Minutes of the North East Backgammon Association AGM on 1st May 2017:
Agenda
1. Treasurer’s Report & Accounts2. Reports of other officers3. Election of Officers4. Election of Auditor5. Proposal to adopt draft constitution6. Any Other Business
Attendees
Martin Barkwill (chair)John Horton
Lawrence Jones
Pol LapidakisJohn Oxley
Mike Snowdon
Don Irving
Julia Brenchley
Tim Cross
Gary Bratton
Keith Gill
Minutes
Treasurer’s Report & Accounts
It is with sad news that we had to announce the resignation of our current Treasurer Graeme Turner, who is therefore unable to deliver his report.
Graeme was a founder member of NEBA; he made a significant contribution to the club throughout his involvement and will be greatly missed.
It is now necessary to find a replacement Treasurer.
Reports of other officers
Social Media update from Pol Lapidakis
Pol reported that we currently have 120 followers on the NEBA Facebook page.
He welcomes additional content contributions from other members.
Tim asked if Pol could adjust the page settings to allow member posts to appear more prominently.
Promotional activity report from Mike Snowdon
Posters & leaflets/postcards need to be finalised by Gary & Mike.
Then they can be distributed throughout different locations by our members.
John Horton was tasked with inquiring about a half-page advert in a local chess magazine.
Mike & Gary would co-ordinate the design of the ad.
Election of officers
Chairman – Martin Barkwill
Nominated by Pol, seconded by Don and unanimously re-elected
Secretary – Gary Bratton
Nominated by Martin, seconded by Mike and unanimously elected
Treasurer – Pol Lapidakis
Nominated by Martin, seconded by Gary and unanimously elected
Social Media Secretary – Pol Lapidakis
Nominated by Martin, seconded by John O. and unanimously re-elected
Publicity Officer – Mike Snowdon
Nominated by Martin, seconded by Pol and unanimously re-elected
Election of Auditor
Independent Auditor – Allan Dye
Nominated by Gary, seconded by Pol and unanimously elected
Proposal to accept draft constitution
Mike asked the question of how members are defined.
Tim asked about how non-members will feel and how they will be treated.
John O. suggested that non-members be allowed to attend twice before they are asked to become a paying member.
Martin suggested that all members pay an annual membership fee of £10 and this was unanimously agreed upon by all in attendance.
Pol advised that the fee would be payable in June 2017 for the following 12 months.
Martin proposed that the draft constitution be adopted and this was unanimously agreed upon.
Mike suggested that other UK Clubs be allowed access to our constitution and Martin offered to send it to the UKBGF.
Any Other Business
Mike suggested that the second monthly meeting be held at the Royal British Legion, rather than the casino as it has been.
It was decided that we should keep reviewing the venue for the second meeting.
Gary suggested changing the name of NEBA to ‘Newcastle Backgammon Club’ but the majority of members preferred to stick with the current name.
Gary asked if we could change our name on the UKBGF Clubs page to ‘North East’ instead of NEBA.
Tim offered that any suggestions for the UKBGF from our members would be passed on, as he is a UKBGF board member.
Tim also asked if there can be more club nights devoted to playing league matches.
Martin advised that we would be having our One Day tournament on 17th June at the casino.
July’s first meeting will include an anniversary competition.
We will need to decide the line-up of either one or two teams to enter into the UK Club Championships in August.
And finally, the Newcastle Open will be held upstairs in the Royal British Legion on 21st-22nd October.