AGM Summary from the President

As previously reported, the 99th AGM of our Club took place on Monday evening, June 5th 2017 with a good turn out on the evening. This is a more detailed summary of the proceedings which will hopefully be on interest to members.

A one minute silence was held for 2 of our senior colleagues from the Club, a close friend of the Club and for those affected by the atrocities in both Manchester and London.

There was brief summary of the previous season which had been hugely successful.

Major achievements on the field included:
• Fielding 4 senior teams on a number of occasions
• Colts Midlands Cup finalists
• Girls U15 Midlands title
• A large number of senior youth players moving into the senior sides
• 2 England internationals- Matt Law & Joe Heyes
• Numerous NLD players at youth and senior youth level
• The Vets side becoming established
• Match v Magnus

Off the field, matters were no less successful:

• Well attended bonfire night
• Odd Shaped Ball at Worksop College
• Reaching our £200,000 fund raising target in November- now standing at over £225,000
• Smoothly run and profitable Newark Show

… and of course, after 4 years of planning, work started on Phase 1 (the new changing accommodation) of the New Clubhouse Project and on the demolition element of Phase 2.

None of the above achievements would have occurred without a fantastic effort from our volunteer army of over 150 people, who richly deserve the thanks given.

The President was re-elected with the Chairman informing the attendees that this would be for one more year only, after which the Board will be proposing John Coles to succeed as President, to coincide with planning for our Centenary Year.

Richard Derry was re-elected as Chairman.

The Secretary, Nick Poulson, stood down from his position as Secretary and was duly thanked by the Chairman. David Godfrey was elected to succeed Nick.

John Cook, Nick Poulson and Mark Jenkins all stood down from the Board, again having been thanked by the Chairman.

There was one nomination for the new position of Commercial Director. Adam Doran was duly elected and we wish him well in this important position as we seek to make the best use of our new facilities.

Treasurer, Richard Staniforth, presented the accounts for what had been a poor season financially.
There had been an adverse VAT swing of £11,000, additional bookkeeping costs and no Legends Evening had been held the previous year.
Savings had been made in other areas, but the overall position is likely to be a small loss (excluding fund-raising activities)

David Pick was nominated and elected to become an Honorary Life Member, after over 40 years active contribution the Club. Richard Derry remembered playing against David while he was still at school.

David’s contributions to organising the Newark Show, Raise the Roof and Chairmanship of the New Clubhouse Project are simply immense.

Two deserving new Vice Presidents were also appointed: Mark Jenkins and Alan Staines.

Matthew Cove proposed a new option for Senior Club subscriptions for the forthcoming season. As many players, particularly 3rd and 4th XV, play less than 10 matches, a match fee will be charged.
All other subscription levels remained the same.
A new Social member category, without voting rights, was also introduced.

Looking forward to the coming season, the President set 3 major on-field objectives:

1. Within the Senior Club, specifically:
a. Challenge for promotion from current league
b. Increase the overall number of 2nd, 3rd & 4th XVs matches played

2. Mini, Youth and Senior Youth Rugby- strive to retain our pre-eminence in NLD

3. Girls Rugby- build on our continuing successes of last season and increase numbers of participants

Off the field, there is much to do and to look forward to.

We will be holding an openin ceremony for Phase 1, probably at the first home league game of the season

Phase 2 is to be complete prior to Christmas.
Funding is in place for Phases 1 and 2 due to our successes with external funders, our own fund raising efforts and the generosity of a small number of our Senior Members.

Before we can begin Phase 3 (the New Clubhouse, bar and kitchen), we have to raise a considerable amount of additional finance.

We are already in contact with several external funding bodies and we are optimistic that around 50% of the funds required will come from these sources.

The remaining 50% will need to be raised from within the Club and a variety of activities are already being planned.
Specifically, Barry Thompson outlined a Members Loan Scheme to the attendees that will be formally announced before the beginning of next season.
A dinner dance in June 2018 is also in the early stages of organisation.

The Club is currently advertising for a Part Time Commercial Manager whose role will be to explore and exploit potential opportunities over and above those within our existing loyal sponsorship fraternity.

The President thanked all attendees for their presence and the Chairman formally closed the meeting.