Handakas 2010 Annual General Meeting
Venue: Beefacres Hall, Paradise
Date: 23/06/2010
Time: 8:00 – 9:00pm
Present: Gary, John, Jacob, Hayley, Orest, Jim, Patrick, Jen, Mike, Craig, Anne-Marie, Terry, Fiona, Drew, Nick, Tom, Cherrie, Alex
Absent: Bev, Marg, Pauline, Amy, David, Jason C, Andy, Mick
Agenda Items:
Jacob believes that we have improved immensely throughout the last 12 months as a club. He adv that Chips had spoken to him at the Gumeracha Medieval Fair and had mentioned that both our living history and fighting displays were way above the calibre that they were last year. Jacob also adv that he feels we are growing well as a group, which is evidenced by the amount of new members we have taken on, he believes that this is in part due to the professional organisation of events and the way we have presented ourselves in public.
Jacob mentioned that this past year has not been without its troubles and there have been issues with certain members which have needed to be dealt with but overall it has not affected the strength or vibrancy of the club.
This year we have changed the way that we take on members, that is still a work in process and needs to be cemented but he feels this will only benefit the club and help to weed out any potential troublesome members early on so that certain situations can be avoided later.
Jacob also took the time to praise the Training officer for his diligence and support throughout the year and also to praise the new members who worked so hard to get their kit ready in a short amount of time before Gumeracha.
John started by expressing that he has only been the Training Officer for the later part of the year and thanked Drew for his efforts in the first half. John went on to say that he felt what he lacked in fighting skill he made up for in other areas. He talked about the drill and performance aspect of the displays that had been conducted with him at the helm and said that he thought this was a step in the right direction for the club and something that hadn’t been addressed before.
He adv that he thought there was a high quality of fighting at Gumeracha but as a whole, this club needed to look at its fighting style. It is his belief that we need to abandon our current style of fighting and take on the “George Silver” style of fighting. It is John’s belief that in doing so we will fall more in line with what the Eastern states are doing and therefore it will make it easier to have interclub bouts.
John’s belief has come about from seeing the Vlachernai fighters who we hosted at the GMF. John has also expressed the desire to see our own fighters become more mobile on the field and sighted Drew as an example – the also commented that he thought it was telling that Drew was the only fighter to move around the field and he is also the only fighter trained interstate. John also mentioned that is this is the way the club goes (taking up this style of fighting) then when it comes to displays we will need to reduce our fighting style to the lowest common denominator – as in if there are people who are still fighting with the old style than it will be important to go back to that.
Orest adv that it has been a productive year for the club and that we have earned $3676 through Member fees, payment for displays and selling of merchandise. He also adv that we have spent $2082 this year in insurance, club kit and fee’s. He adv that the clubs worth (including kit) is $9027.57 which means we currently have $4000 to spend, $1000 of which has been placed in a reserve kitty.
Michael started his report by saying that he only took the position of Events Coordinator because nobody else wanted to do it. He believes that he hasn’t done the job to the best of his abilities and he offered his sincere apologies to the club for doing what he believes to be a disservice. Handakas took part in 3 official events this year, that being the Port Adelaide Enfield Xmas Parade, GMF and Farm Day. Michael adv that there were others that he had been contacted about, these being mainly schools, and due to the nature of our club we have been unable to accommodate their requests (by and large – although a big thanks to Jim who single handedly represented the club at the Kildare Medieval Day).
Michael adv that he believes that the role needs to be split over multiple people (to cover off internal and external events) and that we need to have an Events and Hire policy on our website that outlines the requirements for us to take part in any kind of community event (IE: timeframe of notification, fees charged, limited availability on weekdays etc) – as yet the club does not have this type of policy set in place and it is Michaels recommendation that the new committee get together to write one ASAP. Michael has indicated his desire to remain the Handakas representative on the GMF committee and ended his report by saying that it is his hope for the club that we have a more productive year this year with more internal events like feastings and tournaments.
Alex adv that web usage had been up this last 12 months although he finds that there is a slow response to emails sent and requests that everyone be more diligent in their response over email please. If elected as web master for the next 12 months Alex would like to develop an online profile for all Handakas members, giving a small bio of their character etc – he sighted his own as an example. Alex has expressed concern over the content/form of the monthly newsletter and has asked that the next committee spend time workshopping this and providing more input.
As a club the reports of the 09/10 committee members were motioned, seconded and carried.
At this point of time it was the recommendation of the current TO (John) that someone else apart from Jacob chair the meeting as he (Jacob) had been nominated for the role of President and it would therefore ensure that there was no conflict of interest. Drew Parker took over as Chair for the remainder of the AGM.
