The Royal British Legion Lincolnshire

THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION LINCOLNSHIRE

RECORD OF THE MEETING OF THE COUNTY COMMITTEE

HELD ON SATURDAY 8thJULY 2017 AT THE

MEMORIAL HALL, ALFORD

PRESENT

Mr W S Erskine Crum (President), Mr A R P Goodwin (Chairman), Mrs B A Wilcox (Vice-Chairman),Mr J Scally (County Treasurer), Mr F Byrne, Mr S Ezekiel, Mr R Green, Mr T Gundry, Mr R Hewitt, Mr J Johnson, Mrs M Jones

IN ATTENDANCE

Mrs I Francis (Chairman County Women’s Section), Mr Downey (Riders Branch), Ms R Smith (Riders Branch),Mr D Tyler (Chairman Mablethorpe Branch), Mrs H Payne (Vice-Chairman Mablethorpe Branch), Mr R Lammiman (Chairman Alford Branch), Mr B R Mahoney (Membership Support Officer – East Midlands),Mr N Fairfax (Community Fundraiser)

1. Welcome and the Act of Homage:The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting, with a particular welcome to Mrs Francis, Mr Tyler, Mrs Payne and Mr Lammiman, he also thanked the 3 ladies working in the kitchen for their support.The Act of Homagewas then said and observed by all present.

2.Apologies: Mr R Beresford, Mr T Butler,Mr Reid.

3.Items of an urgent nature to close the Agenda: There were no additional items added to the Agenda.

4.The County President:The County President (CP)intended to keep his address short but he had a couple of items that he wished to raise. Firstly, he had received a thank you letter from the Lord Lieutenant regarding the Rededication Service, which he endorsed and read out. Secondly, the matter of nominations for National Honours, Lincolnshire County was quite good at recognising individualswith County Awards but not enough nominations for individuals for National honours were being submitted. He asked the Committee to think about individuals who could be nominated, he reminded them all that individuals who did tremendous jobs for the Legion need to be recognised.

5.The County Chairman:TheCounty Chairman (CC) thanked everyone for attending the meeting and as normal we have a fairly busy

Agenda to get through. He reminded the meeting that if you were considering putting an individual forward for a Legion Honour these

can take time so please make your submissions as early as possible. The CC informed the meeting of the events, meetings and funerals that he had attended since the last meeting.

He had attended the Women’s Section Purse Event where they had raised £10800, which was an excellent total considering the problems that they had experienced over the past few months.

6.Draft Record of the County Meeting held on 8th April2017: The record of this meeting was ACCEPTED as a true record and signed by the County Chairman.

Proposed: MrJohnsonSeconded: Mr ByrneAccepted: Unanimously

7.Matters Arising: There was one matter arising:

Item 19 – Annual Rededication Service: Mr Johnson thanked Mablethorpe Branch who had made his job very easy by the support that they had provided. In particular he mentioned the efforts of Mrs H Payne who was thrown in at the deep end when the previous Branch Chairman moved away at short notice.

8.Draft Record of the County Management Board Meeting held on 5th June 2017:The record of this meeting was ACCEPTED as a true record.

Proposed: Mr JohnsonSeconded: Mrs WilcoxAccepted: Unanimously

9.Matters Arising: There was one matter arising:

Item 12 – County Property Register/County Trophies:Mr Johnson had asked for permission to purchase 2 stands, he was requested to bring a quote to the County Meeting. He brought along a sample of a stand from Newton and Newton which cost £90 each. These were good quality stands and it was agreed to purchase 2 stands, 1 for the Union Flag and 1 for the County Standard.

Proposed: Mr JohnsonSeconded: Mr HewittAccepted: Unanimously

Mr Hewitt informed the meeting that the Laceby Branch would pay for one of the stands; this gesture was greatly appreciated by the County Committee.

9a.National Conference:The CC raised the matter of the recent National Conference, in which several of the Branch Delegates who had attended were on the County Committee. The CC thought that it was a quiet conference with not a lot of business done. The CC checked to ensure that the recently received Responses by the Board of Trustees to Charter Motions and Motions carried had been seen by the Committee, they had.

Mr Scally asked about the Lincolnshire Motion, it was withdrawn as the previous Motion on a similar topic failed and therefore there was no need to proceed. The National Conference Committee had discussed this with the Bourne Branch Delegate.

10.Community Fundraiser:A report from the Community Fundraiser (CFR) was included with the Agenda and was ACCEPTED by the Committee.The CFR updated the meeting on the totals of the Lincolnshire Poppy Appeal, the total currently stood at £903,000. The end of year total last year was £912,000, so we were well on the way to beating that total. The CFR gave a big thank you to all, but especially Mablethorpe as they manage to raise £45,000 from a population of only 9000.

