Evesham & District Wheelers Cycling Club

Minutes of Annual General Meeting held 8:00pm 25th November 2014

Wickhamford Village Hall, Wickhamford, Evesham

 

Chairman’s Welcome

Steve Bullen welcomed all members and thanked them for supporting the committee by attending the meeting, and asked that all questions, proposals should go through the chair, and the speaker say who they are.

He commented that we had an excellent increase in membership, and enthusiastic numbers on the club’s rides.

 

Apologies

Norman Smith.,

President’s address.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the annual general meeting, in one of the most memorable years in the history of cycling .

The events of 2014 have probably had the greatest impact on British cycling in a long time, with the Tour de France and the resurrection of the Tour of Britain, the latter even going through our own town!

 

We have seen yet another increase in membership, with probably a double digit increase in ladies, which for me is even more welcome.

These increases have created new challenges, but hey! that’s what makes our roles worthwhile.

 

Our annual race has gone from strength to strength, thanks in no small part to Andrew. We have seen a change in the participating clubs’ attitude, which in earlier days made us wonder whether we’d have enough participants, to now when they’re running to enter before all the places have gone, in what is now a prestigious event.

 

The time trials were opened up to other clubs, and thanks to Norman Smith’s efforts were a great success.

 

I would like to thank the committee for all their commitment & dedication in driving the club forward.

 

Finally, thanks you for all attending what hopefully will be an enlightening and entertaining meeting.

 

Minutes of AGM 2013

The minutes of the AGM held in 2013 were agreed and there were no matters arising.

Proposed John Jenkins & Seconded Phil Cooper

 

Officers Reports

 

Treasurer’s Report:

Martin Halls distributed a copy of the club’s accounts that had recently been audited.

The figures showed a healthy balance, but one showing less money than the previous year. This he explained was partly due to a higher level of club kit, necessary to meet the increased demand of the new club colours. The other major expenses were investment in an Audax, and the annual social event.

There was a reduction in subs that the club paid to CTC due to members paying the annual subs direct to the organisation rather than via the club.

The committee decided that there was no need to increase club subs.

With regards to subs Martin said that there was a std. order form on the web-site for the benefit of members, which would also assist the club in running of the club.

 

Clothing Manager’s report

We wanted the new kit to be more attractive than the previous design to encourage members to purchase club clothing and to wear it on club runs and other events. The new design was in place to complete the first order in April and we have since made 3 further orders to meet demand. We now have a range of short and long sleeve jerseys, bib and waist shorts and gilets. Next week, in time to buy for Christmas, we will have bib and waist tights plus windtex jackets. Next year in time for Spring we will be ordering mitts in club colours. We have currently sold around 90 items that includes 42 short-sleeve jerseys and 18 long-sleeve. The club does not aim to make a profit on club clothing. We have achieved what we set out to do as we are seeing many more of us wearing the new kit on club rides and we have also attracted a flush of new members. The new kit keeps us in focus.

 

Press Officer Report:

Steve Tarling commented on the fact he has returned to a role he held nearly 25 years ago. 2014 has been a good year with features in the two local papers plus The Vale magazine.

The future policy for 2015 is to have perhaps fewer articles but larger ones, to ensure they are stand alone ones rather than competing with darts, dominoes etc. in the local papers, and to have more items in the prestigious publications.

Steve also said that any and all success with this venture depended on information coming from the club members, and often stories of individual effort were just what was required.

 

Racing Secretary:

In Norman Smith’s absence, Andrew Tarring reported that the time trials including other local clubs was a good success , and will be continued in the new year.

 

Road Racing:

The road race was a “sell out”, partly due to some cancellations in other parts of the country, but also the fact that the race had grown in stature, now being included in the BC Racing diary.

For 2014 we used BC to photograph the race which, whilst it was an additional expense, was well worth it. The event attracted such prestigious teams as Raleigh, Catford etc. which helped to gain it a higher niche in the racing world.

 

Membership Secretaries Report:

John Jenkins said that there had been an excellent growth in the numbers joining this year, with a good increase in the number of ladies joining.

The total is now over of 140, with many being active members. John commented that the number is ideal as it makes us a mid-size club but small enough to be friendly.

