AGM Minutes 2013

Agenda

14-11-2013

7.30 pm Alltwen Community Hall

Attendees:

Lynne Davies: Chair

Daniel Mahers: Events Organiser

Kim Hopkins: Secretary

Heather Thomas

Jess Maguire

Dave Reading

Dan Davey

Nick Roberts

Glen Hawthorne
Stephen Hanbury (Treasurer) was represented by Lynne Davies due to absence.

Apologies for Absence:
Andy Horobin
Cath Davies
Peter Duncan
Ross Kelly
Stephen Hanbury

1. Round up of the past year. What we did right and what we did wrong.

Workshops - A discussion was held about the type and frequency of when workshops were run. The members present were happy with the style of the workshops, but felt it would be best to limit them to every other week as suggested by Daniel and Dan. This will allow people to practice what they learned before going onto the next workshop. It was also agreed that workshop leaders should not pay the weekly fee on the day they teach, as suggested by Daniel. Lynne asked if the skill swap games we have played in the past should be classed as a workshop, to which members agreed they should. 

Events - this year we didn't do many events partly due to the Pontardawe parades being cancelled and partly because we did not arrange any.. Lynne suggested that next year we could attend local circus shows, attend circus festivals and look for other local parades to join depending on PLI.
Focus Hour -Daniel pointed out that once a month unicycle hour has ceased to be run, and asked if we should reinstate it. Kim suggested taking a vote the week before to decide what skill to focus on during the first hour of that week, Nick suggested the last hour instead as many members are unable to turn up at 7 due to other commitments. It was agreed that once a month we will offer 1 hour of time in the hall to a nominated and voted for skill and that the hour will be from 9-10 pm.
Lynne asked if any members were interested in playing unicycle hockey, Daniel is going to canvas members and make arrangements if there is enough interest.

Games Book -Stephen feels that as a club we play games well, and suggested collating a book of games to keep in the club cupboard, so we have a reference book for rules as a warm up for workshops. It was agreed we will do this. Action to be taken by the committee.

Health and Safety -Lynne felt that the way the club deals with accidents needs to be more organised, and explained that due to one recent incident it was apparent that people weren't sure how to act in an emergency. She felt we must be more organised. (Please see point 11 for more information)
The topic of home made props, and the risks they pose, was broached and it was decided that as long as the owner of the prop made any members wishing to use said prop aware they were using it at their own risk, that it was ok to bring them to the club. It was also decided that extra vigilance and spotters were needed for some of the props. The user is responsible for making sure they have that in place when using these props.
Communication - Lynne and Stephen felt that as a committee our biggest problem was communication, both within the committee and between the committee and club members, and any mistakes from this year should be learnt from. (Please see Point 9)

2. Number of Committee members - Stephen and Lynne proposed that the committee should have an odd number of members so that committee votes could not end up with a hung vote. As Daniel had previously decided to step down as event organiser it was agreed by members present to remove the event organise position from the committee.

3. Accounts - If you wish to see an up to date total or to inspect the accounts, please contact Stephen on his return from down under to arrange that.

4. Outstanding Fees - Stephen asked members to agree a way that reminders for outstanding fees should be done.
Options put forward:-

- Email sent out once a month
- Face to face verbal reminder.
There were various views on which to choose as some members don't have or use email, and some members might feel uncomfortable with a face to face meeting. It was decided to send out an email reminder to those with email addresses, and if that was unsuccessful then a committee member would approach any members regarding overdue fees.

5. Attracting new members - Suggestions were playing in public places such as parks and beaches, advertising posters/fliers in shops/theatres etc and taking part in local events.

6. Organisational changes to setting up Events - It was decided that if a member has an idea for an event, they should take it to the committee, who would put it forward to the club members. A vote would then be taken by members present at that week's club meeting, and if successful the member suggesting the event will assemble a team containing at least one committee member, and they will research venues and costs together. Once the details are collected, the committee member would put it forward for the club members to vote on whether or not to proceed with the event.

7. Suggestions of events for 2014 - Lynne would like us to set up a one day Circus Convention, possibly run at the leisure centre in Pontardawe or a venue in Swansea. We would invite people interested in circus skills to join us for a small door fee. It would involve a day of workshops & games and an evening show.
It was also suggested that we could do more club meet ups out side the Thursday evening, in the summer, in places such as Aberavon or Swansea Beach, Knoll Park.
Another suggestion was that interested parties could go to the Play Festival 6th - 10thAugust in North Wales.

