Annual General Meeting 2020

This year’s AGM in December will, understandably, have to be slightly different in the way it operates because we will inevitably be affected by a range of Covid restrictions.

It is a legal requirement that we hold a meeting so that members have an opportunity to see and vote for Officer and Executive member appointments, last year’s accounts, the subscriptions for 2021 and the appointment of an auditor. We must also allow members the opportunity to ask questions about the accounts and other related matters, plus any queries concerning the subscription rates.

Additionally, some members may wish to have the opportunity to stand to be part of the Executive Committee. All members should have the chance to elect those standing for vacant positions on the Executive and for those who are going to represent the Club in one of the Officer roles.

Approach for the AGM

We are highly unlikely to be able to hold a meeting at which the members will physically attend the clubhouse. The expected format for the meeting itself, on Monday 7th December, will be to use video conferencing (e.g. Zoom) as the method by which any conversations will take place. However we need to be mindful that Zoom has practical limitations (more about this later).

For 2020’s AGM, the mechanics of the meeting and the build up to it will need to be different – we are going to use electronic methods as much as possible.  Instead of the President, Captain, Treasurer and Club Accountants making speeches at the meeting (i.e. their reports of the last year’s activities) it has been decided that the transcript of these will be emailed, in advance, to members along with a copy of the accounts and any explanatory notes. A paper copy will be available for those who require them.

Voting

In previous years, many members attended and voted at the meeting in the clubhouse. However, due to the meeting being virtual, we require all votes to be cast before the meeting and will use the Club’s established ‘Proxy Vote’ system. We also understand that it is vitally important to allow members the full opportunity to ask questions and receive answers before casting their votes.

Once all the information has been sent out to members, there will be a period of approximately three weeks in which members can submit (preferably electronically) written questions and have them answered by the Executive Committee and Accountants. As the questions are received and answered they will be placed on the Members’ Website to enable easy access. This will allow you to see if your question has already been asked and answered before submitting it.

Significant dates

The timeline of events leading up to the AGM will be as follows:

Mon 5th Oct

The Nominations for Executive Members and Executive Officers will be posted in the Lounge. If you wish to be nominated then please ask to be proposed and seconded by other members and then sign the form.

Mon 26th Oct

The closing date for Nominations.

Mon 2nd Nov

Information about the AGM (e.g. Agenda, Reports, Membership Fees and Accounts etc) will be emailed to members. Proxy Voting Forms and associated paperwork will be posted to members during this week.

Wed 4th Nov

Begin submitting questions (preferably electronically).

Answers will start to be published on the Members’ Website shortly after.

Tue 24th Nov

End of submission of questions.

Thurs 26th Nov

All questions to have been answered by this date.

Fri 4th Dec

Proxy Votes must be received by the Office by 3pm.

Mon 7th Dec

AGM by Zoom Video Conferencing at 7pm.

Format of the AGM itself

The AGM needs to be quorate (a minimum of 15 members required), with a maximum of 20 members attending the electronic meeting. Any more than this makes a video conferenced meeting more difficult to manage and likely to be ineffective.

If you would like to attend the Zoom meeting then you will be given the opportunity to do so. More details about this process, including use of the Zoom platform and the meeting protocols, will appear closer to the time.