that due to inappropriate use, the Forum had been withdrawn. He advised that the Executive Committee had recently agreed to Paul Barlow administering the site subject to all detail being agreed with John Peace who has agreed to act on behalf of the Executive Committee. A vote of thanks was recorded to Harry Lawson and Paul Simpson for the work that they had carried out to the site on behalf of the Society.

The Chairman referred very briefly to the financial status of the Society but left any reference to detail to be addressed by Graham Barclay and Ian Moss. He congratulated the recipients of the various medals to be awarded during the later part of the meeting and concluded his address by thanking Ken Dear and John Bawden for their support throughout the year. The report was accepted by a show of hands. (See the appendices for the full Trustees Report).

Financial Report:-
General Account:-The full Financial Report was included in the Trustees Report and Graham Barclay spoke to this referring to various items listed on pages 5 - ii .Explanation of specific items on page 6 detailing financial activity was given. It was pointed out that the total income was down on 2006 due to reductions in various features such as affiliation fees, donations, trading income and investment income; never-the-less,  allowing for increased expenditure as shown, at year end, total funds were almost £1,000 greater than in 2006.

Support Fund:- 
Ian Moss explained movements of investments that were made to maximise revenue/interest while there had been a loss on the Northern Rock stock, it was pointed out that this particular “investment” had been free of charge. He pointed out that the value of our investments stood at approximately £7,000 higher than 2006.Taking into account the market position throughout the year this was a satisfactory result. The reports given by both speakers were comprehensive and there were no questions from the floor. The President asked for approval of the accounts and the reports as proposed by M. Bryans seconded by H. Lawson; this received a unanimous vote. 

Approval of Honoraria for 2008:-
Records show that it has been agreed that honoraria be increased in line with the Retail Price Index (R.P.I.). The President requested a vote as confirmation in respect of the coming year, this also received a unanimous vote (excluding the Officers/Managers) as proposed by T. Johnson seconded by B. Harrison. 

Election of Officers and Executive Committee Members:-
The existing Officers and the 3 Executive Committee Members due for re-election were all willing to stand; there being no other nominations those Members were duly elected en-bloc as proposed by D. Simpson seconded by S. Joyce and carried by a unanimous vote.

Presentation of Awards:-
The citation for each of the awards was read by the Chairman, ,Terry Porter and the presentations were made by the President, ,John Bawden as follows;- Gold Medal to Martin Bryans— Derek Bircumshaw Gold Medal to Paul Cornelius---Silver Medals to Barry Firby, Sarn Forester and Gordon Steele, The Woolman Medal of Honour to Mrs Janet Porter. Each recipient or, their representative, responded with a few words. 

Items for Discussion:-

Financial Arrangements in the event that the Society ceases to function:-
Paul Barlow spoke to this emphasising that there is no likelihood of this happening in the forseeable future but it is a requirement of the Charities Commission that a procedure for dissolution be included in our constitution. Using graphics he suggested some points that would need to be addressed, while not attempting to prescribe any detail, various points were made such as, the fact that if the assets of the Society were to be distributed among the Groups, those bodies must hold charity status, only two Groups qualify at present. It should be clearly defined as to which persons are to be designated to carry out the requirements. The possibility of “ring fencing” some funds to re-start the Society if the opportunity arose should be incorporated in the text if possible. He continued, commenting that the Society is too good to lose and every effort should be made to maintain it as a guardian for generations to come. John Peace suggested that if there is a loss of interest in the growing of chrysanthemums, the Groups and local Societies might well suffer before the N.C.S., Mrs. Marion Couchman suggested that the proposals to deal with the matter should not be too complicated; although she was not in favour of the possibility of the assets going to another charity. Ivor Mace observed that the items shown in the presentation appeared to cover most options, he also felt that some Groups might cease to function and if this situation arose, the N.C.S., assets should pass to those that remain, above and before, any other consideration. Terry Porter stated that the Charities Commission require our assets to pass to “a body” that meets our aims and objectives and the administration of the procedure should be by some of the Trustee’s in office at that time, adding that, it is for the Group’s to decide whether they wish to try to obtain charitable status. The President drew the discussion to a close commenting that there was plenty of food for thought and the Management and Executive Committees would pursue matters accordingly. He asked for a show of hands indicating approval of this - this was given by a large majority - none against and a very small number of abstentions.

Breeders being able to show their own cultivars before release:-
Ivor Mace spoke to this suggesting that, to encourage raisers to continue producing new cultivars they be allowed to exhibit them in the appropriate classes in addition to the “Raisers Classes” for one year before release, Harry Lawson supported the view adding that, in his opinion ,the Society should offer a small remuneration to raisers as encouragement. John Nevill suggested that that the period of “grace” be two years which would allow time for stock to be built up so that orders could be met. The President endorsed the view that the Society must support and encourage the raisers. It was accepted that as at present, the classification be as submitted by the raiser, only the raiser could exhibit the flowers. It was also acknowledged the exhibit could be considered for an award, although, with little or no previous sighting of the cultivar this might be difficult on the basis of comparison. Ian Moss proposed that the suggestion be approved on the two year period ,this was agreed by a large majority with four not in favour.

Two further items were discussed:-

The first forwarded by John Peace concerned the disappearance of many of the smaller mediums e.g. Timmy Gray, Wembley etc. His proposal was to reintroduce a major class in the national shows and reclassify selected cultivars to the ‘c’ classification. A lot of discussion ensued concerning the viability of the  suggestion and the type of class envisaged. Major concerns were to ensure the class was of sufficient level to attract exhibitors. Roger Brownbridge forwarded the view that such classes would then  need to be included in group shows.

A separate discussion was also carried out on a suggestion from a number of quarters for collection classes of 12 or 6 different cultivars exhibited as single stems. It was anticipated that this could open up a new area of grower particularly helping the smaller grower. A class of national championship standard was proposed. It was thought that the format for the League class could be applied.  Ivor Mace supported the proposal because it could encourage exhibitors at all levels. J. Bawden asked for a show of hands 1n support of the suggestions ;a majority of members were in favour of the matter being considered by the Shows Committee and submitted to the Executive.

Any Other Business:-
Paul Cornelius reminded the meeting of the “one off’ class at the late show for Yellow Majestic and asked members to support this Martin Bryans asked members to let him know if they were aware of anyone with stock of Brett Williams, Far North and the Fair Ladies (with the exception of the Orange Sport), Mike Higgins requested growers who had exhibited “Best Vases” at the National Shows to prepare an article for publication on how they grew the plants, a report not exceeding one full page would be appreciated.

There being no further business the President closed the meeting at 4.O5pm again thanking everyone for their attendance and contribution and further thanks to the Midland Group for organising the weekend.