MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE WHARFEDALE DISTRICT COUNCIL HELD AT 19.45 ON TUESDAY 24 JUNE 2014 AT CURLY HILL ACTIVITY CENTRE

01.The meeting, attended by the officers and 40 members, was opened by the Chairman Mike Roberts who welcomed everybody and especially Annette Hattersley and Jane Winter Wharfedale, Andrew Walbank (in his capacity as Chairman of Ilkley Parish Council) and Heathcliffe Bowen, (also IPC) and Jeanette Young Deputy County Commissioner.

02. Apologies were received and recorded from Sue Vint and Girlguiding Wharfedale and from 11 members.

03. The minutes of the 2013 were proposed as accurate records by Mike Roberts, seconded Christine Paterson and approved nem con. Acceptance of the minutes of the EGM 4 December 2013 was proposed by Pam Newman and seconded by Ian Cunningham and again approved.

04. District Executive and Treasurer’s reports. The report and accounts had been approved by the Executive Committee as Trustees on 13 May 2014 and subsequently put on the website and also circulated to groups. Printed copies were made available at the and on request.

Mark Wood presenting his first annual report summarised the current year’s financial position. A detailed financial review of District Finances is contained within Section E of the Annual Report & Accounts ­ however the main points were as follows:

The total surplus for the year was £6,743, down from £10,483 in 2013 principally due to higher expenditure at Curly Hill and Reva sites, including higher depreciation of boats and equipment.

The surplus from the Curly Hill site decreased to £7,754 from £8,784 in 2013. Bookings for the year were healthy, so that total receipts from Curly Hill amounted to £18,466, an increase of £1,469 from the previous year. However expenditure to run and maintain the site amounted to £9,756, an increase from £7,665 in 2013.

Including donations and grant income, there was a small deficit of £580 from the Reva site and activities of the year compared with a surplus of £1,521 in 2013. Trading income, excluding grants and donations, from Reva grew to £6,443 from £4,323 in 2013, whilst expenditure, excluding depreciation, increased to £8,232 from £7,052.

At the end of the year net assets, including property and boat fixed assets of £310,329 (2013 £312,776), amounted to £358,899 compared with £352,156 at the end of the previous year. In line with the District funding policy, net current assets of £48,570 continue to be sufficient to meet between 75­100% of one year’s future expected expenditure (excluding depreciation).

The meeting agreed to endorse these reports.

A vote of thanks to Mr Derek Milns for the examination of the accounts was proposed by Andrew Walbank seconded by the chairman and this was endorsed by the meeting.

05 Roger Banister as retiring DC gave his report for 2013­14. When I re­read my notes from last year’s I see that I expected that to be my last as DC! However, looking back it has been another good year for the District and for and I am glad to have been at the helm.

This is a really good opportunity for me to thank you and all who volunteer in the District. As This is a really good opportunity for me to thank you and all who volunteer in the District. As well as the weekly programme delivery we can take pride in some notable development work this year which expands our capacity and the number of young people who can benefit from the magic of scouting. None of this happens automatically and I know many of you put huge amounts of time and effort into planning these initiatives. So thank you all. I also have 200 years worth of long service awards to present shortly which formalise the thanks of the Chief Scout for the time and commitment you all bring to scouting.

As a district our census results show overall numbers about level at 953 while leader numbers are up by 8 to 168. For the last few years I have been saying that most groups were at capacity and to grow we will need new sections and groups, well finally we have some progress to report. Ilkley Christchurch is an entirely new group based at Christchurch on the Grove in Ilkley. Plans are afoot to start a second Beaver colony at Menston and to start an Explorer Unit there. It is fair to say that recruiting leaders, while a challenge, is not the insuperable obstacle that we sometimes think it is.

At census time there were 127 children on our Beaver waiting lists. When compared to the total number of at 192 this is an enormous challenge. The new group and colony I mentioned will not make very much impact, so we need to keep up with our development work.

Within the District we continue to improve our infrastructure ­ the most visible project is the complete rebuild at 1st Ben Rhydding but a major project is starting to be developed at Burley. As well as these project activities, many are involved in maintaining and improving our buildings and facilities. Jobs like these take huge effort and commitment on the part of the local teams and we must all recognise that – I give them my thanks and those of the District for all this work behind the scenes.

When I look back over the 6 years of my term as DC the most pleasing change has been in our staffing as a district. We now have a full complement of ADCs and training advisers and after today when I change my role to GSL for Menston, we will finally have a GSL or AGSL in post at all the groups.

Beyond the District we mustn’t forget that we are part of a very active and successful County which supports us and widens the scope of experiences that we can offer to our members. 10 members of the district (including myself) had an amazing adventure in the Laddakh area of the Himalayas in northern India. We will also be very well represented by 5 explorers at the World in Japan in 2015. I ask you all to support them in any way you can.

