Otago Maritime VHF Assn. Inc.,
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at the
Otago Yacht Club on Thursday 15th September 2011
The Chairman opened the meeting at 1935 hours, with a welcome to those present.
Present:
Chairman: Michael Harkness;
Secretary: Ian Milne;
Treasurer: John Armstrong;
Repeater Trustee: Martin Balch;
Keith Simon; Jack Squires; Kevin Martin; Les McBean; Ron Sim; Terry Thomas; Ted Gilbert; Graham Wright; Graeme Wall; Ate Heineman; Maggie Oakley; Vern Hall.
Apologies:
Ron Johnston; Colin Weatherall; Jeff Donaldson (Acting Harbourmaster); Kevin Hughes; John Milburn (Monarch Cruises); David Blair; Fiona Balch; Ian McKay; Mike Boylen; Bill McIndoe; John McLellan; Robert George; Bruce Walker and Paul Wright (Otago Harbour Control); Meri Leask (Bluff Fishermen’s Radio); Lox Kellas (Dunedin Police and Coastguard).
Moved Simon/Thomas, That the apologies be accepted: Carried
Minutes of Previous AGM:
The minutes of the 2010 AGM, held on 9th September 2010, were read by the Chairman.
Moved Harkness/Thomas, That the minutes be approved as a correct record: Carried
Annual Reports:
1. Chairman’s Report:
The Chairman presented his annual report, which was accepted:
Moved Harkness/Sim, That the Chairman’s report be adopted: Carried
2. Repeater Trustee’s Report:
The Repeater Trustee presented his report, and added the point that etiquette for the use of the repeaters should include the use of simplex channels where possible, such as when boats are in sight of each other.
Moved Balch/Simon, That the Repeater-Trustee’s report be adopted: Carried
3. Treasurer’s Report:
The Treasurer presented the financial reports, which were briefly discussed. It was commented that the increased number of members paying the five year subscription for six years’ membership could be seen as a vote of confidence in the Association.
Moved Armstrong/McBean, That the financial reports be accepted: Carried
Subscriptions:
The Treasurer reported the committee’s recommendation that subscriptions remain the same as
at present, i.e., Single year, $38 Recreational; $58 Commercial; or the discount rates of $190 and $290 for six years’ membership respectively.
Moved Armstrong/Balch, That the subscriptions remain as at present: Carried
Election of Committee Members:
The following members were nominated for the committee:
Ted Gilbert Harkness/Sim
Michael Harkness Balch/Heineman
Keith Simon Balch/Gilbert
Ian Milne Harkness/Balch
Ate Heineman Gilbert/Harkness
John Armstrong Thomas/Balch
Vern Hall Balch/Harkness
Terry Thomas Harkness/Balch
Martin Balch Thomas/Simon
Moved Balch/Gilbert, That nominations be closed: Carried
The Chairman declared the above members to be elected to the committee.
Admission of Group Representatives:
The following club delegates were welcomed to the committee, under the “group membership” entitlement:
Les McBean, for the Port Chalmers Yacht Club Inc.;
Ron Johnston, for the Tautuku Fishing Club Inc.. (Ron had sent his apologies for this meeting and had indicated his continuing availability for this position.)
Honorary Solicitor:
It was decided that an Honorary Solicitor would be sought, as and when required.
Financial Reviewer:
The Treasurer reported that our present reviewer, Barry Crane, had indicated his willingness to remain in this position, for the very reasonable fee of $300.
Moved Armstrong/Harkness, That Mr Barry Crane be appointed Financial Reviewer for the 2011-2012 year: Carried
Notified Business:
Questions from Ted Gilbert:
Ted Gilbert had submitted a series of eight questions concerning various aspects of the Association’s activities. It was agreed that they were good questions. The Repeater Trustee had provided answers for discussion. However, it soon became apparent that this discussion could take some time, and Maggie Oakley proposed that this be left to the committee to finalise and post on our blogsite as “FAQ”. This is at http://otagomaritimevhfassn.blogspot.com/ . This proposal was accepted by the meeting, as an instruction to the committee.
General Business:
1. Terry Thomas suggested that the headings of notices and minutes of Annual General Meetings be numbered, such as “The Thirty-fifth Annual General Meeting….”, or as appropriate. As this is common practice and a good idea, the Secretary agreed to arrange it.
2. Following the above discussion on “Group Membership”, the Secretary volunteered to write to the boating clubs and other groups which may be interested, to advise of them of their entitlement to appoint representatives to our committee, and also to remind them that “group membership” does not entitle individual members of that club or group to free use of our repeater service. This was accepted by the meeting.
3. Regrets were expressed that John McLellan, formerly of the Moeraki Fishing Club, and the Association’s volunteer operator in that area, was no longer available due to ill health. The Chairman volunteered to purchase a suitable book, and present it to John as a token of the Association’s gratitude for his long service as our operator in Moeraki.
Committee Meeting:
As a committee meeting is required to be held within thirty days to elect the officers for the coming year, it was decided to hold a meeting on Monday evening, 10th October 2011, at Martin Balch’s place, 23 Connell St, Waverley, Dunedin, at 1930 hours.
Close of Meeting:
As there was no further business, the Chairman closed the meeting at 2035 hours, with thanks to those in attendance.
Guest Speaker:
The meeting was followed by a very interesting talk and slide-show by Robyn Armstrong about her and John’s experiences, sailing around the south coast and exploring Dusky Sound and Preservation Inlet, in February-March 2009 in their yacht, the Shag, and an award-winning movie of the trip made and presented by John called “Discovering Dusky”, with a light supper to end the evening.
Michael Harkness
Chairman
Ian Milne
Secretary
