Seniors AGM minutes 2009

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting 7th December 2009 Those Attending: R Jones, C Lloyd, W Williams, W. Hughes, F. Court, S Poole, A Mitchell, B Downes, H Hughes, D Wraight, B Brown, K Lawrence, P Lynch, R Taylor, N Jones, D Lambert, M Davies, R Hudson, B Evans, P Fey, L Bush M Turner, Ray Jones, R Martin, R Key, R Peacock. Apologies: B Kelleher, P Almond, D Murphy, T Harcombe, D Lyon, C Brown, E Jenkins Minutes 2008 R Martin proposed and R Taylor seconded that the minutes be accepted as a true record. Matters Arising There were no matters arising. Captain’s Report Roy said that the year had been enjoyable and successful and that during the last quarter we had welcomed our 100th member and we are now at 104. This brings about its own problems but we do have 13 tee times allocated and generally no one has too long to wait. We still have some issues about slow play and it more important than ever that we try to avoid this. Inter Club matches were generally well supported although on occasions Stewart has had to run around at the last minute to find the last one or two for the team. These matches are a great social event and give an opportunity to play other courses in the area. Including a meal we never pay more than £10 and I would strongly recommend them to you. This year we won 10, lost 10 and halved 2. Stewart has again done an excellent job organising these matches and the ever popular kitty comps. Roy mentioned our involvement this year in the match with Rhuddlan which proved to be very enjoyable. Played to a slightly different format at home and away during October for a trophy donated by Gerry Wooster this match will in future be organised by the Seniors sections of each club. This is one not to be missed. Honours Board competitions were again well supported with 50 or more members playing in each competition. The Round Robin was again the least supported but produced a very close contest. We have had some discussions throughout the year about handicaps and in particular the advantage that higher handicap players have in these comps. I think Ray Martin who won the Championship, the Pairs, the Eclectic and the Round Robin playing off 8 killed that argument stone dead. This was a tremendous achievement congratulations Ray. Just think how much better you could be if you played on a Monday as well! Medals are very well supported and to ensure that everyone gets a fair crack of the draw we have hopefully for the last time introduced some changes. These seemed to work well for the December medal. Can I remind you though that if you play at a tee time other than that allocated to you without clearing it in advance with the organiser you will be disqualified. Don has fitted in the organising of the Honours Board comps and Medals with his day job and has done a great job. Again the social events proved immensely popular. The Christmas Party and Nearly St Patrick’s comps were again organised by Ken. He refused to let me interfere and they were probably the better for that. The other event which Ken organises is our British Legion Charity day. This was very well supported this year and raised over £300.The Seniors’ Captain v President matchplay charity comp ended in a draw and also raised £300 which was donated to Hope House Children’s Hospice. This year for the first time we held a qualifier for the Hall of Fame National Charity Competition which was won by Dave Lambert He was not able to play in the Regional qualifier so his place was taken by Richard Key who finished 3rd at Llanymynech. Congratulations Richard. The regional qualifier for next year’s competition is at Llangollen so hopefully we’ll have a good turnout for our Clays qualifier. Seniors Opens at other clubs are still very popular and our thanks to Tony for continuing to coordinate these for us. Congratulations Tony on becoming DGU captain for 2010. And now some thank yous First of all my thanks to a couple of guys not on the committee; Reg Peacock does a tremendous amount of work as handicap secretary and is always available to help the seniors section particularly in setting up and closing our competitions and Fred Court is always available when called upon for advice and support. Thank you both very much. My thanks again to Stewart, Don and Ken for their work and support during the year and to Barry who has always been available on Kitty Comp days to stand in when necessary. Many thanks to Cliff who has looked after our financial affairs so well for so long and ensures that we can always pay our way. He also plays a valuable part in the organisation of the Christmas Party a fact which I failed to thank him for at last year’s event – my apologies and thanks. Derek ensures that Clays Seniors always get a good press and is always available to give good advice to me and the committee. I’ve left Roger until last because as most of you will know Roger is leaving the committee after 9 years of sterling service. He has undertaken the administration tasks required to ensure the smooth running of