8. Monthly newsletter and Mailing lists -Lynne is starting a monthly newsletter, via mailchimp, to go out the last week of the month. It will contain club updates, any news members wants to share etc. Daniel reminded members to check junk mail folder as some email accounts are set up to only deliver authorised mail to the inbox. If you have any news you wish to be included in the email please forward it to Lynne before the last week of the month.
Having an emailing list makes it quick and easy for the committee to contact everyone, as the mailchimp account lets them know who has or hasn't read the email. People that don't have email accounts will not be excluded. The committee will contact them by phone if they provided a number on the club sign up form.

9. Regular monthly committee meetings - It was noted that the committee felt that communication has been slipping lately, so have decided to reinstate once monthly short meetings of the committee to discuss any issues/problems and for making plans for the club. After the meeting, anything needing to be brought forward to the club members will be discussed in a short club meeting in the hall. We aim to get access to the small room at the end of the building on the last Thursday of the month for this committee meeting. If any members have something they wish to bring forward to the committee they can come to the room to do that.

10.Opening time, should it stay at 7pm?- Lynne has noticed, when opening up the hall on a Thursday evening, that there are regularly no members arriving for the first half hour of the club. She suggested that from December 2013 opening time should be 7.30pm during the winter months. The majority of members present agreed to this. It was noted that occasionally some members do arrive by bus at 7pm, so would be grateful not to have to stand out in the cold until 7.30pm. Lynne agreed that if given advanced warning she would be happy to arrive at 7pm to unlock on those nights.

11. First aid, health and safety -We now have a first aid box in the cupboard. If anything is used from the box the committee is to be informed. 

If a member notices anything dangerous inside or outside the building they are to inform the committee who will then contact the relevant person to fix the problem. If a member damages the building or building property they are to inform the committee.

We will be compiling a list of first aiders and a first aid file containing their certificates to be stored in the cupboard (to be carried out by the Secretary). We will have a form that members can fill out, if they wish, to inform first aiders if they have medical issues that could impact on how the first aiders treat them in the event of an accident.

12.Other business -No other business

Committee stood down.

Treasurer - Stephen stands, unanimous vote

Secretary - Cath Davies and Kim stand, Kim abstains Cath wins 6-2

Chair - Lynne and  Kim stand, kim abstains, Lynne wins 5-3

The committee would like to thank Daniel Mahers and Kim Hopkins for their time  as Committee members and would like to welcome Cath Davies as the new Secretary. We would also like to thank all the members that took the time to run workshops, bring milk for the tea, collect equipment, offer other members lifts to and from weekly meetings and generally brought smiles and fun to the club. Let's build on what we have to make 2014 even better than 2013.

AGM 13-12-12

Stephen Hanbury started the meeting informing us about the account status for the last year. Anyone absent from the meeting who would like the details should contact Stephen.

We then went on to discuss what to do with the money we've raised from the weekly fees, and it was decided that when the total neared £1,000 we would take a vote on what to spend it on. It was also decided that we should keep a float of a minimum of £500 as a buffer for emergencies. Daniel Davey suggested having a meeting when the £1,000 mark was reached to discuss ideas for spending the money. Cath Davies suggested occassionally using a larger venue, but Stephen said that could be a problem as in the summer weekday bookings are usually full so we'd need to book early, and Dan D said that if the weather is nice people might want to meet outdoors, thus wasting money on booking an indoor venue early. Lynne Davies suggested arranging a meet up on a Saturday or Sunday with other organisations such as Circus Eruption. Stephen then suggested booking one Thursday in the summer at a larger venue, but also keeping Alltwen Hall open. Daniel Mahers has looked into prices for hiring Astroturf, and discovered that during the summer it is half price as people can use the local fields for free, and therefore would be ideal to hire it out then for the unicyclists to have somewhere to play hockey or just practice skills.

