AGM

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)

The AGM for the year ending 30th June 2024 will be held on Tuesday 8th October at 2.00pm prompt in the Pavilion. The relevant documents will be sent by email to all members in late September. Some documents which are not sensitive will be available to download from this webpage at the same time.

AGM for the year ending 30th June 2023

The meeting took place as planned on Tuesday 11th July 2023 and was well attended considering the travel problems caused by the closure of Halfpenny Bridge on the A361 and many of the local village side roads for the Fairford Air Tattoo. Members will receive the meeting minutes by email in due course.

The winner of the Oscart trophy this year is Ann March with a painting of red poppies in oil. Chair of the Society, Brian Britton, presented Ann with the trophy and a cheque for £50. See the pictures here: Oscart Award

Photographs taken during the meeting: AGM July 2023

Notice of AGM for the year ending 30th June 2023

The Annual General Meeting of Lechlade Art Society for the year ending 30th June 2023 will take place in the Pavilion, Oak Street, Lechlade GL7 3AY on Tuesday 11th July 2023 at 2.00pm prompt.

Any member wishing to stand for the Committee should secure a nominee and then both names should be forwarded to the Secretary, Melanie Poole, at the email address below as soon as possible.

Any member who would like to submit a question should send it by email to the Secretary, Melanie Poole, at the email address below before the AGM.

Email address (for the attention of Melanie Poole):

[email protected]

After the AGM has concluded, members will be able to enjoy light refreshments whilst viewing the entries for the Oscart Award.

Agenda

1. Members present
2. Apologies for absence
3. Minutes of the last AGM read and approved
4. Matters arising
5. Chairperson's report (see below)
6. Treasurer's report
7. Presentation of, and members’ vote on, the revised Constitution (see below)
8. Questions received from members
9. Voting for the Committee
10. Any other business
11. Meeting closes

Oscart Award

Members are invited to submit a single piece of artwork for the Oscart Award. Members wishing to take part should present their artwork by no later than 1.15pm. Please arrange your work either on a flat table top (supplied) or on a stand or easel (which you should bring with you).

Members wishing to vote for the best entry should collect a voting slip from the reception desk on arrival and make their judgement by 1.55pm before the start of the AGM at 2.00pm prompt. The Oscart Trophy, and a cheque for £50, will be presented to the winner at the end of the AGM.

Chairperson's Report to the AGM 2023

If you require a copy please contact Brian Britton at the email address above.

Chairperson’s Report to the AGM 11th July 2023, 2.00pm to 3.00pm

Welcome everyone to the Chairperson’s report for the Lechlade Art Society’s Annual General Meeting for the year July 2022 to June 2023.

As you will know this is my first year as Chairperson of the Society and I would like to say at the onset that I am aware that I am following in the footsteps of our previous Chairperson who has given sterling service over the years. Sharon has not been well for some time now and I would like to take this opportunity to say a heartfelt “thank you” for the support that she has given me as I served my apprenticeship as Secretary, and I wish her a speedy recovery and subsequent return to the Society’s activities.

I know that some members are still concerned that Covid is still with us and have made the decision that attendance at the Tuesday demonstrations and the Thursday gatherings are, sadly, best avoided. Despite that, I can say that attendance at both these mainstays of the Society have been very good during the year with some excellent demonstrations which have been both hugely informative and delivered with comprehensive dialogue and humour. They have all been well worth attending.

A full programme for the 2023-2024 season has been compiled by our Secretary, Melanie Poole, and I would like to thank her for the hours of hard work that she has put into recruiting our demonstrators not only for the forthcoming season but also for the current year. I know that many of you are members of other art organisations and often attend demonstrations elsewhere. If you see a demonstration that you consider excellent, please pass on the relevant details to any member of the Committee as we are always looking for new demonstrators.

Workshops that have followed demonstrations have been very successful and I would like to thank all members of the Society who have supported these and especially Gill Cox who has taken on the lion’s share of this hugely important aspect of the Society.

Our Thursday painting group continues to thrive and is a popular weekly event ably run by Sue Moir. Sue has decided that she will no longer stand for Committee but will continue running the Thursday Group, supported by Bob Marchant, Zoe Hing, and other Committee members. My thanks to all those involved with this very important aspect of the Society.

I am pleased to say that Committee members and others continue to provide opportunities for Society members to develop further their drawing and painting skills. Roger Jones has very kindly organised several plein air art sessions locally and the usual drawing and painting “Buscot Day” has been organised for Monday 17th July. Further details are available from Roger or on our website.

Of course, our demonstrators come at a cost and, reluctantly, this coming year’s membership fee has been raised to £25 per member, or £40 for two members at the same address. The only consolations are that we have not raised the membership fee for some years and we are now roughly in line with other art societies, and considerably cheaper than some. If not already paid, I would be grateful if the membership fee can be paid as soon as possible after the 1st of July and no later than 31st July. Members with standing orders should make the necessary adjustments online or ask their bank to make the change for them. Please remember that the Society will accept cheques but now no longer accepts cash for membership fees. You will find further details on our website. My thanks to Martyn for his excellent work in maintaining and updating our website.

As usual, members are invited to submit a single piece of work for the Oscart competition and those entries, complete with a suitable stand, should be brought to the AGM and displayed by 1.15 pm to be voted on by the members. Voting slips are available at the reception desk. Members are invited to vote from 1.30pm until the start of the AGM at 2.00pm prompt. Votes will be counted during the AGM and the entry with the most votes will win the prize of the Oscart Trophy, to be held for a year, and a cash prize of £50. The winner will be announced at the end of the meeting.

I am pleased to announce that the Annual Art Exhibition will take place in the main hall as usual from Saturday 26th to Tuesday 29th August. Giving-In Day will be Friday 25th in the morning with the Private View in the evening, commencing at 7.00pm. If you intend to take part, please be aware that the necessary paperwork has altered and needs your special attention this year. The exhibition is held in very high regard by the community, and I would urge all members to submit work to this flagship event on the Lechlade calendar. If you have any questions, please ask me, as exhibition co-ordinator, or any member of the Committee who will be only too willing to help you.

The winner of the Patron’s Award at last year’s Exhibition was Dennis Yeates with his painting “Opportunity” chosen by Simon Paul, Chairperson of the Memorial Hall committee. Dennis retains the Patron’s Award for a year and also received a £50 cash prize. His painting will be featured on the poster advertising this year’s Annual Exhibition.

In line with the rules of the Society’s Constitution, the Committee come up for re-election this year. I have been advised by the current Committee that they would all like to be considered for re-election except for Sue Moir and Val Mackenzie. Sue was ex-officio Committee and therefore need not be replaced on the Committee. Val wishes to stand down as Membership Secretary. My sincere thanks to both Val and Sue for their past, and continued, work for the Society. All members were invited to submit nominations for election to the Committee in writing to our Honorary Secretary Melanie prior to the AGM starting.

We are not featuring a detailed Treasurer’s report this AGM and, as with last year, an update will be provided later in the year. As our AGM will be in October in 2024, a full Treasurer's report will be available at this time for the period 2023-2024.

Last year I asked the membership for their support in allowing the Committee to revise the Constitution and implement changes to the running of the Society. This we have done and I feel that the revisions make the Society’s Constitution more relevant than ever and form the basis for the values that the Society holds. Rather than give a detailed report on the changes I would ask the members to view the revised Constitution and make any observations to any member of the Committee.

Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all members of the Committee for their tireless dedication and hard work for the Society.

We will now vote for Committee members by a show of hands.

Brian Britton, Chairperson, June 2023

Revised Constitution for Agenda Item 7