Bob drew attention to the changes in membership status and hoped that all those who had accepted "B" membership would enjoy all that Brentwood U3A has to offer them in the way of involvement in groups and social activities. He thanked all the Convenors for their hard work. He made special mention of Reg Anderson who was retiring from the committee and made a presentation to him on our behalf for all the hard work he had put into his committee role. The committee will miss his wise counsel. The following is a full report of Bob’s address:

CHAIRMAN'S OPENING ADDRESS

"It gives me great pleasure in welcoming all of you to the Sixteenth Annual General meeting of Brentwood U3A. Yet again 2007 has been a busy year full of varied activities with just over 40 groups offering a selection of interesting pastimes from which to choose. We have 321 members on our books a number which we discovered from experience the capacity of the hall could cope with, as by no means all come to the monthly meetings. 

"As our waiting list continued to grow, your committee decided to offer a change in the membership structure to allow a second tier of  'B' members to join at a reduced rate on the proviso that they were not permitted to attend the monthly meeting. This to commence with immediate effect. In welcoming them to our organisation I hope that all may gain some benefit as the result of joining. The Convenors may find some additional support from the extra 'intake' and who knows, perhaps there may be some new Groups if a particular interest is not already catered for.

"Our annual full membership subscription will increase from £9.00 to £11.00 and the 'B' Membership will cost £9.00 and we will cease to charge 50p at the monthly meeting. As before Headquarters have a capitation levy on all members of £2.50 from these fees.

New Groups

"Four Groups were started during 2007: Family History, Meditation, Card Making, Canasta, and a  Computer Group  (previously called Digital Imaging, which took the place of photography). A couple of these were re-started with new Convenors.

"We are losing one long-standing member from your Committee . . . Mr Reg Anderson who after many years at the coal face has decided that enough is enough. It has been a particular pleasure to serve with him and to enjoy his dry humour and wise counsel. He will be much missed and I would like to thank him for all the time, effort and wisdom he has contributed to the well-being of our U3A."

[At this point the Chairman had intended to make a small presentation to Reg but this had been done earlier he was unable to attend the meeting.]

"We have enjoyed some varied and interesting events throughout the year including: our New Year Dinner which has now become a regular feature, the Retro Revue and Tea, a trip to Highgrove House, a Tour around Sussex, Squerryes, our ever-popular Walking Treasure Hunt in August around Thaxted (arranged by Maureen Laming and Pam Bangert). We had our annual two trips out to Southwold to attend the Jill Freud summer theatre. 'Dick Barton Special Agent' was one of the productions, the other 'Arsenic and Old Lace.' These trips also give us the opportunity to visit The Froize (our regular stop on these occasions at this popular watering hole where David the proprietor and chef makes us so welcome). Some of us attended a superb Rehearsal of the London Symphony Orchestra at The Barbican, where we were delighted by James Galway. Our deep and heartfelt thanks to Annette for arranging these events.

Acknowledgements 

biscuits. And importantly their time and expertise and in particular to our long serving convenors who have guided their groups since the inception of Brentwood U3A some for over 16 years.

"On the subject of refreshments . . . many thanks to those of you who attend to our needs during the monthly meetings . . . all of us really do appreciate your efforts. Also those ladies who supply mouth-watering puddings, pastries, and in one case roast potatoes, for our functions . . . well done . . . though sadly these do not do a lot for our waistlines!

"May I ask all of our members to continue to support what we do and to become involved as much as possible in our activities. The enjoyment and friendship is there just waiting to be discovered. The recent survey that we carried out shows that there is a surprising number of members who are not involved. There is a huge amount of fun just for the taking, just jump in . . . the water is nice and warm!

In conclusion 

"Finally I would like to thank you all personally for all the encouragement and support you have given your Committee and me over the past year. Long may Brentwood U3A flourish!"

MINUTES OF THE 15TH AGM

Copies of the minutes of last year's meeting which had been included in the December Newsletter were briefly summarised by the Chairman. There were no matters arising and the Minutes were adopted as a true record, proposed by Eric Morris and seconded by Gillian Gibbs.

TREASURER'S REPORT

Presenting her accounts for the year ending 31st December 2007, Treasurer Rosemary Morris said that she was following in the competent footsteps of Paul Byford, who retired from the post last year. She extended her thanks to Peter Pearce, for his thorough audit.

Rosemary said that the accounts differed little from last year and that co-incidentally expenditure on equipment was exactly the same, namely £99.99 the previous year being for an amplifier, and the current one being for a projector stand. She warned that there will be a decrease in revenue from Gift Aid as our new Prime Minister had moved the goalposts in his last budget and as a consequence we will now get less rebate in the pound from the Inland Revenue.She urged anyone who was a tax payer and hadn't already filled in a Gift Aid form to think of doing so [details may be obtained from Rosemary]. There was a comment from the floor from Maureen Laming who asked that it be made clear that the £100 showing as a loss against the Treasure Hunt in Thaxted was not due to expenses for the organisers who ran the Hunt but was in fact a donation to help compensate for the disturbance caused in using Thaxted Church by the organisers before the event and by all the participants on the day. This is to be made clear in the final accounts. Adoption of the Treasurer’s report with this amendment was proposed by Barbara Dennehy and seconded by Margaret Meredith. Rosemary ended her report by announcing that Peter Pearce was willing to examine our books for the coming year. His appointment as Independent Examiner was proposed by Pat Barrow and seconded by Barbara Dennehy and passed unanimously. Following this she made a presentation of a book token as an expression of our gratitude to Peter.

ELECTION OF OFFICERS

Committee members (with the exception of Reg Anderson), had indicated their willingness to stand for another year and as no other nominations were received they were automatically re-elected. The Chairman pointed out that each year all Committee posts were up for election.

AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION

With the changes made to the membership structure it has been necessary to alter the Constitution. Paragraph 4.i will now read 'Only full "A" or Associate "A" members are eligible to serve on the Committee which shall consist of:' Acceptance of the amendment was proposed by Evina Montgomery and seconded by Gillian Gibbs and passed unanimously .

ANY OTHER BUSINESS

Gillian Gibbs asked Bob whether "B" members were allowed to attend the AGM. Bob explained that they could not and this had been pointed out to the new members when they were invited to join.