Dorchester and District u3a
Minutes of the 2021 Hybrid Annual General Meeting
Monday 4th October 2021
- Welcome - Chris Knight acted as Chair and welcomed everyone to the AGM and explained the proceedings. There were 67 members in the hall and 45 on Zoom.
- Apologies - There were no apologies.
- 2020 AGM Minutes – A copy of the 2020 minutes have been available on the website, sent to all members with the April Newsletter and a copy had been placed on seats in the hall.
4. Annual Report - Well, here we are still in lockdown but with a much better view of the future. From the middle of July, we should see some if not all restrictions lifted. Keep your fingers crossed. It has been difficult over the last year with restrictions relaxing then coming back into force, but as a u3a we have carried on as best we can.
The Group Leaders have been doing a sterling job keeping their groups together and maintaining contact through email, skype, Zoom and even telephone, not an easy job at times. Your Committee has kept busy with monthly meetings via email, then Zoom, helping Group Leaders and members whenever they can, also keeping members up to date on what has been going on locally and nationally by using the Website and email.
Your Committee have had an extra responsibility in working without a Chair, we have been asking for someone to volunteer by using email and where possible in person, as a large group we cannot sustain this situation forever and again we ask that someone will step forward to help. The Committee is very experienced and can give the new Chair all the help they need.
During the year Group Leaders and the Committee have kept in touch by Zoom meetings and email and the national u3a have upped their game and produced countless advice documents and newsletters to help groups and members maintain their connection. A big thank you must go to them for their hard work.
During the year our Membership has fluctuated with quite a few members not renewing their subscription, but happily we are now seeing our numbers increasing and heading back to the numbers pre pandemic.
Our finances are stable and we still have to collect subscriptions as there are certain things we still have to pay for, National subscriptions, Zoom Licences, updating equipment, Newsletters and speaker fees to name a few.
Our u3a Newsletters have started up again this year and they have been very welcome, congratulations to Jane Huff for producing some excellent magazines and this will continue. If you would like to contribute an article then contact Jane, you don’t need to wait to be told about the next issue deadline.
In June we took part in ‘u3a Day’ a national initiative to spread the word about what u3a is and to encourage local people to join. We had a stall at the end of South Street by the War Memorial. There were a lot of interest and some people signed up on the day which was encouraging. Plenty of leaflets were handed out and Jane Huff managed to get on local radio. Thanks to Chris Knight, Jane Huff and Andy Davies for their organising skills and also to all the members who assisted on the day. Rain stopped play but by then we had done a lot of good work.
Les Mould, Secretary (pp Chair)
Accepted Unanimously.
5. Treasurers Report - Read out by Janet Kennewell (Membership Secretary). (Copies of the Income & Expenditure Account for the year ended 31st March 2021 were included in the AGM pack in the latest Newsletter; however, you will find a hard copy on your chairs, together with a summary of the Excursions & Social Account for the same period. Please share one between two).Commencing with the Income & Expenditure Account, due to Covid there were understandably far fewer transactions across the accounts, reflecting the severe curtailing of activities for the majority of the year. Members continued to pay their subscriptions, although membership receipts were
down approaching 20%. Outgoings were much reduced with no room or hall hire costs, no capital expenditure and limited Newsletter production. Group meeting fees (the 50ps and FMM £1s) were practically zero, partially offsetting the decline in costs. Likewise, and to be expected, there has
been no commission from Riviera Travel, paid on members' holidays, for the first time in 5 years.
The culmination of all this, you can see, is a surplus of nearly £6300 for the year; this is of no small concern to your Committee, and in an endeavour to return some of this to our members, the Committee has waived all Group and First Monday Meeting attendance fees now that we are returning to somewhere near normality, at least until the end of December; subject to Committee agreement, in all likelihood, this will continue until the end of the financial year next March. For the 14th year, the annual subscription rate will remain at £15 for the current year.
On the back of the Income & Expenditure figures is a summary of the Excursions & Social Account. As you would expect, all outings were cancelled, or postponed to 2021/22. The deficit of nearly £1300 is a “paper” deficit reflecting the refunds paid out to members on ticket sales made
during the 2019/20 financial year, but actually cancelled during the 2020/21 financial year when the outings did not take place. No funds were “lost”.
Finally, my thanks to Janet Kennewell for all her sterling work collecting subscriptions and providing the Gift Aid figures.
Nick Priddle,
Hon Treasurer.
Income & Expenditure Account for the Year ending 31st March 2021
Balance Sheet for the Year ending 31st March 2021:
2020/21 Year-end accounts prepared and submitted by:
N. Priddle Hon Treasurer Date………2021
I have examined the income and receipt vouchers,
also, the bank statements which support the income
and expenditure account for the Year ending
31st March 2021 and am satisfied that they show a
true and accurate record of the affairs of the
Dorchester & District U3A.
Alison Neil,
Independent Examiner
Date …..............2021
Excursions and Social Account: Events April 2019 to March 2020:
Income Expenditure
22 Events 14185.50 12877.22
Expenses 67.00
Donations approved by Committee: nil
Theatre Outings Attendance Fees 92.00
Excursion Outings Attendance Fees 50.50
14185.50 13086.72
Annual Summary:
Income less Expenditure: 1098.78*
Brought Forward from 2017/18: 1283.25
Total Funds in this account: 2382.03*
(* before refunds)
2019/20 accounts prepared These accounts verified by: and submitted by:
N, Priddle (Hon Treasurer) L. Munn (U3A Member)
We confirm that the above entries are consistent with the details recorded in the Excursions account ledger, and
that the figures agree with the relevant invoices, receipts and bank account statements. .........................2020
Please find attached the summary of the Excursions account for the financial year ending
31st March 2020. These figures will be audited by Les Munn as and when I am able to get
them to him. Please note that they include refunds yet to be paid out on "Kite Runner"
(£1290) and of course a subsidy on the 25th Anniversary Summer Tea Party of £325 odd.
The Attendance Fees listed will be credited to our main account when next I get to the
Bank.
I have now issued all the refunds totalling £1726.50 for the 3 cancelled Theatre Outings
Accepted Unanimously
6. Election of Officers and Committee –Ian Blaby conducted the vote for the Officers and Committee, as all the existing Committee were happy to stand again and there were no new proposals the vote was taken on-bloc and was carried.
Office Proposed Proposer (Name, U3A Membership No) Seconder (Name,U3A Membership No)
Chairman Vacant
Secretary Les Mould Chris Knight Pauline Woolterton
Treasurer Nick Priddle Les Mould Jane Huff
Memb Secretary Janet Kennewell Peter Scaife Chris Knight
Committee
Peter Scaife Janet Kennewell Andy Davies
Pauline Wooltorton Vivienne Allan Mike Neely
Vivienne Allan Pauline Woolterton Jane Hopwood
Andy Davies Mike Neely Vivienne Allan
Mike Neely Andy Davies Peter Scaife
Jane Huff Jane Hopwood Les Mould
Jane Hopwood Jane Huff Nick Priddle
Chris Knight Nick Priddle Janet Kennewell
Accepted Unanimously.
7. There were no extra items received and the meeting closed at 10.45
This page is maintained by Les Mould 8/10/2020 lm@dorchesteru3a.org.uk