FRIENDS OF ST MICHAEL’S BRAY
Minutes of the 24th Annual General Meeting held on Sunday, 28th May 2023
Present: Committee members: Lynda Jones (chair) Bill Banks (treasurer) Julie (Jules) Graham (events co-ordinator); Sarah Pallot (Secretary); Rev’d Ainsley Swift; Julie Tompkins.
Other Friends present were: Sian Adams via Zoom, Jasvir Banks, Tony Ellison, Relf Clark, Patricia Wells
1. Apologies for Absence: Steve Adams, Glenda Radford, Valerie Queen, Joan Barwell, Graham Barker (committee member), Naomi Khoo, Kath Bradley, Jim Tucker, Margaret Piercey
2. Minutes of the 23rd AGM and Matters Arising. The 2022 AGM minutes were accepted as a true record and there were no matters arising as everything would be covered in the chairman’s report.
3. Treasurer’s Report. The accounts had been circulated prior to the meeting. Bill explained that the Friends derived its income from three sources: subscriptions, donations or legacies and fund raising activities. Income broken down by these categories in 2022 was:
• Subscriptions: £2,049 compared to £2,174 in 2021
• Donations / legacies: £2,509, some of which were back dated (£678 in 2021)
• Fund raising: mainly the Anthony Seldon talk which raised £1,950. The tax recovered from gift aid for this event was £150.
The total income for the year was £7,214.
The main contribution to the church (£15,000) was for under-pew heating and total expenditure for 2022 was £15,064
The funds held by the Friends at the end of the year stood at circa £41,000 compared to £49,000 in 2021. It had been agreed by the committee to keep a reserve of £30,000 to deal with any unforeseen church expense. Therefore, there is currently £11,000 available.
4. Events Organiser’s Report. Jules reported that 120 people had attended the Anthony Seldon talk held in September and that she was very grateful to her team of helpers particularly to Andy Medlicott, who managed all the IT and to Pam Woodruff and her team who provided the refreshments.
In April this year, a social evening hosted by Giancarlo at Caldesi’s in Bray was attended and enjoyed by 55 people. The planned auction was not run but instead Giancarlo donated 2 places to his cookery school. £500 was raised for the Friends on this occasion.
5. Chairman’s report. Lynda began by saying that the committee is always looking to recruit new members as it is important that the Friends is in a position to provide items for the church and hall which cannot be easily afforded from normal church funds, such as under-pew heating. Usually, what happens is that a request for funds is received from the PCC that is then considered by the Friends’ committee. Ainsley keeps the committee updated of possible funding requests from the PCC.
Lynda thanked Bill and Jules for their reports and for the work of her fellow members of the committee. She reported that during the past year, Vernon Webster had stepped down as a trustee of the Friends and thanked him for his contribution over the years. Bill Banks, treasurer, has since been appointed as a trustee in his place. She continued to talk about committee affairs saying that sadly John Blaxland and also committee member, Chris Khoo, had died in the past year. She paid tribute to them and their hard work, particularly John Blaxland who had been a founder member of the organisation. Julie Tompkins has now joined the committee.
6. Election of the Committee and Officers. Lynda announced that the following people were willing to stand on the committee in 2023 in these roles:
Chair: Lynda Jones; Treasurer: Bill Banks; Events Co-ordinator: Julie Graham; Secretary: Sarah Pallot; Steve Adams; Graham Barker; Julie Tompkins; Rev’d Ainsley Swift (ex officio member). General approval was given by the floor.
The trustees of the Friends are: Lynda Jones, Bill Banks and Graham Barker.
7. Any Other Business. As there was no other business, the meeting was closed but Lynda added that it was lovely to see Tony Ellison in attendance. He is a long-standing member of the Friends and a past committee member.