There is of course another County event that is for all of us – Big Camp 2015. This should be an even better event than last time as we all know what we are dealing with, so please encourage everyone in your groups to get booked on.

I had the great honour to celebrate St George's Day at Windsor this year so I was not present at the District parade at All Saints Church in Ilkley this year. We had chosen to parade through the town to maximise our impact and it was a very well attended event. The collection of £172 was given to Yorkshire Air Ambulance. I thank Doug Lawson and 3rd Ben Rhydding for organising the event.

Finally, I would like to thank my deputy, Sally and all the members of the District Exec for their efforts and support through the year. It has been a real honour and privilege to be in charge for these six years.

Mike Roberts then made a presentation of engraved Scout tumblers to Roger a token of our appreciation of his significant contribution to the success of the district over the last six years.

06 Finally, Roger Banister on behalf of the Executive proposed that Marie Storr be appointed as a Vice President for the next five years. Agreed by all. Vice President for the next five years. Agreed by all.

07. Mike Roberts was again the District Commissioner’s nomination for District Chairman, this was endorsed by the meeting.

08. Election of officers District Secretary: Graham Peacock and District Treasurer: Mark Wood, proposed by Mike Roberts seconded by Marilyn Jennings. Both the above were agreed by the meeting.

The names of the ex­officio members were noted by the meeting: Curly Hill Co­ordinator Mike Roberts, Reva Cath Britton, Appointments Chair Richard Bleasdale, District Ex Scout Commissioner Pam Newman, SASU Manager Jeremy Ince.

09. The following nominations by the District Commissioner of persons to serve on the District Executive Committee were confirmed.

Heathcliffe Bowen Angela Pickard Tom Pickard Peter Bennett

10. The following were proposed to serve on the District Executive Committee by Mike Roberts and seconded by Robin Beaumont and agreed by the meeting:

Paul Cunningham David Hunt Christine Paterson Corey Woodhouse Matthew Phillips

Other posts (not subject to election) are filled as follows District Badge Secretary Marilyn Jennings District Appointments Secretaries Liz Williams & Peter Finlay

11. Derek Milne was proposed as independent examiner by Mike Robert, seconded by Pam Newman and agreed nem con.

11A. Andrew Walbank as Chairman of IPC told us of some young people who had significantly benefitted from their early Scout training. On behalf of the Parish he thanked us for all the activities being undertaken and he said the other local councils appreciated all our work.

12. Jeanette Young Deputy County Commissioner said from the County viewpoint there was general growth with new groups and leaders ­ she was proud of what the district was achieving here. She conveyed huge thanks to all leaders here.

13. Awards & certificates A was presented to Charlotte Simons

The following members had been given Awards for Long Service:

Name Group Service Name Group Service Sarah Ramsden 1BR 5 Richard Bastow OM 10 Michael Stone 1BR 5 Mike Roberts Exec 15 Simon Hayton Add 5 Carol Clayton OM 15 Tom Gomersall 1BR 5 Julie Reid Add 15 Paul Hobson OM 5 Peter Finlay Men 20 Kevin Bumby OP 5 Beverley Rothery OP 20 Ruth Hilton Exec 5 Matthew Carter 1BR 20 Sarah Hargreaves OM 5 Pam Newman Exp 20 Jane Newbury OM 5 Rogan Ashton OP 5 Rogan Ashton OP 5

St George’s Day 2014 – 1st Ben Rhydding were judged to be the smartest on the procession and the DC presented them with the trophy.

In this year’s Torch Race Otley Parish won the Sam Ives trophy for the Scout race and 1st Ben Rhydding took the Richard Nerurkar Explorer trophy. Otley Methodists Scouts and Ilkley Explorers were judged to be smartest at the inspection.

The meeting formally concluded at 20.50 with the Chairman recording his thanks to the leaders who work with young people every week and to the Curly Hill team.

14. Expedition Report: Emily Hale and Daniel Thornley told of us about the WY team of 37 young people aged 14 to 25 and 9 leaders and their 2013 expedition to India. They spent a little time in Delhi taking in the sights and sounds of this busy capital city, before heading into the Himalayan foothills to the town of Leh in Laddakh at 3500 metres in height. Whilst acclimatising they undertook project work in the town, with local schools and orphanages. The team then tackled their gruelling 6 day trek to a height of 5000m (similar to that of Everest base camp); they trekked in a breath taking environment and also spent time at a school for the children of nomadic Laddakh people. They also linked up with some Indian Scouts during the trip.

Social Event. At the conclusion of the presentation we yet again enjoyed an excellent wine and cheese buffet arranged by the Scout Active Support Unit.

………………………………………….. Chairman 23 June 2015