CHRISTCHURCH AND DISTRICT MODEL FLYING CLUB
53 YEARS OF MODEL FLYING
BMFA  AFFILIATION NUMBER 2581

 Christchurch & District Model Flying Club

Minutes of Annual General Meeting

Bransgore Village Hall, Bransgore 5^th December 2018.

Present :- T Antell Chairman, M Bird Secretary, A Butterworth Treasurer & 41 members.

Apologies: - Apologies from 7 members.

1. The published Minutes of the 2017 AGM, with no matters arising, were proposed as a true record Proposed Jon Goddard     Seconded Tony Harris.Voted unanimously in favour.

The Chairman congratulated Mike Roach & Malcolm Bird for receiving their BMFA Awards.

Brian Brockway & Malcolm Bird were also congratulated for receiving their awards from the Christchurch & District Sports Council.

Committee Reports.

2.  Secretary (MFB) reported  5 Committee meetings had been held during the year at Committee member’s homes, Martin Burr, Alan Butterworth & Jon Couldridge  who were thanked for their hospitality. All minutes recorded & up to date.  Contact between committee members was maintained on a regular Ad Hoc basis & decisions recorded at the next meeting.  Regular contact with BMFA maintained.

An Extraordinary Meeting was held on the 2^nd May 2018 attended by 41 members who voted unanimously in favour of two items to the Constitution, namely :-

Item 4.  To Indemnify Club Officers & committee when acting on behalf of the Club. Nominated signatories for Agreements, same as for the Club Bank Account.

Item 17, To add the compliance of our General Data Protection Regulations Policy, as agreed & published on the Club Web Site.

We have no other Legal Licencing or Agreement outstanding.

 2a.  Strawberry Field  (MFB & TA) There are approximately 580 plus signatures to date  in the ‘Flying Register’ of members using the Site, about 60 less than last year, probably due to flying earlier in the year at Hurst View. The site atmosphere at SF has been enjoyed due to the cooperation of all members. Flying standards have remained at a reasonably high level with occasional planes recovery from the trees.   Trevor Hewson, Peter Chaldecott, & Jon Couldridge have given excellent on-site training & advice with many successful Maiden flights to their credit. Pilot line discipline has been good with no serious incidents or accidents. There was one problem with an irate neighbour claiming we were flying over his land, which is in a ‘No Fly Zone’ the incident was recorded on video. No threatened action took place. Thanks to Jon Couldridge, Alex Bush & team the grass has been regularly cut. The hot summer weather badly scorched the whole area which has now recovered.  The Mower has been maintained.  Mike Cooper, our landlord, has been very supportive throughout the year. At the moment, due to Christmas Tree sales, our parking area has been temporally moved. Flying fees remain the same at £2.00 per day or part day, payable when signing in, before flying.

Hurst View  During January this was again, briefly, proved to be a very enjoyable site with no restrictions other than a ‘No Fly Zone’ over the Caravans.  We are hoping to use it again for a month in the New Year. This site is free of charge, but, purchases from their Café/shop are appreciated.

2b. Indoor Flying (MFB) At Durlston Court School we held 13 flying sessions one of which was free. A total of 171 flying, 19 up on last year. The cost to hire the Hall has been £25.00 per evening & is expected to rise to about £35.00 per session in the New Year. The Club will subsidise the flying and the  fee, at present £2.00 per session, will remain the same. We start at 7.30 pm & finish at 10.00 pm. on average 2 sessions per month on Friday evenings. We fly 4 groups of planes of 6 minute duration, Small helicopters, Slow fly, some a bit faster (Space Walkers)  & Shock Fly, with a recent addition of small Hovercraft , in motion (?) at the same time as the Slow fly & Shock Fly planes. The last hour is devoted to ‘Round The Pole’ flying with the Hovercraft operating in a different area to keep clear of the flying circle. Trevor Hewson continues to organise the RTP, keeping & maintaining the Club Equipment. At the moment we have 10 members with planes & 2 club planes for members use. We are waiting for 2019 dates to be finalised.