the section for a large part of that time but has done much more. The original tally board which enabled us to organise the Kitty Comps the way we do today was down to him and although Ken Hutch was involved in the construction of the new Board I think he would agree that the driving force was Roger. I am sure that Cliff is going to mention more about the work that Roger has been doing on his behalf and I recognise the significant help he has given to him. He has been a great support to me and to the section as a whole and will be a hard act to follow. Our thanks to you Roger for all your efforts during the last 9 years. I would ask Wyn to pass on my thanks to the management, catering, bar, shop and ground staff for their help and support during the year. Everyone has always gone out of their way to help me during my captaincy and I’m very grateful. And finally I would like to say how much I have enjoyed being your captain for the last two years. It has been a real pleasure to meet up with you every week and I challenge anybody to find a nicer group of guys anywhere. I hope you feel that I have been a help rather than a hindrance in taking the section forward and would like to thank all of you for the friendship and support you have given to me. Cliff Lloyd on behalf of the members thanked Roy for his report and for his efforts during his captaincy. Treasurers Report Cliff reported that the current balance was £701. This figure does not take account of a significant number of subscriptions still to be received or payment of the Christmas lunch wine bill but the section’s finances are in very good order. In recognition of this the committee have agreed that the charge for members for this year’s event will be £13. In concluding his report Cliff thanked Roger for the tremendous support he had given to him over the years. Election of Committee Members Those members due to leave the committee by rotation had all indicated their willingness to serve another term. They had all been proposed and seconded and those present voted unanimously for their re election. As Roger was leaving the committee there was a vacancy; Bob Brown was proposed by Roy Jones and seconded by Roger Hudson and received a unanimous vote from those attending. Roy congratulated them all and welcomed Bob to the Committee. Election of Seniors’ Captain Bob Brown had expressed a willingness to become Captain and had been nominated by Roy and seconded by Roger. Roy reiterated his support and said that he believed Bob would be a tremendous asset to the section. The vote was unanimous and Bob was duly elected. Roy congratulated him, presented him with his badge of office and invited him to take over the chair. Change to Seniors’ Constitution Bob asked Roy to outline the reason for this change and he explained that it was being put forward to clarify the existing Clause 1.7 of the Constitution. This clause is intended to ensure that every member and the committee are aware in advance of any proposal which a member intends to raise at the AGM which if passed would amend the constitution. This is not to prevent discussion but to ensure that the implications for the running of the section can be considered by every member before being discussed and voted on at the AGM. It is proposed by Roy Jones and seconded by Stewart Poole that the following be incorporated in the Constitution at Clause 1.7: Only proposed changes submitted to the Secretary by either an individual member, with a proposer and a seconder, or the committee and notified to the membership along with the agenda can be voted on at the AGM. In the discussion that followed Fred Court asked why it was necessary for a proposer and seconder. In reply it was said that as any proposal before being voted on needed both it was right to ask for both at the time it was submitted. After further discussion the proposal was voted on and passed by those attending. Any Other Business Honours Board Competitions Ray Martin asked if the completion dates for the rounds of the various match play Honours Board competitions were going to more rigorously enforced in the future. In reply it was agreed that the situation in 2009 was far from satisfactory and that the rules for playing these matches will be clarified and communicated to members in the New Year and would be strictly adhered to. Medals Don Wraight pointed out that members cancelling their medal tee time could potentially impact on those playing at the same time and asked that people should only enter their names in the draw if they were reasonably certain to be available to play. Christmas Party Ken Lawrence woke up and reminded members of the playing and eating arrangements for our Christmas Party. AGM In view of the poor attendance tonight it was suggested that we should consider a change in the day and time of the meeting. One suggestion was that it should be held on a Seniors day in conjunction with a Kitty comp and it was agreed that this would be discussed by the Seniors committee. There being no other business the meeting closed at 21.30