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Minutes of the Soecial General Meeting of the Royal British Legion House (Blandford) Club Ltd. Held on 19th December 2011

The President, Mr. Thorne, called the meeting to order and delivered the Exhortation

Motion To Adopt the 2005 Model RBLC Rules

Proposed by Mr. M Mitchell, seconded by Mr. H Hamlyn.

Mr. Whillock questioned the necessity to change rules. The Secretary pointed out that although he thought it unsatisfactory, the Royal British Legion had made it a condition of issuing a licence for the Club to operate that the Club adopt the latest edition rules. The only alternative to accepting the rules was to cease to be an RBL Club.

The motion was put to a vote, of those present 13 voted in favour, one against and others abstained. The motion was carried.

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting of the Royal British Legion House (Blandford) Club Ltd. Held on 19th December 2011

Outgoing Committee:

Mr. P. Thorne (President), Mr. M. Mitchell (Chairman), Mr. H. Hamlyn (Vice Chairman), Mr. F. Benham, Mr. K Burrett, Mrs. M Mitchel, Mr. J. Davies (Secretary), Mr. N F Bumby (Treasurer).

Accounts:

Mr. Greg Bement of Wheatley Pearce Ltd., chartered accountants, presented a summary of accounts prepared by his company. The Club had made a small loss of £2,703, and he remarked that bar receipts had fallen drastically. Gross profit had slipped from 69% to 52% since the previous audit. He said the balance sheet still showed that the Club was in a sound financial position but he warned that if the losses continued the Club’s financial position would soon erode.

Mrs. J Robinson proposed and Mr. H Hamlyn seconded a motion to accept the accounts and appoint Mr. Bement to be the Club auditor for the following year which was passed by a majority on a show of hands.

Questions arising from the auditor’s report:

Colin Clark asked what percentage of turnover was recommended by the RBL for staff salaries. Mr. Bement replied that in his experience all Clubs exceeded the recommended level, but agreed wages were the Club’s biggest cost.

When asked how long the Club could sustain the current level lf trading losses he estimated 10 years.

Mr. Whillock asked if the Club had any other funds as a reserve in case of trouble. He was told there were no other funds than those shown in the accounts.

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 8th December 2010:

The minutes of the previous AGM were read. Mr Hamlyn proposed and Mrs. M Mitchell seconded a motion to accept the minutes, which passed without dissent.

President’s Address:

Mr. Thorne said he didn’t have a lot to say. He wished to refer only to the cut in Saturday night entertainment. Regular entertainment was not supported by the membership and with regret the Committee had felt compelled to cut its coat according to its cloth.

Chairman’s Address:

The Chairman outlined the major expenses, which had hit the Club in the past year: £2,000 to replace the cellar cooling system, £600 to repair a gas leak, and £470 for electrical repairs. Too few members had been attending when entertainment was organised, and Saturday bar takes did not justify the expense of hiring bands. There will now be one dance Saturday a month and the Chairman pleaded with the members to support it.

On a positive note, the Chairman pointed out that the redecoration of the Quiet Room had now been completed, and he thanked Mr. Godfrey Dallenger for donating a large screen television. Further Mrs. Marie Parsons had offered to donate wallpaper for the refurbishment of the Extension. The Chairman closed by thanking all the Club staff and the members who had helped over the past year.

Mr. Whillock asked whether the two bar tills could be used to run a “Happy Hour”. The Secretary promised to look into it.

Other suggestions from the floor were to cut the price of soft drinks to encourage parents to bring children in, and Ms. McGill suggested running DVDs for children in the Quiet Room.

Election of the New Committee:

Two scrutineers were appointed.

There were two candidates for Club President. Mr. Phil Thorne received 21 votes and Mr. Henry Hamlyn 24. Mr. Hamlyn was declared duly elected as Club President.

There was a round of applause for retiring president Mr. Thorne.

Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Benham were returned unopposed as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively.

The following candidates offered themselves for the Committee: Mr. A K Whillock, Mr. J Herbert, Ms. E McGill, Mr. S Cradduck, and Mr. C Rees. As there were no other candidates Mr. Hamlyn proposed and Mr. Jardine seconded a motion that they be elected en bloc which was passed without dissent.

Appointment of Arbitrators:

Mr. Hamlyn proposed and Mr. Cradduck seconded a motion to re-appoint Mr. A Cook, Mr. T Rickard. & Mrs. D Hine as Club arbitrators. The motion was carried without dissent.

Entertainments:

Mr. Hamlyn said over the past year the challenge had been to find out what entertainment the Club would support. Disco’s and dances had been tried but few youngsters were tempted in. The Club had still not worked out what it wanted. If the members want bands they will have to be prepared to pay to listen to live music. Mr. Burrett pointed out that a few years ago the Club had tried to charge £3/head to come and see live music and the membership had objected that it was a members club and there should not be charging for entry.

The Chairman said that next year he was determined there should be a Christmas party for the kids.

Mr. Whillock said that he played in two bands and believed if they could practice in the Club they would play some Saturday nights for no charge.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.30 pm.

Signed______Chairman Dated ______

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