GNAS Annual General Meeting, 2009
This year's GNAS Annual General Meeting took place on Saturday, 18 April 2009 at Lilleshall.
The AGM itself is normally a relatively short meeting, dealing only with specific business required by the Companies Act - principally minutes of the previous AGM, directors' reports, accounts, elections and setting membership fees for the coming year. After a break for lunch, it is followed by a separate meeting which includes presentations about various current projects and a question & answer session.
This year the AGM overran, because of discussions about the fairest way to proceed with voting on membership fees. This was brought about because of an error - while an increase in fees for club members was mentioned in several places, the wording of the recommendation itself wrongly showed the 2008-9 figures!
A full account of the meeting will be published in ArcheryUK in due course, so we will limit ourselves here to matters that are of specific local interest.
GNAS Membership Fees
GNAS membership fees are increased as follows:
| Type of Member | 2008-9 (old) | 2009-10 (new) |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Member, Senior | £41.00 | £43.00 |
| Direct Member, Junior | £40.00 | £42.00 |
| Club Member, Senior | £33.00 | £35.00 |
| Club Member, Junior | £20.00 | £21.00 |
All other subscription fees remain unchanged.
These increases comprise:
| £1.00 | to cover the effects of inflation |
| £0.75 | improving membership services, especially the membership system itself (ring-fenced for 3 years) |
| £0.25 | improving communications, including website, ArcheryUK and E-zine (ring-fenced for 3 years) |
Important Note: The new membership fees apply to:
- existing members when their membership next falls due for renewal;
- new members joining on or after 01 May 2009 (the fee that they pay for the remainder of 2008-9 includes membership until September 2010).
Membership Cards
The Chairman and Board have accepted that removing virtually all trace of the GNAS name and logo from the membership card this year, was a mistake that has caused a lot of confusion and anger that could have been avoided. Lynne Evans offered her unreserved apologies.
It is planned to include both the ArcheryGB and GNAS names and logos on all membership cards for 2009-10 and onwards. Please note that the new design is unlikely to be available until the 2009 renewals, so new members joining before then are likely to receive the current design of membership card - it is not yet clear whether those who join on or after 01 May 2009 (and therefore receive membership through to September 2010) will receive the revised design of card before their renewal falls due in 2010.
Membership System
Many of you will be aware that there have been persistent complaints about delays in receiving membership cards, especially for new members. During the last year there have been a number of causes - even to the extent that time taken to investigate specific problems has itself caused further delays! Anyone who has read our Club Guide - Membership and Affiliation Process (withdrawn for revision 12 July 2010) will understand that the existing system itself is a substantial part of the problem and should appreciate that simply patching it is not the answer - the entire system needs redesigning and rebuilding from the ground up.
That is exactly what is planned and the current draft proposal is currently being circulated to regions and counties for review and comment. Please do not expect any quick fixes - the problem is appreciated and is being solved, but a project of this size will take some time.
Awards
Congratulations go to Derrick Lovell (Bowmen of Woodstock, KAA Chairman) on being awarded a GNAS plaquette for his exceptional contributions to archery at club, county, regional, national and international levels.
Vice President
Mike Brighton (Tonbridge Archery Club, KAA President / Development Officer) was elected Vice President of GNAS. He follows Pam Tonkin, who has stood down after a number of years in the role.
The Vice President deputises for the President (Tom Williamson) at National Tournaments and other events and meetings; he is also a member of the Awards Committee, under the chairmanship of the Director of Finance.
