MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the
LONGHAIRED DACHSHUND CLUB
Held At The Sports Hall, Sports Connexion, Ryton on Dunsmore, April 21st, 2018
Present.
Miss E. Fayerman, Mrs. C G Brace, Mrs. L Brown, Mrs. M Chapman, Mrs. J F Geeson, Mrs. I Cook, Mrs. A Latham-Jackson, Mrs. P M Rhodes, Mr M Sanders. Miss E Garlick, Mrs P Heap, Miss H Geeson.
Meeting Commenced: 16:00
1. Apologies.
Sharonne, Lady Walker, Mrs Val Mourton, Mrs Sarah Eve, Mr & Mrs Hall, Mr & Mrs D Norris, Mrs S Broad.
2. Minutes of Previous AGM.
Minutes of Previous AGM 23th April 2017 (published on Website). Secretary circulated hard copies of 2017 Minutes, minutes were accepted as a true reflection of the previous AGM.
Proposed Miss. H. Geeson, Seconded Mrs. I. Cook
3. Matters Arising.
There were no matters arising.
4. Chairperson’s Report.
Welcome and thank you for staying for the AGM.
The club has had an eventful and successful year with both additions and losses to the committee, it is a shame we seem unable to recruit younger people onto breed club committees in general, everyone seems to live such busy lives with the pressures of both work and family commitments.
Due to on-going health problems Mrs Flo Winchurch has sadly had to relinquish her role as President of the club. Taking over this mantle we welcome Mrs Geraldine Brace to the position of President. Geraldine has been a very hard working member of the club for many years acting in many capacities and we know this will continue in her new position. We also welcomed Mrs Irene Cook onto the committee as a co-opted member and look forward to her ongoing support.
I am pleased to say that with the careful handling of our finances by our treasurer the club is in a sound financial position.
Over the past year we have held a successful championship show sadly perhaps the last solo show, as breed clubs are being asked and encouraged by the Kennel Club to join in partnerships with General championship shows or with other breed shows in order to free up dates in the very crowded show calendar. To comply with this, we are joining with the Smooth Haired Club and look forward to a mutually beneficial outcome.
To enhance our championship show we have instigated tangible prizes other than a prize card and rosette in the form of commemorative blankets and towels for the major show winners, plus other goodies. This theme of alternative prizes has also been carried over to the Open show, which again will be held in conjunction with the Smooth Haired Club.
Listening to exhibitors after the last show we have decided to go with their suggestion and have instigated online entry facilities. The club and committee hope that these measures will make showing at the club shows easier and enjoyable to both experienced and novice exhibitors.
Alongside the championship and open shows Breed Clubs are being expected to provide appreciation days and seminars, in line with this we successfully held a breed seminar and assessment day in conjunction with the Dachshund Club. The available places were taken up virtually overnight proving just how these days are in demand by exhibitors, people aspiring to become judges and pet owners keen to learn as much about their beloved pets as possible. On the appointed Sunday, dogs, handlers and helpers all combined to provide the audience with a clear oversight of the Dachshund breed and its peculiarities. Of the brave souls undertaking the assessment a majority were deemed suitably qualified to have passed. Congratulations to them all.
I know it was a long and tiring day for all involved especially the dogs who played a starring role during the hands on session, not a grumble from any dog involved just wagging tails and “where’s my treat mum” personally all I got in the car on the way home was snoring from the back.
Just to keep the committee on its toes we are repeating the day again this year with modifications, combined with the required talk on the breed standard there will be an explanation on the inheritance of colour and how this can influence certain health conditions.
Do book early as places will be on a first come basis.
In retrospect 2017 was an eventful and busy year but also a very successful and enjoyable year for the club.
Long may it continue.
Finally may I take this opportunity to thank our secretary and officers for all their hard work and here a mention to Mrs Jo Norris who over the years has collated and printed all our catalogues, prize cards and much more besides, a big thank you Jo and Dave for all your hard work on behalf of the club.
Mrs.Janet Geeson
5. Secretary’s Report
Thank you for staying after such a long day and Thank you all for your continued support of the club.
I hope that you have enjoyed our first back to back championship show with the Smooth Haired Dachshund Club and I expect to report next year on how this joint venture is progressing.
2017 has been a busy year for the club.
Due to circumstances beyond our control the dates of our shows had to be changed again, although effectively we are now back to our original championship show date and venue.
Our 2017 shows were very successful, but our Open Show in October unfortunately clashed with West of England Dachshund Association show which was not ideal and to avoid this happening in the future we shall again be combining forces with The Smooth Haired Club and running back to back Open Shows at Ryton on Saturday 8th September. As a one off, the club Championship show for 2019 will be at Stafford County Showground due to Ryton being unavailable.
