Bagpipe Society AGM 2018 Minutes

Minutes of the Bagpipe Society AGM Polesworth Memorial Hall Saturday 2nd June 2018 17.00

You can download this document, including accounts, as a PDF here.

Apologies

Michael Ross

Matters arising

None

Officers’ Reports

Chairman (Ian Clabburn)

It is with sadness that I report of the death of our Treasurer George Swallow. His legacy to the Society is considerable, mostly his expert work in streamlining our accounting and membership procedures. Committee changes: Michael Ross is now Treasurer/Membership Secretary, taking over from George. Tom Hughes has resigned as Education Officer and we thank him for his many contributions to not only committee work, but the furtherance of piping in its widest sense and I welcome the opportunity to thank him officially for all he has done and no doubt will continue to do as an “ordinary” member. Andy Carter is now assistant website manager, supporting Joe Wass General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We are fully compliant with these regulations and a statement is available both on the website and MemberMojo, which handles subscriptions and members data base.

Chanter editor (Jane Moulder)

Work with Chanter continues with all editions having been printed and delivered on time. I am still in the position where, in general, the majority of articles are sought out or commissioned by me (read: persuasion and suggestion by the editor is made to a potential contributor) but some articles have been sent in unsolicited – which has pleased me greatly. More of this please! Treasurer and Membership Secretary (Michael Ross) Funding: International Bagpipe Conference (x2), Symposion Bagpipe Museum, MMID Due to statements being redirected back to the branch following George’s passing, I had to contact several members to confirm their direct debits earlier in the year, so apologies for this. Unfortunately addresses for bank statements etc had not been switched over before George passed, and Natwest have a very stringent process to go through to get these details changed. I am now back up to speed with things and business should resume as usual, however should any member wish to take over the role this would be most welcome – time therefore is not something I have much of! Membership Secretary’ Report Membership has continued to grow slowly in 2017, from 232 to 240 members. As of May 2018, we have increased to 263 individual members. Having an electronic version of Chanter is a big attraction to overseas members. Our membership system (Membermojo) coupled with our own website has now completed its third year and can now be said to be in full control of our joiners and renewals. The online system has hugely reduced the amount of work required from the membership secretary as the majority is all automated, with just a handful of people paying by cheques. This method is still available, so those not wanting to go fully electronic can still use this service. As always, please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any queries about your membership.

Treasurer’s Report

The accounts for 2017 are available separately and were prepared by George (up to October). I have added to George’s accounts to bring them up to date. We supported both Medieval Music in the Dales and Blowout performer Yannis Pantazis with his centre promoting the tsabouna and associated instruments on the Greek island of Santorini. As always, funds are available for bagpipe associated activities, whether full festivals or concerts. Please approach a member of the Committee to discuss any funding opportunities. We continue to be financially secure, holding £11,342.62 in the Savings Account and £1,251.10 in the current account (figures correct as of May 23rd 2018) although it should be observed that payments for the Blowout are still to be drawn.

Blowout Organiser (Ian Clabburn)

Thank you to all who make this such a rewarding festival to organise. I am always looking for new performers and workshop topics and will be emailing all members in due course asking for suggestions. Also, I am asking for a volunteer who will eventually be in a position to take over organising. Kirsten Baron volunteered.

Webmaster (Joe Wass)

After a busy couple of years of establishing and building and fleshing out the website, work has been steady this year. Visits stand at about one thousand per month, which is similar to the previous year. Approximately 40% from the UK, 25% from the US, followed by Canada 4%, Germany 3%, France 3%.We are now in our stride. All new articles are published on the website for members to read online. The coming year will not provide me with an abundance of spare time, so no major new features are planned. One area where we could improve things is our article tagging (e.g. who wrote each article, which instruments or parts of the world it mentions etc), especially for our scanned archive content. Volunteers to enter this data are encouraged to get in contact!

Election of Officers

All current committee members were elected unopposed: Chair: Ian Clabburn; Treasurer/Membership Secretary: Michael Ross; Chanter Editor: Jane Moulder; Website managers: Joe Wass, Andy Carter; Blowout trainee organiser: Kirsten Baron; without portfolio: Robert Heath, David Faulkner

Use and future of the Society’s Stock of Bagpipes

Our pipes are being used at more events, but there are still plenty of gaps in the diary. Please speak to us if you are interested in putting them to use.

AOB