Galloway Woodturners
Annual General Meeting
7pm on Tuesday 13th October 2021
At the Club Workshop
Draft Minutes
- Members present – 28 members.
- Apologies – Rolf Buwert, Phil Howard, Bryan Jardine, Ken Coates.
- Minute of previous AGM meeting – see club website under “Library“ 2020 Annual General Meeting.
- Matters arising – No matters arising.
- Officers Report, Chairman, Treasurer –
Chairman’s report attached below.
Treasurer’s report attached below.
- Election of committee
Rolf Buwert re-elected as Chairman.
Christine Carson re-elected as Treasurer.
Sarah Burns re-elected as Secretary.
Stephen Eccles, Jimmy Brown re-elected.
Roger Cutler & Ken Coates elected as committee members.
- Any other business
- Members asked for the committee to look into getting our own phone line to be installed into club to allow for Zoom demonstration.
- Members asked the committee to look into buying a large TV or Projector system to allow pre-bought demonstrations to be played at the club for members.
- 2022 Professional demonstrators – Roger has been in contact with Darren Crisp & Gary Lowe – we should have a date for the demonstrations soon.
- Wednesday & Thursday turning – The majority voted to return to Wednesday night turning with the option of Thursday nights still available.
- Membership fees – It was put to the members that the fees stay at £35. Members voted for fees to remain at £35.
- The committee was asked if we have an asset register. David & Judith Simpson carried out this task a few years ago. Sarah & Christine are happy to update the list along with help from our members.
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Galloway Woodturners Chairman’s Annual Report 2021
October 2021
This past year has been most unusual, and different to the previous two years, where we went into a global pandemic, resulting in very severe restrictions that saw us close our doors to all members, other than essential maintenance and safety checks. This past year has been more positive as we emerged from the most severe restrictions – heading in the right direction, but not completely free yet.
During the past twelve months we have opened up cautiously, in stages, and now have evening workshops twice a week again, our monthly meetings are reinstated and Beginners Courses have restarted. We still request that all members wash their hands upon entering, and just before they leave, regularly sanitise their hands if sharing tools and machines, bring their own flasks of tea or be extremely fastidious about cleanliness where refreshments are consumed, and wear face masks indoors. Several of our members are good at complying with this, and others are excessively relaxed. As most of the safety precautions are advisory, legal requirements but vague, or just difficulty to enforce we rely on goodwill and social pressure to comply. To date nobody has become infected and I urge everyone to continue to be aware of the dangers and be kind to each other.
There have been no professional turners visiting any clubs, or doing any tours, and our monthly meetings were done by Zoom for most of the year with our more gifted and confident members Mick, Phil and Roger, with a contribution also from David, demonstrating from their own home workshops, and I thank them all for the investment in time and money to install the technology to enable this.
As of August 10th we have had members demonstrating at the workshop again, and I had intended to continue Zoom meetings in between normal monthly meetings, but my family circumstances and a few personal health issues made this too difficult, and I apologise for this not happening. I am very aware that some members are not ready to return to the workshop yet.
Covid-19 has changed the whole travelling professional turner’s scene, and those of you who have been following the Woodturning North Monday evening sessions have enjoyed some good demonstrations over the internet. Most professionals have also changed to primarily Internet Remote Demonstrations and are likely to continue for the foreseeable future. We, as a club will have to decide where we go from here and how we organise our monthly meetings.
Our treasurer has kept our financial footing secure, with membership fees reduced for a while, some members continued to pay the full annual fee in generous recognition of everyday running costs such as rent, power, insurance etc. Jimmy has kept the shop open and the income has also helped. I have held had 4 new members complete the Beginners Course in August and September and have another scheduled for November. They have mainly been one-to-one courses all-day on a Saturday. These course fees also ease any money concerns the club may have.
As our tools and equipment were not getting that much use during lockdown there was less wear and tear, however the big old Record CL4 lathe disliked being idle for so long and the electronics failed, an attempt to repair it proved difficult/ impossible/ too costly, so it has been retired and disposed of. A new member has ‘loaned’ us a large Wadkin lathe which is installed at the far end of the workshop, due to it’s size it will not be moved like the other lathes. The ‘loan’ is on the understanding that it remains the property of the member and at any time the member can take it back (if he ever gets space for it somewhere else) and we can request that he remove it at any time (with a reasonable notice) should we want it removed, however while it is with us we have free use of it as if it was wholly ours.
It was with great sadness that in August we lost a most excellent member, Bill McCoskry, suddenly through cancer, this gentle and loyal member was one of our longest standing members, serving on the committee and helping the membership in many ways over the years. Bill’s passing is a great loss to us all and he will be greatly missed. Our sympathies go out to his wife Cheryll and the family, and thanks to all the members of Galloway Woodturners who attended the funeral at Kelton Parish Church.
Our AGM this October will hopefully be a new chapter for Galloway Woodturners and we have some new members already, the coming year looks bright as the last of the Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed even further. Our membership numbers remain strong and I thank all members for their patience during this difficult time, also the committee for sticking to their posts and ensuring the club is in good shape for the future.
At the AGM we are required by our constitution to carry out the ‘Ordinary Business’ as outlined in the agenda for this AGM, this Chairman’s Report is part of it, as is the Treasurer’s Report. The election of the committee is important, but committee members are not ‘set apart’ from ordinary mortals, they have a job to do but the running of the Galloway Woodturners very much depends on ALL members to help each other out. I am very pleased at how well our membership does help in so many ways with making new members welcome, giving advice and support to each other, setting out chairs and moving lathes for meetings, looking after our equipment and maintaining tools and lathes where necessary, plus cleaning the kitchen, toilets and workshop. Please continue doing this but also consider serving on the committee when the opportunity arises. We could do with two more members on the committee and ask you to consider stepping up to this role.
I am sorry that I was not be able to attend the AGM in person this year as I was on the Isle of Man visiting my granddaughter who I have only seen once since she was born over a year ago due to the Island closing its borders at the height of the pandemic.
The club is in good hands tonight and has a bright future. Should I be re-elected in my absence I will be happy to serve the club in that capacity, but should there be a coup in my absence then I will be even more happy to serve under the new democratically elected chairman and heckle from the sidelines.
It has been a pleasure to be your chairman this past three years and hope to continue to serve the membership in some capacity in the future.
Rolf Buwert
2021 Chairman.
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