There are currently PAO vacancies in Sleaford, Brigg and Skegness. Mr Johnson, the County Poppy Appeal Organiser (CPAC) thanked the Skegness PAO for trying to find a PAO to replace her. The CPAC asked what the procedure was if a new PAO could not be found within a Branch. It would be then down to the CFR and CPAC to try and find someone suitable from outside the Branch.

The CPAC asked the CFR whether House to House collections were going to cease, the CFR confirmed that there was no plans to get rid of House to House collecting but it was slowly declining. PAOs are advised that if a house displays a no cold calling sign they should not approach it. The CP queried whether this applied if you had collected at this house in previous years as this was not cold calling, unfortunately from a legal position it still does as the occupants of the house could have changed.

11.County Poppy Appeal Coordinator: The County Poppy Appeal Coordinator (CPAC) gave a verbal briefing to the meeting.He had a battle to get the Skegness Standard to print the article about the requirement for a new PAO but they had finally printed it. Mr Downey commented that it was possible that the Riders Branch might be able to assist.

The CPAC commented that he would prefer that the items available from Aylesford were quality items as some of the recent items, in his opinion, were not up to scratch.

The CPAC also raised the issue of collecting for the Poppy Appeal in other areas, apparently the Membership Council Member is looking into boundaries.

12.Membership Support Officer:A report from the Membership Support Officer (MSO) was included with the Agenda and was ACCEPTED by the Committee. The CC responded to the queries and suggestions that the MSO had raised on some Branches in his report as follows:

Boston Branch – The Branch Chairman was chasing up the Branch Treasurer to ensure that these accounts were submitted.

Caistor Branch – The County Chairman accompanied by Mr Johnson had a meeting planned with the Chairman of Caistor Branch on the evening of Wednesday 12th July.

Deeping St Nicholas – The Branch only consists of 4 members but they are still active. It is possible that they will be amalgamated with another Branch and Surfleet Branch has been suggested.

Gunby Branch – The Branch Chairman has run this Branch by himself for a number of years and of late has struggled to keep it going. The CC has spoken to him and he intends to call a meeting of the 15 Branch members to discuss the way forward, the CC will attend this meeting.

Waddington Branch – The County Vice-Chairman (CVC) and County Training Officer were looking after Waddington Branch. The CVC informed the meeting that at the last Branch Meeting called they had received 5 apologies; these were from the individuals that they were hoping would form the new Branch Committee. The Branch Vice-Chairman was quite keen but he had been deployed to Afghanistan, the individual who had expressed an interest as Branch Treasurer had backed out. They would look to send another letter out to all Branch members to try and get the Branch up and running again. The CC encouraged them to keep working at it.

Woodhall Spa Branch – The Treasurer is a serving Army Officer but not withstanding that it is a Branch responsibility to ensure that the Branch Accounts are completed. The CC has contacted the Branch Chairman and informed them that they are in danger of having their Bank Account frozen unless this issue is sorted. (MSO comment: Woodhall Spa have contacted me to try and arrange a meeting next week to sort out their Branch Accounts)

13. County Treasurer’s Report: A report from the County Treasurer (CT) was included with the Agenda and was ACCEPTED by the Committee. He presented the Annual County Accounts to the meeting for approval prior to audit, these were approved.

Proposed: Mr JohnsonSeconded: Mr ByrneAccepted: Unanimously

Mr Johnson commented that it was nice to read accounts that you could understand.

The CT presented the request for Quarter1 Almonisation from the Central Grants Team, it was agreed that the sum of £3000 per quarter would be donated from the Lincolnshire County Welfare Fund.

Proposed: Mr Green Seconded: Mr HewittAccepted: Unanimously

The CP requested that a total be put at the bottom of the Almonisation sheet, the MSO agreed to do this in future.

The CC thanked the CT for doing an excellent job. The CC informed the meeting that we were still waiting for the results of the Budget Committees deliberations to find out how much the County Budget would be for the forthcoming year.

14.County Community Support:The Chairman of the County Community Support Committee (CCCSC), Mr Butler was unable to attend the meeting. The CC informed the meeting that the Branch Community Support project had gone quiet and that he had been informed by the Membership Council Member that you no longer needed a County Community Support Committee but that you could just work with a County Representative and call a meeting of the County Committee to deal with issues as and when required.

Mr Johnson enquired if anymore had been heard regarding the Membership Council Members comment at the last meeting that all Branches had to sign up to BCS under the GR. The CC confirmed that nothing further had been heard.

15.Principal County Recruiting Officer:A report from the Principal County Recruiting Officer (PCRO) was included with the Agenda and was ACCEPTED by the Committee. The PCRO gave an update to the meeting on the Recruiting Advisers Workshop, she had received 16 returns so far and the majority had gone for smaller more local Workshops. When the dates and locations for the Recruiting Advisers Workshops were finalised the PCRO would look to give Branches plenty of notice. Branches would be allowed to send 4 individuals per Branch.