Stephen has changed the register to account for missing payments, so that he can keep track of who has missed payments or made part payments easier. We took a vote to see if it was a good idea and everyone was for the new register. We also have new forms for equipment and events.
Equipment Form - This is for suggesting any equipment a member thinks the club need, and when funds are available we can have a meeting to take a vote on what on the list should be bought, and the decided prop(s) will get crossed off the list, and anything left will stay on the list for future reference. However it was stressed that there were no guarantees that anything on the list would be purchased.
Events Form - If anyone has an idea for an event they can add it to the events form, and help the events organiser to organise it. In order to avoid confusion the organiser will contact outsiders on behalf of the club, and the event nominator will organise within the group, reminding club members, get feedback and brainstorm etc. If an event is suggested that no-one wants to do, it will be crossed off the list.
Both forms will be taped inside the cupboard door, allowing any member to view them at any time.
All members agreed with the suggestions.

As it was an AGM  at the end of the meeting all committe members would step down to allow others to nominate themselves for a role, so Lynne went through all the responsibilities, and it was decided to add a note to the member's responsibilities to invest in safety equipment. Anyone wanting to know what their responsibility is should see a committee member.

It was decided that when someone borrows from the lending library that any damages made to equipment whilst out of club responsibilty should be paid for, unless the damage was caused by wear and tear. It was also suggested that an optional donation could be made by the lendee if they had enjoyment out of lending equipment to contribute towards replacement or repair of damaged equipment.

We all agreed that out of fairness we would have a rota for tidying up and doing the dishes at the end of the night, as the same people do them week after week.

The ENI blog is currently inactive, and as we have followers we decided that we should blog more to encourage people to join the group, take up a prop or just to see how we're progressing. Suggestions for blogging included:-
*members posting about improvements they've made, new skills etc.
*New Year Challenge - learn a new prop, either on your own or with another member, and post blogs/videos showing your progress.
The blog page contains the history of ENI, a forum for members to chat to each other andan events calendar which can be added to by members. Please note the page is public so anyone can read what you're posting and/or adding to the calendar so please bare this in mind when using the page. You can also post inspirational videos to the page, and it was decided that the Chairperson and a volunteer become editors, so that anyone not feeling confident about spelling, grammar etc can save their post for the editors to check over for them before publishing.

Mini skill training was suggested as a way to learn a new skill, to better a skill already learnt or to pass on to others a skill already learnt. It was proposed that a session would last from 30 minutes to an hour, and a form has been made for members to volunteer themselves to teach a skill or to suggest a skill to learn where someone could volunteer to teach it, a skill swap session etc. Teaching others helps you learn, as you're breaking down the steps you take to a simpler form. A space will be allocated for the sessions.  All members agreed with the proposal. Dave Reading suggested adding the sessions to the blog calendar so that members had enough notice to bring a prop they normally wouldn't or to arrange to use club equipment. Cath suggested paying outside performers to come and teach new skills in a master class, which needs definate numbers to justify paying for their travel expenses etc. Lynne added to this by suggesting the master classes be held on weekends when it would be easier for most performers to lead a class. Stephen suggested a "9 o'clock Tea Show" where members could volunteer to display a new trick they've learnt on the stage.

We have been asked to do some events in 2013.
*The RSPCA have asked if we could run workshops in the summer that cater to all age groups and skill levels
* Peter Duncan told us that on the 23rd of February is "upchuck" in Bath University, where there is a huge sports hall, and we would spend the day with a variety of skilled performers, with workshops running throughout the day and a show at the end. The cost is £6 for the day, £5 for the show. If anyone would like to attend please see the events organiser, and providing there are enough people interested we can look into hiring a minibus, and if we're attending as a club possibly subsidise members who may have difficulty in financing the trip.
* Daniel M suggested a "Battle of the circuses" at Laserzone, possibly the first week of February on a Sunday. Circus Eruption v ENI v mixture of other organisations/general people. He will hold a meeting in January to find out how many people are interested. All members agreed with the proposal.

THE VOTE!!!

Committee members Lynne, Stephen, Dan M and Kim Hopkins stood down from their respective posts so that other members could propose themselves. As no-one else wanted to nominate themselves all four members re-nominated themselves and were seconded by other members of the group.
The committee still stands with:-
Chairperson - Lynne Davies
Treasurer - Stephen Hanbury
Secretary - Kim Hopkins
Events organiser - Daniel Mahers

Minutes from the AGM 1st December 2011

In attendance: Peter Duncan, Lynne Davies, Stephen Hanbury, Daniel Mahers, Andy Horobin, Robert Roberts, Nick Roberts, Sonia Cresswell, James Matthews, Chris Morgan, Greg Hartland.

