Timothy S HUXLEY ,\ II
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MINUTES OF MEETING OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS' CLUB, HONG KONG 2014-2015 ON 18 OCTOBER 2014 at 10 am BOARD MEMBET,QSRESENT President (Chairman): Jitendra JOSHI X'irst Vice President: Neil WESTERN at t Second Vice President: Kevin Barry H EGAN Correspondent Governo t Carsten SCHAEL Tara JOSEPH Sarah CHARLTON \ \ Peter HUTCHISON R t) Francis MOzuARTY Nan-Hie IN lr\À'N6¿ Journalist Wyng CHOW cammyYlU ( Ðn\llÅAlv, Associate Andrew CHWOROWSKY Timothy S HUXLEY a?^ -z'^¿ - ,/ ,\ II Simon PzuTCHARD 422 Apologies FDC, AL, TC Non-Members by invitation: Gilbert CHENG (GM) Hoi-Lo CHAN (HLC) Heledd WILLIAMS 1 MEETING CALLED TO ORDER The Chairman called the meeting to order at 10.03 hrs ¡ 2. PRESENTATION AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20 September 2014 Proposed by FM Seconded by TJ FoT: INH, TJ, FM, CY, KE, CS Abstain: PH, TH, 3. PRESIDENT'S REPORT JJ reported: 1. Occupy HK With regard to the Occupy Movement story, the Club had done its best to promote its name and stay engaged with the story. (SH arrived 10.05 am) The Regina Ip and Emily Lau discussion had sold out quickly and was a.very successful event in terms of exposure. There had also been a discussion on showcasing some of the best photography from the protests, which would be discussed later in the meeting. JJ said it was important that the Club should be present and proactive, being open to any ideas and suggestions. A close eye was being kept on issues surrounding press freedom. JJ described a worrying situation from the previous night, where a photojournalist member had been detained and later arrested many hours late r for climbing onto a car during a protest. (lVC arrived 10.07 am) JJ said that on the same night, other journalists in Mongkok were penned in and threatened with batons if they crossed the road. In light of those events the Club had put out a statement, which had been picked up by the SCMP and other publications. 2 Funeral of VG Kulkarni (SC arrived 10.08 am) JJ said the funeral would take place on Monday and although it would be a sad event, he was pleased to hear there would be a good attendance. He regretted that he could not be there, as he would be out of town. However, there would be a wake the following week and he would attend along with VG Kulkarni's other friends and colleagues. JJ suggested that the workroom be re-named in VG Kulkami's honour, as he used it frequently and it was currently unnamed. It was resolved to name the workroom to call it "The VG Kulkarni Workroom" Proposed by FM Seconded by TJ Unanimously Accepted It was agreed that the change of name would be announced at the wake. a -t Cliff Buddle JJ reported that Mr Buddle had been badly beaten at an event by a Mainland student. Flowers had been sent to him and a handsome thank-you note had been received from him, thanking everyone for their concern. KE expressed concern that a statement had been put out too quickly regarding the arrested photogiapher (mentioned earlier), as standing on a car was criminal damage and the Police were ohliged to respond. He urged caution with such situations, which JJ noted. It was resolved to approve the President's Report Proposed by TH Seconded by PH Unanimously Accepted 4. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEE CONVENERS FINANCE TH reported: FINANCE COMMITTEE meeting on October 15,2014 Members attending Tim Huxley (Convener), Wyng Chow, Cammy Yiu, Simon Pritchard, Elaine Pickering, Anna Healy Fenton, Erik Floyd, John V/hitcomb, Robin Fox Also attending: Gilbert Cheng, Hoi-Lo Chan, Alex Lee Apologies: Jitendra Joshi, Neil V/estern, Andy Chworowsky, Simon Pritchard, Tara Joseph, Connie Bolland, Douglas Wong, Jake van der Kamp 1 Meeting called to Order Treasurér called the meeting to order at 12:45 p.m. He noted the recent passing of veteran Committee member VG Kulkami. The Committee recorded its condolences and noted VG's longstanding contribution to the work of the finance committee. ) Financial Controller's Comments on September 2014 Financials: Revenue & Surplus - September 2014 Total revenue foi the moñth of September w4s 53,224,586, over last year by 5457,I98 and ahead of budget by $287,166. For the 1" half-year, revenue was over last year by $1,855,587 and ahead of budget by $1,231,988. Net deficit for the month of September was 5287,820 against budget deficit of 5362,67 8, resulting in a favourable variance of $74,858. The year-to-day surpfus is now 5374,439 resulting in a favourable variance of $916,988 compare with budget. The overall result is very