On July 23rd 2017, we held a joint seminar with The Dachshund Club at Calf Heath. Ruth Walters gave the breed talk and Jeff Horswell discuss the new Judges Competency Framework which kicks off in 2019 and becomes fully operational around 2022. All candidates who took the multiple-choice breed exam passed and we had just under 50% pass rate for the A2 Assessments.
This year we shall again be holding a seminar on Sunday 22nd July at Calf Heath Village Hall and our breed speaker will be Helen Geeson.
From 2019, all breed clubs are required to support two All-Breed Open Shows. This support takes the form of recommendation for judges from which the society makes its selection, prize cards, rosettes and possibly judges expenses. We are currently supporting West Country Dog Show and from next year will be adding The Cheshire Show.
I would like to thank our small but very dedicated committee who are always there to support me as secretary, our members, show exhibitors and our patron, Sharonne, Lady Walker.
Please do get in touch with your ideas and suggestions for the future of the club.
Mrs.
Annette Latham-Jackson
6. Treasurer’s Report
In my treasurer’s report for the last AGM I indicated that an application had been made to change banks, unfortunately HSBC turned us down, no reason was given and so the club will continue to bank with Royal Bank of Scotland. There are however some issues with the deposit account at the moment as this has now been classed as a “dormant account”. Despite following all the instructions supplied they have since asked for further information. This has been provided but we are now waiting for release of the money.
On general matters the club continues to be in a good financial state. The shows continue to be a great success with both shows returning a surplus of income over expenditure. The 2017 open show showed an increased surplus over that in 2016 whilst the Championship show surplus was lower than the previous year. This was mainly due to an increase in printing costs and a reduced number of entries but was still a substantial sum of over £1500. We also held a successful breed seminar in conjunction with the Dachshund Club and although it was not intended to be a “fundraiser” expenditure was more than covered by the income and a small surplus was shared by the two clubs.
Overall the income and expenditure account has shown a good surplus on the year.
The overall bank balances are £3,722 in the current account with £14,406 being held in the dormant deposit account. The funds held in the current account are more than sufficient for the club to operate normally until such time as the funds are returned from the dormant account.
Mrs.
Patricia Rhode
7.
APPROVAL OF ACCOUNTS:
Proposed Mrs. I. Cook, Seconded Ms M Chapman.
Election of Auditor
Mr G McFaul is willing to continue as Auditor for the club, Chair asked for election of Auditor. All in agreement to appoint Mr G McFaul to continue to audit the club accounts. Proposed Mrs P Rhodes, Seconded Mrs CG Brace.
8. Election of Officers and Committee Members.
Resignations from Committee – Ms Sue Philips and Mrs Judy Dutson
New Committee Members – Co-Opted during the year Mrs Irene Cook.
9. ELECTION OF PRESIDENT.
Mrs C Geraldine Brace was unanimously elected to serve as the Club President for the next year.
Proposed Mrs J. Geeson, Seconded Mrs L. Brown
10. Honoraria
Chair proposed that the honoraria for both the Secretary and Treasurer remain the same - Hon Secretary £500 & Hon Treasurer £300. Proposed Miss H Geeson, Seconded Miss. E. Garlick
Chair proposed that Treasurer to be awarded £300. Proposed Mrs I. Cook and Seconded Mrs S. Burke.
The position of Assistant Secretary would be left vacant for the time being.
11. MEMBERSHIP FEES
Membership Fees to remain the same. Single £6 & Joint £7.00. proposed Miss E
Garlick, Seconded Miss H Geeson.
12. to adopt the updated d.b.c. code of ethics
New Social
Media Clause
– Proposed
Mrs I Cook, Seconded Miss M Chapman.
13 PROPOSED NEW LHDC RULE
There had been a proposal for a new rule relating to committee members.
Unless there are extenuating circumstances, any committee member who is unable to attend three consecutive committee meetings during a twelve month period could be asked to resign from their position.
With such a small committee it was felt important that everyone does their best to attend all meetings so that the club can progress. Proposed Mrs A Latham-Jackson, Seconded Mr M Sanders. Unanimously passed by the membership.
14 Any Other Business
LHDC newsletter
To be discussed at the next committee meeting.
new lhdc grooming/ show tables
New lightweight tables for the shows to be sourced. Mr M Sanders suggested he may be able to obtain new tables at preferential rates and agreed to investigate the costs for two tables.
Meeting closed 16:19
15. Date of Next AGM :
Saturday 20th April 2019.