Minutes of the 20Th Annual General Meeting

Minutes of the 20th Annual General Meeting of the Dales Way Association held at 2pm on Saturday 27 Oct 2012 in the Riverside Hotel, Riverside Gardens, Bridge Lane, Ilkley LS29 9EU

Before today’s AGM eleven DWA members joined Chairman Colin Speakman for a most enjoyable walk along the Leeds Link route from Menston to Ilkley where a light lunch was served in the Riverside Hotel.

Introduction Colin welcomed the members and gave a short talk about the history of the Dales Way Association from its inaugural meeting on 3rd Feb 1991 to the present day. Seven people attended the first meeting including Colin, Douglas Cossar and David Smith and by the end of the evening had passed a resolution to form a Dales Way Association to: define and determine the route of the Dales Way, deal with the signposting and waymarking , look into National Trail status for the route, conserve the environment and market the route.

Colin regaled the meeting with stories from the early days, mentioning projects that had stood the test of time, such as the production of Newsletters and Handbooks, and long forgotten publications like “A child’s guide to the Dales Way”.

He talked about the difficulties faced in gaining the support of the authorities for the route, especially when compared with the brilliant way we all work together today, and credited the disaster of Foot and Mouth as a turning point when everyone began to understand the true value of walkers to the Dales.

2009 was mentioned as a highlight in the history of the Dales Way – the 40th Anniversary of the creation of the route and the DWA did a fantastic job in organising the celebrations, including the Anniversary Walks. Colin thanked the many people who had been so instrumental in the success of the Association over the years, picking out especially the late Arthur Gemmell and late David Smith and expressing great pleasure in having Judith Smith, Carol Crossland, Nikki Trask and Steve Tayor at the meeting today.

Colin closed by saying that however great the past has been the time has come to move on and although we are sad to say goodbye to the printed Handbook and Newsletter both he and the Committee look forward to many successful years ahead.

Present: Colin Speakman (Chairman - Ilkley), Alex McManus (Footpaths Officer - Harrogate), Donald Holliday (Treasurer/Cumbria Rep - Windermere), Chris Grogan (Secretary - Saltaire), Tony Grogan (Web Administrator - Saltaire), Carol Crossland (Member - Bradford), Nikki Trask (Member - Sherburn in Elmet), Alan Sutcliffe (Member – Ilkley), Gordon Tasker (Member – Yeadon), Kath Doyle (Member – Yeadon), Lawrence Wagstaff (Member – Sherburn in Elmet), Eileen King (Member – Great Dunmow, Essex), Ros Langdon (Member – Sunbury on Thames), Julia Jardine (Member Ellesmere, Shropshire), Judith Smith (Member – Ilkley), Steve Taylor (Member – Bradford).

Apologies: Douglas Cossar (Vice President), Frank Sanderson (President), Shirley Woodman, Fleur Speakman

Minutes of the AGM of May 21 2011 were passed as a true and accurate record. Proposed Chris Grogan Seconded Donald Holliday There were no matters arising.

Chairman’s Report Colin presented his report on the year’s activities and explained that it is no longer viable, either financially or in terms of the work load to continue to run the Association in the way it has been done for many years. He thanked Carol and previous secretaries for all their hard work and said that the Committee had considered closing down the DWA but had instead taken the decision to move the management of the Association to a web based system and to stop printing and posting Newsletters and Handbooks. This will keep the DWA functioning and free up money, time and energy to concentrate on promoting and improving the route. There were no questions.

The Dales Way Association Constitution Chris presented the new constitution and explained that the Association could benefit by being eligible for funding and gift aid by becoming a charity. A member asked what would happen if we don’t adopt the new constitution. Chris explained that nothing would change – we could carry on with the existing constitution but that would limit our opportunities to raise money which could be used to help improve the Dales Way, especially when the National Park and other authorities were suffering cuts to their budgets.

The adoption of the Small Charities Constitution was formally approved. Proposed Chris Grogan Seconded Judith Smith The vote was unanimous.

Treasurer’s Report Don presented the annual accounts. There were accepted as an accurate record of the finances of the DWA. Proposed Donal Holliday Seconded Carol Crossland The vote was unanimous.

Sutcliffe and Riley were appointed as the DWA Accountants for 2012 – 13.

Membership Secretary’s Report Chris presented the Membership Secretary’s Report. There was a discussion about membership and how it will be managed in the future. It was explained that new members will be invited to join via the website from the New Year, paying their subs either directly online for a 3-year period using debit/credit cards OR annually via direct debit. Existing members who pay by cheque & are awaiting renewal reminders will be written to and informed of new renewal options. Members who already pay by direct debit are unaffected.

Footpath Officer’s Report Alex presented the Footpath Officer’s Report. There were no questions.

Election of Officers and Committee The following people agreed to stand as Officers and Committee Members for the year 2012-13.

President Frank Sanderson Chairman Colin Speakman Vice Chairman Doulas Cossar Footpaths Officer Alex McManus Treasurer Donald Holliday Secretary Chris Grogan Web Administrator Tony Grogan Committee member Kath Doyle

Proposed Carol Crossland Seconded Nikki Trask The vote was unanimous.

Any Other Business Alan gave out winter timetables for the Dales Bus.

Colin thanked everyone for coming, especially those members who had travelled fom afar, and the meeting closed at 3.30pm