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North Wales Wildlife Trust
Draft Minutes of the 50th Annual General Meeting held at 1.30pm on Saturday, 28th September 2013 at Clawdd Newydd Village Hall, Clawdd Newydd.
Present: 38 members, 2 staff.
Trust Chairman Kate Gibbs recorded her thanks to Sue Allen, who had taken the minutes of Council meetings for the past three years. The President, Robin Grove-White, chaired the meeting, welcomed members, and stated that it was an honour and a pleasure to chair the AGM.
1. Apologies: Sue Allen, John and Nina Cattanach, Jane and Malcolm Cherrett, Graeme Cotterill, Robert Greig, Vanessa Griffiths, Ivor Harris, Mike Klymko, Marian Jones, Jo and Kathy Mullen, Sheila and Richard Perry, Tony Peters, John Tiernay, Tony Temple, Ian and Margaret Wright.
2. Minutes of the 49th AGM held at 1.30pm on Saturday, 13 October 2012 at Plas y Brenin were confirmed as a correct record of the meeting (Proposed: Les Starling; seconded: Penny Radford).
3. Special Resolution: Trevor Adams explained the need to update the Trust’s Articles of Association after fifty years, to modernise them and limit members’ liability to a nominal £1. A majority of 75% was needed to make the change. It was noted that the AGM would no longer elect officers, and it was proposed and agreed that in future the AGM should recommend to the Trustees who to appoint, thus retaining its influence over appointments. It was also agreed that the new Articles should be available on-line. The new Articles were put forward for adoption (Proposed: Simon Mills; seconded: Jen Berry). In favour: 28; against: 0. Proxy votes were: In favour: 14; undecided: 2. The resolution was carried by 42 votes to 0.
4. Report of the Council for the year ended 31st March 2013. Kate Gibbs thanked members, branches and staff for the success of the anniversary events. Good weather had helped, but the enthusiasm of volunteers and staff was the essential ingredient for success. Planning the events and recruiting new members had been priorities for the year. She listed highlights, such as improved access to reserves deriving from the opening of the Wales Coast Path, successes with Cemlyn terns, Flintshire Living Churchyards project, a horse-mussel reef and the Pistyll farm move. Council was very grateful to Trevor Adams for revising the Articles, and the President also expressed his appreciation. The search for new Trustees continued, as Chair and Treasurer would become vacant next year. Chair repeated her thanks to Sue Allen for minute-taking, and to trustees and staff. Rhiannon Môn Jones thanked the Trust for all its splendid work, on behalf of her late father Professor Eifion Jones, and mother Marian Jones.
5. Treasurer’s Report. Treasurer Simon Mills reported that membership was little changed, but unrestricted funds had increased. He foresaw a decline in restricted and unrestricted funds in 2014. He noted that a new system was in place allowing a much better understanding of the membership, and noted how little was spent on governance, which struck the right balance. In the coming year the policy of covering 3 months’ expenditure with working capital would continue, the work of the Fundraising Director would be built on, core costs would be balanced with extra funds, and the Trust would work closely with NRW. He reported that the basic financial controls were thorough, the Finance Officer was very conscientious and there were rigorous internal checks.
A discussion followed from the floor about the importance of marketing NWWT. One Trust volunteer, Eluned Davies, with a background in tourism, congratulated the Trust on producing and distributing its Events Booklet for the anniversary, a gamble which had paid off in raising the Trust’s profile. It was important to be aware that RSPB had a large marketing budget and a new focus on wildlife generally. The Treasurer noted that the Fundraising Director was actively promoting NWWT, which punched above its weight. The Director noted that there were opportunities to progress education work and two posts were being put forward to develop this. The President thanked the Treasurer, commenting that the finances were in very good hands, and asked the meeting to adopt the financial accounts and reports. Proposed: Howard Davies; Seconded: Ian Bonner.
6. Election of Council Members and Honorary Officers. Chair reported that four Trustees were due to stand down, having completed three years, but all were prepared to stand again. They were: Kate Gibbs, Ivor Harris, Penny Radford and James Robertson, who had offered to become Honorary Secretary. Two nominations had been received for new Trustees: Howard Davies and Roger Thomas. Biographical details of all candidates had been circulated. The President proposed that they be elected en block. Proposed: Geoff Gibbs; Seconded: Rhiannon Môn Jones. The proposal was carried overwhelmingly.
7. To re-appoint Tiernay Fedrick of Llandudno as Auditors to the Trust and to authorise Council to fix their remuneration.
This was agreed. (Proposed: Ian Bonner; seconded: Les Starling).
This concluded the formal part of the meeting. Two Gold Badges were awarded, and the President read the citation and presented the first award to Brian Burnett. The second Gold Badge was awarded to Richard Ewing, who could not be present, but the President read the citation.
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