Dorchester Deanery Children's Group - AGM Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING held on Tuesday, 24th May, 2005 at
St. Peter’s Church Hall, Dorchester

Present: Allen Knott (Chairperson), Richard Cox, Phyllis Brown, Lydia Hampshire, Chris Brown, Lauretta Kerridge

Welcome & Opening Prayer: Allen welcomed everyone and opened the meeting with prayer.

Apologies: These were received from Beth Buchan (Synod Rep), Jacquie Birdseye & Mel Durrant (Crossways & Moreton), Jean Coates (Watercombe Benefice), Pat Stear (Bradford Peverell)

Minutes of Annual General Meeting 2004: The minutes of the 2004 AGM were agreed and signed as being a correct record.

Matters Arising:
‘And Another Thing!’ - The group was delighted with the success which had resulted from the sale of Allen’s poetry book. Some unsold copies remained but it was agreed that there was little more that needed to be done as regards this and active selling of books was no longer necessary.
‘You Can Come Too!’ – The family picnic held in July 2004 had been enjoyed by all and would be repeated this summer.
‘Carols on the Green’ – Numbers attending had risen significantly in 2004 and the event had been booked for this year (Friday, 9th December 2005; 6 – 7 p.m., Fordington Green).

Finance: Chris circulated copies of the accounts which showed the current balance to be £1,230.49.
He reported that despite a small deficit of £16 in the past year, the group’s finances are very healthy.
Allen complimented Chris on the accounts which were presented in a clear and straightforward way.
It was proposed by Allen and unanimously agreed by the group that the accounts for 2004/5 be accepted.

Election of Officers: Allen formally announced that he would be stepping down as Chairperson due to other commitments. He thanked the group and said how much he had enjoyed his time as Chair.

This being the case, it was proposed by Phyllis Brown that Lydia Hampshire take on the role of chairing the group for the coming year. This was unanimously agreed by all present.

It was also agreed without opposition that Chris Brown continue as Treasurer, Lauretta Kerridge remain as Secretary and Phyllis Brown retain the roles of Publicity Officer and Deanery Link.

Despite no longer being able to chair the group, Allen offered his assistance at events wherever possible. The group thanked him for this and for his offer to ‘MC’ the Carols on the Green in December. It was agreed that Allen Knott would be an ‘ex-officio’ member of the group. Richard Cox was also keen to be involved, but would be happy to do so as an ‘ordinary member’.

Future Events:
* Family Picnic: Sunday, 10th July 2005 (afternoon)
Lauretta would write to the new Headmaster of Sunninghill Preparatory School confirming the availability of the school grounds for the afternoon. It was felt that a planning meeting would be necessary in order to deal with arrangements and publicity for the event. This meeting would therefore take place on Monday, 6th June, 7.30 p.m. at ‘Lydia’s’, 14, James Road, Dorchester. All welcome.

* Carols on the Green: Friday, 9th December 2005 (6 – 7 p.m.)
Arrangements would be dealt with in due course.

A.O.B.:
* Book Vouchers
Lydia gave vouchers to Phyllis and Chris (for Charminster and Stinsford), to Rich (for St. George’s) and to Lauretta (for West Stafford). Lauretta would forward the remainder to the respective parish reps with an explanatory letter and covering notes for the recipients of the vouchers. The group was pleased that this idea had taken off and it was noted that the distribution of book vouchers to children would be a fitting conclusion to Allen’s time as Chairperson.

* Allen
As a token of appreciation for everything Allen has done for the children of the Deanery, the group presented him with two books of children’s prayers, a sherry decanter set and a signed copy of ‘And Another Thing!’ (autographed by all those present!) Allen thanked everyone who had contributed to the gifts for their generosity and the group for its fellowship.