 

Web Site report:

Steve Redgewell has set up a user-friendly web-site that Steve Bullen edits.

The web-site will be the single-point contact, as a more efficient way of communicating.

Steve B asked all present to regularly view the web-site. He said that riders should examine and send in constructive criticisms of the site to help make it of as high a standard as possible.

 

Proposals

There were no proposals submitted by members.

 

Election of Officers

All committee members officially stepped down from their roles which were offered to the members present. The following were elected.

 

 

Vice Presidents:             Anton Newell, John Percival, Valerie Taylor, Pauline Freeman, Roger Freeman, Clive Tree, Arthur Bennett.

Proposed by John Jenkins seconded by Carol Hall

 

President:                         Carol Hall proposed Richard Cowley seconded John Jenkins

Chairman:                         Steve Bullen proposed Roy Kendall seconded Roger Freeman

Secretary:                         Richard Cowley proposed Martin Halls seconded Andrew Tarring

Treasurer:                         Martin Halls proposed Carol Hall seconded Andrew Tarring

Welfare Officer:             Richard Cowley proposed Roy Kendall seconded Steve Tarling

Memberships:                         John Jenkins proposed Richard Cowley seconded Martin Halls

Club Runs Sec:                         Norman Smith proposed Andrew Tarring seconded Steve Tarling

Road Race Sec:             Andrew Tarring proposed by Martin Halls seconded by Richard

Cowley

Time Trial Sec:                         Norman Smith proposed Richard Cowley seconded Andrew Tarring

Audax Sec:                         Peter Hutchinson proposed Carol Hall seconded John Jenkins

Press Sec:                         Steve Tarling proposed Richard Cowley seconded Mike Sampson.

Clothing Sec:                         Mike Sampson proposed Andrew Tarring seconded Richard Cowley

Social Sec:                         None elected.

Webmaster:                        Stephen Redgewell proposed by John Jenkins seconded by Richard

Website Editor                        Steve Bullen proposed by John Jenkins seconded by Richard

 

Steve Bullen took the opportunity to thank the committee for all their hard work in what has been a changing and challenging time.

 

Appointment of Auditors

Margaret Colborne and Janet Freary were re-appointed as auditors.

Proposed Martin Halls seconded Arthur Bennet.

 

Events for 2015

Steve Bullen said that the Tour of Britain was a great success for Evesham, thanks in no small part to the Wheelers input plus the local children.

EDWCC was also involved in Cyclefest, and all present were asked if they were happy to be involved in 2015.

 

Meeting place for the Sunday run.

As the club has grown, the ongoing issue of where we should meet on Sundays has become more obvious.

The club is working hard to gain a favourable image with the community, but this could be jeopardised by the regular occurrence of lycra-clad riders and their machines blocking the pavement.

Several venues were suggested but a show of hands decided on moving approx. 25 yards northwards up High Street where the pavement is wider.

 

Pre-ride brief

It was suggested that Steve Bullen continue his short brief before the start of Sunday rides. Given the majority support for this proposal Steve agreed.

 

Review of the club’s rules

Steve Bullen said that during the next 12 months the committee will be reviewing the club’s rules to confirm they are “fit for purpose”, and up to date. A new set of rules will be presented to the members at the next AGM.

 

The issue of Ride Etiquette was raised and Steve Bullen encouraged members to read this policy on the web-site. This is to ensure safe and enjoyable riding with considerate behaviour.

 

Sunday Runs

There was a general discussion on the runs, and it was agreed that the increase in popularity of the club had caused problems with leadership. The addition of the B1 & B2 taking riders from the C group had helped, but we still need more leaders to spread the load. There is still too much pressure on the “same old faces”.

Carol had designed a system of soliciting riders on runs to obtain their help on agreed future dates.

It was also pointed out that whoever led the run at the beginning of the ride was responsible for the whole of the ride.

There is a request for more new coffee stops around which we can build new runs.

Phil Cooper asked about installing the contact details of the regular coffee stops on the new web-site, something Steve Bullen said would happen shortly.

 

Recorded by Richard Cowley 25/11/2014