AGM

13^th May 2006

10:00am.

St Luke’s Church Centre, Aylsham Road, Norwich

Meeting called by:

Trustees - DSN

Facilitator:

DSN

Note taker:

Kate Belcher

Attendees:

Nicola Baxter

Rodney Beckett

Kate Belcher

Bob Branson

Lisa Doggett

Sue Harradine

Andrew Hewson

Linda Hewson

Trevor Hewson

Ellie Hoxley

Marilyn Hoxley

Griselda Hubbard

Gaynor Leeder

Sheridan Little

Julia Maile

Allan Sewell

Peter Sewell

Tracey Sismey

Alex Wilkins

Sue Wilkins

Marcia Derbyshire

(guest speaker)

Apologies:

David Beales

Mary Beales

Polly Bramwell

Andrew Clarke

Dianne Clarke

Kay Daze

Richard Daze

Roy Elliott

Lisa Elliott

Chad Goodwin

Robert Knights

Rachel Knights

Keith Little

Tracey Mills

Alan Orpett

Sheila Orpett

Marco Raiment

Julia Spinks

Mike Spinks

Judy Taylor

Nick Taylor

Minutes

Agenda item:

Minutes of the AGM held on 14 May 2005

Matters Arising:

Minutes were accepted; proposed by Marilyn, seconded by Gaynor

1.       Sensory Support have now got a protocol for preschool children with DS developed from the protocol of the Early Support programme. There will be a protocol for young babies with DS out in the summer.

2.       There has not yet been a conference for young adults with DS who want to live independently. It should be possible as we have a core of people: the children are all growing older, the teenagers and young adults more mature. Sue suggested a coffee morning might be more useful than a formal conference as informal information can be more useful. There are already group members who live independently, so people could suggest pitfalls, advantages and realistic expectations

Agenda item:

Chairperson’s Report

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Mostly the group is treading water but there is some work behind scenes. There are no new initiatives but we are dealing with things reactively. This avoids the problem of trying to spread ourselves too thinly. It is important for the committee as a group to address problems arising.

The newsletter connects people, and is interesting, helpful and informative. Thanks to Allan; it is worth all the hard work, and thanks to Linda too.

Membership - now we no longer have subscription, it is not clear how we signify membership and renewal or indicate how people are no longer members. People put themselves on the mailing list so there is no need to mark mailing list member/non member. People remain members until death or they withdraw so it is necessary to have a positive way of indicating that people want to remain members. It would be possible to put a tear-off slip on the mailing for the AGM asking people if they want to remain as members. Members need to let the committee know if they are leaving the group for example if moving away.

Agenda item:

Treasurers Report

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Over the year more has been spent than brought in, but there is still a good income. There was a good examiner’s report. It is a thorough examination, which may be more searching than an audit as everything is checked. Our funds are just below the limit for audit set by the Charity Commission.

Unrestricted and restricted funds - If there is no fundraising and the total kitty drops too low then unrestricted funds will still continue to support SNDG and YDG but there is a danger of dropping into the red even though what is done is beneficial to the group as a whole. Then we would have to raise funds. Hall hire for YDG could come out of restricted funds, as it is just a historical accident that it has come out of unrestricted funds.

Fundraising - Nicola has fundraising packs from DSA which were sent for DSA awareness week but could be used at any time.

It was suggested we reappoint the independent examiner Haines Watts; proposed by Rodney, seconded by Lisa.

Agenda item:

Report from The Young Down’s Group

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Birthday Bash will be on June 11th from 2-5 at Harford Manor School. It is on the last day of DS awareness week. We have no idea yet about numbers. There will be some money raising e.g. raffle, and other entertainment such as face painting, an entertainer, a fire engine. The Lord Mayor will attend, and it is hoped to interest Anglia news, the EDP, and the Black Thunder girls. The event is for friends and family, even people not on the mailing list such as those who help out with drama. There will be an announcement in the What’s On column in the EDP, and possibly an announcement on Radio Broadland.

Agenda item:

Report from The Snappy Name Drama Group

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It is a lot of work to keep contacting presenters but everyone benefits. Parents enjoy a chat over coffee and the young people enjoy a good time as well. There is now some extra time with Geraldine, which means some fundraising is necessary; Marilyn is applying for funds. Workshop leaders are more expensive than they used to be.

Because the drama group works well together, friendship groups have arisen, which led to making a video. As a result of that, several young people went on a transition weekend, which looked at issues such as housing. It is hoped eventually to organise something similar for the older group. It was funded by money from the Learning Difficulty Development Fund (Mencap). Another bidding round for this fund is coming up soon.

Conclusions:

SNDG and YDG are the visible side of DSN, so there is a lot to be thankful for.

Agenda item:

Proposed Change to Constitution

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The proposed change speaks to the spirit of what we are about. It was approved by DSA and the Charity Commission. We use the DSA model constitution so the proposed change is used nationally. Accepting the change was proposed by Tracey Sismey and seconded by Kate and accepted unanimously.

Agenda item:

Appointment of Trustees

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We need 3 new trustees because we need to have movement of trustees or at least provision for it.

Standing down: Rodney Beckett, Sue Harradine and Judy Taylor. Current trustees are Bob, Marilyn, Lisa, Gaynor, Allan and Peter.

There is a vacancy carried over from last year. The burden of trusteeship is to make sure that things are done properly; it shouldn’t be any trouble unless trustees do silly things financially, and is not onerous because there is no membership money.

The committee could meet quarterly as both the YDG and SNDG are currently running well, but all trustees must be prepared to make a commitment to attend all meetings if meeting less frequently than before. Other people could be brought in on a consultative basis. Kate and Julia Spinks had previously indicated they would be happy to stand. Julia would consider taking over secretarial responsibilities but could only be co-opted as she was not present and had not applied formally.

Nicola agreed to stand on the committee, proposed by Gaynor and seconded by Lisa, and Griselda (proposed Lisa, seconded Allan) agreed to stand on the committee as treasurer, to shadow Rodney for the next 12 months.

Agenda item:

Appointment of Chairman of Trustees

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Bob agreed to stand again as chairman. Allan proposed and seconded by Kate. The vice chair can be decided in committee meetings.

Agenda item:

A.O.B.

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Sue and Rodney were thanked for all their hard work.

Judy asked Gaynor to remind members that she is still willing to undertake hospital visits.

The committee will need to get new stationery etc as it all currently refers to those standing down.

A few thoughts - There was confusion about the starting time of the meeting, with the result that we overran. We need to get this right when inviting visiting speakers, so as not to waste their time. The DSN business took about 75 minutes, coffee time/setting up speaker’s presentation about 30 minutes, presentation about 45 minutes, and there was no time for questions. That was a shame as often the questions are very helpful.