The Rotary Club of Edinburgh
Bulletin 2261 - 1st June 2009
LAST WEEK: President Tim Simpson welcomed members and visitors to the Apex City Hotel for lunch followed by the Annual General Meeting. Tim’s grace was Lord Fill our mouths with worthy stuff and nudge us when we’ve had enough!Past Secretary and current Second Vice President Bill Barr stood
in for Colin Mackay who is making good progress following dental surgery.
It was good to see Colin amongst our ranks again. 39 Members and one visitor
were present, a total of 40. This means for the second week running the
club will have to pay £135 from club funds because we are below
what was considered to be a conservative minimum of 50. Club Treasurer
David Brown advised members that this year so far we have been forced
to deplete our funds by £400. In response to a question during the
AGM, David stated that this was an unbudgeted expense and would absorb
most of our contingency fund scheduled for the current accounting year.
There will be a New Members’ Lunch on Monday 8th June. Please
bring someone whom you think would benefit from the ambiance and objectives
of Rotary and encourage other existing members to come along.
Bill Barr read the edict for The Annual General Meeting.
President Tim Simpson’s Garden Party was held on Saturday 23rd May
at Newhaven Park. Around 35 members attended, Tim thanked by name all
those who helped and those who attended.
KidsOut is on 10th June at the Jack Kane Centre; a record number of schools
are expected.
The Greetin’ Meetin’ will be held on Thursday 11th June in the
Apex City Hotel. The final Council meeting for the Rotary year will start
at 6:00 pm with dinner following at 7 pm. Convenors of committees are
also invited to attend what should be an enjoyable handover and fun evening.
Those involved should book a ticket with Alex Gillies.
A highly ranked junior tennis player and her mother are looking for accommodation
through another Rotary Club for 6th -10th July. The young girl will be
playing in the TennisEurope 14 and under competition. If you can help
please contact Colin Mackay. Bill Barr reported on his trip with Mae to
the International Inner Wheel conference in Malaysia. He passed the Editor
the programme of Rotary meetings he could have attended but declared that
he is only claiming two!
Annual General Meeting of the Rotary Club of Edinburgh
President Tim formally opened the AGM by advising members that the quorum required was 42 and that there were only 39 members present. He asked that those attending declare the meeting quorate. The members concurred. In Colin’s indisposition Tim asked the meeting to appoint Bill Barr as Secretary for the meeting, who as previously recorded read the formal notice. Minutes of the 2008 AGM were taken as read and the Annual Report 2008-2009 was approved.David Brown submitted the Hon Treasurer’s report and financial statements for the year ending 31st March 2009. He spoke to the Report and responded to questions from the floor. The first question was why the accounts are tabled as “unaudited” when they were signed off by the independent examiner Ewart Shields. David replied that his firm’s policy was that all accounts that did not have a full audit were entitled “unaudited” but Ewart’s examination had been equally stringent. David drew our attention to the reduction in revenue of £890 caused by a mix of reduced numbers, less interest received and a near dearth of grandparents buying silver spoons! David pointed out that Office Bearers had waived their allowances, thus saving £2,180 spent last year. The main cost on the books is printing and Council are currently negotiating for ways to reduce the £4,166 by £1,000 next year. There was also the transfer of £2,000 to the Centenary Fund. This should have been only £1,000 however last year’s transfer did not occur and had to be made up in the current year. A one-off expense was the new Sound System we required when we moved from the Carlton.
There was some discussion about a levy to cover future shortfalls in lunch attendance. One suggestion was that the annual subscription be raised by £50 with an offset for those attending. The matter was not resolved and it is for next year’s Council to determine a course of action.
President Tim received confirmation of the usual honoraria and allowances for Office Bearers with the hope and expectation of a similar response by officials as last year. The Annual Subscription was set at £160 reduced to £145 if paid by 31st July. Entrance fee £30 remains unaltered. The present honorary members were re-elected, and next year’s Officers, as elected in the Special General Meeting were confirmed. Thanks were recorded for those standing down – Oliver Balfour, Bob Hislop, George Holmes and Forbes Ridland. New Council members were also approved and the new members on the nomination committee are Judith Sischy and Bob Hislop. Ewart Shields was reappointed Independent Examiner and Sandra Watson was named voting delegate at the RI Convention, Birmingham.
Ronnie Sinclair reported on the Jubilee Charity Fund and submitted accounts. John Fordyce and Niall Finlayson replace Melinda Wallace and Hugh Young, Fergus Gillies joins as VP2.
Bill Barr proposed a vote of thanks to President Tim and the meeting concluded.