The benefits of  belonging to the Google Group. cdmfc-sffe-and-ba@googlegroups.com  was explained  &  new members urged to enrol in the Group to receive information of Club activities. Applicants to Andrew Ford-Hutchinson.

 2c. Treasurers Report (AB) Alan reported another positive year with our balance virtually returned to the prior  Jubilee Celebrations level. Alan circulated the Audited Financial Statement to members at the meeting which showed an Income of £5,450.61 with an expenditure of £4,743.82 giving a Surplus of £706.79. The closing Bank Balance £6,108.05. Our largest change was the alteration of the Club meeting venue to Bransgore,  which is costing  £35.84 per month, costs will increase by Inflation. Our Longham expenditure of £260 is a well spent item as it has generated many Country Members specifically to fly off water. For 2019 we are budgeting to break even, therefore, the Committee are proposing subscriptions remain unchanged.

Accounts were Audited by Roger Dornom & Clive Spencer.

Approval & acceptance of the Treasurer’s report Proposed  Mike Roach Seconded Trevor Hewson. Voted & approved unanimously

2d.  Membership Secretary Report. (BB) Membership at end of year stands at 120, 2 up last year.  Renewal fees were collected from some Members at the meeting.  The meeting was reminded BMFA & Membership Fees should be received by 24^th December; otherwise they will not be insured from the 1^st January 2019. BMFA have just introduced a new system to renew membership by logging into their Membership Portal, enabling members to have their country memberships recorded, Membership Cards will be downloaded or printed directly. The old Club system is still available at the moment for 2019 renewals if needed.

2e. Activities Secretary Report. (TA)  Activities were well supported, Monthly Talks given by a variety of speakers & subjects. TA Visited all club sites on a regular basis. Competitions/ Challenges held at Stanpit on Friday evenings & were well supported. Organised & un-organised activities, including ‘On site’ training has taken place & well attended. Third Thursdays in the month, Slope Days, have again proved popular, when weather has been unsuitable the day or venue has been adjusted by way of the Google Group System. The most well attended Sloping sites have been Win Green & the Picnic Site in the Purbecks.  A Fun Day, BBQ & Competition BBQ was run by Jon Couldridge & many other family helpers, with in the region of 50 people attending, including wives & partners. We have invited other local Clubs to join us on this & a number of other occasions. A number of members visited North Wales for a Sloping holiday in September.

 2f. Competition Secretary Report (BB & TA) Club Challenges/Competitions held at Stanpit Recreation Ground over 18 weeks has proved successful again from May to August, start at 6.00 pm, Thermal Comp, Open Electric bungee launch &. Novice Challenge was held. A good turnout for the Rose Bowl Competition held between WSA & CDMFC won by our Club. A good day enjoyed by all.

 2g.  Longham Reservoir. (MR) The renewal of the 3 year Agreement with South West Lakes Trust has proved to be troublesome, purely over the wording due to the change from a Licence to an Agreement, which needed to be extensively re-drafted & negotiated, then signed  by Alan Butterworth on behalf of the Club.  Flying at Longham has taken place throughout the year without problem. Unfortunately, the proposed second Open Day to be organised by South West Lakes Trust was cancelled due to the Toxic Blue Algae caused by the prolonged warm sunny weather.  Ian Hayward, the warden, has been very helpful throughout and in particular has helped us to keep flying through the weed infestation. 

2h. Construction & Finish Competition. (TH) Trevor congratulated all the members for participating in the Competition; it is heartening to see so much interest in building models. 25 part built models were seen for intermediate viewing during the year, thought to be the highest number ever. Not all models were presented in their finished form in the evening, but, to be completed & entered in the 2019 competition. The Shield was won by Alex Bush with his Baby Albatross. The people’s vote went to Malcolm Bird’s Chipmunk, which also won the prize for the best build by someone who hadn’t previously won the Shield. Alex has also won the privilege of organising & judging next year’s competition.

2i. Bransgore Village Hall (TA) This is our first year in the Hall which has proved a much better than the Walkford Hotel, however, it comes at a cost. We started by using a room for our monthly meetings, although cheaper, was not suitable & we quickly booked the Main Hall for the remainder of the year & will continue to do so. The hire is from 7.00 to 10.00 pm. the first Wednesday in every month.

