AGM 2024

Annual General Meeting June 17th 2024

Notice is hereby given that the forty third Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held on MONDAY 17th JUNE 2024 at 1.30 pm prior to the Lecture at the Bowdon Rooms, The Firs, Bowdon.  

AGENDA

1. Welcome by the President – Prof. Rosalie David
2. Apologies for absence.
3. To approve the Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held 19th June 2023.
4. Chairman’s Address - Sue Park.
5. To receive the Hon. Treasurer’s Report and verified Accounts for the year ending 31st March 2023.
6.  
7. Election of Committee Members: 

The following are nominated for the Committee:

Mrs Sue King

Nominated: Mrs Mary Rollings    Seconded: Ms Judith Robertson

Mrs Alison Collins

Nominated: Mrs Sue Park  Seconded: Miss Hilary Forrest

The following were elected and are willing to continue:-

Joint Chair - Mrs Sue Park*   &   Mrs Mary Rollings* 

Honorary Secretary - Mrs Dorothy Chadwick*

Membership Secretary -  Mr Roger Turner* 

Programme Secretary -  Mrs Hannah Hulton

Guest Event Secretary -  Ms Judith Robertson 

*another year in office will exceed the term set out in the Rules of the Society.

Any objection to these extensions should be sent by post to the Hon. Secretary,

Mrs Dorothy Chadwick. Dormer Cottage, Birchdale Crescent, Appleton, Warrington. WA4 5AP

1. 7. Appointments               

Mrs Alison Collins is appointed Hon. Treasurer.

Mrs Gwynneth Bellman is re-appointed Heritage Volunteer Representative and Church Recording Group Leader.     

Miss Hilary Forrest continues ex officio

Mrs Joan Chantrell continues ex officio                       
 

1. 8. Resignations

Mrs Pam Greenwood is stepping down from the committee.

1. 9. Any Other Business.

Items of Any Other Business should be notified to the Hon. Secretary. 

Date of Next Annual General Meeting 16th June 2025 at The Bowdon Rooms at 1.30 pm prior to the lecture.

__________________________________________________________________________

Chair Address

Dear Fellow Members

The AGM on 17 June seems to have come round very fast!  This is just a brief look at the past year, and the year ahead.

I am sure you will agree with me that we have had some exceptional and varied lectures.  Once again Joan put together a terrific programme and we are all sad that she has decided to relinquish her role as Programme Secretary, but delighted she will remain on the committee.  Joan, you have done a fantastic job!

We are exceptionally lucky that Hannah, our current Treasurer, is going to take on the role of Programme Secretary and has already been working with Joan to put together the programme for 2024/25.  As you can imagine, we were then absolutely delighted to recruit Alison Collins as our new Treasurer.  Along with many if not all voluntary committees, the recruitment of new committee members is a number one priority and to have people step forward to fill committee roles is hugely appreciated.

Another new, and valued addition, to the committee is Sue King, who has taken on the role of organising our Website and Facebook pages.

The role of Young and Community Arts representative remains open, so if you would like to take this on, just step forward!   However, I am so pleased that Gwynneth Bellman has agreed to take on the role of Heritage Volunteer Representative, and we can look forward to some new initiatives for 2024/25.

Sadly, although while we have gained new members of the committee, Hilary Forrest has decided to retire from her role as Visits Secretary although she has agreed to remain on the committee.  Many thanks to you Hilary for all the wonderful Day Visits you have organised for us. The trip to Hardwick Hall last year was another great success. And one more to come, to Ness Gardens at the end of June.

I am not sure which lectures you would pick out as your favourites, but Mark Hill who came in November to speak on ‘Undressing Antiques’ was one of mine.  The Quest for the Holy Grail in December with Jaqueline Hyman, who lives just down the road from the Bowdon Rooms, was another.  I very much enjoyed Scott William Schiavone speaking on Balenciaga, Dior and Fath, and of course the brilliant lecture by Antony Penrose on his mother Lee Miller.  But all the lectures have added to my knowledge and made me keen to learn more about the subjects.

There was also the Spring Lunch at Ringway Golf Club with Adam Partridge, organised by Judith and Hannah. Another hugely enjoyable and well attended event with an excellent meal and an excellent speaker!

In addition there was the successful Study Day in April at the Bowdon Parish Centre on Wax Prints with Anne Mason and Margaret Hickson, organised by Meg Firth and Gwynneth Bellman.  They did invite people to come to their house to see more of their work, so if you would like details please have a word with Gwynneth.

Book conservation at Tabley House, has also continued during the winter organised by Chris Laffly.  And Church Recording has continued at Hale Chapel with Gwynneth Bellman.  Thank you both.

But, on your behalf, grateful thanks go to all members of the committee, whose invaluable support has guaranteed the success of the Arts Society Bowdon. Roger, our Membership Secretary, Dorothy our Secretary and also our Vice President, Janusz and all his technical team. 

We owe a lot to Janusz, particularly at present, The lease of the Bowdon Rooms has changed hands, Edward and Antony Prophet have moved on, and there is now a new team in charge. It takes time for a new team to settle in and we rely on Janusz to liaise with the Bowdon Rooms to ensure that the lecture presentation is as good as it can be.

Thanks also to our President, Rosalie David, for her invaluable support.

As I mentioned in this report last year, the main costs of running the Society are the venue, and the lecturers and their travel.  Joan has done her best to keep costs down, but inevitably our outgoings have risen.  Fortunately thanks to the rise in subscriptions last year, we did not make a loss over this past year as we did in the previous year.  However, I regret that it is inevitable that the subscription will have to rise again. 

Part of your subscription goes to The Arts Society centrally.  They provide the magazine that all members receive.  They also run training programmes for societies, there is a lot of on-line content available which they also organise, and of course the Arts Society organise the Directory of Lecturers which we largely rely on to find our speakers.

However, the changes at the Bowdon Rooms mean that we no longer benefit from the somewhat preferential rate that we enjoyed when the Prophet brothers were in charge.  The new owners intend to run the Bowdon Rooms on a very commercial basis, and from 2025 there will be a substantial increase in the rent we pay.  This can only be covered by a rise in the subscription rate. We have looked, and are looking, at other venues, to try to keep costs at a reasonable level, but for the moment we are continuing at the Bowdon Rooms.

I hope, like me, you have enjoyed the lectures this year, and that you feel that your subscription represents value for money in terms of the venue and the lectures.

My very grateful thanks go to all those who have helped over the past year, those on the committee and those not on the committee.  Your contribution has been greatly valued.

I look forward to seeing you for another year of informative, interesting and exciting lectures.  I have seen the programme for 2024/25, it looks really good!

Sue Park

Joint Chairman with Mary Rollings

Arts Society Bowdon