positive, given that the first six months are normally the toughest trading conditions. Higher usage of the Club has been the main contributor. Whilst no price rises are cu 'ently envisaged, food prices are rising and other costs will also increase in coming months so vigilance must be exercised. Food and Beverage Cost Food costs for the month were $727 ,052 or 35.I% against sales, which were 1.7olo more than the budget. Beverage costs for the month were $430,646 or 38.5yo, which were lYo above budget. After adding in wines take-away and wine home delivery, the total cost will be $451,306 or 39.09Yo. Revenue Cost Cost%o Beverage Sales $1,118,487 5430,646 38.50% Wines take away 532,720 $17,814 54.44% Wines home delivery $3,309 $2,847 86.04% Total $1,154,516 $451,306 39.09"/" Other Income/Other Item Subscription income and Entrance fees for the month were $1,957,361 and $161,000 respectively. Catering Expenses and Administration Expenses Total catering expenses were over budget by $56,515; more maintenance cost due to material & maintenance cost for kitchen griller & freezer. The additional costs were mainly associated with extra part-time staff resultìng from heavy use of banqueting facilities. Total administration expenses were over budget by $12,070; more entertainment cost due to paying 30% deposit for the HRPA's contract fee. Current month revenue - October 2014 F&B revenue budget for the month of October 2014 is $3,081,540. F&B revenue up to 13 October 2014 (Monday) was $1,389,012, which was over last year by 5226,926 and ahead of budget by 596,754. Some disruption from Occupy Central had been seen with lower use of Main Dining Room, but overall use of Club and promotion of events has seen solid revenue generated. 3. Any other business General Manager mentions that the transportation expense in October will be slightly increased due to "Occupy Central" requiring late duty staff to take taxis home. 4. The meeting rvas adjourned Discussions at BOG meeting TH reported that the Club had got to the end of the first half of the financialyear with a surplus of HK$374,000, which was more than HK$900,000 in favour. A loss had been budgeted in the f,rrst six months, so it was a positive outlook. The committee would continue to be vigilant, but no action needed to be takenon prices. Food costs were rising though. Otherwise, everything else on both administrative and catering expenses was within the budget. JJ reported that the Club hadn't suffered too much due to the Occupy Movement. TH said that at first the Main Dining Room (MDR) had suffered, but overall the Club was fine with bar takings g going well. There h curred as temporary staff had overall the Club was other bars and restaurants in a slight raise in trans the staff home, but the Club was still ahead of budget. It was resolved to accept the report of the Finance Committee Proposed by CS Seconded by WC Unanimously Accepted PROFESSIONAL TJ reported: Minutes for Professional Committee Meeting. Monday, 6 October 2014 Board members: Tara Joseph, Cammy Yiu Other Committee members: Keith Bradshel Other FCC members: Douglas Wong Invitees: Clement Li, Joanne Chung, Hilda Wang 1) Minutes of September 10,2014 meeting - Approved Speaker Issues/ Proposed Speakers: Event ReviewÆIost Confirmation DATE SPEAKER HOST October Tues. Oct. 14lunch Emily Lau, Regina Ip Jit/Tara/Keith Panel discussion on Occupy HK Wed. Oct. 15 moming Joyce Hau, Google Keith Google tutorial Wed. Oct. l5lunch David Eimer, Author Nan-Hie/ "The Emperor Far Away: Cammy Travels at the Edge of China" Mon. Oct.20lunch Ben Simpfendorfer TaralKeith Asia's Commercial Future: Bigger, but more complex Tues. Oct. 28 lunch Maria Vassilakou, Deputy Mayor, Cammy Vice Governor of Vienna. "Incinerators, Recycling & other environmental innovations - Lessons from Vienna" Wed. Oct 29 lunch Bill Hayton, Author Jir The South China Sea: The Struggle For Power in Asia November Mon. Nov. 3 lunch Ryan Pyle, Photographer & Author Tara Book on Chinese Turkestan Thurs. Nov. 6 6:30pm U.S. Google Tutorial Tara Mon. Nov.l0lunch Lou Ferrara, Managing Editor, AP Jit Topic on new media landscape Wed. Nov. 12 lunch Patrick Low, Fung Global Institute Keith Former WTO economist Thurs. Nov. 13 lunch Charlie Jeffery from Edinburgh University Topic: Scotland remaining in the U.K. Wed. Nov. 26lunch Lord Browne, former CEO of BP and author Keith/Jit , Upcoming Events Proposed SpeakersÆvents: 1) From Nan-Hie: In lisht of what's soins on risht now. Jit wanted an event about Occuov Hons Kons. Amons the handful of oossible soeakers aooroached. Ansie Lau secured Emilv Lau. and Brian Zittel sot Resina Io.