FAMILY HISTORY SOCIETY

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Held at Primary School, Turfurlong Lane, at 3.30pm on Saturday 19 May 2018

As the meeting on the 19 May 2018 was not quorate the Chairman adjourned the meeting until 3.30 p.m. on 16 June 2018. Meeting restarted at 3.40pm.

1. INTRODUCTION AND APOLOGIES

Tony Sargeant, Chairman of Buckinghamshire Family History Society, welcomed everyone to the AGM and presented the list of members who had sent their apologies.

Graham Gough Yvonne Parker

2. MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

It was agreed that the minutes of the AGM held on 22 April 2017 at Southcourt Community Centre Aylesbury is an accurate record of that meeting.

( Proposed: Joyce Kendell; Seconded: John Price )

3. TRUSTEES REPORT

The chairman’s report was read out.

Review of activities and achievements

This year the Executive Committee met six times to manage the activities of the Society in line with the objectives of the constitution. At the beginning of the year a volunteer approached Bucks FHS with the view of becoming the Treasurer. He was not able to take-up the appointment due to unforeseen circumstances. This meant the Chair had the additional roles of Honorary Secretary and Treasurer to perform.

It has been a difficult year with the Chair having three roles which have lead to some things being skimped and progress of project work adversely affected. The main efforts have been concentrated on making savings and changing the way Bucks FHS is run through removing unnecessary waste. The storage Bucks FHS use has been halved with the disposal of obsolete equipment and transcriptions of no value. A few important documents have been deposited in the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies. It was decided to dispose of the Places Library which has provided stock for sale at fairs.

Open Day made a small profit and was attended by over 400 people. There were difficulties with the school as a temporary gym had to be used. Sales of CDs and books were good with the release of High Wycombe and parish register transcriptions. Thank you to all those who help on the Open Day Committee. This is the last year for the Open Day Committee with its current membership. The Executive may decide not to continue with Open Day after 2018 if there are insufficient replacements to the personnel.

Following Open Day there was a general increase of CD and booklet prices. The fairs stall has been more active attending events like the last Who Do Think You Are Live, and new a new event, The Family History Show, at Sandown racecourse. Thank you to Nicky Dennard and her helpers for running the stall.

This year a group called the Bucks Archives and Heritage Network formed and is lead by the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies. The aim is bring together Buckinghamshire Archives, Museums and Societies with an interest in History and discuss subjects that affect them. Bucks FHS was invited to participate. After the introduction, the meetings for 2018 will discuss General Data Protection Regulation and Tourism in Bucks.

The place for the Aylesbury meeting has changed to Turnfurlong Junior School. Although we have only been using the venue for a few months we are settling in and the attendance numbers are improving. Thanks to Jo Divers for allowing Bucks FHS to use the school and leading the meetings. Thanks should also go to Lesley Marchant for booking and paying speakers, and the other jobs that make the meetings happen.

This year we continued to study the possibility of putting records on line. It became apparent that the work involved could not be tackled without a large volunteer input. As there are other priorities requiring the attention of the Executive Committee this has been delayed indefinitely.

The need for more volunteers is a continual problem, with the Tuesday rota at the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies needing more helpers. Also Graham Gough is stepping down as Publicity Officer in 2018. Graham has done much in rising the profile of Bucks FHS and it would be great if this work can continue.

I am standing this year as an Executive Committee member only as I believe the Executive needs some fresh thinking and new leadership. Without the Chair’s duties I will be able to concentrate on the other roles such as transcriptions and the website. I thank all of the volunteers who make Bucks FHS happen.

The report was accepted by the meeting. (Proposed: Lesley Marchant; Seconded: Rex Watson)

4. ANNUAL ACCOUNTS

The losses made in previous years had to be addressed to put Bucks FHS on a stable financial footing. The efforts in finding savings and other changes resulted in a loss of £4,522 being improved to a profit of £1,036. One of the compromises was the lack of capital spending on items like laptops.

Expenditure was considered and changes made where the aims of the Society were not affected. There was a reduction of £300 per quarter to storage costs while equipment insurance decreased by £400 per annum. It should be pointed out that a few items, including Insurance and Affiliation fees have been carried over to 2018 as they are for services in that year. This year (2017) Bucks FHS made a small profit partly due to the savings and partly due to the price increases of our publications. The price rises were on the more popular items.

Various scenarios were discussed for long term changes to improve finances and comparisons made with other local societies. Over the last few years speaker and hall costs have increased and have played an important part in the decisions. It was decided to start charging members to attend meetings and having a higher charge for non-members. This started in January 2018 and the effects will be studied by the Executive Committee.

The Annual Accounts were accepted by the meeting. (Proposed: John Price; Seconded by Lesley Marchant)

5. APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

It is proposed that Richard Lane of Richard Lane Accounting continues in the role of Independent examiner for 2018.

Proposed by Tony Sargeant and this was accepted.

6. ELECTION OF PRINCIPAL OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The nominations are:

Position Name Note Proposer Seconder Chairman Vacant Treasurer Colin Kightley Lynda Winter Rex Watson Honorary Secretary Vacant

There were no objections and Colin Kightley was accepted as Treasurer.

Geoff Edwards took the chair for the election of the Executive Committee

Position Name Note Proposer Seconder Committee Member Rosemarie Bucknall Tony Coyne Dave Foster Committee Member Tony Coyne Steve Powell Dave Foster Committee Member Dave Foster Rosemarie Steve Powell Bucknell Committee Member Steve Powell Tony Coyne Dave Foster Committee Member John Price Yvonne Parker Steve Powell Committee Member Tony Sargeant Tony Coyne Rosemarie Bucknell

All the proposed members were accepted.

8. ANY OTHER BUSINESS There were none on the agenda. Brian Horridge asked that the General Library be offered to members when it is sold rather than at fairs. There will be a need to create an inventory. The was a general agreement from others at the meeting. John Price asked about the items that are irreplaceable. Tony Sargeant replied that we do not have storage space for keeping the material for the long term. The Executive will discuss the suggestion. The irreplaceable items are already being lodged with the Centre for Buckinghamshire Studies. Some of the material contravened the General Data Protection Regulations as it contains names and addresses of living people and has been destroyed.

Close of meeting 16.05 pm.