OXFORD DIOCESAN GUILD CITY BRANCH

Minutes of the Annual General Meeting  - 17th  November 2007
St. Andrew’s, Headington.

1.	Apologies for absence
Bob Benstead, Sheila Browne, Jonathan Cresshull, Peter Lloyd
Present: Guild Master, Jon Chamberlain, Guild Secretary, Hilarie Rogers, Guild Steward, Chrissy Cable, 16 City Branch Members and 1 visitor.

2.	Approval of minutes of the half-year meeting held at St. Lawrence, North Hinksey.
	The minutes had been previously circulated and were, after a query from Roy Jones, signed as a true record by the Chairman.

 3.	Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.

 4.	Correspondence
There was no correspondence.

 5.	Election of New Members
Christian Burrell – Iffley
 Nominated by Susan King and seconded by Roy Jones.

 6.	Presentation of Certificates
The Secretary advised members that that her records indicate that the City Branch members have elected ringers to the Guild who have not subsequently paid a subscription, or remained ringing in the Branch.  She suggested that in future more serious consideration should be given to the election of City Branch members and that the first annual subscription should be paid on election.
Certificates were presented to the following members, none of whom were present at the meeting:
Jonathan Jones	elected May 07
Jan Lawrie		elected May 07
David Ingrouille	elected May 07
Michelle Thompson	elected November 06

 7.	Reports from Officers 
a) Hon. Secretary
To ensure that information is circulated to all City Branch members the Secretary asked the members who were present to update their email addresses on the list that she provided.
At the request of the Hon. Secretary, Guild Secretary, Hilarie Rogers gave a brief explanation of the Guild plan to improve communications by developing a central database of all Guild members.  This would enable information to be sent directly to individuals.
b) Hon. Treasurer
The Treasurer no longer provides accounts at this time of year due to the changes in financial regulations that the Guild is now subject to.  All Branch accounts are presented to the Guild Treasurer for the year ending 31 December.
Therefore it was proposed that the City Branch hold an Extraordinary Meeting at the Branch Practice in February with one agenda item, that being the presentation of the City Branch accounts.
Proposer:	Simon Edwards
Seconder:	Roy Jones
The proposal was carried unanimously.

There is £1,200 in the Branch account; most of this income is derived from the subscription of £3.50 per member.				 	
c) Ringing Master
The Ringing Master declared that it had been another good year and that there was a group of enthusiastic members who enjoyed their ringing and were developing skill and competence.
Outings were well attended and the support from neighbouring branches had resulted in enjoyable practices.
There were difficulties ringing on 8 bells because there was insufficient support from the more experienced 8-bell ringers who very often had other commitments; however the winter practices were better attended.
A ringing fixtures’ list has been compiled and it is hoped that there will not be a requirement to change any dates.

The Chairman thanked Hugh Deam for his work and said that the enthusiasm in the Branch was due in no small measure to his efforts.			 	

d) Representative
Anthony Hughes reported that he had attended Guild meetings wherever possible and had heard suggestions that Stanton St John bells were available.	

8.	Election of Officers
The Chairman withdrew from office while he was re-elected.  
The Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Hon. Secretary and Hon. Treasurer were all re-elected on the nod.
Chairman		Canon Anthony Ellis				
Deputy Chairman	Roy Jones			
Hon. Secretary	Katie Lane
Hon. Treasurer	Simon Edwards	 	
Ringing Master	Hugh Deam 	 
Representative	Anthony Hughes stood down due to ill-health.  David Lane was proposed as Branch Representative and elected
Proposer:	Anthony Hughes
Seconder:	Hugh Deam
Training Officer
Jonathan Beale did not stand for re-election.  It was decided that this post would be held in abeyance for the time being.
Webmaster
Andy Dunn has developed the Branch Website and was elected as Branch Website Manager
Proposer:	 Roy Jones
Seconder: 	Katie Lane

9.	Reports on Fund Raising Efforts
Hugh Deam read the report from Graham Nichols which gave details of the amount raised from donations by members for car boot sales.  The amount raised in 2007 was £46. 52; this will be donated to the Guild Bell Fund.
The Treasurer asked if the monies had been presented, as he had no record of it; Hugh Deam agreed to look into it.
Action: HD to collect £46.52 from Graham Nichols.

10.	Approval of Candidates for Educational Courses
There were no suggestions but funding is available if required.

11.		Any Other Business
•	Chrissy Cable brought the Guild Book Stall to the attention of the members.
•	Roy Jones spoke at length about the bells at Stanton St John. 
There is conflicting information about the ringing worthiness of the bells.  The Towers and Belfries Committee have recommended that the bells should not be rung.
Alan Frost the Diocesan advisor has indicated that they may be rung.
The PCC would like the bells to be rung and have had some work carried out on them. 
It was agreed that it would be inappropriate for members of the City Branch to be involved in the ringing of Stanton St John bells until such time as the situation becomes clear.  In order to resolve this problem it was agreed that the Chairman would speak to the incumbent at Stanton St John in his capacity as colleague, and inform the Branch of the outcome.
Action: Canon Anthony Ellis to contact the incumbent of Stanton St John. 
•	The Branch Practice at Wheatley on 8 December has not been confirmed.
•	In 2008 mini bus outings will be charged at £15 to ensure they break even.
•	Jonathan Beale (in absentio) asked if there was a reason why his candidate had not gained a place on the Steeple Aston Course.  Chrissy Cable explained that there were 70 applicants for 25 places and it was a question of ‘first come first serve’.  If the same candidate would like to apply for another course she would do her best to secure a place.
•	The Chairman congratulated the City Branch bands for wining both the 8-bell and 6-bell Guild Striking Competitions.

The Chairman thanked the Headington Ringers for their hospitality and the Vicar and the Organist for their contribution to the service.