The Chair declared nominations open for all committee members for 10/11
Nominated: Michael and Jacob
By a majority vote Jacob has been elected President for the 10/11 committee.
Nominated: Michael
As Michael was the only candidate nominated then he is elected unopposed.
Nominated: Fiona
As Fiona is the only candidate nominated then she is elected unopposed.
Nominated: Alex
As Alex is the only candidate nominated then he is elected unopposed.
Nominated: Jen
As Jen is the only candidate nominated then she is elected unopposed.
Nominated: None
As there is no one nominated for the position of Events Coordinator the post remains unfilled.
Alex suggested that the committee shares the duties between them
Fiona has suggested 2 points of contact per event within the club.
Jen has adv that as Secretary she is happy to be the external contact if she then brings the nominated event to the committee and they decide if they wish to pursue. This process would be made easier by the Events and Hire policy recommend by Michael.
Jacob requested that a Special Committee Meeting needs to happen ASAP to decide what to do about this empty post and to also draft and produce said Events and Hire policy and a comprehensive list of what the club and individual members own and have at their disposal to take to said Events.
Terry made his apologises at this stage and adv he needed to leave, taking the number of those in attendance to 16.
John has adv that he believes the club should have a Mission Statement and Code of Conduct visible on the website and signed off by all active members. He has independently done some research and has drafted a copy of each for the clubs consideration
We are a common-interest group who wish to practice the arts, crafts, science, skills and combat of a time and cultures long past. It is the desire of the goal of this group to provide an environment in which all members are able to pursue their interest in peace and with their right to being treated with civility and respect being adhered to by all fellow members. It is the expectations that all members will interact together in a co-operative and courteous manner, with no member being made to feel excluded, vilified or at risk in any way.
Each member shall conduct himself/herself in a manner that does not interfere with another’s rights to peace, respect and civility. Any member that is offended by another’s speech or behaviour should use the following avenues of redress – approach the member concerned, if dissatisfied with the outcome; speak to the committee, if still dissatisfied, request a membership vote on the matter.
Offences that incur membership cancellation;
Jacob has indicated that these issues raised needs to be added to the Agenda for the Special Committee Meeting.
John raised the point that he thinks it would be a good idea to start implementing weekend training again. Previously weekend training had been conduct at the Olive Grove which is located in the SE corner of the Parklands in the city. Previously it had been a chance for those fighters who did not feel confident before Gumeracha to get extra practices in – however it has become a good chance for family interaction and if a better location is found then it will be a good chance to become more visible to the local community as well. This idea will be taken on by Michael as the new TO who will discuss with committee.
Jacob adv that he thinks it would be a good idea for the club to purchase a trailer to store all of the club gear in. At the moment, a large majority of the gear is being kept by John and brought up in his own trailer/car. However, storage is becoming a problem and Jacob thinks that it would be good to have an official storage place and keep everything together. Drew adv that if the club wants to purchase a trailer than a special meeting needs to be called to vote on that and to gain financial permission from the Treasurer. Fiona and Drew have adv that if the club purchases a weather proof trailer, they will be able to store it and the gear within at their house.
Jacob adv that after reading the minutes of the NVG Inc AGM, that we as a sub branch are required to vote on a number of changes/items. The first being that any club that does not get their financial report in 3 months after the end of the financial year is subject to having their operating licence removed as this means that NVG INC are unable to complete their own reporting and it puts the clubs nationwide at risk.
AFFIRMATIVE: 15
NEGATIVE: 1
Michael wanted it noted that he felt this was an unfair rule, due to the fact that if the Treasurer goes AWOL and does not produce the report, or simply doesn’t care – then it will affect the rest of the club.
Fiona has stated that as the new Treasurer she intends to produce quarterly reports so that is something happens to her and she is unable to fulfil her obligation then the information will be readily available to another committee member.
Drew wanted it noted that he felt dissatisfied with the way NVG INC had eluded to who the problem group was but not come out directly and named. He felt it showed a lack of transparency. Fiona seconded this opinion.
ACCEPT: 15
OPPOSE: 0
ABSTAIN: 2
ACCEPT: 17
OPPOSE: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
ACCEPT: 15
OPPOSE: 0
ABSTAIN: 2
ACCEPT: 15
OPPOSE: 0
ABSTAIN: 2
Voting was taking on the acceptance of the NVG INC Committee:
Date of next AGM was put forward Wednesday the 1st of June 2011. Motion carried and accepted.
Committee to have a special meeting on 02/07 at Hayley’s house – (please see Hayley or Jen for address details). Meeting will start at 7:30pm.
Jen to formulate email and send to committee with proposed Agenda and other relevant information before the end of this week and follow up with email of official Agenda by Thursday of next week (01/07)
http://handakas.nvg.org.au/article.php?story=20100701182635583