Murray Valley Bushwalkers AGM Aug 23 2012
Location: Thurgoona Community Centre
Present Hans Kaspers, Tony Marsh, Jenny Marsh, Peter Presutti, John Jamison, Nicole Eirth, Claire Sandford, Marijke Korting, Rowena Smith, Neil Brown, Jan Douglas, Cheryl Duncan, David Saxton, Joy Hayden, Neil Offner, Vera McClusky, Anne Hopkins, Marie Rule
Apologies Kay Hardie, Tracey Barkley, Cheryl McCarten, Nicole Stephens, Joy Turner, Sonia Nettelbeck, Neville Nettelbeck, Diane Ryan, Bill Krautz, Sasho Dillo, Michelle Crofts
1. Confirm the minutes of the last AGM and any special general meeting
As this is the first AGM the club has run there are no minutes of a previous AGM to examine. However reference was made to the inaugural public meeting held on July 7 2011 attended by 14 persons and the minutes are available here.
2. Reports on the activities of the association
Presidents report
Hans welcomed those in attendance referred to the inaugural meeting of the club and the extensive program of activities that have been developed since. The official launch of the club was held in September 18 2012 starting in the Albury Botanical Gardens with a walk along the Murray and up over Nail Can Hill followed by a bbq in Hovell Tree park. Hans also referred to the clubs constitution which requires that the number of office bearers / committee members is determined by the number of financial members of the club as of Jan 1 of the year in which the agm is to be held.
There were 60 MVB members at that time so we are required to have a committee of 6 persons. At the committee meeting held on Feb 17 2012 it was decided the additional 2 positions on the committee would be designated Website Manager and Publicity and Development Coordinator
Membership / Activities report - Tony Marsh
From a couple of dozen inaugural members in July 2011 the club membership grew rapidly to reach about 75 by the end of the first year. Walking is our core activity mainly because we are a bushwalking club after all and unlike some of our pursuits its something that can be done all year. And anyway hardly a weekend goes by without one and very often two walks hosted predominantly by Hans, but also by Iris Joss from Corryong and other club members. Where would a bushwalking club be without a walks program? Paddling upstream in a barb wire canoe perhaps…. Fortunately not for us!
It must be acknowledged how significant the canoeing program has been for club development. A quick scan through the membership reveals more than half participated in paddling in the 11/12 daylight saving period. Altogether about 25 canoeing events took place with anything up to 20 participants per event. I would like to acknowledge the role Tracey Barkley played in this outcome and of course to thank the canoe leaders and especially to thank Dave Breedon from Murray River Canoe Hire whose generous support (and membership) of the club is greatly valued.
Abseiling – it was very rewarding to see this program become established in the program of activities we run. Thanks to Neil Brown for his diligence, persistence and professional manner – all hurdles in the way were eventually dealt with and we hope to continue with this activity in 2012/13
Winter evening walks – thanks to Peter Presutti for conducting approximately 6 evening events which were well supported and great fun to participate in – who would have thought so many members would be prepared to walk after dark in the depths of winter?
Social activities – a couple of evenings at the German Austrian club have been successful and well attended.
Snow sports – a few members have enjoyed two winters of MVB skiing activities now – the Kangaroo Hoppet is the highlight and at least 3 club members will be participating on Saturday.
Quite a few of our members hold dual club membership which is something we encourage – why not make the most of what both clubs in Albury Wodonga offer? Marijke recently participated in the Howmans Gap weekend and with her permission we will look at some photos of that weekend.
Geocaching – it’s a bit of a poorly kept secret but we happen to have one of Northeast Victoria’s premier geocaching practitioners in the club – Mick Webster has put out over 70 caches and it adds a lot of interest to the walks that Hans and Peter put on to find them. The club also has a number of our own that we have installed.
Cycling – thanks to Kay for organizing a couple of successful cycling events.
Membership process – we have invested heavily in technology with the website and membership procedures and it appears to be paying dividends. For example about 90% of all recent membership renewals were completed using the Paypal facility that is accessible from the website. The resounding success of the "founding member" innovation suggested by David Gordon should also be recorded - an extraordinary number of 16 members have chosen this option and their contribution is recorded on the founding members page on the website. This has resulted in a signficant boost to the clubs funds at a critical time in club development. The website continues to be heavily used – Tony to demo stats of usage
Blogs are the newest part of the website – don’t be afraid to voice your opinion on activities and the club in general – if adding a blog post is a bit daunting just send an email to blog@mvb.org.au and I will do the rest!
Tony referred to the Risk Management strategies and policies in place and indicated where they could be accessed on the clubs website. The acquisition of a Spot emergency alert device was discussed and Peter undertook to write an article explaining its usage for the website. Tony also spoke about the upcoming leadership skills training weekend to be run by volunteers from the VNPA and encouraged members to participate
3. Receive the association's financial statements
The financial statements must give a true and fair view of the association's affairs and must include an income and expenditure statement and a balance sheet that sets out the sources of income and expenses, assets and liabilities.
Profit and Loss Statement for the period 01/07/2011 to 30/6/2012
Trial Balance Sheet as at August 28 2012
A motion was put by Tony and seconded by Jan that the treasurers report be accepted as a true and accurate record of the clubs financial position as at Aug 23 2012 – the motion was carried
3 Elect office bearers and ordinary members of the committee
The following were elected unopposed for the 6 positions on the committee for the 2012/2013 year.
President Tony Marsh
Secretary Tracey Barkley
Treasurer Peter Presutti
Event coordinator Hans Kaspers
Website manager Neil Brown
Publicity and Development Coordinator Nicole Stephens
There being no other business of which notice has been given to members to conduct Tony introduced the Guest Speaker Anthea Packer Ranger in Charge of Parklands Albury Wodonga
Anthea showed a presentation and talked about the amazing range of projects completed and in progress and the land managers and groups that PAW have engaged in their 15 year history.
Tony thanked Anthea for her informative talk and slideshow and presented her with a symbol of our club’s gratitude as a thank you. The meeting closed at 9pm and a light supper was enjoyed by those who stayed on.