AGM

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)

AGM for the year ending 30th June 2024

The meeting took place as planned on Tuesday 8th October 2024 and was poorly attended. The required quorum of 20% of the membership was not achieved and so there was no voting on any agenda item. The Report of the Chair (Brian Britton) is reproduced below. The Treasurer, Jill Smith, gave an upbeat report for the year. The Society's financial situation is good; income is covering all expenditure and reserves are slightly higher than last year.

The existing Committee have all agreed to continue in their roles except for Sue, who has retired, and Diana who is taking temporary absence due to ill health. The Committee have invited Rosemary to join them and help with the workload. She has agreed and her appointment, as well as that of the other members of the Committee, will be ratified by the membership at a later date.

The AGM concluded at approximately 2.20pm.

Presentation of Awards

The winner of the Patron's Award 2024 (chosen by Lord and Lady Faringdon at the Annual Exhibition Preview evening in August) was John Sirrelle with his picture of the face of a lion entitled "Pride" in Acrylic and Coloured Pencil. John, who was not at the Preview evening, was presented with the Award and a cheque for £50 by Brian Britton, Chair. Congratulations to John! See the photographs: Exhibition 2024

Visitors to the Annual Exhibition in the four public opening days (24 to 27 August) were asked to vote for their favourite picture on display. Many "complained" that it was impossible to choose just one favourite picture and wanted to vote for three - as first, second and third choice. Some even did this (with accompanying comments) anyway even though the voting slip only had space for one favourite picture!

The winner of what became known as "Exhibition Favourite 2024" was very clear - it was Roger Jones. Roger was presented with a "mini Oscart Trophy" in silver, rather than gold, by Chair, Brian Britton. Roger was delighted. See the photographs: Exhibition 2024

After the break for refreshments, a 60 minute DVD was shown on the subject of Pastels Techniques; the artist was Brian Watkins. It was very well received.

The winner of the Oscart Award 2024 for the second year running is Ann March. Brian Britton, Chair of the Society, presented Ann with the Trophy and a cheque for £50 at the close of the meeting. See the photographs: Oscart Award

Chairperson’s Report to the AGM
8th October 2024, 2.00 pm – 2.30 pm

Welcome everyone to the Chairperson’s report for the Lechlade Art Society’s Annual General Meeting for the year July 2023 to June 2024.

As you will know, this is my second year as Chairperson of the Society and I would like to say at the onset that I am aware that I have delegated a lot of work to other members of the Committee and to members due to personal circumstances this year. This has resulted in both Committee and members being asked, sometimes at short notice, to take on tasks and responsibilities for the sake of the Society. I am delighted to say that members who have been asked to help have done so without reservation and consequently I feel that the Society has moved forward with new initiatives, a comprehensive programme of demonstrations and activities, and social engagements that has helped consolidate one of our aims of being a forward-looking and inclusive organisation.

Although it seems like a distant bad dream now, 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 has been good during the year with some excellent demonstrations which have been both hugely informative and delivered with comprehensive dialogue and humour; they have been well worth attending.

A full programme for the 2024-2025 season has been once again 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 past 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 for our sessions.

Workshops that have followed demonstrations, or are “stand alone” sessions, have been very successful. I would like to thank all members of the Society who have supported these workshops and especially Gill Cox who has taken on this hugely important aspect of the Society. Please remember that attendance at the demonstrations will always be offered to Society members first but often there are spaces still available so if you have a friend who might like to come along, but who is not a Society member, please ask them and then get in touch with Gill to reserve a place for them.

During this year Sue Moir has decided that, due to ill health, she needed to hand over the running of the Thursday Group sessions. This task has been jointly undertaken by Zoe Hing and Bob Marchant who have jointly managed the weekly arrangements and have been assisted by other members. My thanks to all those involved with this very important aspect of the Society, and I wish to acknowledge Sue’s unstinting support for the Society over many years.

I am pleased to say that Committee members and others continue to provide opportunities for members to develop further their drawing and painting skills. Roger Jones has been instrumental in this. We have had our annual plein air Buscot Day and our thanks go to Lord Faringdon as always for his continued support. In addition, I have revised the life-drawing workshop for both experienced practitioners and for those who would like to have a go at this most traditional of art pursuits.

As usual, members have been invited to submit a single piece of work for the Oscart competition and those entries, complete with a suitable stand, should now be on display. If you have still to vote, please do so during the tea break. Voting slips and pencils are by the signing in register. Votes will be counted during the screening of the DVD and the winner announced at the end of today’s proceedings. 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.

I am pleased to announce that the Annual Art Exhibition went very well again this year. The Private View was well attended although it was a little disappointing that a number of non-exhibiting members did not attend. All Society members and their guests are welcome at this artistic and social event. 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 next year. If you have any questions regarding exhibiting, 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 this year’s Exhibition, chosen by Lord Faringdon, was John Sirrelle with his picture “Pride”. John retains the Patron’s Award for a year and receives a cash prize of £50. John's picture will be featured on the poster advertising next year’s Annual Exhibition.

In line with the rules in 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 (who was ex-officio Committee and therefore need not be replaced on the Committee) and Diana who is taking temporary leave from the Committee due to ill health. My sincere thanks to both Sue and Diana for their past service. All members were invited to submit nominations for election to the Committee either in writing to our Honorary Secretary Melanie prior to the AGM starting or at the AGM.

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. You will find further details on our website www.lechladeartsociety.co.uk. My thanks to Martyn for his excellent work in maintaining and updating our website. The website should be the initial "go to place" for all the current details of the Society's activities. It is also a wonderful archive of past events.

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.

Brian Britton, Chairperson, October 2024

Some photographs taken duing the meeting:

The following is for reference only as the AGM has now taken place.

Notice of Annual General Meeting for the year ending 30 June 2024

The Annual General Meeting of Lechlade Art Society for the year ending 30th June 2024 will take place in the Pavilion, Oak Street, Lechlade GL7 3AY on Tuesday 8th October 2024 at 2.00pm prompt. The AGM is expected to last approximately one hour

Any member wishing to stand for the Committee should secure a nominee and then both names should be forwarded to the Secretary as soon as possible.

Any member who would like to submit a question at the AGM should send it to the Secretary before the AGM. A limited number of questions can also be accepted on the day.

Contact email address: [email protected]
For the attention of the Secretary, Melanie Poole

After the AGM has concluded, members will be able to enjoy light refreshments whilst viewing the entries for the Oscart Trophy and casting their vote.

A short DVD will be shown if time permits before the meeting closes around 4.00pm.

Agenda for the AGM 2023-24

Members present
Apologies for absence
Minutes of the last AGM read and approved
Matters arising
Chairperson's report (Brian Britton)
Treasurer's report (Jill Smith)
Questions from members
Voting for Committee Members
Any other business
AGM closes (approx 2.45pm)

Oscart Trophy

Members are invited to submit a single piece of work. Members wishing to take part should present their entry by no later than 1.45pm. 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 when signing-in at the reception desk on arrival and make their judgement before 3.00pm.

The Oscart Trophy and a cheque for £50 will be presented to the winner at the end of the meeting.

Details about this award and its past winners: Oscart Award