East of Scotland Begonia Society

Minute of the first AGM in 1988


                  EAST OF SCOTLAND BEGONIA SOCIETY

                      ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

                      DAFC SUPPORTERS' CLUB

                      76 ST MARGARET STREET.

                          DUNFERMLINE

 

20TH NOVEMBER 1988

 

The President opened the meeting by welcoming all the members present on such an important occasion, this being the Society's first Annual General Meeting. A special welcome was extended to a new member MR J STARK.

 

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

 

The President first thanked the Secretary and Treasurer for their part in starting the Society as it was the result of their work that got it going on 21st February. Since that date we have gone from strength to strength adding new members at every meeting. The attendances have been good and we have had good speakers. Thanks were the order of the day to the committee for their help and the advice given throughout the past months of activity . He felt sure the Society had benefited from this advice and help.

The future looked good for the Society. On a personal note he spoke of the many friends he had made since he and MRS NELLIES had joined the Society and he felt this was the hallmark of the East of Scotland Begonia Society, friendly and informal. We had only started nine months ago yet we had achieved much. He remarked that on the 13th November he attended the "Scottish" Annual General Meeting and considering our size we were very professional in carrying out the business of the Society.


As it was his duty, he now called on the Secretary to give his report.


SECRETARY'S REPORT

 

The Secretary thanked the President for his remarks and continued on the same theme, that of membership. After our first meeting we enrolled 15 members and since then we had gained new members at every monthly meeting. At our last meeting we enrolled a new member from Perth and had an enquiry regarding membership from Montrose. It was just a matter of letting growers know that the East of Scotland Begonia Society exists for our membership to keep growing, keeping in mind that begonia growers are a bit thin on the ground in our area.

By pulling together we were able, at short notice, to give a good account of ourselves by having a begonia display in conjunction with Dunfermline Horticulture Society's Annual Flower Show.

 

 

The Secretary remarked that there was provision on the agenda for a discussion on speakers for '88 but like the President he likewise felt we had done very well as the speakers who came along kept us informed on all aspects on the care of begonias.

SECRETARY'S REPORT (Contd)

Affiliation was on the agenda for discussion but the Secretary read out a letter from the Secretary of the Scottish Begonia Society intimating that the East of Scotland Begonia Society was now affiliated to the Scottish Begonia Society.

On closing his report the Secretary thanked the President for his help in making it possible for each member being issued with a typed copy of the Minutes of each meeting. It was good that a member can refer to the Minutes at any time and at their leisure the Secretary hoped this would continue to be the practice in the future. At this point the Secretary asked the members to note that the Minute book was on the table at every meeting and was open for inspection by members at any time.

 

TREASURER'S REPORT

 

Prior to the date of the Annual General Meeting all members were issued, by post, with an audited balance sheet showing the income and expenditure for the past nine months. The Treasurer stated we were in a good financial position, our income was being added to every month by the response of the members which showed up in the proceeds from the raffle s but we must keep in mind our expenses were low due to the fact that speakers were reluctant to take expenses because we were a young society. At this stage the President asked if there were any questions relating to the balance sheet. There were no questions put forward.

ELECTIONS

The President vacated the chair, member R RAMSAY took the chair and asked for nominations for President. J MURRAY, proposed    MR W NELLIES; this was seconded by M STOBBS. There were no other nominations.


MR W NELLIES was elected President.


MR J MURRAY was elected Vice-President, proposed by            MRS W NELLIES, seconded by MR D MITCHELL. No other nominations.

 

MR M STOBBS was elected Secretary, proposed by MRS M STOBBS. At this stage of the proceedings there was much laughter at the obvious favouritism shown towards the candidate by his spouse. MRS R RAMSAY seconded the proposal.

MR D SUTHERLAND was elected Treasurer, proposed by               R RAMSAY, seconded by G JAMIESON.

 There were no other nominations for Secretary or Treasurer.

 The President suggested that more committee members may be required but after discussion it was the unanimous opinion that the committee be kept at four (4) until growth in membership warranted more committee members.


AFFILIATION TO THE SCOTTISH BEGONIA SOCIETY ... Read Secretary's

report.

CONSTITUTION OF THE EAST OF SCOTLAND BEGONIA SOCIETY


All members had in their possession a copy of the suggested

constitution. The President went through the suggested constitution stage by stage, there was one addition at "OFFICE BEARERS" - the end should read "There shall be a quorum of three (3) committee members".


The constitution was unanimously passed and accepted by the members present.


ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

 

Options were put forward regarding membership fees, the outcome of which became the policy for the '88-*89 financial year.


(1) The annual fee stays at £2.00 for single membership.

(2) The annual fee for husband/wife membership will be £3.00.


ANNUAL SHOW


The President passed this part of the business on to the Secretary who had discussed this issue at the committee stage.

 

The Secretary proposed that the Society should have an elected committee who will consist of at least three members (3) to decide the strategy to be taken regarding a venue, schedule and any other part of the business pertaining to running the Annual Show. The President pointed out that the President and Secretary are ex-officio therefore are automatically on the committee. It was now left to the members to elect at least three (3) members for the their committee, the following members were elected.

 

MR J EVANS proposed by Mrs R Ramsay seconded by Mr R Ramsay

MR J MURRAY proposed by Mr M Stobbs seconded by Mrs W Nellies

MR A PATERSON proposed by Mr W Nellies seconded by Mrs Stevenson

MR R RAMSAY proposed by Mr J Murray seconded by Mr A Paterson

 

Here the Vice-President felt it was fitting that a woman member

should be on the committee and proposed MRS R RAMSAY seconded by Mr W Nellies .

 

There were no more members nominated; the above members are therefore elected to the Show Committee. It was decided that the first committee meeting will be held on Monday 12th December.

 It was suggested that we may look for a sponsor or sponsors to donate trophies.


ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS

 

A discussion took place regarding the meeting place. The feeling was that the public address system used in the Club caused interruptions during speakers' lectures plus the 3 o'clock finish didn't allow time for friendly discussion amongst members after the official business of the Society had been carried out.

The President noted the criticism but pointed out that there was no cost charged to the Society for the premises thereby helping to swell the funds, the speakers, so far, were understanding in their attitude towards the interruptions that take place and also the cost of renting other premises might be too high. The Secretary replied to the President that he would make enquiries as to the cost of renting other premises.

 

As there was no further business to be discussed the President

thanked the members for their attendance and wished them a safe

journey home.

The meeting closed at 2.50 pm.


NEW MEMBER: MR R STARK, 37 Abbotsford Road, Lochore.


Takings from the Raffle ... £16.50.

 

President  William Nellies

 

Secretary  Matthew Stobbs          


Due to an oversight on my part I have omitted to note that the President suggested that the Treasurer purchase a bottle of whisky and in turn pass this on to the Club Committee to use as a prize in a raffle , the proceeds going to the OAP of the Dunfermline Athletic Football Club Supporters' Club. This was unanimously passed by the members present.

Matthew Stobbs


   Please note that the signatures above are for illustration purposes only, they are not genuine signatures.