2j. Web Master’s & Newsletter Reports.   (MR) Mike gave his thanks to all those who contributed to our “Mixed media Club” during the year. The Web site is well established & informative, but is ageing & really needs updating. Mike asked for a volunteer to look after the site. There was one member who showed some interest.  If anyone has suggestions or ideas please let him know. Our Facebook Page is under-utilised; it is a good place to post photos & reaches over 50 people. Casual visitors have to log in, which, is tedious, but, free.  Sloping Off is no longer available in printed format no complaints received.  Contributions have been up again this year, which are welcomed by email & attachments.

2k.  Chairman’s Review. (TA) 2018 has been a good year for the Club with an increased membership, with an increased interest in modelling generally, building, training & flying. Members continue experimenting with various types of Indoor models. Friday evenings at Stanpit Recreation Ground has been well supported in Competition/Challenge & social flying. All are welcome to take part & ask for help & advice.  All other flying sites have been well utilised with no complaints, just compliments from the site owners & Administrators.  In July & in perfect weather we held another Fun & Family Day. The Site Owner has agreed to give us a “Free Day” for next year’s event.

After moving to Bransgore Village Hall for our monthly meetings we have enjoyed many Speakers, some from outside companies & some from members giving interesting & informative presentations & we are constantly looking for more.  Any suggestions welcome.  BMFA have introduced a Membership Portal for renewing your membership with them. Details are on their Web Site & in the new issue of the BFMA Newsletter. When renewing Membership (Club & BMFA) you may now pay by BACS. This will save you postage & helps the Club Treasurer & Membership Secretary. Cheques & Cash will continue to be acceptable.  Our Membership subscription will remain unchanged at £15.00. All your Committee members have supported the Club activities. Just because you don’t see us, it doesn’t mean we are not working hard to maintain a friendly membership. I do apologise for my absences during the year as my wife died & my own health has not been that good.  Hoping 2019 will be a better healthier year.

The Secretary on behalf of the members thanked the Chairman for his devotion the Club particularly during his painful & troubled year. He continued to keep in touch all through this difficult time.

The meeting gave him a generous round of applause.

3.  Membership Fees.

Considering the present Club Finances, your Committee proposes the 2019 Membership Fees remain unchanged which are :-

Adult Fee £15.00.  Juniors £5.00 for 16 years of age or younger OR full time education until 21 years of age. £15.00 Joining fee for new members, Juniors free.

BMFA  fees are £38.00 for Seniors & £17.00 for Juniors.

Club fees, incl. BMFA is £53.00. Cheques/BACS payable to C&DMFC.

 Acceptance proposed  Doug Bowman    Seconded Martin Lucas.Voted & approved unanimously

4. Election of Officers.

Chairman Terry Antell, Vice Chairman, Martin Burr, Secretary Malcolm Bird, Treasurer Alan Butterworth, Membership Secretary Brian Brockway  & Ordinary Members  John Macklin,  Jon Couldridge & Alex Bush were willing to continue in their present posts. All above Committee members were proposed & voted in en-bloc.

Proposed    Peter Chaldecott     Seconded   Trevor Hewson All above voted unanimously in favour.

5. Appointment of Auditors for 2019,   

Roger Dornom & Clive Spencer.Proposed    Roger Villiers  Seconded    Colin Dean .Voted & approved unanimously

6. Mike Roach (MR). Is willing to continue as ‘Web Master’ & ‘Sloping Off’ Editor, also Club Administrator  for Longham Reservoir. All of which are non-Committee positions.

 7. Constitution.   No Amendments or Motions received

8. A O B. 

Suggestion to have a ‘One class design, (Chris Foss)’ Competition/ Challenge at the 2019 Fun Day.  The matter will be discussed by committee when the Event is being organised.

9. Date of next AGM Wednesday 5th December 2019.

 The Chairman thanked members for attending.  The meeting closed at 20.45.

Signed by

Terry Antell        Malcolm Bird.

 Chairman          Secretary.