Apologies: Vaughan Budd

Background
A busy schedule has caused Vaughan Budd be unable to regularly attend ENI weekly club meetings and this has lead him to decided to step down as Secretary. The Club members would like to thank him for his years service in the post.

Finances
Stephen did not have an exact figure to give us having been away from the club the week before, so I will update the figure here as soon as he has calculated it. A rough estimate was £500


1. Filling the secretary post.
The club members were asked to propose someone for the post. Kim Hopkins was nominated by Stephen Hanbury and seconded by Daniel Mayers. A majority of members votes yes to the proposal so we are happy to announce that Kim Hopkins is now the Club Secretary.

An offer was made that the other 3 committee members would step down if anyone else wished to take up any of the posts, but no one did.

The committee is:-
Chair -Lynne Davies
Treasurer - Stephen Hanbury
Secretary - Kim Hopkins
Events Organiser - Daniel Mahers.

Job Descriptions can be found here.

2.Decisions 

• Monies that we agreed to be donated to the charity Performers Without Borders will be paid by check before the 1st January 2012. To be actioned by LD and SH.
• Cupboard to store equipment at the Alltwen Community Hall will aim to be completed by the 31st January 2012. To be actioned by LD and DM.
• Birthday cakes will no longer be provided by LD, due to costs.

3. Site Rules

Due to many new members joining the club we re-visited the rules of use of the hall.

4. Events

• This years Christmas Party will be held on 29th December. Organisation DM
• Curry night at the hall on a club night in January. Food to be made at LD and DM and transported up to the hall. Date yet to be agreed.
• A summer Gathering was proposed for 2012. It was agreed it would be good to have one, but that it be less formal than last year and involve booking a campsite for a weekend. Organisation will begin in the new year. To avoid it clashing with other summer events could people give dates to DM of any weekends they cannot attend. Organisation to be actioned DM.
• DM Proposed an Urban Unicyclists meeting in Swansea on a week day evening in the spring/summer. Date, venue and times to be confirmed. Invitations would be extended to unicyclists out side the ENI club to join in. JM suggested approaching the council for a busking licence so funds could be collected for the club at this event. Organisation DM.
• The Unicyclists would like to have an evening of unicycle hockey arrange and would like to invite the Cardiff Unicycle Hockey team along to teach them them the rules of the game. It was suggested this could coincide with a Curry night. Action to be taken by DM
• The 4 seasons Fests that are run in the village through out the year. DM will be in contact again with the Neath and Port Talbot Council (Ceri Jones) and the Pontardawe Chamber of Trade and commerce (John Jones) organisers to express to them that we need more notice for these events than we have been given in the last year. That will mean we have more time to prepare and practice for the events.

5. Training and master classes

LD suggested that we could send individual members to get training in their chosen skill that they then bring back to the club to train others, but SH suggested it would be better to either arrange for the trainers to come to our club to teach or for members to go together to training venues with the club subsidising the travel expenses. The consensus of opinion was to try and get people to come to the club to train people and or to hire a mini bus/look for community subsidised travel to take members to training in either Cardiff or Bristol. This needs on going discussion and quotes of costs being obtained. Members were then asked what they would like training in:-

• Staff 
• Hoops
• Poi
• Hat manipulation
• Acro-balance
• Unicycling
• Clowning
• Theatre
• Stage Fighting

It was pointed out that if trainers were to come to us, we would need safety equipment, such as gym mats/crash mats. To be actioned by LD, SH and DM

John Jones has informed the club that in the spring there is going to be a workshop in the Arts Centre Pontardawe, available for us to attend free of charge, on building large parade puppets. Suggestions were put forward that we should attempt to build a large elephants head.

6. Grants

DM notified us that the community council grant deadline was drawing near and offered to apply again for us this year and would state we need the money for carnival equipment. Actioned DM and KH

7. Any other Business

PD encouraged all the members to attend local circus shows, as a club, such as the Cwtch Cabaret nights that have been going on in the last few months at the Pontardawe Art Centre. Members that had already attended agreed that the evenings were great fun and worth attending. 

PD also informed us that on Tuesday 13 December the Circus Eruption Christmas show was on and asked the ENI members if the wished to attend. It was agreed that some would.