16.County Youth Officer (North):A report from the County Youth Officer (North) (CYO(N)) was included with the Agenda and was ACCEPTED by the Committee. He provided an update to the meeting on the progress that he had made in supporting the Poppy Event at East Kirkby, he had sent an email out to approximately 60 Youth organisations and had arranged for the Military Vehicle Trust to attend.

The CYO(N) had received an email from Colonel Field Commandant of the ACF regarding support to the Legion and the results of a recent ACF Survey regarding affiliations and the type of support given. This was shared with the meeting.

The CYO(N) also raised the issue of Affiliation Badges to Youth Organisations, these only seem to be issued at first affiliation but he thought that they should be renewed annually. The cost of this should be borne by the Branch that the Youth Organisation is affiliated to, the CC and the CYO(N) would discuss this further.

17.County Youth Officer (South)(CYO(S)):The CYO(S) had sent his apologies and no report was received.

17a.County Women’s Section:The Chairman of the County Women’s Section addressed the meeting. The Women’s Section is still going downhill, she expects there to be only 6 Lincolnshire Branches left at the AGM, but she is being urged by the Women’s Section Area Representative to continue with the County Committee. She does not think that the expensive of running a County Committee with so few Branches can be justified; it will be discussed at the next meeting of the Women’s Section Committee. There are moves afoot to introduce a Women’s Section County Branch which individuals can join but don’t have to be affiliated to a specific Branch.

The CC understood that the Women’s Section are having difficulties but the County Committee will continue to support you as much as we can.

18.County Training:A report from the County Training Officer (CTO) was included with the Agenda and was ACCEPTED by the Committee. The CTO gave a brief update to the meeting, there appears to be a difference on how training should be delivered between the TAG and National Trainers. The Membership Council are trying to improve training but they are making it too professional, there is also no read across to professional qualifications by the Legion. There is a change to LOMAS training being considered in that it would be carried out by the County Treasurer not the CTO because he would be able to answer any accounts queries. The CTO thanked the CC for getting the training materials for the Branch Management Training Course. The CC commented that the Training Department appears to be in disarray and that he expected there to be changes, he reiterated that the way forward was for the County to conduct Workshops.

The CC asked the CTO to clarify a point on who pays for County run Training Courses, the County or the Branch? The CTO confirmed that if it is a National Training Course run locally by the CTO then funding comes from the County Training Budget allocation.

The CT commented that until the new Budget Allocation is known then we should be careful on arranging any training.

19.Membership Strategy:The CC raised the issue of the new Membership Strategy with the meeting and the contents of the Membership Council Minutes dated April 2017. The CC felt that the tone of the minutes indicated that there was acceptance that we were moving toward one Central Membership and individual Branches would disappear. He encouraged all present to read it and to make their members aware.

20.County Trophies:Mr Johnson gave an update to the meeting on County Trophies; a copy of the current location of these trophies is attached to these minutes. Mrs Jones agreed to check on the location of the Cleethorpes Trophy as it could be held by the local Working Men’s Club.

Wainfleet Branch and Mablethorpe Branch have requested that they are loaned County Trophies. It was decided that theBurland Cup would be permanently loaned to Wainfleet Branch and that the Yarborough Cup and the Major Cup would be permanently loaned to Mablethorpe Branch. The CP commented that it was important to retain the current engravings on the Cups.

The CYO(N) requested that a County Trophy be reserved for Youths. He also asked when the paperwork for the Lord Lieutenants Cadet award would be going out, that would hopefully be sent out in the near future and it would involve the County Youth Officers.

The CC thought that the Trophies given out for an increase in Membership were no longer appropriate and that instead that maybe they should be awarded to Branches who have done good work for Membership.

21.County Events:

Armed Forces Day – Cleethorpes: The CPAC thanked Mrs Jones for her attendance at this event in which she managed to raise £872.01 for the Legion.

County Poppy Appeal Launch: The CC informed the meeting that the County Poppy Appeal Launch was due to be held at Stamford and the local Branch had arranged for 3 Military Units, the local Council and a Band all to attend. The County Chairman was then informed by the CFR we are not allowed to hold the Launch on that date because it was the same day as the National Poppy Appeal Launch in London. This apparently was on the instructions of the CFR Manager (East). The Stamford Branch then withdrew their support for this event and cancelled their requests to the various Military Authorities and the Stamford Town Council.

The CC requested sight of the writteninstruction or guidance on this policy from the Fundraising Dept, Membership Council Member and many other County Chairmen. It appears that no one has seen this in writing. Currently the County does not have a Poppy Appeal Launch arranged, but they will continue with the usual County Event at East Kirkby.

The CFR advised the meeting that it is his responsibility to organise a Poppy Appeal Launch and he is currently in discussion with Belton House. The County Chairman responded that currently there is no confidence or support from the County Committee for such an event.