The 2021 AGM which has been delayed due to Covid will now be held at the Guildford Institute on 18 October at 7.30 p.m.
AGENDA:
1. Approval of minutes of the AGM held on Tuesday 3 November 2020 – see below
2. Matters arising
3. Treasurer’s report – see below
4. Adoption of the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021
5. Appointment of Independent Examiner of Accounts
The Treasurer recommends the re-appointment of Richard Norman as Independent Examiner of Accounts; Guildford Arts is not a charitable company and is therefore not required to have the accounts audited
6. Appointment of Bank
The Treasurer recommends the continuation of the services of National Westminster Bank and of CAF Cash, the banking arm of the Charities Aid Foundation, as the second bank. Longer term investments are with Secure Trust and there is an Investment account with Black Rock UK and a Legal and General Unit Trust.
7. Election of Committee Members
The following are the present elected Committee Members
Chairman: Bill Ward
Vice-Chairman: Jan Wilkinson
Treasurer: Richard Bowman
Administrator/Art@Work: Sue Dragon
Membership Secretary: Jan Wilkinson
News & Views Editor: Roy Hogben
Small Grants: Mike Beckwith
GASE Chair Philippa Sampson-Bancroft
Web Site Manager John O’Keefe
8. Election of Other Members of the Committee
Existing member: Gordon Jackson
9. Election of Nominated Members
The following are the present elected Nominated Members:
Councillor Jan Harwood representing Guildford borough Council,
Pippa Treharne representing the University of Surrey
Sandra Roberts representing the Guildford Institute
10. Modifications to the Constitution
11. Any other business
NB: Nominations for Officers and Committee Members are invited, with the prior agreement of the nominee, in writing, to Sue Dragon, Administrator, Guildford Arts, 5 Irwin Road, Guildford, GU2 7PW.
Sue Dragon
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 3 November 2020 :Virtually
In attendance: Bill Ward, Jan and Philip Wilkinson, Richard Bowman, Mike Beckwith, Richard Norman, Sue Dragon, John O’Keefe, Roy and Anita Hogben, Philippa Sampson Bancroft, Joan Clifford, Barbara Hester, Deena Goff, Ann Hyde, Alan Keat, Hilary Leigh, Gachou Pletts, June Pugh, Sinclair Webster.
Bill Ward welcomed everyone to this delayed AGM which was unable to be held in July due to the pandemic. He thanked Philippa Sampson-Bancroft for facilitating the virtual meeting.
1. Apologies: were received from Tammy Ellis, Gordon Jackson, John Nicholls, Judy Norman, Pippa Treherne.
2. Minutes of the AGM held on Thursday 4 July 2019 were proposed by Sue Dragon, seconded by John O’Keefe and accepted unanimously by the meeting.
3. Matters Arising:
None
4. Chairman’s report:
This had been previously circulated and Bill Ward also noted that there had been virtual exhibitions curated by Sue Dragon and Philippa Sampson-Bancroft and Roy Hogben had continued to produce News and Views from South Africa where he was hiding from Covid-19. In December the Guildford Arts calendar, curated by Sue Dragon, will be distributed to paid-up members.
5. Treasurer’s report:
Richard Bowman presented the accounts, previously circulated, noting that they referred to a mainly preCovid-19 period. He mentioned the increase in exhibition income and in the income from mailings. GA has continued to distribute funds. The first lockdown had an effect on investments but to date 70% of the losses have been recovered. There had been a £7000 loss due to the movements of the stockmarket.
Hilary Leigh asked if GA should be distributing more funds with £48,000 in hand. Bill Ward replied that support had been given to Guildford Fringe which is supportive of the Yvonne Arnaud Art exhibition, there had been contributions to Watts Gallery to facilitate the siting of Physical Energy on the A3 and to Guildford Book Festival. Philippa Sampson-Bancroft had distributed The Big Draw packs to children in the Guildford area. This had been publicised by social media. A recent recipient for a grant was Pirbright Arts which will be presenting events on-line until normal events can be held. A grant for the new Surrey Performing Arts Library has been agreed and is pending.
Philippa Sampson-Bancroft mentioned that the lighting system used for the summer exhibition is fragile and needs to be replaced, probably with LED which will also benefit by being cooler. It may be that the boards are at the end of their useful life too so considerable expense will be required for these purchases.
Bill Ward thanked Richard Bowman for his crucial work behind the scenes to ensure that Guildford Arts remained on a sound financial footing and Richard Norman for his examination of the accounts once again.
The adoption of the accounts was proposed by Sue Dragon, seconded by Roy Hogben and approved by the meeting. The accounts were therefore adopted.
6. Appointment of Independent Examiner: The Treasurer recommended the re-appointment of Richard Norman; this was proposed by Philippa Sampson-Bancroft, seconded by Mike Beckwith and approved unanimously.
7. Appointment of Bank: The Treasurer recommended the continuation of the services of National Westminster Bank and of CAF Cash, the banking arm of the Charities Aid Foundation, as the second bank, and PayPal. Longer term investments are with Secure Trust and there is an Investment account with Black Rock UK and a Legal and General Unit Trust. The appointments were proposed by Richard Bowman, seconded by Jan Wilkinson and unanimously approved.
8. Election of Committee members:
The Chairman notified the meeting that all current officers were prepared to stand for re-election. There had been no further nominations.
Chairman: Bill Ward
Vice-Chairman: Jan Wilkinson
Treasurer: Richard Bowman
Administrator/ Art@Work: Sue Dragon
Membership Secretary: Jan Wilkinson
News and Views editor: Roy Hogben
Small Grants: Mike Beckwith
YAA Organiser: Philippa Sampson-Bancroft
Web Development manager: John O’Keefe
Proposed by Hilary Leigh and seconded by Deena Goff. All were unanimously approved for re-election.
9. Election of Members: Gordon Jackson was proposed by Bill Ward and seconded by Mike Beckwith. and was approved by the meeting.
Nominated members were: Pippa Treharne from the University, Jan Harwood from GBC and Sandra Robinson from Guildford Institute. The latter has just resigned as a trustee of GI so another nominee is awaited. The chairman thanked Pauline Searle and Charlotte Beck for their work on the committee. Pauline had retired from her position as lead on cultural matters on GBC and Charlotte who has moved away from Guildford.
Any Other Business:
Bill Ward spoke of the immense contribution to the Arts in Guildford by Pat Grayburn who has ceased to be the nominated member representing the University.on the Guildford Arts committee after very long service in this role. She has been involved in Guildford Book Festival, the International Music Festival, a gallery on the university campus with a legacy of prestigious art works, on the board of the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre and Watts Gallery. Bill Ward announced to the meeting that she had been awarded the first Honorary Life Membership of Guildford Arts in recognition of her immense contribution.
The Chairman closed the meeting at 8 pm.
Treasurer’s Report 2021:
